II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1280

To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out construction

projects for the purpose of improving, renovating, and updating patient

care facilities at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 31, 2001

Mr. CLELAND introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 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, 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’ Hospital

5 Emergency Repair 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 2002 or fiscal year 2003 pursu8 ant to section 3. The cost of any such project may not

9 exceed $25,000,000.

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

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

12 Code.

13 (b) PURPOSE OF PROJECTS.—A project carried out

14 pursuant to subsection (a) may be carried out only at a

15 Department of Veterans Affairs medical center and only

16 for the purpose of improving, renovating, and updating to

17 contemporary standards patient care facilities. In selecting

18 medical centers for projects under subsection (a), the Sec19 retary shall select projects to improve, renovate, or update

20 facilities to achieve one or more of the following:

21 (1) Seismic protection improvements related to

22 patient safety.

23 (2) Fire safety improvements.

24 (3) Improvements to utility systems and ancil25 lary patient care facilities.
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1 (4) Improved accommodation for persons with

2 disabilities, including barrier-free access.

3 (5) Improvements to facilities carrying out spe4 cialized programs of the Department, including the

5 following:

6 (A) Blind rehabilitation centers.

7 (B) Facilities carrying out inpatient and

8 residential programs for seriously mentally ill

9 veterans, including mental illness research, edu10 cation, and clinical centers.

11 (C) Facilities carrying out residential and

12 rehabilitation programs for veterans with sub13 stance-use disorders.

14 (D) Facilities carrying out physical medi15 cine and rehabilitation activities.

16 (E) Facilities providing long-term care, in17 cluding geriatric research, education, and clin18 ical centers, adult day care centers, and nursing

19 home care facilities.

20 (F) Facilities providing amputation care,

21 including facilities for prosthetics, orthotics pro22 grams, and sensory aids.

23 (G) Spinal cord injury centers.

24 (H) Facilities carrying out traumatic brain

25 injury programs.
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1 (I) Facilities carrying out women veterans’

2 health programs (including particularly pro3 grams involving privacy and accommodation for

4 female patients).

5 (J) Facilities for hospice and palliative

6 care programs.

7 (c) REVIEW PROCESS.—(1) Before a project is sub8 mitted to the Secretary with a recommendation that it be

9 approved as a project to be carried out under the authority

10 of this section, the project shall be reviewed by an inde11 pendent board within the Department of Veterans Affairs

12 constituted by the Secretary to evaluate capital investment

13 projects. The board shall review each such project to de14 termine the project’s relevance to the medical care mission

15 of the Department and whether the project improves, ren16 ovates, and updates patient care facilities of the Depart17 ment in accordance with this section.

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

19 authority of this section, the Secretary shall consider the

20 recommendations of the board under paragraph (1). In

21 any case in which the Secretary selects a project to be

22 carried out under this section that was not recommended

23 for approval by the board under paragraph (1), the Sec24 retary shall include in the report of the Secretary under

25 section 4(b) notice of such selection and the Secretary’s
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1 reasons for not following the recommendation of the board

2 with respect to the project.

3 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro5 priated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the Con6 struction, Major Projects, account for projects under sec7 tion 2—

8 (1) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; and

9 (2) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.

10 (b) LIMITATION.—Projects may be carried out under

11 section 2 only using funds appropriated pursuant to the

12 authorization of appropriations in subsection (a).

13 SEC. 4. REPORTS.

14 (a) GAO REPORT.—Not later than April 1, 2003, the

15 Comptroller General shall submit to the Committees on

16 Veterans’ Affairs and on Appropriations of the Senate and

17 House of Representatives a report evaluating the advan18 tages and disadvantages of congressional authorization for

19 projects of the type described in section 2(b) through gen20 eral authorization as provided by section 2(a), rather than

21 through specific authorization as would otherwise be appli22 cable under section 8104(a)(2) of title 38, United States

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

24 of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs during fiscal year

25 2002 to select and carry out projects under section 2.
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1 (b) SECRETARY REPORT.—Not later than 120 days

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

3 section 2 is selected, the Secretary shall submit to the

4 committees referred to in subsection (a) a report on the

5 authorization process under section 2. The Secretary shall

6 include in the report the following:

7 (1) A listing by project of each project selected

8 by the Secretary under that section, together with a

9 prospectus description of the purposes of the project,

10 the estimated cost of the project, and a statement

11 attesting to the review of the project under section

12 2(c), and, if that project was not recommended by

13 the board, the Secretary’s justification under section

14 2(d) for not following the recommendation of the

15 board.

16 (2) An assessment of the utility to the Depart17 ment of Veterans Affairs of the authorization proc18 ess.

19 (3) Such recommendations as the Secretary

20 considers appropriate for future congressional policy

21 for authorizations of major and minor medical facil22 ity construction projects for the Department.

23 (4) Any other matter that the Secretary con24 siders to be appropriate with respect to oversight by
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1 Congress of capital facilities projects of the Depart2 ment.

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