I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7352 

To direct the Administrator of General Services to carry out a pilot program 

under which the Administrator shall enter into agreements for the construction, renovation, improvement, and lease of facilities in order to 

address the deferred capital backlog of the Department of Veterans 

Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 19, 2018 

Mr. SHUSTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of General Services to carry 

out a pilot program under which the Administrator shall 

enter into agreements for the construction, renovation, 

improvement, and lease of facilities in order to address 

the deferred capital backlog 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Performance-Based 

3 Building Act of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) The deferred maintenance backlog for De7 partment of Veterans Affairs facilities (including 

8 hospitals, clinics, housing, and offices) is not sus9 tainable. 

10 (2) There are insufficient discretionary funds 

11 available to meet the critical capital requirements of 

12 the Department in support of its mission. 

13 (3) Alternative authorities for the construction 

14 and improvement of capital facilities have proven 

15 successful, particularly with respect to military hous16 ing. 

17 SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of General 

19 Services, in coordination with the Secretary of Veterans 

20 Affairs, shall carry out a pilot program using authorities 

21 of the Administrator pursuant to title 40, United States 

22 Code, under which the Administrator may enter into 

23 agreements with appropriate non-Government entities 

24 pursuant to which— 

25 (1) the non-Government entity will acquire 

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1 ments or renovations to a Department of Veterans 

2 Affairs facility identified under subsection (b) or 

3 construct a new facility to address a shortage of ca4 pacity identified under such subsection; 

5 (2) the Administrator will leaseback the facility 

6 from the non-Government entity for use by the De7 partment; and 

8 (3) the facility shall be operated and main9 tained by the non-Government entity subject to a 

10 performance-based management and operations 

11 agreement entered into between the entity and the 

12 Administrator. 

13 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF FACILITIES.— 

14 (1) COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF DEPART15 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PROPERTY.— 

16 (A) REVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT.—For 

17 purposes of carrying out the pilot program, not 

18 later than 180 days from enactment of this Act, 

19 the Secretary shall provide to the Administrator 

20 of General Services a report identifying poten21 tial sites based on a comprehensive evaluation 

22 of Department of Veterans Affairs real property 

23 to determine conditions, continued connectivity, 

24 and relevance to the broader mission of the De25 partment. The Secretary shall take into considVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:16 Dec 31, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7352.IH H7352

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1 eration such sites where the condition of facili2 ties is negatively impacting the ability of the 

3 Department of Veterans Affairs to fulfill its 

4 mission. 

5 (B) EVALUATION BY THE ADMINIS6 TRATOR.—The Administrator of General Serv7 ices shall review the recommendations provided 

8 by the Department pursuant to subparagraph 

9 (A) and identify viable recapitalization opportu10 nities, consistent with other provisions of law. 

11 (C) CRITERIA.—In carrying out the eval12 uation under subparagraph (B), the Adminis13 trator shall implement criteria that— 

14 (i) are used to evaluate Federal as15 sets; 

16 (ii) ensure the modernization or re17 alignment of the capital facilities of the 

18 Department; and 

19 (iii) maximize the use of the capital of 

20 the Department (consistent with the Fed21 eral Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 

22 (40 U.S.C. 1303 note)). 

23 (2) GSA DETERMINATION.—Not later than one 

24 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

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1 graph (1), the Administrator of General Services 

2 shall identify— 

3 (A) Department facilities that require im4 provements or renovations and would be appro5 priate for an agreement under the pilot pro6 gram; and 

7 (B) shortages of Department capacity that 

8 could be addressed through the construction of 

9 a new facility under such an agreement. 

10 (c) NUMBER OF PROJECTS.—The Administrator 

11 shall enter into agreements with respect to no less than 

12 five and no more than ten facilities under the pilot pro13 gram, including— 

14 (1) agreements providing for the construction, 

15 improvement, or renovation of facilities; and 

16 (2) operating leases, including enhanced use 

17 leases, ground lease or lease back arrangements, and 

18 leases that incorporate an option to purchase at less 

19 than fair market value. 

20 (d) REPORTS.— 

21 (1) PROJECT REPORTS.—The Administrator 

22 shall submit to Congress a report on each facility 

23 that is improved, renovated, or constructed under an 

24 agreement under the pilot program. 


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1 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 5 years 

2 following the determination under subsection (b)(2), 

3 the Administrator, in consultation with the Sec4 retary, shall submit to Congress a final report on 

5 the effectiveness of the pilot program in providing 

6 for the improvement of the assets of the Department 

7 of Veterans Affairs. 

8 (e) TERMINATION.—The authority to enter into an 

9 agreement under this Act shall terminate on the date that 

10 is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 (f) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.— 

12 (1) PERSONNEL.—In carrying out the pilot pro13 gram the Administrator and Secretary shall identify 

14 and use General Services Administration and De15 partment personnel with knowledge and experience 

16 in complex real estate transactions. 

17 (2) EXPERTS AND CONTRACTED SERVICES.— 

18 The Administrator shall, to the extent practicable 

19 and subject to appropriations Acts, use contracts, in20 cluding non-appropriated contracts, for real estate 

21 services necessary to carry out this section. 

22 (g) SUBMISSION OF PROSPECTUSES.—Not later than 

23 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Admin24 istrator shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 

25 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 


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1 the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

2 Senate prospectuses, in accordance with section 3307 for 

3 each project identified under this Act. 

4 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act, the following defini5 tions apply: 

6 (1) PERFORMANCE-BASED MANAGEMENT AND

7 OPERATIONS AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘performance8 based management and operations agreement’’ 

9 means an agreement that— 

10 (A) reflects an obligation by the non-Gov11 ernment entity to design, build, finance, deliver, 

12 operate and maintain an infrastructure asset; 

13 (B) requires the non-Government entity to 

14 provide the Department a single point of re15 sponsibility and obligation; 

16 (C) stipulates all requirements of the De17 partment and contains the terms and conditions 

18 for annual performance-based availability pay19 ments in accordance with the non-Government 

20 entity meeting or exceeding those requirements; 

21 and 

22 (D) stipulates the terms and conditions for 

23 reductions of any and all availability payments 

24 to the non-Government entity for any given pe25 riod the asset is unavailable to the Government 


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1 or otherwise not delivered, operated, or main2 tained in accordance with the requirements in3 cluded in the agreement. 

4 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis5 trator’’ means the Administrator of General Serv6 ices. 

7 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

9 (4) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

10 means the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Æ 


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