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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1804 Reported in House (RH)]

                                                 Union Calendar No. 167
113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1804

                          [Report No. 113-227]

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress semiannual reports on the cost 
   of foreign travel made by employees of the Department of Veterans 
                                Affairs.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 26, 2013

Mr. Huelskamp introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

                           September 25, 2013

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
          on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
 [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 
                               26, 2013]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress semiannual reports on the cost 
   of foreign travel made by employees of the Department of Veterans 
                                Affairs.

 

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Accountability Act of 
2013''.

SEC. 2. SEMIANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON COST OF CERTAIN TRAVEL.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 5 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 518. Semiannual reports to Congress on cost of certain travel
    ``(a) Semiannual Reports.--Not later than June 30, 2014, and not 
later than 60 days after each 180-day period thereafter, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate a 
semiannual report on covered travel made during the 180-day period 
covered by the report.
    ``(b) Matters Included.--Each report under subsection (a) shall 
include the following:
            ``(1) With respect to each instance of covered travel made 
        during the period covered by the report--
                    ``(A) the purpose of such travel;
                    ``(B) the destination;
                    ``(C) the name and title of each employee included 
                on such travel;
                    ``(D) the duration of such travel;
                    ``(E) the total cost to the Department of such 
                travel; and
                    ``(F) with respect to covered travel described in 
                subsection (d)(2), the identity of the person or entity 
                that paid or reimbursed for such travel.
            ``(2) The final costs to the Department with respect to all 
        covered travel made during the period covered by the report, 
        including costs relating to--
                    ``(A) transportation, including fares for travel by 
                air, rail, bus, ferry, cruise ship, taxi, mass transit, 
                or other mode of transportation;
                    ``(B) expenses or reimbursements relating to 
                operating and maintaining a car, including the costs of 
                fuel and mileage;
                    ``(C) passport and visa fees;
                    ``(D) lodging;
                    ``(E) per diem payments;
                    ``(F) baggage charges;
                    ``(G) computer rental fees;
                    ``(H) rental of halls, auditoriums, or other 
                spaces;
                    ``(I) entertainment;
                    ``(J) contractors;
                    ``(K) registration fees; and
                    ``(L) promotional items.
    ``(c) Duplicative Information.--Each report under subsection (a) 
shall include the information described in subsection (b) regardless of 
whether such information is also included in a report under section 517 
of this title.
    ``(d) Covered Travel Defined.--In this section, the term `covered 
travel' means travel made by an employee of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, including an employee who is stationed in a foreign country, 
on official business to any of the following locations:
            ``(1) If the Department or other element of the Federal 
        Government pays for such travel, a location outside of--
                    ``(A) the several States;
                    ``(B) the District of Columbia;
                    ``(C) a territory, commonwealth, or possession of 
                the United States;
                    ``(D) Indian lands (as defined in section 4(4) of 
                the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703(4))); 
                or
                    ``(E) the territorial waters of the United States.
            ``(2) If any person or entity other than the Federal 
        Government pays (or reimburses) for such travel, any location, 
        regardless of whether the location is inside or outside of the 
        United States.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding after the item relating to section 
517 the following new item:

``518. Semiannual reports to Congress on cost of certain travel.''.

