In the Senate of the United States,

October 9, 2004.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 3936) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend title 38, United

States Code, to authorize the principal office of the United

States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to be at any location in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, rather

than only in the District of Columbia, and expressing the

sense of Congress that a dedicated Veterans Courthouse and

Justice Center should be provided for that Court and those

it serves and should be located, if feasible, at a site owned

by the United States that is part of or proximate to the Pentagon Reservation, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the

following

AMENDMENTS:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vet3 erans Health Programs Improvement Act of 2004’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this

2 Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Reference to title 38, United States Code.

TITLE I—ASSISTANCE TO HOMELESS VETERANS

Sec. 101. Authorization of appropriations.

TITLE II—VETERANS LONG-TERM CARE PROGRAMS

Sec. 201. Assistance for hiring and retention of nurses at State veterans’ homes.

Sec. 202. Treatment of Department of Veterans Affairs per diem payments to

State homes for veterans.

Sec. 203. Extension of authority to provide care under long-term care pilot programs.

Sec. 204. Prohibition on collection of copayments for hospice care.

TITLE III—MEDICAL CARE

Sec. 301. Sexual trauma counseling program.

Sec. 302. Centers for research, education, and clinical activities on complex

multi-trauma associated with combat injuries.

Sec. 303. Enhancement of medical preparedness of Department of Veterans Affairs.

TITLE IV—MEDICAL FACILITIES MANAGEMENT AND

ADMINISTRATION

Subtitle A—Major Medical Facility Leases

Sec. 401. Major medical facility leases.

Sec. 402. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 403. Authority for long-term lease of certain lands of University of Colorado.

Subtitle B—Facilities Management

Sec. 411. Department of Veterans Affairs Capital Asset Fund.

Sec. 412. Annual report to Congress on inventory of Department of Veterans Affairs historic properties.

Sec. 413. Authority to acquire and transfer real property for use for homeless veterans.

Sec. 414. Limitation on implementation of mission changes for specified Veterans

Health Administration facilities.

Sec. 415. Authority to use project funds to construct or relocate surface parking

incidental to a construction or nonrecurring maintenance

project.

Sec. 416. Inapplicability of limitation on use of advance planning funds to authorized major medical facility projects.

Sec. 417. Improvements to enhanced-use lease authority.

Sec. 418. First option for Commonwealth of Kentucky on Department of Veterans

Affairs Medical Center, Louisville, Kentucky.

Sec. 419. Transfer of jurisdiction, General Services Administration property,

Boise, Idaho.
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Subtitle C—Designation of Facilities

Sec. 421. Thomas E. Creek Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Sec. 422. James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Sec. 423. Bob Michel Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic.

Sec. 424. Charles Wilson Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic.

Sec. 425. Thomas P. Noonan, Jr. Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient

Clinic.

TITLE V—PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION

Sec. 501. Pilot program to study innovative recruitment tools to address nursing

shortages at Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities.

Sec. 502. Technical correction to listing of certain hybrid positions in Veterans

Health Administration.

Sec. 503. Under Secretary for Health.

TITLE VI—OTHER MATTERS

Sec. 601. Extension and codification of authority for recovery audits.

Sec. 602. Inventory of medical waste management activities at Department of

Veterans Affairs health care facilities.

Sec. 603. Inclusion of all enrolled veterans among persons eligible to use canteens

operated by Veterans’ Canteen Service.

Sec. 604. Annual reports on waiting times for appointments for specialty care.

Sec. 605. Technical clarification.

1 SEC. 2. REFERENCE TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE.

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of

4 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision,

5 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or

6 other provision of title 38, United States Code.

