1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the "VA Police Recruitment and Retention Act of 2026".

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 functions within the Department of Veterans Affairs, whether permanent, temporary, full-time, part-time, or intermittent, and without regard to the source of funding for the position.

(2) The term "position downgrade" means a consistency review, incumbent-only review, or other classification action taken by the Office of Personnel Management or any other department or agency pursuant to chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code, or similar authority, that may result in a loss of grade or pay associated with a position or set of positions, without regard to whether an employee occupying such a position is entitled to or otherwise provided with retained grade or pay.