
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-419 Section 201(a)]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-135 Section 133]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-135 Section 103]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-135 Section 141-146]
[CITE: 38USC7451]

 
                      TITLE 38--VETERANS' BENEFITS
 
              PART V--BOARDS, ADMINISTRATIONS, AND SERVICES
 
          CHAPTER 74--VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION--PERSONNEL
 
      SUBCHAPTER IV--PAY FOR NURSES AND OTHER HEALTH-CARE PERSONNEL
 
Sec. 7451. Nurses and other health-care personnel: competitive 
        pay
        
    (a)(1) It is the purpose of this section to ensure, by a means 
providing increased responsibility and authority to directors of 
Department health-care facilities, that the rates of basic pay for 
health-care personnel positions described in paragraph (2) in each 
Department health-care facility (including the rates of basic pay of 
personnel employed in such positions on a part-time basis) are 
sufficient for that facility to be competitive, on the basis of pay and 
other employee benefits, with non-Department health-care facilities in 
the same labor-market area in the recruitment and retention of qualified 
personnel for those positions.
    (2) The health-care personnel positions referred to in paragraph (1) 
(hereinafter in this section referred to as ``covered positions'') are 
the following:
        (A) Registered nurse.
        (B) Such positions referred to in paragraphs (1) and (3) of 
    section 7401 of this title (other than the positions of physician, 
    dentist, and registered nurse) as the Secretary may determine upon 
    the recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health.

    (3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the rates of basic 
pay for covered positions in the Department shall be established and 
adjusted in accordance with this section instead of subsection (b)(1) of 
section 7404 of this title or chapter 53 of title 5.
    (B) Under such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe, the 
Secretary shall establish and adjust the rates of basic pay for covered 
positions at the following health-care facilities in order to provide 
rates of basic pay that enable the Secretary to recruit and retain 
sufficient numbers of health-care personnel in such positions at those 
facilities:
        (i) The Veterans Memorial Medical Center in the Republic of the 
    Philippines.
        (ii) Department of Veterans Affairs health-care facilities 
    located outside the contiguous States, Alaska, and Hawaii.

    (4) The Secretary, after receiving the recommendation of the Under 
Secretary for Health, shall prescribe regulations setting forth criteria 
and procedures to carry out this section and section 7452 of this title. 
Requirements in such regulations for directors to provide and maintain 
documentation of actions taken under this section shall require no more 
documentation than the minimum essential for responsible administration.
    (b) The Secretary shall maintain the five grade levels for nurses 
employed by the Department under section 7401(1) of this title as 
specified in the Nurse Schedule in section 7404(b) of this title. The 
Secretary shall, pursuant to regulations prescribed to carry out this 
subchapter, establish grades for other covered positions as the 
Secretary considers appropriate.
    (c)(1) For each grade in a covered position, there shall be a range 
of basic pay. The maximum rate of basic pay for a grade shall be 133 
percent of the minimum rate of basic pay for the grade, except that, if 
the Secretary determines that a higher maximum rate is necessary with 
respect to any such grade in order to recruit and retain a sufficient 
number of high-quality health-care personnel, the Secretary may raise 
the maximum rate of basic pay for that grade to a rate not in excess of 
175 percent of the minimum rate of basic pay for the grade. Whenever the 
Secretary exercises the authority under the preceding sentence to 
establish the maximum rate of basic pay at a rate in excess of 133 
percent of the minimum rate for that grade, the Secretary shall, in the 
next annual report required by subsection (g), provide justification for 
doing so to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House 
of Representatives.
    (2) The maximum rate of basic pay for any grade for a covered 
position may not exceed the maximum rate of basic pay established for 
positions in level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 
title 5.
    (3) The range of basic pay for each such grade shall be divided into 
equal increments, known as ``steps''. The Secretary shall prescribe the 
number of steps. Each grade in a covered position shall have the same 
number of steps. Rates of pay within a grade may not be established at 
rates other than whole steps. Any increase (other than an adjustment 
under subsection (d)) within a grade in the rate of basic pay payable to 
an employee in a covered position shall be by one or more of such step 
increments.
    (d)(1) The rates of basic pay for each grade in a covered position 
shall be adjusted periodically in accordance with this subsection in 
order to achieve the purposes of this section. Such adjustments shall be 
made--
        (A) whenever there is an adjustment under section 5305 of title 
    5 in the rates of pay under the General Schedule, with the 
    adjustment under this subsection to have the same effective date as 
    the adjustment in the rates of basic pay under the General Schedule; 
    and
        (B) at such additional times as the director of a Department 
    health-care facility, with respect to employees in that grade at 
    that facility, or the Under Secretary for Health, with respect to 
    covered Regional and Central Office employees in that grade, 
    determines.