7 TITLE I—ASSISTANCE TO

8 HOMELESS VETERANS

9 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 Section 2013 is amended in paragraph (4) by striking

11 ‘‘$75,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$99,000,000’’.
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1 TITLE II—VETERANS LONG-TERM

2 CARE PROGRAMS

3 SEC. 201. ASSISTANCE FOR HIRING AND RETENTION OF

4 NURSES AT STATE VETERANS’ HOMES.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Chapter 17 is amended by in6 serting after section 1743 the following new section:

7 ‘‘§ 1744. Hiring and retention of nurses: payments to

8 assist States

9 ‘‘(a) PAYMENT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall make

10 payments to States under this section for the purpose of

11 assisting State homes in the hiring and retention of nurses

12 and the reduction of nursing shortages at State homes.

13 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.—Payments to a State for

14 a fiscal year under this section shall, subject to submission

15 of an application, be made to any State that during that

16 fiscal year—

17 ‘‘(1) receives per diem payments under this sub18 chapter for that fiscal year; and

19 ‘‘(2) has in effect an employee incentive scholar20 ship program or other employee incentive program at

21 a State home designed to promote the hiring and re22 tention of nursing staff and to reduce nursing short23 ages at that home.

24 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS RECEIVED.—A State may use an

25 amount received under this section only to provide funds
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1 for a program described in subsection (b)(2). Any program

2 shall meet such criteria as the Secretary may prescribe. In

3 prescribing such criteria, the Secretary shall take into con4 sideration the need for flexibility and innovation.

5 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—(1) A

6 payment under this section may not be used to provide

7 more than 50 percent of the costs for a fiscal year of the

8 employee incentive scholarship or other employee incentive

9 program for which the payment is made.

10 ‘‘(2) The amount of the payment to a State under this

11 section for any fiscal year is, for each State home in that

12 State with a program described in subsection (b)(2), the

13 amount equal to 2 percent of the amount of payments esti14 mated to be made to that State, for that State home, under

15 section 1741 of this title for that fiscal year.

16 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.—A payment under this section for

17 any fiscal year with respect to any State home may only

18 be made based upon an application submitted by the State

19 seeking the payment with respect to that State home. Any

20 such application shall describe the nursing shortage at the

21 State home and the employee incentive scholarship program

22 or other employee incentive program described in subsection

23 (c) for which the payment is sought.
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1 ‘‘(f) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Payments under this section

2 shall be made from funds available for other payments

3 under this subchapter.

4 ‘‘(g) DISBURSEMENT.—Payments under this section to

5 a State home shall be made as part of the disbursement

6 of payments under section 1741 of this title with respect

7 to that State home.

8 ‘‘(h) USE OF CERTAIN RECEIPTS.—The Secretary

9 shall require as a condition of any payment under this sec10 tion that, in any case in which the State home receives a

11 refund payment made by an employee in breach of the

12 terms of an agreement for employee assistance that used

13 funds provided under this section, the payment shall be re14 turned to the State home’s incentive program account and

15 credited as a non-Federal funding source.

16 ‘‘(i) ANNUAL REPORT FROM PAYMENT RECIPIENTS.—

17 Any State home receiving a payment under this section for

18 any fiscal year, shall, as a condition of the payment, be

19 required to agree to provide to the Secretary a report setting

20 forth in detail the use of funds received through the pay21 ment, including a descriptive analysis of how effective the

22 incentive program has been on nurse staffing in the State

23 home during that fiscal year. The report for any fiscal year

24 shall be provided to the Secretary within 60 days of the

25 close of the fiscal year and shall be subject to audit by the
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1 Secretary. Eligibility for a payment under this section for

2 any later fiscal year is contingent upon the receipt by the

3 Secretary of the annual report under this subsection for the

4 previous fiscal year in accordance with this subsection.

5 ‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe reg6 ulations to carry out this section. The regulations shall in7 clude the establishment of criteria for the award of pay8 ments under this section.’’.

9 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chap10 ter is amended by inserting after section 1743 the following

11 new item:

‘‘1744. Hiring and retention of nurses: payments to assist States.’’.

