II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 42 

To improve the management and performance of the capital asset programs 

of the Department of Veterans Affairs so as to better serve veterans, 

their families, caregivers, and survivors, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 24 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2023 

Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BROWN, and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve the management and performance of the capital 

asset programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

so as to better serve veterans, their families, caregivers, 

and survivors, and for other purposes. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Build, Utilize, Invest, Learn, and Deliver for Veterans 

6 Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘BUILD for Veterans Act of 2023’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT 

Sec. 101. Improving capital asset staffing of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 102. Development of performance metrics of capital asset management by 

Department of Veterans Affairs and monitoring for improvement. 

Sec. 103. Expansion of membership of the Capital Asset Planning Committee. 

TITLE II—STRATEGIC PLAN AND REPORTS 

Sec. 201. Review of climate resilience of facilities, land, and other relevant capital assets of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 202. Strategic plan to improve planning, management, budgeting, staffing, 

capacity, and performance of Department of Veterans Affairs 

capital asset activities. 

Sec. 203. Centralized management of capital asset disposal and reuse and annual report on completion of disposal and reuse activities of 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 204. Report on options to improve minor construction program of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 205. Report on improvements to alignment of information technology 

funding and activation of medical and other space of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 206. Reports on key capital asset investments, activities, and performance 

of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 207. Reports on projected need for funding for infrastructure and capital 

assets of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 208. Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs reports on 

Department infrastructure projects. 

Sec. 209. Comptroller General reports on capital asset program management 

and execution by Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 210. Report on dental care physical infrastructure needs of Department of 

Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 211. Report on long-term care physical infrastructure needs of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 212. Report on feasibility and advisability of using a dedicated budget account for maintenance of capital assets of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 213. Report on women veterans retrofit initiative. 

Sec. 214. Report on capital asset and information technology needs of the research and development program of Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

Sec. 215. Review and report on provisions of law relating to Department of 

Veterans Affairs capital asset management and oversight. 

Sec. 216. Improving prevention, detection, and reporting of waste, fraud, and 

abuse in Department of Veterans Affairs capital asset projects 

and activities. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON2 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con3 gress’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

5 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 Senate; and 

7 (B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

8 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

9 House of Representatives. 

10 (2) CAPITAL ASSET.—The term ‘‘capital asset’’ 

11 means the physical infrastructure, land, buildings, 

12 and other related items under the operation and con13 trol of the Department of Veterans Affairs, includ14 ing the information technology and other support 

15 systems needed to ensure the physical space can be 

16 used to deliver intended services and functions of the 

17 Department. 

18 TITLE I—CAPITAL ASSET 

19 MANAGEMENT 

20 SEC. 101. IMPROVING CAPITAL ASSET STAFFING OF DE21 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

22 (a) CAPITAL ASSET PERSONNEL OF THE DEPART23 MENT.— 

24 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR DEDICATED OFFICES

25 AND SUFFICIENT STAFF.—Not later than 540 days 


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1 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec2 retary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that the De3 partment of Veterans Affairs has dedicated offices 

4 or entities and sufficient staff, including at each 

5 medical center of the Department, to conduct rel6 evant critical responsibilities for the life-cycle of cap7 ital asset management at the local, regional, and 

8 central office level. This may include ensuring such 

9 mix as the Secretary considers appropriate of per10 sonnel with duties from the following categories: 

11 (A) Facility planning. 

12 (B) Long-range capital planning. 

13 (C) Management of projects and capital 

14 assets relating to the execution of major con15 struction projects, minor construction projects, 

16 major leases, minor leases, nonrecurring main17 tenance, and related matters at medical centers 

18 and facilities of the Department in the sur19 rounding catchment areas of the centers and fa20 cilities. 

21 (D) Property disposal or transfer, environ22 mental remediation, and historic preservation. 

23 (E) Engineering, including matters relat24 ing to seismic repairs and projects. 


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1 (F) Maintenance and repair of existing in2 frastructure. 

3 (G) The collection of views of veterans and 

4 employees of the Department to understand the 

5 capital assets needs of the Department. 

6 (H) Other relevant functions relating to 

7 the full life-cycle of capital asset management 

8 of the Department as determined by the Sec9 retary. 

10 (2) TASKS.—To the greatest extent practicable, 

11 the Secretary shall ensure that each of the cat12 egories of duties under paragraph (1) are assigned 

13 to a different individual or group of individuals so 

14 as— 

15 (A) to organize common work in a cohesive 

16 manner; and 

17 (B) not to overburden a small number of 

18 individuals with such requirements. 

19 (3) LEAD OFFICIAL.—Not later than 180 days 

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary shall— 

22 (A) designate one individual as the lead 

23 senior official responsible for integration and 

24 coordination of, and accountability for, the eval25 uation of the capital asset workforce needs of 


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1 the Department, the staffing model established 

2 under paragraph (4), and the ongoing imple3 mentation and monitoring of actions to ensure 

4 adequate capital asset staffing across the De5 partment, including those at the field, regional, 

6 and central offices of the Veterans Health Ad7 ministration, the National Cemetery Adminis8 tration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, 

9 and the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and 

10 Construction; and 

11 (B) notify the appropriate committees of 

12 Congress who has been designated under sub13 paragraph (A). 

14 (4) STAFFING MODEL.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

17 Secretary shall establish a staffing model for 

18 the relevant administrations, staff offices, and 

19 other elements of the Department to carry out 

20 paragraph (1) that— 

21 (i) ensures a minimum base level of 

22 capital asset staffing; and 

23 (ii) is adjusted based on the volume 

24 and complexity of capital asset work of a 


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1 particular facility, catchment area, region, 

2 or central office responsibility. 

3 (B) UPDATE.—The Secretary shall update 

4 the staffing model under subparagraph (A) reg5 ularly to ensure it is effective in carrying out 

6 paragraph (1). 

7 (5) TREATMENT OF STATES AND TERRITORIES

8 WITHOUT A MEDICAL CENTER.—In the case of a 

9 State or territory of the United States in which the 

10 Department does not operate a full-service medical 

11 center, the Secretary shall, in carrying out para12 graph (1), ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, 

13 that the Department has a dedicated office or entity 

14 and sufficient staff at the largest medical facility of 

15 the Department in that State or territory, and any 

16 reference in this section to a medical center shall be 

17 deemed to be a reference to that medical facility. 

18 (6) PURPOSE AND INTENT.—The purpose of 

19 this subsection is to ensure that field, regional, and 

20 central offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

21 have an appropriately sized and credentialed capital 

22 asset workforce to allow for efficient and effective 

23 execution of their relevant segment of capital asset 

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1 date a realignment of capital asset workforce roles, 

2 responsibilities, and reporting structures. 

3 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Secretary shall ensure 

4 that appropriate professional certifications, educational 

5 background, and other qualifications are in effect for indi6 viduals employed in a position at a dedicated office or enti7 ty required by subsection (a) to manage the duties under 

8 the categories set forth under subsection (a)(1). 

9 (c) DUTIES OF DEDICATED OFFICES OR ENTITIES

10 AT MEDICAL CENTERS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The duties of a dedicated of12 fice or entity required by subsection (a) at a medical 

13 center of the Department may include such combina14 tion of the following duties as the Secretary con15 siders appropriate to achieve efficient and effective 

16 capital asset management and performance as it 

17 pertains to relevant activities at the field level: 

18 (A) The development, monitoring, and im19 plementation of capital asset objectives for the 

20 catchment area surrounding the medical center, 

21 including community-based outpatient clinics 

22 and other sites of care of the Department in 

23 that area. 

24 (B) The coordination of capital asset man25 agement and planning with counterparts at 


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1 other medical centers of the Department in the 

2 region and facility planners for the Veterans In3 tegrated Service Network or Networks in the 

4 region. 

5 (C) Effective delivery of capital asset 

6 projects. 

7 (D) Maintenance and repair of infrastruc8 ture. 

9 (E) Capital asset disposal or transfer, envi10 ronmental remediation, and historic preserva11 tion. 

12 (F) Regularly monitoring state-of-the-art 

13 best practices in health care capital asset deliv14 ery and management. 

15 (G) Constantly monitoring the needs of 

16 veterans and employees of the Department as it 

17 relates to medical space and services at the 

18 medical center and facilities in the catchment 

19 area surrounding the medical center to forward 

20 plan and identify and submit plans, through 

21 processes of the Department, to meet those 

22 needs, including by formulating local and re23 gional capital improvement and asset manage24 ment plans for medical facilities of the Depart25 ment through the regular collection of— 


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1 (i) views and expectations of veterans, 

2 including as expressed by relevant local or 

3 national veterans service organizations, in 

4 that area who are eligible users of health 

5 care and related services provided by the 

6 Department with respect to— 

7 (I) preferences and needs of 

8 those veterans for the care received 

9 from medical facilities of the Depart10 ment in that area; and 

11 (II) the need for improvements 

12 and enhancements to infrastructure of 

13 the Department; and 

14 (ii) views of relevant medical staff of 

15 the Department at the medical center and 

16 facilities in that catchment area regarding 

17 their preferences and needs for how to de18 liver health care to veterans and how those 

19 preferences impact the infrastructure 

20 needs of the Department. 

