I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1125 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program 

on physical security at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities, 

to direct the Secretary to make certain improvements relating to inspections of Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities and improving 

care for women, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 8, 2019 

Mr. KILMER (for himself, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. 

PETERS, Mrs. MURPHY, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. MOULTON, 

Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, and Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 

a pilot program on physical security at Department of 

Veterans Affairs medical facilities, to direct the Secretary 

to make certain improvements relating to inspections 

of Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities and 

improving care for women, 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, 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 1125 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accountability for 

3 Quality VA Healthcare Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON PHYSICAL SECURITY AT DE5 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL 

6 FACILITIES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 90 days 

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

9 of Veterans Affairs shall carry out a pilot program to en10 hance the physical security of Department of Veterans Af11 fairs medical facilities. At the medical facilities selected 

12 for the pilot program, the Secretary shall— 

13 (1) ensure that alarm systems effectively notify 

14 relevant staff in the police command and control 

15 centers and the unit nursing stations of the facility; 

16 and 

17 (2) require relevant medical center stakeholders 

18 to coordinate and consult on— 

19 (A) plans for new and renovated units; and 

20 (B) any changes to physical security fea21 tures, including closed-circuit television cam22 eras. 

23 (b) LOCATIONS.—The Secretary shall select five med24 ical facilities of the Department to participate in the pilot 

25 program. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 1125 IH

1 (c) TERMINATION.—The pilot program shall termi2 nate on the date that is two years after the date on which 

3 the pilot program commences. 

4 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the termi5 nation of the pilot program under subsection (c), the Sec6 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the pilot pro7 gram. 

8 SEC. 3. REPORT ON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

9 IMPROVEMENT OF FACILITY ALIGNMENT. 

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

11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet12 erans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on the 

13 findings and recommendations of the report of the Govern14 ment Accountability Office entitled ‘‘VA Real Property: 

15 VA Should Improve Its Efforts to Align Facilities with 

16 Veterans’ Needs’’. The report submitted by the Secretary 

17 shall include the plan of the Secretary, including a time 

18 frame for completion, to specifically address the following 

19 recommendations: 

20 (1) To address identified limitations to the stra21 tegic capital investment planning process, including 

22 limitations to scoring and approval and access to in23 formation. 

24 (2) To assess the value of the Department of 

25 Veterans Affairs Integrated Planning facility master 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 1125 IH

1 plans as a facility-planning tool, and based on con2 clusions contained in the Government Accountability 

3 Office report, either discontinue the development of 

4 such master plans or address the limitations of such 

5 master plans. 

6 (3) To develop and distribute guidance for Vet7 erans Integrated Service Networks and facilities 

8 using best practices on how to effectively commu9 nicate with stakeholders about alignment change. 

10 (4) To develop and implement a mechanism to 

11 evaluate Veterans Integrated Service Network and 

12 facility communication efforts with stakeholders to 

13 ensure that such communication efforts are working 

14 as intended and align with guidance and best prac15 tices. 

16 (b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Upon submittal of the 

17 report under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make the 

18 report publicly available on an internet website of the De19 partment. 

20 SEC. 4. UPDATE OF HANDBOOK TO IMPROVE LEASING 

21 PROJECTS. 

22 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact23 ment of this Act, and not less than once every five-year 

24 period thereafter, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

25 update the handbook of the Department of Veterans AfVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1125.IH H1125

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 1125 IH

1 fairs titled ‘‘Planning and Activating Community Based 

2 Outpatient Clinics’’, or a successor handbook, to reflect 

3 current policies, best practices, and clarify the roles and 

4 responsibilities of the personnel of the Department in5 volved in the leasing projects of the Department. 

6 SEC. 5. IMPROVEMENT OF INSPECTIONS OF DEPARTMENT 

7 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL FACILITIES 

8 AND IMPROVEMENT OF CARE FOR WOMEN 

9 PROVIDED BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

10 AFFAIRS. 

11 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find12 ings: 

13 (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs has 

14 policies in place to help ensure the privacy, safety, 

15 and dignity of women veterans when they receive 

16 care at its medical facilities. 

17 (2) A Government Accountability Office report 

18 found many instances of noncompliance with such 

19 policies. 

20 (3) Women veterans are the fastest growing co21 hort within the veteran community. 

22 (4) Women serve in every branch of the Armed 

23 Forces and represent nearly 15 percent of the mem24 bers of the Armed Forces currently serving on active 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 1125 IH

1 duty and 18 percent of members of the National 

2 Guard and reserve components. 

3 (5) The number of women veterans using the 

4 medical care provided by the Department of Vet5 erans Affairs is expected to increase dramatically. 

6 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that— 

8 (1) female veterans are put at risk by a system 

9 that is currently designed for men; and 

10 (2) the Department of Veterans Affairs should 

11 follow through with commitments to ensure female 

12 veterans can access services tailored to their needs. 