12 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Veterans Af13 fairs shall implement section 1744 of title 38, United States

14 Code, as added by subsection (a), as expeditiously as pos15 sible. The Secretary shall establish such interim procedures

16 as necessary so as to ensure that payments are made to

17 eligible States under that section commencing not later than

18 June 1, 2005, notwithstanding that regulations under sub19 section (j) of that section may not have become final.

20 SEC. 202. TREATMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF21 FAIRS PER DIEM PAYMENTS TO STATE HOMES

22 FOR VETERANS.

23 Section 1741 is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(e) Payments to States pursuant to this section shall

2 not be considered a liability of a third party, or otherwise

3 be used to offset or reduce any other payment made to assist

4 veterans.’’.

5 SEC. 203. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE CARE

6 UNDER LONG-TERM CARE PILOT PROGRAMS.

7 Subsection (h) of section 102 of the Veterans Millen8 nium Health Care and Benefits Act (38 U.S.C. 1710B note)

9 is amended—

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The authority of’’;

11 and

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new para13 graph:

14 ‘‘(2) In the case of a veteran who is participating in

15 a pilot program under this section as of the end of the three16 year period applicable to that pilot program under para17 graph (1), the Secretary may continue to provide to that

18 veteran any of the services that could be provided under

19 the pilot program. The authority to provide services to any

20 veteran under the preceding sentence applies during the pe21 riod beginning on the date specified in paragraph (1) with

22 respect to that pilot program and ending on December 31,

23 2005.’’.
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1 SEC. 204. PROHIBITION ON COLLECTION OF COPAYMENTS

2 FOR HOSPICE CARE.

3 Section 1710B(c)(2) is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph

5 (A);

6 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub7 paragraph (C); and

8 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol9 lowing new subparagraph (B):

10 ‘‘(B) to a veteran being furnished hospice care

11 under this section; or’’.

12 TITLE III—MEDICAL CARE

13 SEC. 301. SEXUAL TRAUMA COUNSELING PROGRAM.

14 (a) PERMANENT AUTHORITY FOR PROGRAM.—Section

15 1720D(a) is amended—

16 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘During the

17 period through December 31, 2004, the’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘The’’; and

19 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘, during the

20 period through December 31, 2004,’’.

21 (b) EXTENSION TO COVER ACTIVE DUTY FOR TRAIN22 ING.—Such section is further amended by inserting ‘‘or ac23 tive duty for training’’ in paragraph (1) before the period

24 at the end.
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1 SEC. 302. CENTERS FOR RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND CLIN2 ICAL ACTIVITIES ON COMPLEX MULTI-TRAU3 MA ASSOCIATED WITH COMBAT INJURIES.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Subchapter II of chapter 73 of

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

6 end the following new section:

7 ‘‘§ 7327. Centers for research, education, and clinical

8 activities on complex multi-trauma associ9 ated with combat injuries

10 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro11 vide for the improvement of the provision of health care

12 services and related rehabilitation and education services

13 to eligible veterans suffering from complex multi-trauma as14 sociated with combat injuries through—

15 ‘‘(1) the development of improved models and

16 systems for the furnishing by the Department of

17 health care, rehabilitation, and education services to

18 veterans;

19 ‘‘(2) the conduct of research to support the provi20 sion of such services in accordance with the most cur21 rent evidence on multi-trauma injuries; and

22 ‘‘(3) the education and training of health care

23 personnel of the Department with respect to the provi24 sion of such services.

25 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OF CENTERS.—(1) The Secretary

26 shall designate an appropriate number of cooperative cen-
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1 ters for clinical care, consultation, research, and education

2 activities on combat injuries.

3 ‘‘(2) Each center designated under paragraph (1) shall

4 function as a center for—

5 ‘‘(A) research on the long-term effects of injuries

6 sustained as a result of combat in order to support

7 the provision of services for such injuries in accord8 ance with the most current evidence on complex

9 multi-trauma;

10 ‘‘(B) the development of rehabilitation meth11 odologies for treating individuals with complex multi12 trauma; and

13 ‘‘(C) the continuous and consistent coordination

14 of care from the point of referral throughout the reha15 bilitation process and ongoing follow-up after return

16 to home and community.