21 (H) Understanding the capital asset poli22 cies, procedures, and directives of the Depart23 ment, including those issued by the central of24 fice of the Department, the Veterans Health 

25 Administration, Veterans Integrated Service 


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1 Networks, the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, 

2 and Construction, the Office of Asset Enter3 prise Management, the Office of General Coun4 sel, the Office of Information and Technology, 

5 or any successor offices, and any other office of 

6 the Department with significant responsibility 

7 over capital asset management and planning. 

8 (I) Implementing locally the policies, proce9 dures, and directives described in subparagraph 

10 (H). 

11 (J) Providing feedback regarding ways in 

12 which the policies, procedures and directives de13 scribed in subparagraph (H) can be improved. 

14 (K) Understanding the importance for col15 laboration and coordination among all relevant 

16 offices of the Department, including the Office 

17 of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction, the 

18 Office of Asset Enterprise Management, the Of19 fice of Information and Technology, or suc20 cessor offices with similar functions, and other 

21 internal stakeholders as required to achieve suc22 cess in all phases of capital asset management. 

23 (2) COLLECTION OF VIEWS AND EXPECTA24 TIONS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Views and expectations 

2 may be collected under paragraph (1)(G) 

3 through multiple channels and the process used 

4 for such collection shall ensure that the views 

5 and expectations collected provide a representa6 tive sample of the population from which such 

7 views and expectations are collected. 

8 (B) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Any information 

9 collected under paragraph (1)(G) shall be col10 lected in a manner that provides an option for 

11 submission of views that are anonymous and 

12 confidential. 

13 (C) INCLUSION OF DIVERSE VIEW14 POINTS.—In collecting views and expectations 

15 of veterans and medical staff under paragraph 

16 (1)(G), an office, entity, or relevant staff de17 scribed in subsection (a) for a medical center of 

18 the Department shall ensure that the viewpoints 

19 of a diverse population of veterans being served 

20 by the medical center and medical staff of the 

21 medical center or in the catchment area of the 

22 medical center are captured. 

23 (D) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING EF24 FORTS OF DEPARTMENT.—In carrying out 

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1 retary shall use, as the Secretary considers ap2 propriate, existing efforts and expertise of the 

3 Department through the Veterans Health Ad4 ministration, Office of Acquisition, Logistics, 

5 and Construction, the Office of Asset Enter6 prise Management, and the Veterans Experi7 ence Office. 

8 (E) USAGE OF VIEWS AND EXPECTA9 TIONS.—The views and expectations collected 

10 under paragraph (1)(G) shall be used to inform 

11 the offices, entities, or relevant staff described 

12 in subsection (a)(1) and the broader leadership 

13 of a medical center and Veterans Integrated 

14 Service Networks of the Department to develop 

15 plans for capital asset improvement. 

16 (d) DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARD PROCESS TO SO17 LICIT VIEWS ON EFFECTIVENESS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), 

19 the Secretary shall develop a standardized process to 

20 regularly solicit feedback from individuals and enti21 ties described in paragraph (2) regarding the effec22 tiveness of and ways to improve— 

23 (A) the infrastructure and capital asset 

24 management investment processes and proce25 dures of the central office of the Department 


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1 and Veterans Integrated Service Networks of 

2 the Department; and 

3 (B) the guidance of the central office and 

4 Veterans Integrated Service Networks regard5 ing such processes and procedures to the med6 ical centers, facilities in the surrounding 

7 catchment areas of those medical centers, and 

8 Veterans Integrated Service Networks, as ap9 propriate. 

10 (2) INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES DESCRIBED.— 

11 The individuals and entities described in this para12 graph are the following: 

13 (A) Each office, entity, or relevant staff 

14 described in subsection (a)(1) for a medical cen15 ter of the Department. 

16 (B) Medical staff of the Department at fa17 cilities in the surrounding catchment area of 

18 the medical center. 

19 (C) Veterans Integrated Service Networks. 

20 (D) Staff of offices within the central of21 fice of the Department, including the Office of 

22 Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction, the 

23 Office of Asset Enterprise Management, and 

24 the Office of Information and Technology, or 

25 successor offices with similar functions. 


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1 (E) The Veterans Health Administration, 

2 including its Office of Healthcare Environment 

3 and Facilities Programs. 

4 (F) Such other offices as the Secretary de5 termines relevant. 

6 (3) ALIGNMENT WITH MARKET AREA ASSESS7 MENTS.—To the degree practicable, the Secretary 

8 shall align the process developed and standardized 

9 under paragraph (1) with the performance of market 

10 area assessments under section 7330C(a) of title 38, 

11 United States Code. 

12 (4) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Any information col13 lected under paragraph (1) shall be collected in a 

14 manner that provides an option for submission of 

15 views that are anonymous and confidential. 

16 (e) USE OF REPORT FINDINGS.—The Secretary shall 

17 use the results of the report required under section 202 

18 in establishing the offices, entities, or organizational struc19 tures required under subsection (a) and carrying out any 

20 other requirements of this section. 


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1 SEC. 102. DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE METRICS OF 

2 CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT BY DEPART3 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND MONI4 TORING FOR IMPROVEMENT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet7 erans Affairs shall— 

8 (1) develop meaningful and measurable goals 

9 and metrics— 

10 (A) to assess the performance of the cap11 ital asset management programs of the Depart12 ment of Veterans Affairs, including those car13 ried out by a non-Department Federal entity 

14 under section 8103(e)(1) of title 38, United 

15 States Code, to allow the Secretary to make 

16 sound decisions regarding construction, leasing, 

17 acquisition, maintenance, and disposal of cap18 ital assets; and 

19 (B) that are in alignment with Department 

20 strategic plans, budgets, and mission to serve 

21 veterans, their families, and caregivers; 

22 (2) develop an internal dashboard or other tool 

23 to monitor progress towards meeting those goals; 

24 (3) establish and implement internal governance 

25 processes to direct necessary changes to improve 

26 performance and achievement of those goals; and 


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1 (4) submit to appropriate committees of Con2 gress a report on the development of those goals and 

3 metrics in paragraph (1) and the implementation of 

4 the internal dashboard or other tool under para5 graph (2) and the internal governance process under 

6 paragraph (3). 

7 (b) INTERNAL DASHBOARD.—The Secretary shall en8 sure that the internal dashboard developed under sub9 section (a)(2) includes meaningful and relevant metrics 

10 that— 

11 (1) evaluate capital asset management perform12 ance of the Department and provide relevant infor13 mation to guide necessary improvements; and 

14 (2) are developed consistent with recommenda15 tions set forth by the Comptroller General of the 

16 United States. 

17 (c) CONSIDERATION OF PART TWO OF STRATEGIC

18 PLAN TO IMPROVE VA’S DELIVERY AND MANAGEMENT

19 OF CAPITAL ASSET.—In developing the internal dash20 board under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall consider 

21 the findings in part two of the Strategic Plan to Improve 

22 VA’s Delivery and Management of Capital Asset required 

23 under section 202(a)(4). 


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1 SEC. 103. EXPANSION OF MEMBERSHIP OF THE CAPITAL 

2 ASSET PLANNING COMMITTEE. 

3 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, in order to facilitate Federal health in5 frastructure planning, coordination, and investment, the 

6 Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Under Sec7 retary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness shall mod8 ify the membership of the Capital Asset Planning Com9 mittee established as a subordinate entity of the Depart10 ment of Veterans Affairs-Department of Defense Joint 

11 Executive Committee established under section 320 of title 

12 38, United States Code, to include the following: 

13 (1) Not fewer than one officer or employee of 

14 the Indian Health Service. 

15 (2) Not fewer than one officer or employee of 

16 the Department of Health and Human Services who 

17 is not an employee of the Indian Health Service. 

