I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3122 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs to enter into a contract with a non-government entity for the 

conduct of biannual audits of Department of Veterans Affairs health 

care functions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 21, 2015 

Mr. HURT of Virginia (for himself, Mr. WALZ, and Mr. ROE of Tennessee) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into a contract with 

a non-government entity for the conduct of biannual 

audits of Department of Veterans Affairs health care 

functions, 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 ‘‘The Veterans Adminis5 tration Legislative and Objective Review Act of 2015’’ or 

6 ‘‘VALOR Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. BIANNUAL INDEPENDENT AUDITS OF HEALTH CARE 

2 FUNCTIONS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

3 AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 17 of title 

5 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 1709B. Biannual audits of Department health care 

8 functions 

9 ‘‘(a) BIANNUAL AUDITS REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

10 shall enter into a contract with an appropriate non-govern11 ment entity for the conduct of a biannual audit of all func12 tions of the Department related to the furnishing of health 

13 care by the Department. Such entity shall provide a report 

14 on the results of each biannual audit conducted under this 

15 section, which shall be made publicly available on an Inter16 net website of the Department. Each such report shall in17 clude an assessment of each of the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) The current and projected demographics 

19 and unique health care needs of the patient popu20 lation of the Department, as well as the unique 

21 health care needs of veterans living in rural areas. 

22 ‘‘(2) The current and projected health care ca23 pabilities and resources of the Department. 

24 ‘‘(3) The use of authorities granted to the Sec25 retary to furnish hospital care and medical services 

26 at non-Department facilities. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The appropriate system-wide access stand2 ard applicable to health care furnished by and 

3 through the Department. 

4 ‘‘(5) The workflow efficiency and processes at 

5 each medical facility of the Department for sched6 uling appointments for veterans. 

7 ‘‘(6) The organization, workflow processes, and 

8 tools used by the Department to support clinical 

9 staffing, access to care, effective length-of-stay man10 agement and care transitions, positive patient expe11 rience, accurate documentation, and subsequent cod12 ing of inpatient services. 

13 ‘‘(7) The staffing level and productivity of each 

14 medical facility of the Department. 

15 ‘‘(8) The progress of the Department with re16 spect to the use of information technology for fur17 nishing and managing health care. 

18 ‘‘(9) The business processes of the Veterans 

19 Health Administration. 

20 ‘‘(10) The purchasing, distribution, and use of 

21 pharmaceuticals, medical and surgical supplies, med22 ical devices, and health care related services by the 

23 Department. 

24 ‘‘(11) The progress of the Department with re25 spect to construction and maintenance projects at 


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1 medical facilities of the Department and the use of 

2 medical facility leases. 

3 ‘‘(12) The effectiveness of the leadership of the 

4 Department in executing their management respon5 sibilities and implementing reforms of previous au6 dits. 

7 ‘‘(13) The progress of the Department with re8 spect to implementing recommended reforms result9 ing from previous evaluations. 

10 ‘‘(14) Such other matters as the non-govern11 ment entity determines relevant. 

12 ‘‘(15) Recommendations on how the Depart13 ment can make changes to be more effective in deliv14 ering quality and timely care to veterans. 

15 ‘‘(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 120 

16 days after receiving a report under subsection (a), the Sec17 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the results 

18 of the audit covered by the report. Each such report shall 

19 include the findings of the audit and the plans of the Sec20 retary to address such findings and make improvements 

21 to the functions of the Department based on such find22 ings.’’. 

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

24 at the beginning of such section is amended by inserting 


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1 after the item relating to section 1709A the following new 

2 item: 

‘‘1709B. Biannual audits of Department health care functions’’. 

3 (c) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The Sec4 retary of Veterans Affairs shall enter into a contract for 

5 the conduct of the audit required under section 1709B of 

6 title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 

7 by not later than January 1, 2017. 

Æ 


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