The House passed two bills on April 26 to change how agencies manage their employees while under investigation.

HR 4359 and HR 4360—both sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah—come in the wake a series of accountability scandals that have rocked agencies like the VA.

HR 4359, also known as The Administrative Leave Reform Act, would cap leave for employees being investigated for misconduct or poor performance to two weeks per calendar year, with an option for agencies to extend it to 30 days under "extraordinary circumstances."

If the leave goes beyond the allotted 44 days, the agency has to submit a report to Congress every month. Agencies are also prohibited from leaving employees on indefinite leave while they are being investigated.

"HR 4359 is a commonsense solution to address the misuse of administrative leave for misconduct or performance issues," said Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, in a statement.

"Every year, hundreds, if not thousands, of federal employees are under investigation for significant misconduct, and remain on administrative leave for far longer than is necessary to complete an investigation."

The bill passed with a voice vote and comes after the VA kept several senior executives on administrative leave for nearly two years while investigated claims of wrongdoing at its Phoenix hospital.

The executives were later reinstated in January before being recommended for termination in March.

HR 4360, also called the Official Personnel File Enhancement Act, would require that employees have a permanent notation in their personnel file if they were the subject of an investigation, even if they resign before the investigation rules against them.

That bill also passed with a voice vote. Both measures will now head to the Senate.

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