SEC. 3. REPORT OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE AT MEDICAL FACILITIES OF 
              DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Section 7311 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(f)(1) The Secretary shall report to the appropriate entity each 
case of a notifiable infectious disease or condition that is diagnosed 
at a medical facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs in 
accordance with the laws of the State in which the facility is located.
    ``(2) In addition to reporting each case of a notifiable infectious 
disease or condition at a medical facility of the Department pursuant 
to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall report each such case that is 
classified as a health-care-associated infection sentinel event to the 
accrediting organization of such facility.
    ``(3)(A) If the Secretary fails to report a case of a notifiable 
infectious disease or condition at a medical facility of the Department 
in accordance with State law pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary 
shall--
            ``(i) take any remedial action required under the laws of 
        the State to correct such failure; and
            ``(ii) if the Secretary does not correct such failure 
        pursuant to clause (i), pay to the State an amount equal to the 
        amount that a medical facility not owned by the Federal 
        Government that is located in the same State would pay as a 
        penalty to such State for such failure.
    ``(B) The State may file a civil action against the Secretary in 
the United States district court for the district in which the medical 
facility is located to recover from the United States the amount 
described in subparagraph (A)(ii).
    ``(C) A civil action under subparagraph (B) may not be commenced 
later than two years after the cause of action accrues.
    ``(4)(A) In any case in which the Inspector General of the 
Department suspects that a director of a Veterans Integrated Service 
Network has failed to comply with an applicable provision of this 
subsection, the Inspector General shall conduct an investigation to 
determine whether such director failed to comply with an applicable 
provision of this section.
    ``(B) If the Inspector General determines under subparagraph (A) 
that a director has failed to comply with a provision of this 
subsection, the Secretary shall suspend such director for such period 
as the Secretary considers appropriate under subchapter I or subchapter 
II of chapter 75 of title 5, as the case may be. In addition to such 
suspension, the Secretary may impose such other administrative 
disciplinary action on the director as the Secretary considers 
appropriate and for which the Secretary is otherwise authorized.
    ``(5) The Secretary shall--
            ``(A) maintain records of each notifiable infectious 
        disease or condition reported pursuant to paragraph (1); and
            ``(B) submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
        House of Representatives and the Senate a notification of each 
        such notifiable infectious disease or condition.
    ``(6) In this subsection, the term `notifiable infectious disease 
or condition' means any infectious disease or condition that is--
            ``(A) on the list of nationally notifiable diseases or 
        conditions published by the Council of State and Territorial 
        Epidemiologists and the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention; or
            ``(B) covered by a provision of law of a State that 
        requires the reporting of infectious diseases or conditions.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The reporting requirement under section 
7311(f) of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 
shall apply with respect to a case of a notifiable infectious disease 
or condition diagnosed at a medical facility of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs on or after the date that is 60 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION OF VISUAL RECORDING WITHOUT INFORMED CONSENT.

    Section 7331 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Secretary, upon'' and inserting ``(a) 
        In General.--The Secretary, upon''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Visual Recording.--(1) The Secretary shall prescribe 
regulations establishing procedures to ensure that, except as provided 
by paragraph (2), any visual recording made by the Secretary of a 
patient during the course of furnishing care under this title is 
carried out only with the full and informed consent of the patient or, 
in appropriate cases, a representative thereof.
    ``(2) The Secretary may waive the requirement for informed consent 
under paragraph (1) with respect to the visual recording of a patient 
if such recording is made--
            ``(A) pursuant to a determination by a physician or 
        psychologist that such recording is medically necessary or 
        necessary for the safety of the patient;
            ``(B) pursuant to a warrant or order of a court of 
        competent jurisdiction; or
            ``(C) in a public setting where a person would not have a 
        reasonable expectation to privacy, such as a waiting room or 
        hallway, and such recording is for general security purposes 
        not particularized to the patient.
    ``(3) In this subsection, the term `visual recording' means the 
recording or transmission of images or video, but does not include--
            ``(A) medical imaging, including such imaging produced by 
        radiographic procedures, nuclear medicine, endoscopy, 
        ultrasound, or other similar procedures; or
            ``(B) images, video, and other clinical information 
        transmitted for the purposes of providing treatment through 
        telehealth and telemedicine technologies.''.
            Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to amend title 38, 
        United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
        to submit to Congress semiannual reports on the cost of certain 
        travel made by employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
        and for other purposes.''.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 167

113th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 1804

                          [Report No. 113-227]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress semiannual reports on the cost 
   of foreign travel made by employees of the Department of Veterans 
                                Affairs.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 25, 2013

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
          on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
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