II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3341 

To improve the emergency management capabilities of the Department of 

Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 

Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mr. MORAN, and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve the emergency management capabilities of the 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing VA’s Emer5 gency Response to (AVERT) Crises Act of 2023’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

2 AFFAIRS TO IMPLEMENT A FULLY OPER3 ATIONAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS 

4 SYSTEM THROUGHOUT MEDICAL FACILITIES 

5 OF DEPARTMENT. 

6 (a) IMPLEMENTATION REQUIRED.—Not later than 

7 two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

8 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall implement a fully oper9 ational high-frequency emergency communications system 

10 throughout medical facilities of the Department of Vet11 erans Affairs. 

12 (b) PURPOSE OF SYSTEM.—The system required to 

13 be implemented under subsection (a) shall— 

14 (1) serve as a means of maintaining commu15 nications at medical facilities of the Department 

16 during disasters or emergencies without the need for 

17 external infrastructure; 

18 (2) enable emergency communications between 

19 medical facilities of the Department and other Gov20 ernment agencies with high-frequency communica21 tions capabilities; and 

22 (3) be used to reestablish the provision of 

23 health care services to veterans, maintain the situa24 tional awareness of staff of the Department, coordi25 nate emergency response, and request resources as 

26 needed. 

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1 (c) CONSULTATION.—In preparing to carry out sub2 section (a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall consult 

3 with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the heads 

4 of such other Federal agencies as the Secretary of Vet5 erans Affairs considers relevant, on best practices in im6 plementing high-frequency emergency communications. 

7 (d) CONTRACTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 

9 (a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 

10 (A) renegotiate any contract in effect on 

11 the day before the date of the enactment of this 

12 Act that provides for the Resilient High Fre13 quency Radio Network of the Department; or 

14 (B) solicit such new contracts as the Sec15 retary considers appropriate to provide the 

16 high-frequency emergency communications serv17 ices and equipment necessary to carry out sub18 section (a). 

19 (2) MAINTENANCE.—In carrying out subsection 

20 (a), the Secretary shall ensure that a contract is in 

21 effect for the high-frequency emergency communica22 tions system required by such subsection, including 

23 for the provision of on-demand maintenance and 

24 routine maintenance. 

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1 (e) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

2 the Secretary shall— 

3 (1) designate one office in the Central Office of 

4 the Department to lead the implementation of the 

5 emergency communications system required under 

6 such subsection; 

7 (2) create a staffing model to be distributed to 

8 and used by medical facilities of the Department— 

9 (A) to identify who at the facility level will 

10 be responsible for verifying that the equipment 

11 for such system is fully functional; and 

12 (B) to ensure such system is monitored at 

13 all times; 

14 (3) create and distribute guidelines to medical 

15 facilities of the Department, in conjunction with the 

16 appropriately designated contracting officer or acqui17 sition center, for acceptance and installation of such 

18 system, including demonstration of operability before 

19 final inspection and acceptance of such system; 

20 (4) ensure equipment functionality and operator 

21 knowledge by creating and managing a training and 

22 testing program to include— 

23 (A) ensuring relevant staff receive com24 prehensive training regarding such system, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3341.IS S3341
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1 cluding training on operation and maintenance 

2 of such system; 

3 (B) conducting internal exercises at all 

4 medical facilities of the Department not less 

5 frequently than once per year to test equipment 

6 functionality and ensure staff have experience 

7 operating the equipment in a simulated emer8 gency; and 

9 (C) collaborating with the Secretary of 

10 Homeland Security to determine the feasibility 

11 of conducting multi-agency exercises every two 

12 years; 

13 (5) create and distribute general guidance to 

14 medical facilities of the Department regarding where 

15 emergency communications equipment should be lo16 cated in a medical facility, and collect and store in17 formation on the location of the equipment in each 

18 medical facility; 

19 (6) ensure medical facilities of the Department 

20 include information on such system in each facility21 specific Comprehensive Emergency Management 

22 Program, or successor program; and 

23 (7) ensure medical facilities of the Department 

24 regularly monitor the staffing levels and training 

25 programs for such system to ensure enough trained 

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1 staff are available to monitor such system at all 

2 times. 

