VA Police Recruitment and Retention Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8010 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8010 To prohibit the downgrading of law enforcement positions in the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 19, 2026 Mr. Kennedy of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To prohibit the downgrading of law enforcement positions in the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``VA Police Recruitment and Retention Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON DOWNGRADING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT POSITIONS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. (a) Prohibition.--No official in the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Office of Personnel Management, or any other department or agency may propose, initiate, or carry out a position downgrade for any covered VA position, and no Federal funds may be used to propose, initiate, or carry out a position downgrade for any such position. (b) Retroactive Application.--Any position downgrade for a covered VA position proposed, initiated, or carried out during the period beginning October 1, 2025, and ending on the date of the enactment of this Act shall have no force or effect. Any such position subjected to a position downgrade during this period shall be returned to the status it had prior to the position downgrade. Any employee occupying such a position shall receive all pay to which they otherwise would have been entitled. (c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section: (1) The term ``covered VA position'' means a position carrying out law enforcement fu