18 TITLE II—STRATEGIC PLAN AND 

19 REPORTS 

20 SEC. 201. REVIEW OF CLIMATE RESILIENCE OF FACILITIES, 

21 LAND, AND OTHER RELEVANT CAPITAL AS22 SETS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF23 FAIRS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

25 shall conduct a comprehensive review of the climate resilVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42

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1 ience of facilities, land, and other relevant capital assets 

2 under the authority and jurisdiction of the Secretary. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The review conducted under 

5 subsection (a) shall— 

6 (A) provide a comprehensive assessment of 

7 existing facilities, land, and other relevant cap8 ital assets that may be at risk due to changes 

9 in the climate, including potential vulnerabilities 

10 related to— 

11 (i) proximity to a body of water; 

12 (ii) proximity to an area prone to 

13 flooding; 

14 (iii) proximity to an area prone to 

15 wild fire; 

16 (iv) proximity to an area prone to tor17 nadoes, hurricanes, or other storms; and 

18 (v) such other matters as the Sec19 retary considers appropriate after con20 sulting with the United States Global 

21 Change Research Program on the best 

22 available observations and forward-looking 

23 climate projections by region, including sea 

24 level rise data; 


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1 (B) include a description of strategies to 

2 improve the climate resilience of existing facili3 ties, land, and other relevant capital assets at 

4 risk due to changes in the climate, including po5 tential modifications to facility operations and 

6 maintenance practices, and the cost of such 

7 strategies; 

8 (C) include an analysis of the current de9 sign standards and building codes used by the 

10 Department of Veterans Affairs to site, plan, 

11 build, lease, renovate, and purchase land, facili12 ties, infrastructure, and other capital assets of 

13 the Department and whether those design 

14 standards and building codes reflect both ob15 served and forward-looking climate information; 

16 (D) include an analysis of the effect of cli17 mate change on energy usage, energy sources, 

18 and utility systems of the Department and the 

19 Department’s mitigation strategies; 

20 (E) use, in consultation with the United 

21 States Global Change Research Program, for22 ward-looking climate information and other pro23 jections to anticipate changing environmental 

24 conditions during the design life of existing or 

25 planned facilities, land, and other capital assets 


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1 of the Department and make relevant decisions 

2 and planning strategies based on this informa3 tion; 

4 (F) after consulting with the United States 

5 Global Change Research Program and other 

6 relevant Federal and non-Federal entities, in7 clude recommendations for best practices, 

8 standards, and solutions for future placement, 

9 planning, renovation, leasing, purchase, con10 struction, and disposal of facilities and land of 

11 the Department so as to avoid or mitigate the 

12 challenges resulting from placing a facility in 

13 an area at risk of being vulnerable to harm 

14 from the impacts of changing environmental 

15 conditions; and 

16 (G) assess how the Department can incor17 porate climate resilience information into its 

18 processes and procedures for capital asset in19 vestment decisions. 

20 (2) SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND PROJEC21 TIONS.—Sources of information and projections used 

22 under paragraph (1)(E) may include the Bureau of 

23 the Census (for population projections), the National 

24 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 

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1 tions), the United States Geological Survey (for land 

2 use change projections), the United States Global 

3 Change Research Program and the National Climate 

4 Assessment (for climate observations and projec5 tions), and such other sources as the Secretary con6 siders reliable in consultation with the United States 

7 Global Change Research Program. 

8 (c) REPORTS.— 

9 (1) MISSION CRITICAL ASSETS.—Not later than 

10 540 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

11 the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate com12 mittees of Congress a report detailing the results of 

13 the review conducted under subsection (a) with re14 spect to mission critical capital assets of the Depart15 ment and the actions the Secretary will take in re16 sponse to the findings of such review. 

17 (2) ALL ASSETS.—Not later than one year after 

18 the date on which the Secretary submits the report 

19 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to 

20 the appropriate committees of Congress a report de21 tailing the results of the review conducted under 

22 subsection (a) with respect to all capital assets of 

23 the Department and the actions the Secretary will 

24 take in response to the findings of such review. 


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1 (3) ELEMENTS.—Each report submitted under 

2 paragraphs (1) and (2) shall include, with respect to 

3 the assets covered by the respective report, the fol4 lowing: 

5 (A) Recommendations for legislative and 

6 administrative action to mitigate and respond 

7 to the findings contained in the review con8 ducted under subsection (a). 

9 (B) A description of action taken or to be 

10 taken by the Secretary to improve the climate 

11 resilience of existing facilities, land, infrastruc12 ture and other relevant capital assets under the 

13 jurisdiction or control of the Department. 

14 (C) A description of changes in policy, di15 rectives, and procedures of the Department to 

16 mitigate, plan for, and improve resilience of fu17 ture constructed, leased, or other facilities, 

18 land, infrastructure, and other relevant capital 

19 assets under the jurisdiction or control of the 

20 Department. 

21 (D) A description of how the Department 

22 will incorporate climate resilience information 

23 into its processes and procedures for capital 

24 asset investment decisions. 


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1 (E) A description of changes the Depart2 ment will make to ensure the facilities, land, in3 frastructure, and other relevant capital assets 

4 of the Department are available to furnish care 

5 and services under section 1785 of title 38, 

6 United States Code, during or following a dis7 aster or emergency. 

8 (F) The estimated cost to implement the 

9 changes described in the report. 

10 (G) The estimated timeline to implement 

11 the changes described in the report. 

12 (H) Such other matters, recommendations, 

13 or requests as the Secretary considers appro14 priate, including recommendations for relevant 

15 legislative or administrative action. 

16 (4) UPDATES.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than five 

18 years after the date on which the Secretary 

19 submits the report under paragraph (2) and not 

20 less frequently than once every five years there21 after until the date that is 23 years after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

23 shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

24 Congress an update of the report submitted 

25 under paragraph (2). 


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1 (B) CONTENTS.—Each update submitted 

2 under subparagraph (A) shall describe the ef3 forts of the Department since the submittal of 

4 the latest report or update, as the case may be, 

5 relating to matters covered by the report and 

6 such other matters as the Secretary considers 

7 appropriate. 

8 (d) CLIMATE RESILIENCE DEFINED.—In this sec9 tion, the term ‘‘climate resilience’’ means— 

10 (1) anticipating, preparing for, and adapting to 

11 changing environmental conditions such as vari12 ations in average weather conditions that persist 

13 over multiple decades or longer that encompass in14 creases and decreases in temperature, shifts in pre15 cipitation, and changing risk of certain types of se16 vere weather events; and 

17 (2) the ability to withstand, respond to, and re18 cover rapidly from disruptions while ensuring the 

19 sustainment of mission-critical operations. 

20 SEC. 202. STRATEGIC PLAN TO IMPROVE PLANNING, MAN21 AGEMENT, BUDGETING, STAFFING, CAPAC22 ITY, AND PERFORMANCE OF DEPARTMENT 

23 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CAPITAL ASSET AC24 TIVITIES. 

25 (a) INITIAL STRATEGIC PLAN.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appro4 priate committees of Congress a strategic plan to 

5 improve the planning, management, budgeting, staff6 ing, capacity, and performance by the Department 

7 of Veterans Affairs relating to capital assets. Such 

8 strategic plan shall be known as the ‘‘Strategic Plan 

9 to Improve VA’s Delivery and Management of Cap10 ital Assets’’ (in this subsection referred to as the 

11 ‘‘Plan’’). 

12 (2) STRUCTURE.—The Plan shall consist of not 

13 fewer than two parts as set forth in this subsection. 

14 (3) PART ONE.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Part one of the Plan 

16 shall focus on the human capital needs for the 

17 capital asset and related areas workforce of the 

18 Department (in this subsection referred to as 

19 ‘‘Part One’’). 

20 (B) ELEMENTS.—Part One shall include 

21 the following: 

22 (i) A description of the steps being 

23 taken by the Department, including by the 

24 lead official designated under section 

25 101(a)(3), and the steps that the DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42

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1 ment plans to take during the 10-year pe2 riod following the date of the Plan, includ3 ing a specific timeline, to ensure sufficient 

4 capital asset personnel at the local, re5 gional, and central office levels of the De6 partment are available and prepared— 

7 (I) to execute the current level of 

8 capital asset work, including mainte9 nance, delivery of new facilities, dis10 posal, and reuse; 

11 (II) to handle future capital asset 

12 work described in subclause (I) during 

13 such 10-year period; and 

14 (III) to perform any other capital 

15 asset activities as identified by the 

16 Secretary. 

17 (ii) A plan that addresses the needed 

18 capital asset workforce of the Department 

19 by— 

20 (I) identifying and describing the 

21 staffing needs and status of such 

22 workforce, including— 

23 (aa) the number of currently 

24 authorized positions; 


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1 (bb) the number of filled po2 sitions of those positions author3 ized; 

4 (cc) the number of unfilled 

5 positions of those positions au6 thorized, including reasons why 

7 those positions are not filled and 

8 steps the Department is taking 

9 to fill those positions; 

10 (dd) the number of current 

11 positions needed above the level 

12 currently authorized; and 

13 (ee) future needs, including 

14 expected growth or reduction of 

15 personnel, during the 10-year pe16 riod following the date of the 

17 Plan; 

18 (II) providing the data under 

19 subclause (I) at the Departmental 

20 level, disaggregated by relevant divi21 sions of the Department and by— 

22 (aa) data for the Veterans 

23 Health Administration, broken 

24 out by field, Veterans Integrated 

25 Service Network, and central ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42

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1 fice, including the Office of 

2 Healthcare Environment and Fa3 cilities Programs; 

4 (bb) data for the Office of 

5 Acquisition, Logistics, and Con6 struction, broken out by field, re7 gion, and central office; 

8 (cc) data for the National 

9 Cemetery Administration, broken 

10 out by field, region, and central 

11 office; 

12 (dd) data for the Veterans 

13 Benefits Administration, broken 

14 out by field, region, and central 

15 office; 

16 (ee) data for the Office of 

17 Asset Enterprise Management; 

18 (ff) data for the Office of 

19 Information and Technology, bro20 ken out by field, region, and cen21 tral office; and 

22 (gg) data for all other of23 fices of the Department not cov24 ered under items (aa) through 

25 (ff) that have capital asset staff 


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1 or significant capital asset re2 sponsibilities or are key enablers 

3 and support functions for capital 

4 asset management at the field, 

5 regional, or central office level; 

6 and 

7 (III) including an estimate of the 

8 funding required to accomplish filling 

9 the unfilled and future positions speci10 fied under subclause (I) during the 

11 10-year period following the date of 

12 the Plan. 