3 (f) PHASED IMPLEMENTATION.— 

4 (1) INITIAL LOCATIONS.—The Secretary of Vet5 erans Affairs shall ensure that the system required 

6 by subsection (a) is initially installed and tested 

7 throughout three Veterans Integrated Service Net8 works the Secretary shall select for the purposes of 

9 this section. 

10 (2) DETERMINATION OF FULLY OPERATIONAL

11 SYSTEM AND NOTICE TO CONGRESS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Once the system re13 quired by subsection (a) is installed and tested 

14 in the three Veterans Integrated Service Net15 works pursuant to paragraph (1) and the Sec16 retary determines the system is fully oper17 ational in accordance with subparagraph (B) 

18 and is able to be implemented at all medical fa19 cilities of the Department, the Secretary shall 

20 submit to Congress notice of such determina21 tion. 

22 (B) DETERMINATION.—The Secretary may 

23 only determine that the system described in 

24 subparagraph (A) is fully operational if— 

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1 (i) the Secretary validates the comple2 tion of training, certification, and system 

3 use by the applicable workforce; 

4 (ii) the system has been monitored by 

5 the applicable workforce for a period of 

6 three months; 

7 (iii) the system has been in operation 

8 for a continuous period of three months 

9 without any system outages; and 

10 (iv) the Secretary has completed two 

11 training exercises involving all test installa12 tion sites. 

13 (3) FULL IMPLEMENTATION.—Once the Sec14 retary has determined pursuant to paragraph (2) 

15 that the system required by subsection (a) is fully 

16 operational and submitted notice to Congress of 

17 such determination in accordance with such para18 graph, the Secretary shall implement the system at 

19 all medical facilities of the Department. 

20 (g) INITIAL REPORT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 

24 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet25 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3341.IS S3341
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1 port on the plans of the Secretary to implement the 

2 system required by subsection (a). 

3 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report submitted pursu4 ant to paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

5 (A) A detailed timeline of the planned im6 plementation of the system required by sub7 section (a). 

8 (B) An identification of the three Veterans 

9 Integrated Service Networks selected under 

10 subsection (f)(1). 

11 (C) A description of the specific metrics 

12 and benchmarks the Secretary plans to use to 

13 make the determination under subsection (f)(2). 

14 (D) A description of the plans of the Sec15 retary for contracting under subsection (d)(1). 

16 (E) A description of the plans of the Sec17 retary for contracting under subsection (d)(2). 

18 (F) A spending plan for implementation of 

19 the system. 

20 (G) An identification of which office the 

21 Department has designated under subsection 

22 (e)(1). 

23 (H) An identification of the staffing struc24 ture of the office identified in subparagraph 

25 (G), including any plans to change the strucVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3341.IS S3341
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1 ture of such office to more effectively imple2 ment the system. 

3 (I) Details on the roles and responsibilities 

4 of each of the following entities in implementing 

5 the system: 

6 (i) The office identified pursuant to 

7 subparagraph (G). 

8 (ii) Any other offices of the Depart9 ment involved at the Central Office of the 

10 Department. 

11 (iii) Veterans Integrated Service Net12 works. 

13 (iv) Medical facilities of the Depart14 ment. 

15 (J) A description of the staffing model re16 quired under subsection (e)(2). 

17 (K) Details on the training required under 

18 subsection (e)(4)(A), including— 

19 (i) the components of the training; 

20 (ii) the duration of the training; 

21 (iii) the frequency of the training; 

22 (iv) which employees will be required 

23 to take such training; 

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1 (v) whether the training will be con2 ducted by the Department or a contractor; 

3 and 

4 (vi) how the Secretary plans to over5 see and track completion of the training. 

6 (L) A description of the guidelines created 

7 and distributed under subsection (e)(5). 

8 (M) A description of how the Secretary 

9 plans to ensure medical facilities of the Depart10 ment include information on the system in each 

11 facility-specific Comprehensive Emergency Man12 agement Program, or successor program. 

13 (N) A description of how the Secretary 

14 plans to ensure medical facilities of the Depart15 ment regularly monitor the staffing levels for 

16 the system to ensure enough trained staff are 

17 available to monitor the system at all times. 

