Prohibition on individuals serving as Secretary of Veterans Affairs from also serving as heads of other Federal agencies

(a) In general Section 303 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— (1) by striking There is and inserting the following: (a) In general There is; and (2) by adding at the end the following new subsections: (b) Prohibition (1) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including any provision of subchapter III of chapter 33 of title 5, an individual who is serving as the Secretary, regardless of whether such service is pursuant to an appointment made by and with the advice and consent of the Senate or such service is in an acting capacity, may not serve as the head of any other Executive agency, either pursuant to an appointment made by and with the advice and consent of the Senate or in an acting capacity, while serving as the Secretary. (2) Effect of noncompliance (A) Removal from office An individual serving as the Secretary who is not in compliance with subsection (a) is hereby removed from the position of Secretary. (B) Prohibition on certain actions An individual removed from the position of Secretary by subparagraph (A) may not issue orders, guidance, direct any people or resources, or in any other manner carry out any of the functions of the Secretary. (C) Treatment of orders, guidance, and direction Any order, guidance, or direction of people or resources or any other leadership action issued by an individual who was removed from the position of Secretary by subparagraph (A) and that was issued on or after the date of such removal shall be considered unlawful. (c) Definition of Executive agency In this section, the term Executive agency has the meaning given such term in section 105 of title 5 and includes the Office of Government Ethics and the Office of Special Counsel, but does not include any advisory committee (as such term is defined in section 1001 of title 5).. (b) Effective date Subsections (b) and (c) of section 303 of such title, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on the date that is 7 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. (c) Report (1) In general Not later than 30 days after the date specified in subsection (b), the most senior career individual in the Office of the General Counsel of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on compliance with the provisions of this Act. (2) Contents The report submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A) Documentation as to whether the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is in compliance with section 303(b) of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a). (B) A description of the procedures in effect to reestablish firewalls, conflict of interest protections, and independence requirements at the Department of Veterans Affairs. (C) An affirmation that the Department of Veterans Affairs will comply with and respect the independent oversight and investigative power of the Office of Special Counsel, the Office of Government Ethics, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Government Accountability Office, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Labor Relations Board, and all other relevant investigatory and audit bodies.