Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General Training Act of 2023

118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1096 AN ACT To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to require the employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs to re- ceive training developed by the Inspector General of the Department on reporting wrongdoing to, responding to requests from, and cooperating with the Office of Inspec- tor General of the Department, and for other purposes. 2 † S 1096 ES Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Vet- 4 erans Affairs Office of Inspector General Training Act of 5 2023’’. 6 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEE 7 TRAINING REGARDING OFFICE OF INSPEC- 8 TOR GENERAL. 9 (a) TRAINING.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 10 shall require each employee of the Department of Veterans 11 Affairs who begins employment with the Department on 12 or after the date of the enactment of this Act to receive 13 training that the Inspector General of the Department 14 shall develop on the reporting of wrongdoing to, respond- 15 ing to requests from, and the duty of cooperating with 16 the Office of Inspector General of the Department. 17 (b) TIMING OF TRAINING.—In carrying out sub- 18 section (a), the Secretary shall require each employee of 19 the Department covered under such subsection to undergo 20 the training required by such subsection not later than 21 one year after the date on which the employee begins em- 22 ployment with the Department. 23 (c) ELEMENTS.—Training developed and required 24 under subsection (a) shall include the following: 25 3 † S 1096 ES (1) Definition of the role, responsibilities, and 1 legal authority of the Inspector General of the De- 2 partment and the duties of employees of the Depart- 3 ment for engaging with the Office of Inspector Gen- 4 eral. 5 (2) Identification of Federal whistleblower pro- 6 tection rights, including the right to report fraud, 7 waste, abuse, and other wrongdoing to Congress. 8 (3) Identification of the circumstances and 9 mechanisms for reporting fraud, waste, abuse, and 10 other wrongdoing to the Inspector General, including 11 making confidential complaints to the Inspector 12 General. 13 (4) Identification of the prohibitions and rem- 14 edies that help to protect employees of the Depart- 15 ment from retaliation when reporting wrongdoing to 16 the Inspector General. 17 (5) Recognition of opportunities to engage with 18 staff of the Office of Inspector General to improve 19 programs, operations, and services of the Depart- 20 ment. 21 (6) Notification of the authority of the Inspec- 22 tor General to subpoena the attendance and testi- 23 mony of witnesses, including former employees of 24 the Department, as necessary to carry out the duties 25 4 † S 1096 ES of the Office of Inspector General under section 312 1 of title 38, United States Code. 2 (d) DESIGN AND UPDATE.—The Inspector General of 3 the Department shall design, and update as the Inspector 4 General considers appropriate, the training developed and 5 required by subsection (a). 6 (e) SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall provide, via the 7 talent management system of the Department, or suc- 8 cessor system, the training developed and required under 9 subsection (a). 10 (f) RELATION TO CERTAIN TRAINING.—The Sec- 11 retary shall ensure that training developed and required 12 under subsection (a) is separate and distinct from training 13 provided under section 733 of title 38, United States 14 Code. 15 (g) NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES.—The Secretary shall 16 ensure that the Inspector General is afforded the oppor- 17 tunity, not less frequently than twice each year and more 18 frequently if the Inspector General considers appropriate 19 under extraordinary circumstances, to use the electronic 20 mail system of the Department to notify all authorized 21 users of such system of the following: 22 (1) The roles and responsibilities of the employ- 23 ees of the Department when engaging with the Of- 24 fice of Inspector General. 25 5 † S 1096 ES (2) The availability of training provided under 1 subsection (a). 2 (3) How to access training provided under sub- 3 section (a). 4 (4) Information about how to contact the Office 5 of Inspector General, including a link to any 6 website-based reporting form of the Office. 7 Passed the Senate July 13, 2023. Attest: Secretary. 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1096 AN ACT To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to re- quire the employees of the Department of Vet- erans Affairs to receive training developed by the Inspector General of the Department on report- ing wrongdoing to, responding to requests from, and cooperating with the Office of Inspector General of the Department, and for other pur- poses.