    (2) An adjustment in rates of basic pay under this subsection for a 
grade shall be carried out by adjusting the amount of the minimum rate 
of basic pay for that grade in accordance with paragraph (3) and then 
adjusting the other rates for that grade to conform to the requirements 
of subsection (c). Such an adjustment in the minimum rate of basic pay 
for a grade shall be made by the director of a Department health-care 
facility so as to achieve consistency with the beginning rate of 
compensation for corresponding health-care professionals in the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics (BLS) labor-market area of that facility.
    (3)(A) In the case of a Department health-care facility located in 
an area for which there is current information, based upon an industry-
wage survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for that labor market, on 
beginning rates of compensation for corresponding health-care 
professionals for the BLS labor-market area of that facility, the 
director of the facility concerned shall use that information as the 
basis for making adjustments in rates of pay under this subsection. 
Whenever the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the results of a new 
industry-wage survey for that labor market that includes information on 
beginning rates of compensation for corresponding health-care 
professionals, the director of that facility shall determine, not later 
than 30 days after the results of the survey are released, whether an 
adjustment in rates of pay for employees at that facility for any 
covered position is necessary in order to meet the purposes of this 
section. If the director determines that such an adjustment is 
necessary, the adjustment, based upon the information determined in the 
survey, shall take effect on the first day of the first pay period 
beginning after that determination.
    (B) In the case of a Department health-care facility located in an 
area for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not have current 
information on beginning rates of compensation for corresponding health-
care professionals for the labor-market area of that facility for any 
covered position, the director of that facility shall conduct a survey 
in accordance with this subparagraph and shall adjust the amount of the 
minimum rate of basic pay for grades in that covered position at that 
facility based upon that survey. Any such survey shall be conducted in 
accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary. Those 
regulations shall be developed in consultation with the Secretary of 
Labor in order to ensure that the director of a facility collects 
information that is valid and reliable and is consistent with standards 
of the Bureau. The survey should be conducted using methodology 
comparable to that used by the Bureau in making industry-wage surveys 
except to the extent determined infeasible by the Secretary. Upon 
conducting a survey under this subparagraph, the director concerned 
shall determine, not later than 30 days after the date on which the 
collection of information through the survey is completed, whether an 
adjustment in rates of pay for employees at that facility for any 
covered position is necessary in order to meet the purposes of this 
section. If the director determines that such an adjustment is 
necessary, the adjustment, based upon the information determined in the 
survey, shall take effect on the first day of the first pay period 
beginning after that determination.
    (C)(i) A director of a Department health-care facility may use data 
on the beginning rates of compensation paid to certified registered 
nurse anesthetists who are employed on a salary basis by entities that 
provide anesthesia services through certified registered nurse 
anesthetists in the labor-market area only if the director--
        (I) has conducted a survey of beginning rates of compensation 
    for certified registered nurse anesthetists in the local labor-
    market area of the facility under subparagraph (B);
        (II) has used all available administrative authority with regard 
    to collection of survey data; and
        (III) makes a determination (under regulations prescribed by the 
    Secretary) that such survey methods are insufficient to permit the 
    adjustments referred to in subparagraph (B) for such nurse 
    anesthetists employed by the facility.

