This Act may be cited as the VA Hiring Integrity Act of 2026.

(a) Health care positions Section 7402 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following new subsection: (g) (1) A person may not be appointed or retained in the Administration to a position listed in section 7401(1) of this title if the person knowingly engages in conduct resulting in— (A) a criminal conviction for fraud, theft, embezzlement, bribery, kickbacks, false statements, conspiracy to commit such offenses, or similar crimes involving Federal funds; (B) a final civil judgement establishing liability under sections 3729 through 3731 of title 31, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘False Claims Act’); (C) exclusion from participation in Federal health care programs pursuant to section 1128 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320aU.S. Code — Title 42, Section 1320aView official source on GovInfo–7), as recorded in the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities maintained by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services; or (D) a determination by the Secretary that the person knowingly participated in a scheme to improperly obtain, retain, divert, misuse, or conceal Federal funds, benefits, grants, contracts, reimbursements, or other Federal assistance. (2) (A) Any person subject to a determination by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(D) is entitled to advance notice of the determination and a file that includes all evidence on which the Secretary based such determination. (B) The Secretary, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, shall establish an internal grievance process through which a person subject to a determination by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(D) may contest such determination. Any such determination that is not contested by the person subject to such determination shall be final and conclusive. (3) If a person elects to contest a determination by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(D) through the internal grievance process required under paragraph (2)— (A) the person shall be entitled to representation by an attorney or other representative selected by the person; and (B) the decision of the Assistant Secretary with respect to the determination pursuant to such internal grievance process shall be final and conclusive.. (b) Additional employees Section 7408 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (c) The Secretary may not appoint or retain any person as an additional employee under this section if such person knowingly engaged in conduct that resulted in— (1) a criminal conviction for fraud, theft, embezzlement, bribery, kickbacks, false statements, conspiracy to commit such offenses, or similar crimes involving Federal funds; (2) a final civil judgement establishing liability under sections 3729 through 3731 of title 31, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘False Claims Act’); or (3) exclusion from participation in Federal health care programs pursuant to section 1128 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320aU.S. Code — Title 42, Section 1320aView official source on GovInfo–7), as recorded in the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities maintained by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services; and.