13 (c) IMPROVEMENT OF INSPECTIONS OF DEPART14 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL FACILITIES AND

15 IMPROVEMENT OF CARE FOR WOMEN PROVIDED BY DE16 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.— 

17 (1) IMPROVEMENT OF INSPECTIONS PROC18 ESS.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

19 strengthen the environment of care inspections proc20 ess and oversight of such process by— 

21 (A) expanding the list of requirements that 

22 facility staff inspect for compliance to align 

23 with the policy of the Veterans Health Adminis24 tration; 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 1125 IH

1 (B) ensuring that all patient care areas of 

2 Department medical facilities are inspected as 

3 required; 

4 (C) clarifying the roles and responsibilities 

5 of Department medical facility staff responsible 

6 for identifying and addressing compliance; and 

7 (D) establishing a process to verify that 

8 noncompliance information reported by facilities 

9 to the Veterans Health Administration central 

10 office is accurate and complete. 

11 (2) IMPROVEMENT OF CARE FOR WOMEN.— 

12 (A) MONITORING OF GENDER-SPECIFIC

13 CARE SERVICES.—To improve care for women 

14 veterans, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

15 monitor women veterans’ access to gender-spe16 cific care services under current and future 

17 community care contracts or agreements. Such 

18 monitoring shall include an examination of ap19 pointment scheduling and completion times, 

20 driving times to appointments, and reasons ap21 pointments could not be scheduled with commu22 nity providers. 

23 (B) DEFINITIONS.—In this subparagraph: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 1125 IH

1 (i) The term ‘‘gender-specific care 

2 services’’ means mammography, maternity 

3 care, and gynecology. 

4 (ii) The term ‘‘community care con5 tract or agreement’’ means an agreement 

6 described in section 101(d) of the Veterans 

7 Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 

8 2014 (Public Law 113–146), or other con9 tract or agreement under which the Sec10 retary furnishes hospital care and medical 

11 treatment to veterans at non-Department 

12 of Veterans Affairs health care facilities. 

13 SEC. 6. IMPROVEMENT OF DELIVERY OF CARE AT DEPART14 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL FA15 CILITIES. 

16 (a) WAIT TIMES.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

17 shall clearly identify measures for wait times for medical 

18 appointments in Department of Veterans Affairs medical 

19 facilities in a manner that reduces the likelihood of an in20 dividual misinterpreting such measures. 

21 (b) SCHEDULING.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

22 the term ‘‘patient indicated date’’ is clearly defined for 

23 purposes of the scheduling policy of the Veterans Health 

24 Administration and in related training documents. The 

25 Secretary shall take such steps as may be necessary to 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 1125 IH

1 ensure such term is correctly implemented by employees 

2 who perform scheduling functions. 

3 (c) STAFF AVAILABILITY.— 

4 (1) ALLOCATION; SCHEDULING.—The Secretary 

5 shall develop a policy requiring Department of Vet6 erans Affairs medical facilities to routinely assess 

7 the scheduling needs and resources required to en8 sure that employees of such facilities are allocated in 

9 such a manner as to adequately respond to the de10 mand for scheduling medical appointments. 

11 (2) RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.—The Sec12 retary shall develop a strategy to improve recruit13 ment and retention of Department of Veterans Af14 fairs medical providers and employees who perform 

15 scheduling functions for Department medical facili16 ties. Such strategy shall be designed to ensure ade17 quate staffing of Department medical facilities and 

18 shall emphasize recruitment and retention in facili19 ties located in rural areas. 

20 (d) TELEPHONE ACCESS.—The Secretary shall— 

21 (1) ensure that all Department medical facili22 ties provide oversight of telephone access and imple23 ment the best practices outlined in the Department 

24 2015 Telephone Access and Contact Management 

25 Improvement Guide, or a successor guide; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 1125 IH

1 (2) identify medical facilities that are using out2 dated telephone technology and replace such tech3 nology with new systems designed to improve tele4 phone service and access to health care. 

5 SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT REGARDING THE RECRUITMENT, 

6 HIRING, AND RETENTION OF NURSES FOR 

7 THE VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION. 

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

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually 

10 thereafter, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall publish 

11 and submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

12 Senate and the House of Representatives a report regard13 ing efforts to recruit, hire, and retain nurses for the Vet14 erans Health Administration. 

15 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 

16 shall include details relating to— 

17 (1) efforts to recruit, hire, and retain nurses at 

18 each medical facility of the Department; 

19 (2) resources provided by the Secretary to re20 cruit, hire, and retain nurses for the Veterans 

21 Health Administration; and 

22 (3) recommendations for legislation the Sec23 retary considers appropriate. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 1125 IH

1 SEC. 8. REINSTATEMENT OF REPORTING REQUIREMENT 

2 REGARDING THE DEPARTMENT OF VET3 ERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH PROFESSIONALS 

4 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

5 Section 3003(a)(1) of the Federal Reports Elimi6 nation and Sunset Act of 1995 (Public Law 104–66; 31 

7 U.S.C. 1113 note) shall not apply to the report required 

8 under section 7632 of title 38, United States Code. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS