I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2365 

To authorize Department major medical facility construction projects for 

fiscal year 2015, to amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain 

improvements in the administration of Department medical facility construction projects, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 15, 2015 

Mr. MILLER of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize Department major medical facility construction 

projects for fiscal year 2015, to amend title 38, United 

States Code, to make certain improvements in the administration of Department medical facility construction 

projects, 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 ‘‘Construction Reform, 

5 Authorization, and Choice Improvement Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CONSTRUC2 TION REFORMS. 

3 (a) PROJECT MANAGEMENT.—Section 8103 of title 

4 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(e) In the case of any super construction project (as 

7 such term is defined in section 8104(a)(4)(C)), the Sec8 retary shall enter into an agreement with an appropriate 

9 non-Department entity to provide full project management 

10 services for the super construction project.’’. 

11 (b) APPLICATION OF INDUSTRY STANDARDS.—Sec12 tion 8103 of title 38, United States Code, as amended by 

13 subsection (a) is further amended by adding at the end 

14 the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(f) To the maximum extent practicable, the Sec16 retary shall use industry standards, standard designs, and 

17 best practices in carrying out the construction of medical 

18 facilities.’’. 

19 (c) LIMITATION ON PLANNING AND DESIGN FOR

20 SUPER CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.—Section 8104(a) of 

21 title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para23 graph (4); 

24 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol25 lowing new paragraph (3): 


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1 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may not obligate or expend funds 

2 for advance planning or design for any super construction 

3 project, until the date that is 60 days after the date on 

4 which the Secretary submits to the Committee on Vet5 erans’ Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the 

7 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representa8 tives notice of such obligation or expenditure.’’; and 

9 (3) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by para10 graph (1) of this subsection, by adding at the end 

11 the following new subparagraph: 

12 ‘‘(C) The term ‘super construction project’ 

13 means a project for the construction, alteration, or 

14 acquisition of a medical facility involving a total ex15 penditure of more than $100,000,000, but such term 

16 does not include an acquisition by exchange.’’. 

17 (d) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF CERTAIN

18 PROJECTS.— 

19 (1) PROJECTS THAT EXCEED SPECIFIED

20 AMOUNT.—Subsection (c) of section 8104 of title 38, 

21 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(c) The Secretary may not obligate funds for a 

23 major medical facility project or a super construction 

24 project approved by a law described in subsection (a)(2) 

25 in an amount that would cause the total amount obligated 


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1 for that project to exceed the amount specified in the law 

2 for that project (or would add to total obligations exceed3 ing such specified amount) by more than 10 percent unless 

4 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Committee 

5 on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on 

6 Veterans’ Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations 

7 of the House of Representatives each approve in writing 

8 the obligation of those funds.’’. 

9 (2) USE OF EXTRA AMOUNTS.—Subsection (d) 

10 of such section is amended— 

11 (A) in paragraph (2)(B), in the matter 

12 preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘Whenever’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘Before’’; and 

14 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may not obligate any funds de17 scribed in paragraph (1) or amounts described in para18 graph (2) before the date that is 30 days after the notifi19 cation submitted under paragraph (1) or paragraph 

20 (2)(B), as the case may be, unless the Committee on Vet21 erans’ Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

22 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the 

23 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representa24 tives each approve in writing the obligation of those funds 

25 or amounts.’’. 


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1 (3) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 (A) COMMITTEES REQUIRED.—Subsection 

3 (d)(1) of such section is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘each committee’’ and inserting ‘‘the Com5 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Committee 

6 on Appropriations of the Senate and the Com7 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Committee 

8 on Appropriations of the House of Representa9 tives’’. 

10 (B) USE OF AMOUNTS FROM BID SAV11 INGS.—Subsection (d)(2)(B) of such section is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following 

13 new clause: 

14 ‘‘(iv) With respect to the major construction 

15 project that is the source of the bid savings— 

16 ‘‘(I) the amounts already obligated or 

17 available in the project reserve for such project; 

18 ‘‘(II) the percentage of such project that 

19 has been completed; and 

20 ‘‘(III) the amount of such bid savings that 

21 is already obligated or otherwise being used for 

22 a purpose other than such project.’’. 

23 (e) QUARTERLY REPORT ON SUPER CONSTRUCTION

24 PROJECTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the end of subchapter I 

2 of chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code, insert 

3 the following new section: 

4 ‘‘§ 8120. Quarterly report on super construction 

5 projects 

6 ‘‘(a) QUARTERLY REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later 

7 than 30 days after the last day of each fiscal quarter the 

8 Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af9 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives on the 

10 super construction projects carried out by the Secretary 

11 during such quarter. Each such report shall include, for 

12 each such project— 

13 ‘‘(1) the budgetary and scheduling status of the 

14 project, as of the last day of the quarter covered by 

15 the report; and 

16 ‘‘(2) the actual cost and schedule variances of 

17 the project, as of such day, compared to the planned 

18 cost and schedules for the project. 

19 ‘‘(b) SUPER CONSTRUCTION PROJECT DEFINED.—In 

20 this section, the term ‘super construction project’ has the 

21 meaning given such term in section 8103(a)(4)(C) of this 

22 title.’’. 

23 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec24 tions at the beginning of the chapter is amended by 


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1 adding at the end of the items relating to such sub2 chapter the following new item: 

‘‘8120. Quarterly report on super construction projects.’’. 

3 (f) ACCELERATED MASTER PLANNING FOR EACH

4 MEDICAL FACILITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

5 AFFAIRS.— 

6 (1) EXISTING FACILITIES.—Not later than De7 cember 31, 2016, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

8 shall complete a master plan described in paragraph 

9 (3) for each medical facility of the Department of 

10 Veterans Affairs. 

11 (2) NEW FACILITIES.—For each medical facility 

12 of the Department for which construction is com13 pleted after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

14 the Secretary shall complete a master plan described 

15 in paragraph (3) for the facility by not later than 

16 the earlier of the following dates: 

17 (A) The date on which activation is com18 pleted. 

19 (B) The date of the formal dedication of 

20 the facility. 

21 (3) MASTER PLAN DESCRIBED.—A master plan 

22 described in this paragraph is, with respect to a 

23 medical facility of the Department, a plan to inform 

24 investment decisions and funding requests over a 10- 


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1 year period for construction projects at such medical 

2 facility— 

3 (A) to meet the health care needs of a 

4 changing veteran population through a com5 bination of health care from the Department 

6 and other community resources; and 

7 (B) to maximize the best use of the land 

8 and structures comprising such medical facility. 

9 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF DISTANCE REQUIREMENT FOR 

10 EXPANDED AVAILABILITY OF HOSPITAL 

11 CARE AND MEDICAL SERVICES FOR VET12 ERANS THROUGH THE USE OF AGREEMENTS 

13 WITH NON-DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF14 FAIRS ENTITIES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(b)(2) of the Veterans 

16 Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public 

17 Law 113–146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended— 

18 (1) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘(as cal19 culated based on distance traveled)’’ after ‘‘40 

20 miles’’; and 

21 (2) in subparagraph (D)(ii), by striking sub22 clause (II), and inserting the following new sub23 clause (II): 

24 ‘‘(II) faces an unusual or exces25 sive burden in traveling to such a 


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1 medical facility of the Department 

2 based on— 

3 ‘‘(aa) geographical chal4 lenges; 

5 ‘‘(bb) environmental factors, 

6 such as roads that are not acces7 sible to the general public, traf8 fic, or hazardous weather; 

9 ‘‘(cc) a medical condition 

10 that impacts the ability to travel; 

11 or 

12 ‘‘(dd) other factors, as de13 termined by the Secretary.’’. 

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact16 ment of this Act and apply with respect to care or services 

17 provided on or after such date. 

18 SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORIZATION OF FISCAL 

19 YEAR 2008 MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY 

20 PROJECT AT DEPARTMENT MEDICAL CENTER 

21 IN TAMPA, FLORIDA. 

22 In chapter 3 of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 

23 2008 (Public Law 110–252; 122 Stat. 2326), in the mat24 ter under the heading ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs– 

25 Departmental Administration–Construction, Major 


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1 Projects’’, after ‘‘Five Year Capital Plan’’ insert the fol2 lowing: ‘‘and for constructing a new bed tower at the De3 partment of Veterans Affairs medical center in Tampa, 

4 Florida, in lieu of providing bed tower upgrades at such 

5 medical center’’. 

6 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF FISCAL YEAR 2015 MAJOR MED7 ICAL FACILITY PROJECTS. 

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Veterans Af9 fairs may carry out the following major medical facility 

10 projects in fiscal year 2015, with each project to be carried 

11 out in an amount not to exceed the amount specified for 

12 that project: 

13 (1) Construction of a community living center, 

14 outpatient clinic, renovated domiciliary, and renova15 tion of existing buildings in Canandaigua, New 

16 York, in an amount not to exceed $158,980,000. 

17 (2) Seismic corrections to the mental health 

18 and community living center in Long Beach, Cali19 fornia, in an amount not to exceed $126,100,000. 

20 (3) Seismic correction of 12 buildings in West 

21 Los Angeles, California, in an amount not to exceed 

22 $70,500,000. 

23 (4) Construction of a spinal cord injury build24 ing and seismic corrections in San Diego, California, 

25 in an amount not to exceed $205,840,000. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans 

3 Affairs for fiscal year 2015 or the year in which funds 

4 are appropriated for the Construction, Major Projects, ac5 count, a total of $561,420,000 for the projects authorized 

6 in subsection (a). 

7 SEC. 6. PERMANENT AUTHORITY FOR EXPANDED AVAIL8 ABILITY OF HOSPITAL CARE AND MEDICAL 

9 SERVICES FOR VETERANS THROUGH THE 

10 USE OF AGREEMENTS WITH NON-DEPART11 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ENTITIES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101 of the Veterans Ac13 cess, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 

14 113–146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking subsection (p); and 

16 (2) by redesignating subsections (q) through (s) 

17 as subsections (p) through (r), respectively. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such section is 

19 further amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (i)(2), by striking ‘‘is author21 ized to carry out this section pursuant to subsection 

22 (p)’’ and inserting ‘‘carries out this section’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (q)(2), by striking subpara24 graph (F). 


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1 SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING VETERANS 

2 CHOICE FUND. 

3 Section 802(e) of the Veterans Access, Choice, and 

4 Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–146; 128 

5 Stat. 1803) is amended by striking ‘‘for each of fiscal 

6 years 2015 through 2017’’. 

Æ 


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