38 U.S.C. § 308 — Assistant Secretaries; Deputy Assistant

Page 63 TITLE 38—VETERANS’ BENEFITS § 309 Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this section were con- tained in section 3(d) of Pub. L. 100–527, known as the Department of Veterans Affairs Act, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 102–83, § 3(3). AMENDMENTS 1998—Pub. L. 105–368, § 403(c)(1)(A), substituted ‘‘Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs’’ for ‘‘Director of the National Cemetery System’’ in section catchline. Pub. L. 105–368, § 403(a)(3), in first sentence, sub- stituted ‘‘an Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs’’ for ‘‘a Director of the National Cemetery System’’ and, in second sentence, substituted ‘‘The Under Secretary is the head of the National Cemetery Administration’’ for ‘‘The Director is the head of the National Cemetery System’’. § 308. Assistant Secretaries; Deputy Assistant Secretaries (a)(1) There shall be in the Department not more than seven Assistant Secretaries. (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), each Assistant Secretary appointed under paragraph (1) shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. (3) The following Assistant Secretaries may be appointed without the advice and consent of the Senate: (A) The Assistant Secretary for Manage- ment. (B) The Assistant Secretary for Human Re- sources and Administration. (C) The Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. (D) The Assistant Secretary for Operations, Security, and Preparedness. (b) The Secretary shall assign to the Assistant Secretaries responsibility for the administration of such functions and duties as the Secretary considers appropriate, including the following functions: (1) Budgetary and financial functions. (2) Personnel management and labor rela- tions functions. (3) Planning, studies, and evaluations. (4) Management, productivity, and logistic support functions. (5) Information management functions as re- quired by section 3506 of title 44. (6) Capital facilities and real property pro- gram functions. (7) Equal opportunity functions. (8) Functions regarding the investigation of complaints of employment discrimination within the Department. (9) Functions regarding intergovernmental, public, and consumer information and affairs. (10) Procurement functions. (11) Operations, preparedness, security, and law enforcement functions. (12) The functions set forth in section 323(c) of this title. (c) Whenever the President nominates an indi- vidual for appointment as an Assistant Sec- retary, the President shall include in the com- munication to the Senate of the nomination a statement of the particular functions of the De- partment specified in subsection (b), and any other functions of the Department, the indi- vidual will exercise upon taking office. (d)(1) There shall be in the Department such number of Deputy Assistant Secretaries, not ex- ceeding 19, as the Secretary may determine. Each Deputy Assistant Secretary shall be ap- pointed by the Secretary and shall perform such functions as the Secretary prescribes. (2) At least two-thirds of the number of posi- tions established and filled under paragraph (1) shall be filled by individuals who have at least five years of continuous service in the Federal civil service in the executive branch imme- diately preceding their appointment as a Deputy Assistant Secretary. For purposes of deter- mining such continuous service of an individual, there shall be excluded any service by such indi- vidual in a position— (A) of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating char- acter; (B) in which such individual served as a non- career appointee in the Senior Executive Serv- ice, as such term is defined in section 3132(a)(7) of title 5; or (C) to which such individual was appointed by the President. (Added Pub. L. 102–83, § 2(a), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 381; amended Pub. L. 107–287, § 5(a)–(c), Nov. 7, 2002, 116 Stat. 2030; Pub. L. 112–166, § 2(m), Aug. 10, 2012, 126 Stat. 1287; Pub. L. 115–41, title I, § 101(b), June 23, 2017, 131 Stat. 865.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this section were con- tained in sections 4(a), (b), (e) and 5 of Pub. L. 100–527, known as the Department of Veterans Affairs Act, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 102–83, § 3(3). AMENDMENTS 2017—Subsec. (b)(12). Pub. L. 115–41 added par. (12). 2012—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 112–166 designated existing provisions as par. (1), struck out at end of par. (1) ‘‘Each Assistant Secretary shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.’’, and added pars. (2) and (3). 2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–287, § 5(a), substituted ‘‘seven’’ for ‘‘six’’ in first sentence. Subsec. (b)(11). Pub. L. 107–287, § 5(b), added par. (11). Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 107–287, § 5(c), substituted ‘‘19’’ for ‘‘18’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2012 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 112–166 effective 60 days after Aug. 10, 2012, and applicable to appointments made on and after that effective date, including any nomination pending in the Senate on that date, see section 6(a) of Pub. L. 112–166, set out as a note under section 113 of Title 6, Domestic Security. § 309. Chief Financial Officer The Secretary shall designate the Assistant Secretary whose functions include budgetary and financial functions as the Chief Financial Officer of the Department. The Chief Financial Officer shall advise the Secretary on financial management of the Department and shall exer- cise the authority and carry out the functions specified in section 902 of title 31.