    (ii) For the purposes of this subparagraph, certified registered 
nurse anesthetists who are so employed by such entities shall be deemed 
to be corresponding health-care professionals to the certified 
registered nurse anesthetists employed by the facility.
    (iii) The authority of the director to use such additional data 
under this subparagraph with respect to certified registered nurse 
anesthetists expires on January 1, 1998.
    (D) The Under Secretary for Health shall prescribe regulations 
providing for the adjustment of the rates of basic pay for Regional and 
Central Office employees in covered positions in order to assure that 
those rates are sufficient and competitive.
    (E) The director of a facility or Under Secretary for Health may not 
adjust rates of basic pay under this subsection for any pay grade so 
that the minimum rate of basic pay for that grade is greater than the 
beginning rates of compensation for corresponding positions at non-
Department health-care facilities.
    (4) If the director of a Department health-care facility, or the 
Under Secretary for Health with respect to Regional and Central Office 
employees, determines, after any survey under paragraph (3)(B) or at any 
other time that an adjustment in rates of pay is scheduled to take place 
under this subsection, that it is not necessary to adjust the rates of 
basic pay for employees in a grade of a covered position at that 
facility in order to carry out the purpose of this section, such an 
adjustment for employees at that facility in that grade shall not be 
made. Whenever a director makes such a determination, the director shall 
within 10 days notify the Under Secretary for Health of the decision and 
the reasons for the decision.
    (5) Information collected by the Department in surveys conducted 
under this subsection is not subject to disclosure under section 552 of 
title 5.
    (6) In this subsection--
        (A) The term ``beginning rate of compensation'', with respect to 
    health-care personnel positions in non-Department health-care 
    facilities corresponding to a grade of a covered position, means the 
    sum of--
            (i) the minimum rate of pay established for personnel in 
        such positions who have education, training, and experience 
        equivalent or similar to the education, training, and experience 
        required for health-care personnel employed in the same category 
        of Department covered positions; and
            (ii) other employee benefits for those positions to the 
        extent that those benefits are reasonably quantifiable.

        (B) The term ``corresponding'', with respect to health-care 
    personnel positions in non-Department health-care facilities, means 
    those positions for which the education, training, and experience 
    requirements are equivalent or similar to the education, training, 
    and experience requirements for health-care personnel positions in 
    Department health-care facilities.

    (e) Adjustments in rates of basic pay under subsection (d) may 
increase or reduce the rates of basic pay applicable to any grade of a 
covered position. In the case of such an adjustment that reduces the 
rates of pay for a grade, an employee serving at a Department health-
care facility on the day before the effective date of that adjustment in 
a position affected by the adjustment may not (by reason of that 
adjustment) incur a reduction in the rate of basic pay applicable to 
that employee so long as the employee continues to serve in that covered 
position at that facility. If such an employee is subsequently promoted 
to a higher grade, or advanced to a higher step within the employee's 
grade, for which the rate of pay as so adjusted is lower than the 
employee's rate of basic pay on the day before the effective date of the 
promotion, the employee shall continue to be paid at a rate of basic pay 
not less than the rate of basic pay applicable to the employee before 
the promotion so long as the employee continues to serve in that covered 
position at that facility.
    (f) Not later than February 1 of 1991, 1992, and 1993, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and 
House of Representatives a report regarding any pay adjustments under 
the authority of subsection (d)(1)(A) effective during the 12 months 
preceding the submission of the report. Each such report shall set 
forth, by health-care facility, the percentage of such increases and, in 
any case in which no increase was made, the basis for not providing an 
increase.
    (g) Not later than December 1 of 1991, 1992, and 1993, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and 
House of Representatives a report regarding the exercise of the 
authorities provided in this section for the preceding fiscal year. Each 
such report shall include the following:
        (1) A review of the use of the authorities provided in this 
    section (including the Secretary's and Under Secretary for Health's 
    actions, findings, recommendations, and other activities under this 
    section) during the preceding fiscal year, including an assessment 
    of the effects of the exercise of such authorities on the ability of 
    the Department to recruit and retain qualified health-care 
    professionals for covered positions.
        (2) The plans for the use of the authorities provided in this 
    subchapter for the next fiscal year.
        (3) A description of the rates of basic pay in effect during the 
    preceding fiscal year, with a comparison to the rates in effect 
    during the previous fiscal year, shown by facility and by covered 
    position.
        (4) The numbers of employees in covered positions (shown 
    separately for registered nurses and for each other covered 
    position) who during the preceding fiscal year (A) left employment 
    with the Department, (B) left employment at one Department medical 
    facility for employment at another Department medical facility, or 
    (C) changed from full-time status to part-time status (and from 
    part-time status to full-time status), and a summary of the reasons 
    therefor.
        (5) The number of vacancies in covered positions in the 
    Administration and a summary of the reasons that those positions are 
    vacant.
        (6) The number of employees who during the preceding fiscal year 
    left employment at a health-care facility in one Bureau of Labor 
    Statistics labor-market area for employment at a health-care 
    facility in another such labor-market area, without changing 
    residence.
        (7) Justification for setting the maximum rate of basic pay for 
    any grade at a rate in excess of 133 percent of the minimum rate of 
    basic pay for that grade.
        (8) The discussion required by section 7452(b)(2) of this title.
        (9) The justification required by section 7452(e) of this title.
        (10) The number of nurses, shown by facility and by grade, who 
    are on pay retention or in the top step of any grade and, with 
    respect to those employees, comprehensive information (by facility) 
    as to whether an extension of the pay grades was sought for these 
    positions, and with respect to each such request for extension, 
    whether such request was granted or denied.

