II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3466 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Comptroller General 

of the United States to submit to Congress reports regarding security 

and safety at facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 12, 2023 

Mr. MORAN (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. THUNE, Mrs. 

SHAHEEN, Mr. DAINES, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. ROUNDS, and Mr. VANCE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to Congress reports regarding security and safety at facilities 

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 ‘‘VA Medical Center 

5 Security Report Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ANNUAL REVIEW OF SECURITY AT COVERED FA2 CILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET3 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) ANNUAL SURVEY.— 

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

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an7 nually thereafter for each of the following five years, 

8 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in coordination 

9 with the Director of the Office of Security and Law 

10 Enforcement of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 

11 shall conduct an annual survey of covered employees 

12 to collect information regarding security at each cov13 ered facility. 

14 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each annual survey required 

15 by paragraph (1) with respect to a covered facility 

16 shall include questions about— 

17 (A) the type and frequency of criminal ac18 tivity experienced at the covered facility during 

19 the 12 months prior to the date the covered em20 ployee completes the survey; 

21 (B) the number of vacant positions for De22 partment police officers at the covered facility 

23 and the number of days each vacant position 

24 has been vacant; 

25 (C) the availability and adequacy of cov26 ered equipment; 


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1 (D) the availability and adequacy of re2 sources, classes, or other time set aside for 

3 training Department police officers who work at 

4 each covered facility about any skill or tactic re5 lated to law enforcement, including the proper 

6 use of force, firearms qualifications and train7 ing, procedures for responding to an active 

8 threat, and any other training required for De9 partment police officers; 

10 (E) any security weakness; 

11 (F) an analysis of the relationship between 

12 the covered facility (including the Department 

13 police officers who work at the covered facility) 

14 and local law enforcement agencies; 

15 (G) efforts by the personnel of the covered 

16 facility to address and reduce criminal activity 

17 at, or in close proximity to, the covered facility; 

18 and 

19 (H) recommendations for the Secretary to 

20 better address and reduce criminal activity at, 

21 or in close proximity to, covered facilities. 

22 (b) REPORT.— 

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

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an25 nually thereafter for each of the following five years, 


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1 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Vet2 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

3 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives an 

4 annual report regarding security at covered facilities. 

5 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

6 paragraph (1) shall include, for the period covered 

7 by the report, the following: 

8 (A) The results of the annual survey re9 quired by subsection (a) for the year covered by 

10 the report. 

11 (B) An analysis, made in coordination with 

12 the Director of the Office of Security and Law 

13 Enforcement of such Department and each di14 rector and police chief of a Veterans Integrated 

15 Service Network, of the results of the annual 

16 survey required by subsection (a) for the year 

17 covered by the report. 

18 (C) A plan of action that describes how the 

19 Secretary plans to address any security weak20 ness identified in the results of the annual sur21 vey and includes clearly-stated goals with meas22 urable benchmarks for each goal and deadlines 

23 for each benchmark. 

24 (D) A list of each vacant position for police 

25 chief or deputy police chief at each covered faVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Dec 28, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3466.IS S3466

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1 cility, and the number of days the position has 

2 been vacant. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) COVERED EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘‘covered 

5 equipment’’ means any item issued by the Secretary 

6 to a Department police officer (including batons, 

7 firearms, pepper spray, ballistic vests, body-worn 

8 cameras, and radios) for use in the provision of serv9 ices under section 902 of title 38, United States 

10 Code. 

11 (2) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘covered 

12 employee’’ means any employee of the Department 

13 who is employed at a covered facility as a police 

14 chief, a facility emergency management leader, a fa15 cility director, or a person carrying out the respon16 sibilities of one of these positions in an acting capac17 ity. 