18 (O) A description of any updates the Sec19 retary plans to make to the directives of the 

20 Department on the topic of emergency commu21 nications. 

22 (P) An assessment of whether other facili23 ties of the Department, including facilities of 

24 the Veterans Benefits Administration and facili25 ties of the National Cemetery Administration, 

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1 require the implementation of a high-frequency 

2 emergency communications system, and if so— 

3 (i) the plan of the Secretary to imple4 ment a high-frequency emergency commu5 nications system throughout such facilities; 

6 and 

7 (ii) whether the Secretary requires ac8 tion by Congress to carry out such plan. 

9 (h) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

11 the date on which the Secretary completes imple12 mentation of the system under subsection (a), and 

13 not less frequently than once each year thereafter, 

14 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Vet15 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

16 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a 

17 report on the operations of such system. 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted pursu19 ant to paragraph (1) shall include, for the period 

20 covered by the report, the following: 

21 (A) Information on whether each site 

22 hosting the system required by subsection (a) is 

23 adequately staffed to monitor the system 24 

24 hours per day for seven days per week. 

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1 (B) Information on whether any outages 

2 have occurred with respect to such system since 

3 the previous report, or, for the first report, 

4 whether any outages have occurred since the 

5 full implementation of such system under sub6 section (f)(3). 

7 (C) The results of internal and external ex8 ercises conducted to demonstrate functionality 

9 of such system. 

10 (D) Whether any contract renegotiations 

11 or modifications or new contracts have occurred 

12 for either the procurement of high-frequency 

13 emergency communications equipment, mainte14 nance, or training. 

15 (E) Any updated guidance or trainings 

16 provided to employees tasked with overseeing 

17 such system. 

18 (i) OIG REPORT.—Not later than three years after 

19 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector Gen20 eral of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit 

21 to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

22 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep23 resentatives a report on the implementation by the De24 partment of the system required by subsection (a), which 

25 shall include an analysis of the following: 

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1 (1) The effectiveness and functionality of the 

2 system. 

3 (2) The staffing model required under sub4 section (e)(2). 

5 (3) The level of coordination by the Central Of6 fice of the Department with medical facilities of the 

7 Department in helping those facilities implement 

8 and maintain the system. 

9 (4) The effectiveness of the training and testing 

10 program required under subsection (e)(4). 

11 (5) Any difficulties with ensuring trained staff 

12 are available to monitor the system at all times. 

13 SEC. 3. REPORT ON EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ROLES 

14 FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet17 erans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 

18 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af19 fairs of the House of Representatives a report outlining 

20 the roles and responsibilities of all offices of the Depart21 ment of Veterans Affairs involved with emergency man22 agement. 

23 (b) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the report re24 quired by subsection (a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

25 shall consult with the Comptroller General of the United 

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1 States, the Inspector General of the Department of Vet2 erans Affairs, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and 

3 such other Federal agencies as the Secretary of Veterans 

4 Affairs considers relevant, to obtain insights from their 

5 experience and trends that they have found, and such rec6 ommendations as they may have with respect to the man7 agement by the Department of Veterans Affairs of emer8 gency management functions. 

9 (c) CONTENTS.—The report submitted pursuant to 

10 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

11 (1) A description of the organizational structure 

12 of each office, both during normal operations and 

13 during emergency or disaster operations. 

14 (2) The roles and responsibilities of each office. 

15 (3) A detailed description of roles and respon16 sibilities that are shared by both the Office of Emer17 gency Management of the Department and the Of18 fice of Operations, Security, and Preparedness of the 

19 Department, including an analysis of how each office 

20 plays a part in emergency management functions. 

21 (4) Recommendations for improving the struc22 ture and alignment of relevant offices to better pre23 pare the Department for emergencies, remove 

24 redundancies, and improve accountability. 

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1 (5) An analysis of the feasibility and advis2 ability of consolidating relevant offices into one cen3 tralized emergency management office to improve 

4 communication and streamline emergency prepared5 ness and response efforts of the Department. 

6 SEC. 4. REPORT ON REGIONAL READINESS CENTERS OF 

7 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet10 erans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 

11 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af12 fairs of the House of Representatives a report on the Re13 gional Readiness Centers of the Department of Veterans 

14 Affairs. 

15 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted pursuant to 

16 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

17 (1) The number of requests made by facilities 

18 of the Department to obtain supplies from a Re19 gional Readiness Center since the inception of the 

20 Regional Readiness Center program, disaggregated 

21 by Regional Readiness Center. 