    (h) For the purposes of this section, the term ``health-care 
facility'' means a medical center, an independent outpatient clinic, or 
an independent domiciliary facility.

(Added Pub. L. 101-366, title I, Sec. 102(b), Aug. 15, 1990, 104 Stat. 
431, Sec. 4141; renumbered Sec. 7451 and amended Pub. L. 102-40, title 
III, Sec. 301(b), (c), title IV, Sec. 401(c)(1)(A), (2), May 7, 1991, 
105 Stat. 208, 238; Pub. L. 102-405, title III, Sec. 302(c)(1), Oct. 9, 
1992, 106 Stat. 1984; Pub. L. 102-585, title III, Secs. 301(b)-303, 
304(b), 307, Nov. 4, 1992, 106 Stat. 4951-4953; Pub. L. 103-446, title 
XII, Sec. 1201(c)(7), (e)(23), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4684, 4686; Pub. 
L. 104-110, title I, Sec. 101(i), Feb. 13, 1996, 110 Stat. 768.)

                       References in Text

    The General Schedule, referred to in subsec. (d)(1)(A), is set out 
under section 5332 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (d)(3)(C)(iii). Pub. L. 104-110 substituted ``January 
1, 1998'' for ``April 1, 1995''.
    1994--Subsec. (d)(3)(C)(i)(I). Pub. L. 103-446, Sec. 1201(e)(23), 
substituted ``labor-market area'' for ``labor market area''.
    Subsec. (g)(1). Pub. L. 103-446, Sec. 1201(c)(7), substituted 
``Under Secretary for Health's actions'' for ``Chief Medical Director's 
actions''.
    1992--Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 102-405 substituted ``Under 
Secretary for Health'' for ``Chief Medical Director''.
    Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 102-585, Sec. 302, designated existing 
provisions as subpar. (A), substituted ``Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the rates'' for ``The rates'', and added subpar. (B).
    Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 102-405 substituted ``Under Secretary for 
Health'' for ``Chief Medical Director''.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102-585, Sec. 301(b), substituted ``five'' for 
``four''.
    Subsec. (d)(1)(B). Pub. L. 102-405 substituted ``Under Secretary for 
Health'' for ``Chief Medical Director''.
    Subsec. (d)(3)(C). Pub. L. 102-585, Sec. 303(2), added subpar. (C). 
Former subpar. (C) redesignated (D).
    Pub. L. 102-405 substituted ``Under Secretary for Health'' for 
``Chief Medical Director''.
    Subsec. (d)(3)(D). Pub. L. 102-585, Sec. 303(1), redesignated 
subpar. (C) as (D). Former subpar. (D) redesignated (E).
    Pub. L. 102-405 substituted ``Under Secretary for Health'' for 
``Chief Medical Director''.
    Subsec. (d)(3)(E). Pub. L. 102-585, Sec. 303(1), redesignated 
subpar. (D) as (E).
    Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 102-405 substituted ``Under Secretary for 
Health'' for ``Chief Medical Director'' in two places.
    Subsec. (g)(9). Pub. L. 102-585, Sec. 304(b), added par. (9).
    Subsec. (g)(10). Pub. L. 102-585, Sec. 307, added par. (10).
    1991--Pub. L. 102-40, Sec. 401(c)(1)(A), renumbered section 4141 of 
this title as this section.
    Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 102-40, Sec. 401(c)(2)(A)(i), substituted 
``paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 7401'' for ``clauses (1) and (3) of 
section 4104''.
    Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 102-40, Secs. 301(c), 401(c)(2)(A)(ii), 
substituted ``7404'' for ``4107'' and inserted before period at end ``or 
chapter 53 of title 5''.
    Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 102-40, Sec. 401(c)(2)(A)(iii), substituted 
``7452'' for ``4142''.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102-40, Sec. 401(c)(2)(B), substituted 
``7401(1)'' for ``4104(1)'' and ``7404(b)'' for ``4107(b)''.
    Subsec. (d)(1)(B). Pub. L. 102-40, Sec. 301(b)(1), inserted ``or the 
Chief Medical Director, with respect to covered Regional and Central 
Office employees in that grade,'' before ``determines''.
    Subsec. (d)(3)(C). Pub. L. 102-40, Sec. 301(b)(2)(B), added subpar. 
(C). Former subpar. (C) redesignated (D).
    Subsec. (d)(3)(D). Pub. L. 102-40, Sec. 301(b)(2)(A), redesignated 
subpar. (C) as (D) and inserted ``or Chief Medical Director'' after 
``facility''.
    Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 102-40, Sec. 301(b)(3), inserted ``, or the 
Chief Medical Director with respect to Regional and Central Office 
employees,'' after ``facility''.
    Subsec. (g)(8). Pub. L. 102-40, Sec. 401(c)(2)(C), substituted 
``7452(b)(2)'' for ``4142(b)(2)''.


                    Effective Date of 1992 Amendment

    Amendment by sections 301(b) to 303 and 304(b) of Pub. L. 102-585 
effective with respect to first pay period beginning on or after end of 
six-month period beginning on Nov. 4, 1992, see section 308 of Pub. L. 
102-585, set out as a note under section 7404 of this title.


                             Effective Date

    Section 104 of Pub. L. 101-366, as amended by Pub. L. 102-40, title 
III, Sec. 301(e), May 7, 1991, 105 Stat. 208, provided that:
    ``(a) In General.--(1) Except as provided in subsection (b), section 
101 [amending former section 4107 of this title and enacting provisions 
set out as a note under former section 4107 of this title] and the 
amendments made by section 102 [enacting this section and section 4142 
[now 7452] of this title and amending former sections 4104 and 4107 of 
this title] shall take effect on the date of enactment [Aug. 15, 1990].
    ``(2) The amendment made by section 103 [amending former section 
4107 of this title] shall take effect on the first day of the first pay 
period beginning after April 1, 1991.
    ``(b) New Pay Rates.--The rates of basic pay established pursuant to 
section 4141 [now 7451] of title 38, United States Code, as added by 
section 102, shall take effect for covered positions (as defined in that 
section) with respect to the first pay period beginning on or after 
April 1, 1991.''


                            Savings Provision

    Section 301(a) of Pub. L. 102-40 provided that: ``Physician 
assistants and expanded-function dental auxiliaries shall continue to be 
paid after August 14, 1990, according to the Nurse Schedule in section 
4107(b) of title 38 [former section 4107(b) of this title], United 
States Code, as in effect on August 14, 1990, until the effective date 
of a determination by the Secretary to convert those occupations to 
`covered positions' and pay them pursuant to section 7451 of such title, 
as redesignated by section 401(c).''