18 (3) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘‘covered 

19 facility’’ means any facility of the Department where 

20 Department police officers have jurisdiction. 

21 (4) DEPARTMENT POLICE OFFICER.—The term 

22 ‘‘Department police officer’’ has the meaning given 

23 to such term as used in section 902 of title 38, 

24 United States Code. 


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1 (5) SECURITY WEAKNESS.—The term ‘‘security 

2 weakness’’ means a deficiency in the facilities, staff3 ing, or covered equipment at a covered facility that 

4 a covered employee of the covered facility determines 

5 presents a risk to the safety of visitors or staff, in6 cluding an unsecured door, inoperable security cam7 era, unsecured police operations room, a lack of se8 curity presence at an entrance to the covered facil9 ity, and a lack of security presence in an area of the 

10 covered facility or the grounds of the covered facility 

11 that the director of the covered facility determines 

12 requires an increased security presence. 

13 SEC. 3. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON SECURITY 

14 AND SAFETY ISSUES AT COVERED FACILITIES 

15 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF16 FAIRS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

19 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

20 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet21 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

22 on security and safety issues at covered facilities of the 

23 Department of Veterans Affairs. 

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

25 (a) shall examine the following: 


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1 (1) The ability of Department police officers 

2 and other employees of the Department to respond 

3 to emergencies at covered facilities of the Depart4 ment in a consistent and trained manner, including 

5 at covered facilities in rural or highly rural areas 

6 and across campuses that encompass a vast number 

7 of outlying buildings. 

8 (2) The challenges, both physical and organiza9 tional, that must be overcome by the Office of Oper10 ations, Security, and Preparedness of the Depart11 ment to ensure patient, visitor, and workforce safety. 

12 (3) The quality and functionality of emergency 

13 equipment furnished and available to employees at 

14 covered facilities of the Department in times of need. 

15 (4) The Department-wide processes and proto16 cols established to mitigate risks from aging build17 ings and systems and the emergence of new possible 

18 threats. 

19 (5) The level of training, familiarity, and adop20 tion of such processes and protocols by employees 

21 throughout the Department. 

22 (6) The progress made by the Department in 

23 addressing the privacy, safety, and dignity of women 

24 veterans at medical facilities of the Department. 


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1 (7) How the Department has implemented poli2 cies to ensure privacy and safety of women veterans 

3 receiving care furnished by the Department. 

4 (8) The availability and adequacy of resources, 

5 classes, or other time set aside for training Depart6 ment police officers who work at a covered facility 

7 of the Department about any skill or tactic related 

8 to law enforcement, including the proper use of 

9 force, firearms qualifications and training, proce10 dures for responding to an active threat, and any 

11 other training, including crisis intervention training, 

12 required for Department police officers. 

13 (9) The availability and adequacy of equipment 

14 furnished to Department police officers for use in 

15 the provision of services under section 902 of title 

16 38, United States Code, including batons, firearms, 

17 pepper spray, ballistic vests, body-worn cameras, and 

18 radios. 

19 (10) The typical relationship between Depart20 ment police officers at a covered facility of the De21 partment and local law enforcement agencies. 

22 (11) Any best practices observed that should be 

23 made the standard throughout the Department. 

24 (12) Any controls used by the Department and 

25 covered facilities of the Department to ensure that 


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1 stationary, computer-based, and portable panic 

2 alarm systems operate effectively, notify relevant 

3 clinical, police, and security staff when activated, are 

4 located in high-risk areas, as determined with input 

5 from clinical staff, and are regularly tested. 

6 (13) What security and incident preparedness 

7 features are included as part of facility condition as8 sessments conducted by the Department for covered 

9 facilities of the Department, including panic alarm 

10 systems. 

11 (14) What security and incident preparedness 

12 features are part of— 

13 (A) the capital program requirements man14 agement process of the Department; and 

15 (B) the strategic capital investment plan16 ning business case development and review 

17 processes of the Department. 

18 (15) Any related areas of interest determined 

19 by the Comptroller General to be relevant for inclu20 sion in the report. 

21 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘‘covered 

23 facility’’ means any facility of the Department where 

24 Department police officers have jurisdiction. 


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1 (2) DEPARTMENT POLICE OFFICER.—The term 

2 ‘‘Department police officer’’ means an employee of 

3 the Department described in section 902(a) of title 

4 38, United States Code. 

Æ 


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