13 (iii) A description of the efforts taken 

14 and planned to be taken by the Depart15 ment to recruit, retain, and develop the ex16 isting and future capital asset workforce of 

17 the Department. 

18 (iv) A description of any changes 

19 needed to the qualifications, standards, po20 sition descriptions and other related mat21 ters to ensure the qualification standards 

22 of the workforce, including those resulting 

23 from implementation of section 101(b)— 

24 (I) match the needs of the De25 partment; and 


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1 (II) align where appropriate with 

2 relevant Federal Government and in3 dustry standards and best practices. 

4 (v) A description of how the Depart5 ment will coordinate the capital asset 

6 human capital efforts of the Department 

7 across the Veterans Health Administra8 tion, the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, 

9 and Construction, the National Cemetery 

10 Administration, the Veterans Benefits Ad11 ministration, the Office of Asset Enterprise 

12 Management, or similar successor offices, 

13 and other entities of the Department so as 

14 to leverage collective efforts, reduce unnec15 essary duplication, and identify opportuni16 ties for collaboration and efficiency. 

17 (vi) With respect to a Department18 wide succession plan for leadership and 

19 mission-critical occupations in the capital 

20 asset workforce of the Department— 

21 (I) if such a plan is not already 

22 developed, a timeline for the develop23 ment of such a plan; and 


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1 (II) if such a plan is already de2 veloped, the current implementation 

3 status of such plan. 

4 (vii) An assessment of different re5 gional challenges in rural, suburban, and 

6 urban areas to recruit and retain the nec7 essary capital asset workforce of the De8 partment and steps to be taken by the De9 partment in response to such challenges. 

10 (viii) With respect to the report pub11 lished by the National Academies of 

12 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on 

13 December 24, 2019, entitled ‘‘Facilities 

14 Staffing Requirement for VHA-Resource 

15 Planning and Methodology for the Fu16 ture’’— 

17 (I) a description of the rec18 ommendations from the report that 

19 have already implemented; 

20 (II) a plan and timeline to imple21 ment the recommendations from the 

22 report that have not already been im23 plemented and the Secretary plans to 

24 implement; and 


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1 (III) for each recommendation 

2 from the report that has not already 

3 been implemented and the Secretary 

4 does not plan to implement, a descrip5 tion of the recommendation and a jus6 tification for the decision not to imple7 ment the recommendation. 

8 (ix) A description of how the Depart9 ment will leverage, where appropriate and 

10 relevant, contract support and partnerships 

11 with other Federal agencies, nonprofit or12 ganizations, and other entities to meet the 

13 short-, medium-, and long-term human 

14 capital needs for infrastructure to ensure 

15 that the Department has the experience 

16 and workforce needed to match the current 

17 and future projected infrastructure work18 load of the Department. 

19 (x) A description of any improvements 

20 to training or curriculum of the Depart21 ment that are needed to enhance the edu22 cation of the capital asset employees of the 

23 Department to ensure they are as pro24 ficient as possible in their jobs. 


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1 (xi) A description of the status of the 

2 implementation of the staffing model es3 tablished under section 101(a)(4). 

4 (xii) A description of such legislative 

5 or administrative action as the Secretary 

6 considers necessary to recruit, retain, and 

7 develop a strong capital asset management 

8 workforce. 

9 (xiii) Such other matters as the Sec10 retary considers necessary. 

11 (C) STAFF COVERED BY STRATEGIC

12 PLAN.—Part One shall cover all relevant staff 

13 required for the effective management of the 

14 entire life-cycle of facilities, land, infrastruc15 ture, and other relevant capital assets of the 

16 Department, including the following: 

17 (i) Individuals who keep facilities 

18 clean, such as janitorial and housekeeping 

19 staff and housekeeping aids. 

20 (ii) Individuals who maintain facili21 ties, such as through repairs and preventa22 tive maintenance. 

23 (iii) Groundskeepers. 

24 (iv) Planners, engineers, and archi25 tects. 


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1 (v) Project managers. 

2 (vi) Individuals with expertise in real 

3 estate, acquisition, leasing, and easements. 

4 (vii) Energy or utility experts, includ5 ing experts with respect to energy effi6 ciency and renewable energy. 

7 (viii) Individuals who work in— 

8 (I) capital asset management; 

9 (II) healthcare architecture and 

10 engineering; 

11 (III) environmental management; 

12 or 

13 (IV) occupational safety and 

14 health. 

15 (ix) Individuals who conduct con16 tracting, including contracting officers, re17 lated to capital assets locally, regionally, or 

18 nationally for all various types of construc19 tion or infrastructure work, such as minor 

20 construction, major construction, non21 recurring maintenance, and leases. 

22 (x) Individuals knowledgeable in rel23 evant rules and procedures related to prop24 erty disposal or transfer, environmental reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42

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1 mediation, historic preservation, and other 

2 similar topics. 

3 (xi) Relevant legal counsel and staff 

4 of the Office of General Counsel needed to 

5 perform relevant duties that occur 

6 throughout the entire life-cycle of capital 

7 asset management activities. 

8 (xii) Any other position that has a 

9 critical role, including supporting or ena10 bling functions, in the planning, con11 tracting, delivery, maintenance, upkeep, 

12 and disposal of capital assets. 

13 (xiii) Any other positions the Sec14 retary determines relevant. 

15 (4) PART TWO.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Part two of the Plan 

17 shall cover the methods undertaken by the De18 partment to accomplish changes to improve the 

19 planning, execution, and delivery of capital 

20 asset projects of the Department, such as main21 tenance, renovations, land acquisition, disposal, 

22 reuse, or new construction or leasing, including 

23 through better planning, project management, 

24 cost, and schedule performance (in this sub25 section referred to as ‘‘Part Two’’). 


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1 (B) ELEMENTS.—Part Two shall include 

2 the following: 

3 (i) A timeline for accomplishing the 

4 changes described in subparagraph (A). 

5 (ii) A description of the steps the De6 partment is taking or plans to take to 

7 shorten the time it takes from project con8 cept to completion while controlling costs 

9 and budget, and achieving established 

10 goals. 

11 (iii) A description of the steps the De12 partment is taking or plans to take to in13 crease the capacity and ability of the De14 partment to complete a larger number of 

15 projects in a given year. 

16 (iv) A description of what new or 

17 modified contracting or other services, ar18 rangements, strategies, contract vehicles or 

19 mechanisms, innovations, pilots, and part20 nerships the Department is planning to use 

21 during the five-year period following the 

22 date of the Plan, including— 

23 (I) a timeline of how and when 

24 the Department will test and imple25 ment those approaches; and 


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1 (II) a description of any limita2 tions under current law (including 

3 regulations) that would prevent or are 

4 preventing the Department from 

5 using innovative contracting vehicles, 

6 services, arrangements, administrative 

7 action, or other agreements and strat8 egies and what legislative changes are 

9 needed to facilitate use of those ap10 proaches, including a description of 

11 whether each limitation is a limitation 

12 for all Federal agencies or only for 

13 the Department. 

14 (v) A description of the costs incurred 

15 or added to meet Federal or Department 

16 standards, including those for resiliency, 

17 accessibility, and other areas that are 

18 needed and may be greater or more strin19 gent than private industry standards. 

20 (vi) A description of the steps the De21 partment is taking or plans to take to im22 prove capital project delivery by standard23 izing facility design, modularizing facilities 

24 components, and taking other steps to ac25 celerate project delivery while maintaining 


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1 flexibility, agility, and quality, including a 

2 timeline for the completion of such steps. 

3 (vii) A description of steps the De4 partment is taking or plans to take to 

5 make all of its relevant capital assets en6 ergy efficient. 

7 (viii) The steps the Secretary is tak8 ing or plans to take to ensure the Office of 

9 Information and Technology and the Office 

10 of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction 

11 of the Department, or similar successor of12 fices, are integrated into all relevant as13 pects of the capital asset planning and im14 plementation process of the Department, 

15 including at the earliest stage of every rel16 evant capital asset project in the field so as 

17 to improve communication, coordination, 

18 and project scope, cost, and schedule. 

19 (ix) A description of any other actions 

20 the Department is taking or plans to take 

21 to improve its delivery and management of 

22 capital assets. 

