I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1720

To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out construction 

projects for the purpose of improving, renovating, establishing, and updating patient care facilities at Department of Veterans Affairs medical 

centers. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 10, 2003

Mr. SIMMONS (for himself and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 

construction projects for the purpose of improving, renovating, establishing, and updating patient care facilities 

at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Health Care 

5 Facilities Capital Improvement Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY 

2 PROJECTS FOR PATIENT CARE IMPROVE3 MENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Secretary of Veterans Af5 fairs is authorized to carry out major medical facility 

6 projects in accordance with this section, using funds ap7 propriated for fiscal year 2004, 2005, or 2006 pursuant 

8 to section 3. The cost of any such project may not exceed 

9 (A) $100,000,000 in fiscal year 2004; 

10 (B) $125,000,000 in fiscal year 2005; and 

11 (C) $150,000,000 in fiscal year 2006. 

12 (2) Projects carried out under this section are not 

13 subject to section 8104(a)(2) of title 38, United States 

14 Code. 

15 (b) TYPE OF PROJECTS.—A project carried out 

16 under subsection (a) may be carried out only at a Depart17 ment of Veterans Affairs medical center and only for the 

18 purpose of one or more of the following: 

19 (1) Improving a patient care facility. 

20 (2) Replacing a patient care facility. 

21 (3) Renovating a patient care facility. 

22 (4) Updating a patient care facility to contem23 porary standards. 

24 (5) Establishing a new patient care facility at 

25 a location where no Department patient care facility 

26 exists. 
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1 (6) Improving, replacing, or renovating a re2 search facility or updating such a facility to contem3 porary standards. 

4 (c) PURPOSE OF PROJECTS.—In selecting medical 

5 centers for projects under subsection (a), the Secretary 

6 shall select projects to improve, replace, renovate, update, 

7 or establish facilities to achieve one or more of the fol8 lowing: 

9 (1) Seismic protection improvements related to 

10 patient safety (or, in the case of a research facility, 

11 patient or employee safety). 

12 (2) Fire safety improvements. 

13 (3) Improvements to utility systems and ancil14 lary patient care facilities (including such systems 

15 and facilities that may be exclusively associated with 

16 research facilities). 

17 (4) Improved accommodation for persons with 

18 disabilities, including barrier-free access. 

19 (5) Improvements at patient care facilities to 

20 specialized programs of the Department, including 

21 the following: 

22 (A) Blind rehabilitation centers. 

23 (B) Inpatient and residential programs for 

24 seriously mentally ill veterans, including mental 

25 illness research, education, and clinical centers. 
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1 (C) Residential and rehabilitation pro2 grams for veterans with substance-use dis3 orders. 

4 (D) Physical medicine and rehabilitation 

5 activities. 

6 (E) Long-term care, including geriatric re7 search, education, and clinical centers, adult 

8 day care centers, and nursing home care facili9 ties. 

10 (F) Amputation care, including facilities 

11 for prosthetics, orthotics programs, and sensory 

12 aids. 

13 (G) Spinal cord injury centers. 

14 (H) Traumatic brain injury programs. 

15 (I) Women veterans’ health programs (in16 cluding particularly programs involving privacy 

17 and accommodation for female patients). 

18 (J) Facilities for hospice and palliative 

19 care programs. 

20 (d) REVIEW PROCESS.—(1) The Secretary shall pro21 vide that, before a project is submitted to the Secretary 

22 with a recommendation that it be approved as a project 

23 to be carried out under the authority of this section, the 

24 project shall be reviewed by a board within the Depart25 ment of Veterans Affairs that is independent of the Vet-
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1 erans Health Administration and that is constituted by 

2 the Secretary to evaluate capital investment projects. The 

3 board shall review such project to determine the project’s 

4 relevance to the medical care mission of the Department 

5 and whether the project improves, renovates, repairs, es6 tablishes, or updates facilities of the Department in ac7 cordance with this section. 

8 (2) In selecting projects to be carried out under the 

9 authority provided by this section, the Secretary shall con10 sider the recommendations of the board under paragraph 

11 (1). In any case in which the Secretary approves a project 

12 to be carried out under this section that was not rec13 ommended for such approval by the board under para14 graph (1), the Secretary shall include in the report of the 

15 Secretary under section 4(b) notice of such approval and 

16 the Secretary’s reasons for not following the recommenda17 tion of the board with respect to that project. 

18 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro20 priated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the Con21 struction, Major Projects, account for projects under sec22 tion 2—

23 (1) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; 

24 (2) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; and 

25 (3) $700,000,000 for fiscal year 2006. 
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1 (b) LIMITATION.—Projects may be carried out under 

2 section 2 only using funds appropriated pursuant to the 

3 authorization of appropriations in subsection (a), except 

4 that funds appropriated for advance planning may be used 

5 for the purposes for which appropriated in connection with 

6 such projects. 

7 SEC. 4. REPORTS. 

8 (a) GAO REPORT.—Not later than April 1, 2005, the 

9 Comptroller General shall submit to the Committees on 

10 Veterans’ Affairs and on Appropriations of the Senate and 

11 House of Representatives a report evaluating the advan12 tages and disadvantages of congressional authorization for 

13 projects of the type described in section 2(b) through gen14 eral authorization as provided by section 2(a), rather than 

15 through specific authorization as would otherwise be appli16 cable under section 8104(a)(2) of title 38, United States 

17 Code. Such report shall include a description of the actions 

18 of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs during fiscal year 

19 2004 to select and carry out projects under section 2. 

20 (b) SECRETARY REPORT.—Not later than 120 days 

21 after the date on which the site for the final project under 

22 section 2 for each such fiscal year is selected, the Sec23 retary shall submit to the committees referred to in sub24 section (a) a report on the authorization process under 
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1 section 2. The Secretary shall include in each such report 

2 the following: 

3 (1) A listing by project of each such project se4 lected by the Secretary under that section, together 

5 with a prospectus description of the purposes of the 

6 project, the estimated cost of the project, and a 

7 statement attesting to the review of the project 

8 under section 2(c), and, if that project was not rec9 ommended by the board, the Secretary’s justification 

10 under section 2(d) for not following the rec11 ommendation of the board. 

12 (2) An assessment of the utility to the Depart13 ment of Veterans Affairs of that authorization proc14 ess. 

15 (3) Such recommendations as the Secretary 

16 considers appropriate for future congressional policy 

17 for authorizations of major and minor medical facil18 ity construction projects for the Department of Vet19 erans Affairs. 

20 (4) Any other matter that the Secretary con21 siders to be appropriate with respect to oversight by 

22 Congress of capital facilities projects of the Depart23 ment of Veterans Affairs.

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