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S. 2288: VET Protection Act of 2017

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S. 2288: VET Protection Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2018-01-10 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2018-01-10 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

VET Protection Act of 2017

Plain summary

Veterans, Employees, and Taxpayers Protection Act of 2017 or the VET Protection Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to track the use of official time by VA employees without using estimates or time ranges. Official time is time granted to an employee under federal labor-management relations provisions to perform representational or consultative functions during which the employee would otherwise be in a duty status. The bill prohibits: (1) a VA employee from using official time to carry out political or lobbying activities; (2) specified health care employees, probationary employees, or employees above a certain salary level from using official time for any purpose; and (3) any VA employee from spending more than 25% of the time such employee would otherwise be in a duty status on official time. An exclusive bargaining agreement shall allow a VA employee to terminate a voluntary dues allotment at any time. A covered VA employee shall serve a two-year probationary period, after which the employee's supervisor shall determine within 90 days whether or not the appointment is permanent. A covered employee is any individual appointed to a permanent position within the competitive service or the Senior Executive Service and does not include specified health care practitioners.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

VET Protection Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] reported raising $12.4 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong115-s2288 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115