23 (x) A description of such legislative or 

24 administrative action as the Secretary con25 siders necessary to more effectively manage 


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1 and deliver needed capital assets of the 

2 Department. 

3 (xi) Such other matters as the Sec4 retary considers necessary. 

5 (b) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Not later than three 

6 years after the date on which the strategic plan required 

7 by subsection (a) is submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) 

8 of such subsection, and once every three years thereafter 

9 for a period of six years, the Secretary shall submit to 

10 the appropriate committees of Congress a report includ11 ing— 

12 (1) a description of any changes with respect to 

13 the matters described in paragraphs (3) and (4) of 

14 subsection (a) since the strategic plan was submitted 

15 or the previous report was submitted under this sub16 section, whichever may have been more recent; 

17 (2) an explanation of which plans, actions, and 

18 initiatives contained in the strategic plan or previous 

19 report, as the case may be, were carried out; 

20 (3) a list of plans, actions, and initiatives from 

21 the strategic plan or previous report, as the case 

22 may be, that were not carried out and the reasons 

23 for such lack of action; 

24 (4) a discussion of the results and performance 

25 of the Department since the strategic plan or the 


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1 previous report, as the case may be, including in 

2 cost savings, faster project delivery, increased capac3 ity to complete an increased number of projects in 

4 a given year, and reduction in the number of 

5 unaddressed priority capital asset improvements; 

6 and 

7 (5) such other matters as the Secretary con8 siders necessary. 

9 SEC. 203. CENTRALIZED MANAGEMENT OF CAPITAL ASSET 

10 DISPOSAL AND REUSE AND ANNUAL REPORT 

11 ON COMPLETION OF DISPOSAL AND REUSE 

12 ACTIVITIES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

13 AFFAIRS. 

14 (a) CENTRALIZED MANAGEMENT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary of Veterans Affairs shall, to the greatest ex18 tent practicable, centralize and consolidate the man19 agement and oversight of all disposal and reuse ac20 tivities of the Department of Veterans Affairs within 

21 one office or sub-office of the Department which 

22 shall have the sole focus of property disposal, includ23 ing reuse, transfer, and demolition. 

24 (2) PLANS AND GOALS.—The office or sub-of25 fice described in paragraph (1) shall be focused on 


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1 developing and implementing a measurable plan with 

2 yearly goals to dispose of, reuse, or transfer relevant 

3 capital assets. 

4 (3) CONSOLIDATION OF FUNCTIONS AND EM5 PLOYEES.—To the greatest extent practical, the Sec6 retary shall consolidate the functions and employees 

7 of the office or sub-office described in paragraph (1) 

8 within one organization element of the Department 

9 so as to improve effectiveness, efficiency, and ac10 countability. 

11 (4) DISPOSAL MANAGEMENT REPORT.— 

12 (A) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 

13 one year after the date of the enactment of this 

14 Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appro15 priate Committees of Congress a report on the 

16 actions of the Secretary to carry out this sub17 section. 

18 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

19 under subparagraph (A) shall include the fol20 lowing: 

21 (i) A description of whether and how 

22 the consolidation has been carried out as 

23 required by this subsection. 


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1 (ii) Identification of the responsible 

2 single official with oversight over all capital 

3 asset disposals of the Department. 

4 (iii) Observations or conclusions re5 garding the challenges of managing capital 

6 asset disposals of the Department. 

7 (iv) Such recommendations for admin8 istrative or legislative action as the Sec9 retary may have to improve the organiza10 tion and effectiveness of the capital asset 

11 disposal work of the Department. 

12 (b) INITIAL DISPOSAL AND REUSE PROGRESS RE13 PORT.— 

14 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall 

15 include with the budget justification materials that 

16 are submitted to Congress in support of the Depart17 ment budget for the first fiscal year beginning after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act (as submitted 

19 with the budget of the President for such fiscal year 

20 under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 

21 Code) a report containing a specific timeline to ac22 complish the disposal and reuse actions the Sec23 retary included in the disposal and reuse reports in24 cluded in the annual budget of the Department of 

25 Veterans Affairs submitted by the President under 


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1 section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, or 

2 similar future reports. 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required by para4 graph (1) shall include the following: 

5 (A)(i) A description of a specific timeline 

6 and plan to sell, reuse, dispose of, demolish, 

7 transfer, or otherwise manage the capital as8 sets, including individual structures and build9 ings, that the Secretary has identified in the re10 ports described in such paragraph in the next 

11 fiscal year and over the next five fiscal years. 

12 (ii) A description under clause (i) shall— 

13 (I) indicate those disposal projects 

14 that the Secretary believes have a business 

15 case to conduct a disposal and those that 

16 the Secretary believes lack a business case; 

17 and 

18 (II) include an explanation for such 

19 reasoning. 

20 (B) A list of any impediments or chal21 lenges, on a project by project basis and in the 

22 aggregate, to carrying out any action described 

23 in subparagraph (A), including funding con24 straints, environmental remediation and preser25 vation mitigation and any need for administraVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42

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1 tive or legislative action to address those im2 pediments or challenges. 

3 (C) A discussion of whether disposal and 

4 reuse actions do not get completed or initiated 

5 because they may compete for resources with 

6 urgent health care delivery or other more time7 sensitive infrastructure or other operational 

8 needs of the Department. 

9 (D) A detailed cost estimate of the fund10 ing, including funding type, needed to accom11 plish all of the actions described in paragraph 

12 (1), including the number of fiscal years for 

13 which such funding is needed and an indication 

14 of what funding for capital asset disposal and 

15 reuse activities is included in the budget of the 

16 President with which the report under such 

17 paragraph is included. 

18 (E) A discussion of whether the Depart19 ment would benefit from having a distinct and 

20 separate account within the budget of the De21 partment dedicated to the management of the 

22 disposal and reuse of these assets. 

23 (F) The cost to maintain capital assets 

24 waiting to be processed for disposal or reuse for 


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1 the preceding fiscal year, disaggregated by 

2 project. 

3 (G) Such other matters as the Secretary 

4 considers appropriate. 

5 (c) SUBSEQUENT DISPOSAL AND REUSE PROGRESS

6 REPORTS.— 

7 (1) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS REQUIRED.—For 

8 the first fiscal year after the fiscal year referred to 

9 in subsection (b)(1) and each fiscal year thereafter, 

10 the Secretary shall include with the budget justifica11 tion materials that are submitted to Congress in 

12 support of the Department budget (as submitted 

13 with the budget of the President for such fiscal year 

14 under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 

15 Code) a report on actions described in such sub16 section. 

17 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report required by para18 graph (1) shall include the following: 

19 (A) An update to the most recent report 

20 under subsection (b) or this subsection, as ap21 plicable, with respect to each of subparagraphs 

22 (A) through (G) of paragraph (2) of such sub23 section. 


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1 (B) Information on how many disposal and 

2 reuse actions from the previous year’s report 

3 were accomplished or not accomplished. 

4 (C) Information about what may have in5 hibited the accomplishment of those actions de6 scribed in subparagraph (B) that were not ac7 complished. 

8 (D) A description of best practices or les9 sons learned with respect to actions described in 

10 subsection (b)(1). 

11 (E) Such other matters as the Secretary 

12 considers appropriate and relevant. 

13 SEC. 204. REPORT ON OPTIONS TO IMPROVE MINOR CON14 STRUCTION PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF 

15 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

16 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

18 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate com19 mittees of Congress a report on potential options and al20 ternatives to improve, reform, and provide more flexibility 

21 to the minor construction activities of the Department of 

22 Veterans Affairs so as to increase effectiveness in com23 mencing and delivering minor construction capital asset 

24 projects. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub2 section (a) shall include the following: 

3 (1) A discussion regarding legislative or admin4 istrative action to define the term ‘‘minor construc5 tion’’ for purposes of Department budgeting and ac6 counting by using an automatic adjustment of the 

7 threshold using— 

8 (A) an index to adjust for inflation; and 

9 (B) another index to adjust for regional 

10 variations and trends in the cost of construc11 tion. 

12 (2) A discussion of whether the practice of the 

13 Department entering into multiple minor construc14 tion projects rather than one larger major construc15 tion project is an efficient best practice for delivery 

16 of capital asset projects. 

17 (3) A discussion of whether the Department 

18 should adopt any best practices of other Federal 

19 agencies or non-Federal entities for its minor con20 struction capital asset projects. 

21 (4) Such other suggestions for legislative or ad22 ministrative action as the Secretary may have with 

23 respect to the management, including project thresh24 olds, of minor construction capital asset projects. 


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1 (5) Such other matters as the Secretary con2 siders appropriate. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) MAJOR CONSTRUCTION.—The term ‘‘major 

5 construction’’ means capital project to construct, 

6 alter, extend, or improve any facility that involves a 

7 total expenditure of more than $20,000,000, includ8 ing a major medical facility project (as defined in 

9 section 8104(a)(3) of title 38, United States Code). 

