38 U.S.C. § 510 — Authority to reorganize offices

submitted 35 years ago by Pub. L. 102-83 to r/title-38-VETERANS-BENEFITS · 759 words · no verdicts yet

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The Secretary of Veterans Affairs can reorganize offices within the Department, but a big staff cutback at a field office or facility needs advance notice to Congress and a detailed written plan. Congress gets a mandatory waiting period before large reorganizations can happen.

(a) Unless it would break some other law, the Secretary may: (1) merge, eliminate, or redistribute the jobs of Administrations, offices, facilities, or activities in the Department; (2) create new ones; and (3) set the duties of any of them and their leaders. (b) Before carrying out an "administrative reorganization" as described in subsection (c), the Secretary must first send Congress a detailed plan and justification. After sending it, the Secretary must wait 45 days, at least 30 of which must be days Congress is in continuous session, before acting. A session only counts as broken by a final adjournment, and any break of more than three days doesn't count toward the 30 days. (c) An "administrative reorganization" covered by this section means cutting the full-time staff at a "covered field office or facility" by: (1) 15% or more in one year; or (2) an amount that, combined with the cut from the year before, adds up to 25% or more. (d)(1) At least 30 days before starting a reorganization described in paragraph (2) of a Central Office unit, the Secretary must notify the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees. (2) This applies to any Central Office unit with 30 or more employees, if the reorganization cuts its full-time staff by 50% or more in a year. (e) "Administrative reorganization" does not include simply consolidating or shifting duties at a covered office or facility (or between the Veterans Benefits Administration and Veterans Health Administration at a shared medical/regional center) if the same number of full-time employees keeps doing that work afterward. (f) Definitions for this section: (1) A "covered field office or facility" is any Department office or facility outside the Central Office with 25 or more employees permanently stationed there, or any free-standing outpatient clinic. (2) A "detailed plan and justification" is a written report that must at minimum include: (A) how many employees would be cut at each affected office, what they do, and how the cuts would happen; (B) which offices would gain employees, and how many and doing what; (C) how job duties would change at existing offices, and what duties would go to any brand-new office; (D) why the reorganization fits the Department's mission and long-term goals; (E) how the reorganization would affect veterans' and their dependents' access to benefits and services, including at offices not directly involved; and (F) cost estimates for the reorganization itself and its ongoing effects, with supporting analysis.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a)

Except to the extent inconsistent with law, the Secretary may—

(1)

consolidate, eliminate, abolish, or redistribute the functions of the Administrations, offices, facilities, or activities in the Department;

(2)

create new Administrations, offices, facilities, or activities in the Department; and

(3)

fix the functions of any such Administration, office, facility, or activity and the duties and powers of their respective executive heads.

(b)

The Secretary may not in any fiscal year implement an administrative reorganization described in subsection (c) unless the Secretary first submits to the appropriate committees of the Congress a report containing a detailed plan and justification for the administrative reorganization. No action to carry out such reorganization may be taken after the submission of such report until the end of a 45-day period following the date of the submission of the report, not less than 30 days of which shall be days during which Congress shall have been in continuous session. For purposes of the preceding sentence, continuity of a session of Congress is broken only by adjournment sine die, and there shall be excluded from the computation of any period of continuity of session any day during which either House of Congress is not in session during an adjournment of more than three days to a day certain.

(c)

An administrative reorganization described in this subsection is an administrative reorganization of a covered field office or facility that involves a reduction during any fiscal year in the number of full-time equivalent employees with permanent duty stations at such office or facility—

(1)

by 15 percent or more; or

(2)

by a percent which, when added to the percent reduction made in the number of such employees with permanent duty stations at such office or facility during the preceding fiscal year, is 25 percent or more.

(d)

(1)

Not less than 30 days before the date on which the implementation of any administrative reorganization described in paragraph (2) of a unit in the Central Office is to begin, the Secretary shall transmit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a notification regarding the reorganization.

(2)

Paragraph (1) applies to an administrative reorganization of any unit of the Central Office that is the duty station for 30 or more employees if the reorganization involves a reduction in any fiscal year in the number of full-time equivalent employees with permanent duty station in such unit by 50 percent or more.

(e)

For purposes of this section, the term “administrative reorganization” does not include a consolidation or redistribution of functions at a covered field office or facility, or between components of the Veterans Benefits Administration and the Veterans Health Administration at a Department medical and regional office center, if after the consolidation or redistribution the same number of full-time equivalent employees continues to perform the affected functions at that field office, facility, or center.

(f)

For purposes of this section:

(1)

The term “covered field office or facility” means a Department office or facility outside the Central Office that is the permanent duty station for 25 or more employees or that is a free-standing outpatient clinic.

(2)

The term “detailed plan and justification” means, with respect to an administrative reorganization, a written report that, at a minimum, includes the following:

(A)

Specification of the number of employees by which each covered office or facility affected is to be reduced, the responsibilities of those employees, and the means by which the reduction is to be accomplished.

(B)

Identification of any existing or planned office or facility at which the number of employees is to be increased and specification of the number and responsibilities of the additional employees at each such office or facility.

(C)

A description of the changes in the functions carried out at any existing office or facility and the functions to be assigned to an office or facility not in existence on the date that the plan and justification are submitted pursuant to subsection (b).

(D)

An explanation of the reasons for the determination that the reorganization is appropriate and advisable in terms of the statutory missions and long-term goals of the Department.

(E)

A description of the effects that the reorganization may have on the provision of benefits and services to veterans and dependents of veterans (including the provision of benefits and services through offices and facilities of the Department not directly affected by the reorganization).

(F)

Estimates of the costs of the reorganization and of the cost impact of the reorganization, together with analyses supporting those estimates.

Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 102–83, § 2(a), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 387; amended Pub. L. 104–262, title III, § 304, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3194.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1991Enacted · Pub. L. 102-83 · 105 Stat. 387
1996Amended · Pub. L. 104-262 · 110 Stat. 3194

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 102-83 on 1991-08-06.

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