Bill > S4400

This bill, titled the "Optimizing the Department of Veterans Affairs Workforce for Veterans Act of 2026," mandates that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) create and maintain a comprehensive five-year strategic human capital plan to ensure the VA can effectively fulfill its mission and responsibilities. This plan, which must be updated annually and submitted to Congress, will include detailed workforce gap analyses, recruitment and retention goals, strategies to improve productivity, and specific plans for hiring veterans and their families, all disaggregated by various VA components and service types. Furthermore, the bill requires the Secretary to provide at least 60 days' notice to affected employees and Congress before implementing any reduction in force, which is defined as significant staff reductions, and this notice must include detailed information about the affected offices, number of employees, justification for the reduction, and its budgetary and service impacts. The bill also introduces requirements for detailed plans and justifications for office reorganizations, including risk mitigation and performance metric assessments.