10 (2) MINOR CONSTRUCTION.—The term ‘‘minor 

11 construction’’ means a capital project to construct, 

12 alter, extend, or improve any facility that involves a 

13 total expenditure of $20,000,000 or less. 

14 SEC. 205. REPORT ON IMPROVEMENTS TO ALIGNMENT OF 

15 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FUNDING AND 

16 ACTIVATION OF MEDICAL AND OTHER SPACE 

17 OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

18 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

20 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate com21 mittees of Congress a report on any potential improve22 ments to the alignment of funding of the Department of 

23 Veterans Affairs for information technology so as to facili24 tate more effective and efficient activation of medical and 

25 other relevant space of the Department. 


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1 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 

2 (a) shall include the following: 

3 (1) A description of any current limitations on 

4 funding mechanisms, including the timing and se5 quencing of information technology and health care 

6 resources that are needed to purchase, procure, and 

7 install information technology equipment and related 

8 information technology assets and services needed 

9 for the activation of medical and other relevant 

10 space of the Department, whether leased, owned, or 

11 otherwise under the jurisdiction of the Department. 

12 (2) Any proposed solutions the Secretary may 

13 have to address the limitations described in para14 graph (1). 

15 (3) Any legislative or administrative action re16 quired to achieve the solutions described in para17 graph (2). 

18 (4) Such other matters as the Secretary con19 siders appropriate. 

20 SEC. 206. REPORTS ON KEY CAPITAL ASSET INVESTMENTS, 

21 ACTIVITIES, AND PERFORMANCE OF DEPART22 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8120 of title 38, United 

24 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘§ 8120. Reports on key capital asset investments, ac2 tivities, and performance 

3 ‘‘(a) CAPITAL ASSET INVESTMENT, ACTIVITIES, AND

4 PERFORMANCE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

6 after the end of each fiscal year, and every 60 days 

7 thereafter until the end of that fiscal year, the Sec8 retary shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

9 Congress a report on key capital asset investments, 

10 activities, and performance of the Department. 

11 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) FIRST REPORT IN EACH FISCAL

13 YEAR.—The first report under paragraph (1) in 

14 each fiscal year shall include the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) A brief summary of each capital 

16 asset project that was completed in the 

17 previous fiscal year. 

18 ‘‘(ii) A brief summary of the accom19 plishments, impediments, and challenges 

20 experienced by the Department with re21 spect to capital asset projects in the pre22 vious fiscal year and a description of ef23 forts made to address any such impedi24 ments and challenges. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) With respect to each capital 

2 asset project completed in such year, the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(I) The type of project (major 

5 construction, minor construction, non6 recurring maintenance, leases, or 

7 other category, including disposals). 

8 ‘‘(II) The estimated total cost 

9 and the actual total cost of the 

10 project. 

11 ‘‘(III) A description of the 

12 project. 

13 ‘‘(IV) The location and facility 

14 with respect to which the project was 

15 carried out. 

16 ‘‘(V) The fiscal quarter the 

17 project was expected to begin, the fis18 cal quarter the project began, the 

19 month and year the project was com20 pleted, and the fiscal quarter the facil21 ity in connection to such project was 

22 in use by veterans, employees of the 

23 Department, or other relevant users, 

24 as the case may be. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) In the case of any capital asset 

2 project completed during the previous fis3 cal year with respect to which the final 

4 cost of the project (or any increment of the 

5 project) was more than 10 percent greater 

6 than the estimated cost of the project (or 

7 increment) or the completion of such 

8 project (or increment) was more than 180 

9 days later than the planned schedule for 

10 such project (or increment)— 

11 ‘‘(I) the reason for any such 

12 overage or delay; and 

13 ‘‘(II) actions being taken to pre14 vent any such overage or delay in fu15 ture projects. 

16 ‘‘(v) A list of any capital asset 

17 projects cancelled during the previous fis18 cal year, including any projects in the de19 sign phase and including the reason for the 

20 cancellation. 

21 ‘‘(vi) A summary of total actual obli22 gations for capital asset projects for the 

23 previous fiscal year, broken out by major 

24 construction, minor construction, non-re25 curring maintenance, and leases, from the 


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1 medical facilities appropriation account of 

2 the Department. 

3 ‘‘(vii) A projected list of capital asset 

4 projects, broken out by type of project 

5 under subclause (I), that are expected to 

6 be initiated during the current fiscal year 

7 and those that are expected to be com8 pleted during the current fiscal year, which 

9 shall include the following: 

10 ‘‘(I) The type of project (major 

11 construction, minor construction, non12 recurring maintenance, leases, or 

13 other category, including disposals). 

14 ‘‘(II) The estimated total cost of 

15 the project. 

16 ‘‘(III) A description of the 

17 project. 

18 ‘‘(IV) The location and facility 

19 with respect to which the project was 

20 carried out or is expected to be car21 ried out. 

22 ‘‘(V) The fiscal quarter the 

23 project is expected to begin, the fiscal 

24 quarter the project is expected to be 

25 completed, and the fiscal quarter the 


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1 facility in connection to such project 

2 is expected to be in use by veterans, 

3 employees of the Department, or other 

4 relevant users, as the case may be. 

5 ‘‘(viii) Projected total obligations for 

6 capital asset projects for the current fiscal 

7 year, broken out by major construction, 

8 minor construction, non-recurring mainte9 nance, and leases, from the medical facili10 ties appropriation account of the Depart11 ment. 

12 ‘‘(ix) Such observations of best prac13 tices, impediments, and accomplishments 

14 related to the capital asset management 

15 and performance of the Department, in16 cluding any legislative or administrative 

17 action, as the Secretary considers appro18 priate with respect to such practices, im19 pediments, and accomplishments. 

20 ‘‘(x) Meaningful metrics that show the 

21 progress of the Department toward meet22 ing relevant goals of the Department relat23 ing to capital asset management. 

24 ‘‘(xi) Such other matters as the Sec25 retary considers appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Each re2 port in a fiscal year after the first report shall 

3 include, at a minimum, relevant updates on any 

4 capital asset projects that are ongoing during 

5 that fiscal year, including any updates to infor6 mation provided with respect to such projects 

7 under subparagraph (A). 

8 ‘‘(C) METRICS.—Beginning not later than 

9 two years after the date of the enactment of the 

10 BUILD for Veterans Act of 2023, the metrics 

11 described in subparagraph (A)(x) shall include 

12 the metrics developed under section 102(a)(1) 

13 of such Act. 

14 ‘‘(3) MATTERS RELATING TO REPORTING

15 COSTS.—In each report under paragraph (1), when 

16 reporting on costs for capital asset projects, the Sec17 retary may include information regarding Federal 

18 requirements, including those specific to the Depart19 ment, that may not exist in the non-Federal con20 struction sector that may increase costs for capital 

21 asset projects. 

22 ‘‘(b) SUPER CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

24 after the end of each fiscal year, and every 60 days 

25 thereafter until the end of that fiscal year, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42

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1 retary shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

2 Congress a report on the super construction projects 

3 carried out by the appropriate non-Department Fed4 eral entity described in section 8103(e)(1) of this 

5 title during such year. 

6 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required under 

7 paragraph (1) shall include, for each project de8 scribed in such paragraph— 

9 ‘‘(A) the budgetary and scheduling status 

10 of the project, as of the last day of the most re11 cent fiscal quarter ending before the date on 

12 which the report is required to be submitted; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(B) the actual cost and schedule 

15 variances of the project, as of such day, com16 pared to the planned cost and schedules for the 

17 project. 

18 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON20 GRESS.—The term ‘appropriate committees of Con21 gress’ means— 

22 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Appropriations and 

23 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen24 ate; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations and 

2 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

3 House of Representatives. 

4 ‘‘(2) CAPITAL ASSET PROJECT.—The term ‘cap5 ital asset project’ means a capital asset investment 

6 or activity of the Department. 

7 ‘‘(3) SUPER CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.—The 

8 term ‘super construction project’ has the meaning 

9 given such term in section 8103(e)(3) of this title.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

11 at the beginning of subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 38, 

12 United States Code, is amended by striking the item relat13 ing to section 8120 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘8120. Reports on key capital asset investments, activities, and performance.’’. 

14 SEC. 207. REPORTS ON PROJECTED NEED FOR FUNDING 

15 FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND CAPITAL ASSETS 

16 OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

17 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

19 Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate commit20 tees of Congress a report summarizing the projected 

21 amount of funding for infrastructure and capital assets 

22 that the Department of Veterans Affairs will need for the 

23 10 fiscal years that begin immediately following such date. 

24 (b) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—The Secretary shall in25 clude in the annual budget of the Department submitted 


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1 by the President under section 1105(a) of title 31, United 

2 States Code, for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year 

3 thereafter a report described in subsection (a) relating to 

4 the 10 fiscal years that begin immediately following the 

5 date on which such budget is submitted. 

