ANNUAL NATIONAL PAY COMPARABILITY ADJUSTMENT FOR NURSES EMPLOYED BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

SEC. 201. ANNUAL NATIONAL PAY COMPARABILITY ADJUSTMENT FOR NURSES EMPLOYED BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. (a) Revised Pay Adjustment Procedures.—(1) Subsection (d) of section 7451 is amended— (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) by striking “The rates” and inserting “Subject to subsection (e), the rates”; and (ii) in subparagraph (A)— (I) by striking “section 5305” and inserting “section 5303”; and (II) by inserting “and to be by the same percentage” after “to have the same effective date”; (B) in paragraph (2), by striking “Such” in the second sentence and inserting “Except as provided in paragraph (1)(A), such”; (C) in paragraph (3)(B)— (i) by inserting after the first sentence the following new sentence: “To the extent practicable, the director shall use third-party industry wage surveys to meet the requirements of the preceding sentence.”; (ii) by inserting before the penultimate sentence the following new sentence: “To the extent practicable, all surveys conducted pursuant to this subparagraph or subparagraph (A) shall include the collection of salary midpoints, actual salaries, lowest and highest salaries, average salaries, bonuses, incentive pays, differential pays, actual beginning rates of pay, and such other information needed to meet the purpose of this section.”; and (iii) in the penultimate sentence, by inserting “or published” after “completed”; and (D) by striking clause (iii) of paragraph (3)(C). (2) Subsection (e) of such section is amended to read as follows: “(e)(1) An adjustment in a rate of basic pay under subsection (d) may not reduce the rate of basic pay applicable to any grade of a covered position. “(2) The director of a Department health-care facility, in determining whether to carry out a wage survey under subsection (d)(3) with respect to rates of basic pay for a grade of a covered position, may not consider as a factor in such determination the absence of a current recruitment or retention problem for personnel in that grade of that position. The director shall make such a determination based upon whether, in accordance with criteria established by the Secretary, there is a significant pay-related staffing problem at that facility in any grade for a position. If the director determines that there is such a problem, or that such a problem 114 STAT. 1839is likely to exist in the near future, the Director shall provide for a wage survey in accordance with subsection (d)(3). “(3) The Under Secretary for Health may, to the extent necessary to carry out the purposes of subsection (d), modify any determination made by the director of a Department health-care facility with respect to adjusting the rates of basic pay applicable to covered positions. If the determination of the director would result in an adjustment in rates of basic pay applicable to covered positions, any action by the Under Secretary under the preceding sentence shall be made before the effective date of such pay adjustment. Upon such action by the Under Secretary, any adjustment shall take effect on the first day of the first pay period beginning after such action. The Secretary shall ensure that the Under Secretary establishes a mechanism for the timely exercise of the authority in this paragraph. “(4) Each director of a Department health-care facility shall provide to the Secretary, not later than July 31 each year, a report on staffing for covered positions at that facility. The report shall include the following: “(A) Information on turnover rates and vacancy rates for each grade in a covered position, including a comparison of those rates with the rates for the preceding three years. “(B) The director’s findings concerning the review and evaluation of the facility’s staffing situation, including whether there is, or is likely to be, in accordance with criteria established by the Secretary, a significant pay-related staffing problem at that facility for any grade of a covered position and, if so, whether a wage survey was conducted, or will be conducted with respect to that grade. “(C) In any case in which the director conducts such a wage survey during the period covered by the report, information describing the survey and any actions taken or not taken based on the survey, and the reasons for taking (or not taking) such actions. “(D) In any case in which the director, after finding that there is, or is likely to be, in accordance with criteria established by the Secretary, a significant pay-related staffing problem at that facility for any grade of a covered position, determines not to conduct a wage survey with respect to that position, a statement of the reasons why the director did not conduct such a survey. “(5) Not later than September 30 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on staffing for covered positions at Department health care facilities. Each such report shall include the following: “(A) A summary and analysis of the information contained in the most recent reports submitted by facility directors under paragraph (4). “(B) The information for each such facility specified in paragraph (4).”. (3) Subsection (f) of such section is amended— (A) by striking “February 1 of 1991, 1992, and 1993” and inserting “March 1 of each year”; and (B) by striking “subsection (d)(1)(A)” and inserting “subsection (d)”. 114 STAT. 1840 (4) Such section is further amended by striking subsection (g) and redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (g). (b) Required Consultations With Nurses.—(1) Subchapter II of chapter 73 is further amended by adding at the end the following new section: “§ 7323. Required consultations with nurses “The Under Secretary for Health shall ensure that— “(1) the director of a geographic service area, in formulating policy relating to the provision of patient care, shall consult regularly with a senior nurse executive or senior nurse executives; and “(2) the director of a medical center shall include a registered nurse as a member of any committee used at that medical center to provide recommendations or decisions on medical center operations or policy affecting clinical services, clinical outcomes, budget, or resources.”. (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7322 the following new item: “7323. Required consultations with nurses.”.