22 (2) Information on types and amounts of mate23 rial distributed since the inception of the Regional 

24 Readiness Center program, disaggregated by Re25 gional Readiness Center. 

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1 (3) Current inventory, disaggregated by Re2 gional Readiness Center. 

3 (4) An overview of the change in inventory in 

4 each Regional Readiness Center during the two-year 

5 period ending on the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act. 

7 (5) The percentage of inventory that is expired 

8 or that will expire in the next month, disaggregated 

9 by Regional Readiness Center. 

10 (6) Operational costs since the inception of the 

11 Regional Readiness Center program, disaggregated 

12 by Regional Readiness Center. 

13 (7) An analysis of the types and sizes of emer14 gencies, including natural disasters, public health 

15 emergencies, or Fourth Mission activations of the 

16 Department, with respect to which each Regional 

17 Readiness Center would be able to provide sufficient 

18 resources to respond to, based on the current capac19 ity of the Regional Readiness Center. 

20 (8) Any plans of the Secretary to realign or 

21 change the number of Regional Readiness Centers. 

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1 SEC. 5. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE EMERGENCY CACHE PRO2 GRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF3 FAIRS. 

4 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

6 carry out the following: 

7 (1) TRACKING SYSTEM AND MINIMUM TIME

8 FRAMES.—Establish a tracking system and min9 imum time frames by which the Emergency Phar10 macy Service initiates resupply orders to make sure 

11 emergency caches and emergency pharmacy vehicles 

12 are fully stocked with unexpired inventory. Such 

13 time frames shall account for— 

14 (A) any extension of the shelf life of inven15 tory under the Shelf Life Extension Program; 

16 and 

17 (B) historical data of the Department of 

18 Veterans Affairs on the time it typically takes 

19 the Department to reorder, receive, and restock 

20 emergency caches or emergency pharmacy vehi21 cles, as the case may be. 

22 (2) ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM.—Create an 

23 accountability mechanism to ensure the Emergency 

24 Pharmacy Service and the Watch Office are main25 taining accurate and complete records of emergency 

26 cache activations. 

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1 (3) GUIDELINES ON AUTHORIZED ACCESS.— 

2 Provide guidelines for facilities of the Department 

3 regarding which individuals are authorized to access 

4 the emergency caches. 

5 (4) GUIDELINES ON RESPONSIBILITY FOR DIS6 TRIBUTION.—Provide guidelines for facilities of the 

7 Department regarding which individuals are respon8 sible for distributing the contents of the emergency 

9 cache if activated. 

10 (5) TRAINING.—Provide all Department em11 ployees identified by the Secretary under paragraphs 

12 (3) and (4) with a training that includes information 

13 on— 

14 (A) the contents of the emergency cache; 

15 (B) circumstances for use of the emer16 gency cache; 

17 (C) the actions the employee should take if 

18 they believe activation of the cache is war19 ranted; and 

20 (D) procedures for distributing the con21 tents of the cache. 

22 (6) OVERSIGHT OF VETERANS HEALTH ADMIN23 ISTRATION EMERGENCY CACHES.—Designate one 

24 program office of the Department to have primary 

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1 responsibility for oversight of emergency caches of 

2 the Veterans Health Administration. 

3 SEC. 6. PLAN TO ALLOW FUEL SHARING AND INCREASED 

4 COORDINATION BETWEEN THE FEDERAL 

5 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY AND 

6 THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

7 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, 

9 after consulting with the Administrator of the Federal 

10 Emergency Management Agency, submit to the Com11 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, the Committee 

12 on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives, the 

13 Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs 

14 of the Senate, and the Committee on Homeland Security 

15 of the House of Representatives a report regarding— 

16 (1) the current limitations preventing the Fed17 eral Emergency Management Agency from providing 

18 fuel or other resources to the Department of Vet19 erans Affairs during emergencies; 

20 (2) whether the Department requires action by 

21 Congress to allow such resource provision to occur; 

22 (3) whether the Secretary has been unable to 

23 coordinate with the Administrator during prior 

24 emergencies or Fourth Mission activations due to a 

25 lack of authority for such coordination; and 

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1 (4) whether the Secretary requires action by 

2 Congress to address any of the issues mentioned 

3 under paragraph (3). 

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