6 (c) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by this section 

7 shall include, for each fiscal year covered by the report 

8 and for the entire period covered by the report, the fol9 lowing: 

10 (1) The projected funding needs of the Depart11 ment disaggregated by funding purpose, including 

12 the following: 

13 (A) Land acquisition. 

14 (B) Operations and maintenance of facili15 ties of the existing capital asset portfolio of the 

16 Department to include the minimum level of 

17 funding below which facilities could not be ap18 propriately maintained. 

19 (C) Operations and maintenance of the 

20 planned future capital asset portfolio of the De21 partment. 

22 (D) New construction, by type, including 

23 major construction, minor construction, and 

24 nonrecurring maintenance. 

25 (E) Leasing. 


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1 (F) Activation of space. 

2 (G) Disposal, reuse, and remediation. 

3 (H) Staffing to support the planning, de4 livery, management, and maintenance of the 

5 Department’s current and future capital asset 

6 portfolio. 

7 (I) Such other categories as the Secretary 

8 deems relevant. 

9 (2) The projected funding needs under para10 graph (1) disaggregated by— 

11 (A) not fewer than five major components 

12 of the Department that use infrastructure re13 sources, including the Veterans Health Admin14 istration, the National Cemetery Administra15 tion, the Veterans Benefits Administration, the 

16 Office of Information and Technology, and all 

17 other staff offices of the Department; and 

18 (B) type of capital asset investment. 

19 (3) A description of the cost increases which 

20 may or have been incurred because of the delay in 

21 adequate, stable, and predictable funding and for22 ward movement on capital asset projects. Such de23 scription may include a discussion of the negative ef24 fect of the lack of stable and predictable capital 

25 asset funding on the ability of the Department to 


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1 plan, staff, and execute effective capital asset man2 agement. 

3 (4) A complete list of capital asset projects (re4 gardless of size or type) for which all relevant pre5 paratory work has been conducted and whose key 

6 limiting factor in commencing is lack of sufficient 

7 funds. 

8 (5) Such other matters as the Secretary con9 siders appropriate, including matters relating to nec10 essary legislative or administrative action. 

11 SEC. 208. INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 

12 VETERANS AFFAIRS REPORTS ON DEPART13 MENT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than three years after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, and at least twice 

16 during the six-year period beginning on the date that is 

17 three years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

18 the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Af19 fairs shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con20 gress a report examining the management and perform21 ance of relevant capital asset projects of the Department. 

22 (b) SAMPLE PROJECTS.—The Inspector General shall 

23 select meaningful and representative samples of categories 

24 of projects and project management efforts for review, in25 cluding those that were initiated before the date of the 


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1 enactment of this Act and those that were initiated on or 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, such as major 

3 construction, minor construction, nonrecurring mainte4 nance, major and minor leases, land acquisition, and dis5 posals. 

6 (c) ELEMENTS.—Each report submitted under sub7 section (a) may include, at the discretion of the Inspector 

8 General, the following: 

9 (1) A comparison of planned versus actual cost, 

10 schedule, and scope metrics. 

11 (2) Improvements or lack thereof to capital 

12 asset project management, including staffing, at the 

13 local, regional, or national levels. 

14 (3) Observations on key characteristics inhib15 iting successful delivery of projects or allowing for 

16 successful delivery of projects. 

17 (4) Identification of areas of waste, fraud, and 

18 abuse, if any. 

19 (5) Such other matters as the Inspector Gen20 eral considers appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 209. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS ON CAPITAL 

2 ASSET PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND EXECU3 TION BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF4 FAIRS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than three years after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act and not less fre7 quently than once every three years thereafter until the 

8 date that is 9 years after the date of the enactment of 

9 this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

10 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 

11 a report reviewing the progress of the Department of Vet12 erans Affairs toward meeting the goals, metrics, and other 

13 plans of the Department under this Act, particularly 

14 under sections 101, 102, and 202. 

15 (b) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by subsection 

16 (a) may include the following: 

17 (1) A review of the performance of the Depart18 ment related to planning, oversight, management of 

19 human capital, contracting, and execution of capital 

20 asset projects. 

21 (2) A review of how the Department is com22 plying with the requirements of this Act. 

23 (3) Such other topics as the Comptroller Gen24 eral considers appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 210. REPORT ON DENTAL CARE PHYSICAL INFRA2 STRUCTURE NEEDS OF DEPARTMENT OF 

3 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 Not later than one year after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

6 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a re7 port, disaggregated by medical center or other relevant 

8 health care facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 

9 on— 

10 (1) the physical infrastructure needed (such as 

11 new facilities, renovations, remodels, leases, or other 

12 infrastructure) to provide dental services to veterans 

13 eligible for such services under the laws adminis14 tered by the Secretary; and 

15 (2) the project by project cost and total cost to 

16 establish the physical infrastructure specified under 

17 paragraph (1) and an estimated timeline to complete 

18 such projects upon receipt of appropriate funding. 

19 SEC. 211. REPORT ON LONG-TERM CARE PHYSICAL INFRA20 STRUCTURE NEEDS OF DEPARTMENT OF 

21 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet24 erans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate committees 

25 of Congress a report, disaggregated by medical center or 

26 other relevant health care facility of the Department of 


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1 Veterans Affairs, identifying the physical infrastructure 

2 needs of the Department to support current and future 

3 anticipated long-term care needs and models of care for 

4 veterans, including— 

5 (1) infrastructure needed to support the deliv6 ery of long-term care for women veterans, veterans 

7 with spinal cord injuries and diseases, veterans with 

8 traumatic brain injury, veterans with unique behav9 ioral health needs, veterans with memory loss, and 

10 other population groups with unique needs or pro11 jected future needs; 

12 (2) information regarding the plans of the De13 partment to provide such care as the Department 

14 builds internal capacity but space is not yet available 

15 to meet the demand for such care; and 

16 (3) with respect to any projects needed to pro17 vide the infrastructure specified under paragraph 

18 (1)— 

19 (A) the estimated individual project cost 

20 and total cost to accomplish those projects; and 

21 (B) the estimated individual project 

22 timeline to accomplish each such project upon 

23 receipt of appropriate funding. 

24 (b) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

25 PRIORITIZATION OF CERTAIN PROJECTS.—The Secretary 


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1 shall include in the report required under subsection (a) 

2 information regarding how the infrastructure 

3 prioritization processes of the Department, such as the 

4 Strategic Capital Investment Planning process, or suc5 cessor process, could be modified to include higher 

6 prioritization of projects that support the provision of a 

7 health care service that is not widely available, or is not 

8 available in compliance with appropriate quality or access 

9 standards, from non-Department providers. 

10 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF REPORT.—In developing the 

11 report required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

12 consult with relevant regional and national program of13 fices of the Veterans Health Administration with responsi14 bility to manage the various health care services covered 

15 by the report, including long-term care and care relating 

16 to spinal cord injuries and diseases, to ensure that the 

17 report contains a holistic, comprehensive, and integrated 

18 plan to address the capital asset and other space needs 

19 for the population of veterans who require those services. 

20 (d) INDICATION OF TYPES OF PROJECTS.—In the re21 port required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall in22 dicate the projects that can be most efficiently and effec23 tively accomplished through smaller individual infrastruc24 ture projects or through a larger medical facility replace25 ment or new site of care, as determined by the Secretary. 


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1 SEC. 212. REPORT ON FEASIBILITY AND ADVISABILITY OF 

2 USING A DEDICATED BUDGET ACCOUNT FOR 

3 MAINTENANCE OF CAPITAL ASSETS OF DE4 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

5 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

7 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate com8 mittees of Congress a report on the feasibility and advis9 ability of requesting that Congress create a dedicated 

10 budget account from which the Department of Veterans 

11 Affairs would request funds, based on relevant method12 ology, formulas and percentages tied to the existing and 

13 future capital asset needs of the Department, and if such 

14 funds are provided, draw upon to pay for maintenance, 

15 preventative maintenance, and repair of the capital assets 

16 of the Department. 

17 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection 

18 (a) shall include the following: 

19 (1) The best practices used by the Department, 

20 drawing from the Federal Government, State and 

21 local governments, nonprofit organizations, private 

22 industry, and other appropriate entities, relating to 

23 stable and consistent planning and budgeting for 

24 capital asset maintenance. 

25 (2) Relevant formulas and percentages that the 

26 Department currently uses to identify the resources 


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1 required for capital asset maintenance or could use 

2 to dedicate or segment off funds to pay for needed 

3 and expected maintenance costs based on the size, 

4 need, complexity, and other requirements of the cap5 ital asset portfolio of the Department. 

6 (3) Such other information as the Secretary 

7 considers appropriate. 