                      Report on Nurse Locality Pay

    Pub. L. 105-368, title IX, Sec. 905, Nov. 11, 1998, 112 Stat. 3361, 
provided that:
    ``(a) Report Required.--(1) Not later than February 1, 1999, the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a 
report assessing the system of locality-based pay for nurses established 
under the Department of Veterans Affairs Nurse Pay Act of 1990 (Public 
Law 101-366) and now set forth in section 7451 of title 38, United 
States Code.
    ``(2) The Secretary shall submit with the report under paragraph (1) 
a copy of the report on the locality pay system prepared by the 
contractor pursuant to a contract with Systems Flow, Inc., that was 
entered into on May 22, 1998.
    ``(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report of the Secretary under 
subsection (a)(1) shall include the following:
        ``(1) An assessment of the effects of the locality-based pay 
    system, including information, shown by facility and grade level, 
    regarding the frequency and percentage increases, if any, in the 
    rate of basic pay under that system of nurses employed in the 
    Veterans Health Administration.
        ``(2) An assessment of the manner in which that system is being 
    applied.
        ``(3) Plans and recommendations of the Secretary for 
    administrative and legislative improvements or revisions to the 
    locality pay system.
        ``(4) An explanation of the reasons for any decision not to 
    adopt any recommendation in the report referred to in subsection 
    (a)(2).
    ``(c) Updated Report.--Not later than February 1, 2000, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
Senate and House of Representatives a report updating the report 
submitted under subsection (a)(1).''


       Ratification of Actions During Period of Expired Authority

    Any action taken by Secretary of Veterans Affairs before Feb. 13, 
1996, under provision of law amended by title I of Pub. L. 104-110 that 
was taken during period beginning on date on which authority of 
Secretary under such provision of law expired and ending on Feb. 13, 
1996, considered to have same force and effect as if such amendment had 
been in effect at time of that action, see section 103 of Pub. L. 104-
110, set out as a note under section 1710 of this title.


                Nursing Personnel Qualification Standards

    Section 305 of Pub. L. 102-585 provided that:
    ``(a) Revision.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a 
review of the qualification standards used for nursing personnel at 
Department health-care facilities and the relationship between those 
standards and the compression of nursing personnel in the existing 
intermediate and senior grades. Based upon that review, the Secretary 
shall revise those qualification standards--
        ``(1) to reflect the five grade levels for nursing personnel 
    under the Nurse Schedule [see 38 U.S.C. 7404(b)(1)], as amended by 
    section 301; and
        ``(2) to reduce the compression of nursing personnel in the 
    existing intermediate and senior grades.
    ``(b) Deadline For Prescribing Standards.--The Secretary shall 
prescribe revised qualification standards for nursing personnel pursuant 
to subsection (a) not later than six months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act [Nov. 4, 1992].
    ``(c) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on 
the Secretary's findings and actions under this section. The report 
shall be submitted not later than six months after the date on which 
revised qualification standards for nursing personnel are prescribed 
pursuant to subsection (b).''


                 Report on Pay for Chief Nurse Position

    Section 306 of Pub. L. 102-585 provided that:
    ``(a) Review.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a 
review of--
        ``(1) the process for determining the rate of basic pay 
    applicable to the Chief Nurse position at Department of Veterans 
    Affairs health-care facilities; and
        ``(2) the relationship between the rate of such basic pay and 
    the rate of basic pay applicable to nurses in positions subordinate 
    to the Chief Nurse at the respective Department facilities.
The review shall include an assessment of the adequacy of that process 
in determining an equitable pay rate for the Chief Nurse position, 
including an assessment of the accuracy of data collected in the survey 
process and the difficulties in obtaining accurate data.
    ``(b) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on 
the review and assessment conducted under subsection (a). To the extent 
that the review discloses difficulties in obtaining accurate data in the 
survey process with respect to the Chief Nurse position at Department 
facilities, the Secretary shall include in the report recommendations 
for corrective action. The Secretary shall also include in the report 
(1) a listing of the salary differential (expressed as a percentage) 
between the Chief Nurse at a facility and the highest paid nurse 
(excluding certified registered nurse anesthetists) serving in a 
position subordinate to the Chief Nurse, and (2) an analysis of such 
data. The report shall be submitted not later than 12 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 4, 1992].''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 7452 of this title; title 5 
section 5302.