8 SEC. 213. REPORT ON WOMEN VETERANS RETROFIT INITIA9 TIVE. 

10 Section 5102 of the Deborah Sampson Act of 2020 

11 (title V of Public Law 116–315; 38 U.S.C. 8110 note) 

12 is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub14 section (d); and 

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol16 lowing new subsection (c): 

17 ‘‘(c) REPORT ON PROJECTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

19 after the date of the enactment of the BUILD for 

20 Veterans Act of 2023, the Secretary shall submit to 

21 the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

22 containing— 

23 ‘‘(A) an identification of the funding re24 quested and the funding provided to the DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42

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1 partment for retrofitting prioritized under sub2 section (a) as of the date of the report; 

3 ‘‘(B) a list of projects conducted with such 

4 funding as of such date, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) amounts obligated for each such 

6 project; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the locations of each such 

8 project; 

9 ‘‘(iii) a short description of each such 

10 project; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) the status of each such project, 

12 including an estimated timeline to complete 

13 the project; and 

14 ‘‘(C) a list of projects for retrofitting 

15 prioritized under subsection (a) as of such date 

16 that remain unfunded as of such date, includ17 ing— 

18 ‘‘(i) the estimated funding required 

19 for those projects to be completed, on a 

20 project by project basis; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) an estimated timeline to complete 

22 each such project if necessary funding and 

23 other resources are provided. 

24 ‘‘(2) UPDATES.—Not later than one year after 

25 the submittal of the report under paragraph (1), and 


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1 annually thereafter until the earlier of the date that 

2 is 10 years after the submittal of such report or the 

3 date on which all projects listed under subpara4 graphs (B) and (C) of such paragraph have been 

5 completed, the Secretary shall submit to the appro6 priate committees of Congress a report on— 

7 ‘‘(A) the progress made by the Secretary 

8 in completing such projects; and 

9 ‘‘(B) an identification of the funding re10 quested and the funding provided to the De11 partment to complete such projects. 

12 ‘‘(3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON13 GRESS.—In this subsection, the term ‘appropriate 

14 committees of Congress’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Appropriations and 

16 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen17 ate; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations and 

19 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

20 House of Representatives.’’. 


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1 SEC. 214. REPORT ON CAPITAL ASSET AND INFORMATION 

2 TECHNOLOGY NEEDS OF THE RESEARCH AND 

3 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT 

4 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

5 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

7 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on 

8 the capital asset and information technology needs of the 

9 research and development program of the Department of 

10 Veterans Affairs. 

11 (b) CONTENTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The report required by sub13 section (a) shall include the following: 

14 (A) A comprehensive summary of new fa15 cilities, renovations of existing facilities, leasing 

16 of facilities and any other such facilities or 

17 physical infrastructure the Department requires 

18 to effectively perform its research and develop19 ment functions, including projected functions. 

20 (B) Detailed information on the informa21 tion technology resources, projects, equipment, 

22 and related information technology needs, 

23 disaggregated by type of information technology 

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1 opment program and activities of the Depart2 ment functional and high performing in the 

3 short, medium, and long term, and those need4 ed to enable employees of the Department to 

5 perform their research and development in an 

6 effective and efficient manner. 

7 (C) Such matters as the Secretary deems 

8 relevant to maintain and further improve and 

9 advance the research and development functions 

10 of the Department through improved capital 

11 asset and information technology support. 

12 (2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (A) FACILITIES.— 

14 (i) SUMMARIES BY PROJECT.—In pro15 viding information under paragraph 

16 (1)(A), the Secretary shall provide esti17 mated summaries for each project with 

18 cost data as well as a realistic multi-year 

19 plan to design and deliver the capital asset 

20 projects, assuming required funding is pro21 vided. 

22 (ii) IDENTIFICATION OF PROJECTS.— 

23 Each project shall be identified by its 

24 project type such as major construction, 

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1 nance, major lease, minor lease, or such 

2 other category as the Secretary determines 

3 may be appropriate. 

4 (B) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.—In pro5 viding information under paragraph (1)(B), the 

6 Secretary shall provide estimated summaries for 

7 each project or investment with individual and 

8 total cost data as well as a realistic multi-year 

9 plan to develop relevant requirements and ac10 quire and deploy the relevant information tech11 nology services, projects, equipment, and re12 lated matters. 

13 (C) SCOPE.—The scope of the report sub14 mitted under subsection (a) is on the capital 

15 asset, information technology, and other related 

16 critical support functions, excluding human cap17 ital related needs, needed for the Department to 

18 perform research and development in an effec19 tive and efficient manner. 

20 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In preparing the report re21 quired by subsection (a), the Secretary may consider the 

22 following: 

23 (1) The findings of the 2012 final report of the 

24 Research Infrastructure Program of the Depart25 ment. 


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1 (2) Current and updated data providing the 

2 most accurate and holistic presentation of the phys3 ical infrastructure, information technology, and 

4 other relevant support function needs of the research 

5 and development program of the Department. 

6 (3) Such other matters as the Secretary con7 siders appropriate. 

8 SEC. 215. REVIEW AND REPORT ON PROVISIONS OF LAW 

9 RELATING TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

10 AFFAIRS CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT AND 

11 OVERSIGHT. 

12 (a) REVIEW.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

13 shall review all relevant authorities of the Department of 

14 Veterans Affairs, including those in section 312A of title 

15 38, United States Code, and determine whether the provi16 sions of such authorities are meaningful, relevant, and re17 flect the current operational needs, organization structure, 

18 and all other necessary requirements for the full life-cycle 

19 of effective and efficient management of capital assets. 

20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

22 to Congress a report regarding whether the authorities re23 viewed under subsection (a) should be revised to align 

24 more closely with current and future projected operational 

25 needs of the Department. 


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1 (c) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection 

2 (b) shall include the following: 

3 (1) An assessment of whether other offices, ad4 ministrations, or entities of the Department should 

5 be directed to formally assume certain functions cur6 rently assigned to officials of the Department, in7 cluding to the Deputy Secretary, the Director of 

8 Construction and Facilities Management, the Under 

9 Secretary for Health, the Assistant Secretary for 

10 Management, and the Chief Financial Officer, pur11 suant to statute or Departmental practice, so as to 

12 match operational realties and needs, directives, poli13 cies, and procedures of the Department, to improve 

14 efficiencies, streamline management and lines of au15 thority, responsibility, and accountability or other 

16 reasons that would be beneficial to the capital asset 

17 management of the Department. 

18 (2) An assessment of whether capital asset 

19 functions currently not clearly assumed or controlled 

20 by other entities of the Department should be more 

21 clearly assigned to relevant offices of the Depart22 ment to match operational realities and needs, direc23 tives, policies, and procedures of the Department, to 

24 improve efficiencies, streamline management and 

25 lines of authority and responsibility, or other reasons 


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1 that would be beneficial to the capital asset manage2 ment of the Department. 

3 (3) Identification of whether any new offices, 

4 structures, positions, or reporting lines should be 

5 created or modified in the Department to improve 

6 operational effectiveness, performance, and account7 ability for capital asset management. 

8 (4) An assessment of whether a modified De9 partmental organizational structure and changes to 

10 relevant statutory provisions could create a clearly 

11 identified single line of accountability and responsi12 bility for the full life-cycle of capital asset manage13 ment activities of the Department so as to improve 

14 effectiveness, efficiency, performance, and stability 

15 of Departmental capital asset management. 

16 (5) Specific reasons for the statutory or other 

17 changes that are recommended in the report or if no 

18 changes are necessary, a justification for not making 

19 any changes, including a statement providing the 

20 single responsible executive and office in charge of 

21 managing all capital asset management activities of 

22 the Department as of the date of the report. 

23 (6) Identification of such legislative or adminis24 trative action as the Secretary determines necessary 


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1 to implement the changes necessary to improve cap2 ital asset management at the Department. 

3 SEC. 216. IMPROVING PREVENTION, DETECTION, AND RE4 PORTING OF WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE IN 

5 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CAP6 ITAL ASSET PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES. 

7 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

9 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate com10 mittees of Congress a report on actions the Department 

11 of Veterans Affairs is taking or plans to take to enhance 

12 the ability of the Department to prevent, detect, and re13 port waste, fraud, and abuse occurring in capital asset 

14 projects of the Department, whether by employees, con15 tractors, or other relevant persons or entities involved with 

16 the Department. 

17 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 

18 (a) shall include the following: 

19 (1) An assessment of whether new training or 

20 enhancements to existing training should be under21 taken to improve the prevention, detection, and re22 porting of waste, fraud, and abuse. 

23 (2) Recommendations for such legislative and 

24 administrative action as the Secretary determines 


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1 appropriate to improve the prevention, detection, 

2 and reporting of waste, fraud, and abuse. 

3 (3) Such other matters the Secretary considers 

4 appropriate. 

5 (c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

6 the Secretary— 

7 (1) shall consult with the Inspector General of 

8 the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Comp9 troller General of the United States on matters re10 lating to best practices and strategies to improve de11 tection and prevention by the Department of waste, 

12 fraud, and abuse in capital asset projects and man13 agement; and 

14 (2) may consult with such other persons and 

15 entities on such matters as the Secretary considers 

16 appropriate. 

Æ 


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