17 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall designate one of the centers

18 designated under paragraph (1) as the lead center for ac19 tivities referred to in that paragraph. As the lead center

20 for such activities, such center shall—

21 ‘‘(A) develop and provide periodic review of re22 search priorities, and implement protocols, to ensure

23 that projects contribute to the activities of the centers

24 designated under paragraph (1);
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1 ‘‘(B) oversee the coordination of the professional

2 and technical activities of such centers to ensure the

3 quality and validity of the methodologies and statis4 tical services for research project leaders;

5 ‘‘(C) develop and ensure the deployment of an ef6 ficient and cost-effective data management system for

7 such centers;

8 ‘‘(D) develop and distribute educational mate9 rials and products to enhance the evaluation and care

10 of individuals with combat injuries by medical care

11 providers of the Department who are not specialized

12 in the assessment and care of complex multi-trauma;

13 ‘‘(E) develop educational materials for individ14 uals suffering from combat injuries and for their fam15 ilies; and

16 ‘‘(F) serve as a resource for the clinical and re17 search infrastructure of such centers by disseminating

18 clinical outcomes and research findings to improve

19 clinical practice.

20 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall designate centers under para21 graph (1) upon the recommendation of the Under Secretary

22 for Health.

23 ‘‘(5) The Secretary may designate a center under para24 graph (1) only if the center meets the requirements of sub25 section (c).
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1 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR CENTERS.—To be designated

2 as a center under this section, a facility shall—

3 ‘‘(1) be a regional lead center for the care of

4 traumatic brain injury;

5 ‘‘(2) be located at a tertiary care medical center

6 and have on-site availability of primary and sub7 specialty medical services relating to complex multi8 trauma;

9 ‘‘(3) have, or have the capacity to develop, the

10 capability of managing impairments associated with

11 combat injuries;

12 ‘‘(4) be affiliated with a school of medicine;

13 ‘‘(5) have, or have experience with, participation

14 in clinical research trials;

15 ‘‘(6) provide amputation care and rehabilitation;

16 ‘‘(7) have pain management programs;

17 ‘‘(8) provide comprehensive brain injury reha18 bilitation; and

19 ‘‘(9) provide comprehensive general rehabilita20 tion.

21 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall

22 provide each center designated under this section such re23 sources as the Secretary determines to be required by such

24 center to achieve adequate capability of managing individ25 uals with complex multi-trauma, including—
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1 ‘‘(1) the upgrading of blind rehabilitation serv2 ices by employing or securing the services of blind re3 habilitation specialists;

4 ‘‘(2) employing or securing the services of occu5 pational therapists with blind rehabilitation training;

6 ‘‘(3) employing or securing the services of addi7 tional mental health services providers; and

8 ‘‘(4) employing or securing additional rehabili9 tation nursing staff to meet care needs.

10 ‘‘(e) COOPERATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF DE11 FENSE.—(1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may assist

12 the Secretary of Defense in the care of members of the

13 Armed Forces with complex multi-trauma at military

14 treatment facilities by—

15 ‘‘(A) making available, in a manner that the

16 Secretary of Veterans Affairs considers appropriate,

17 certified rehabilitation registered nurses of the De18 partment of Veterans Affairs to such facilities to as19 sess and coordinate the care of such members; and

20 ‘‘(B) making available, in a manner that the

21 Secretary of Veterans Affairs considers appropriate,

22 blind rehabilitation specialists of the Department of

23 Veterans Affairs to such facilities to consult with the

24 medical staff of such facilities on the special needs of
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1 such members who have visual impairment as a con2 sequence of combat injury.

3 ‘‘(2) Assistance shall be provided under this subsection

4 through agreements for the sharing of health-care resources

5 under section 8111 of this title.

6 ‘‘(f) AWARD OF FUNDING.—Centers designated under

7 this section may compete for the award of funding from

8 amounts appropriated for the Department for medical and

9 prosthetics research.

10 ‘‘(g) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—(1) The

11 Under Secretary for Health shall ensure that information

12 produced by the centers designated under this section that

13 may be useful for other activities of the Veterans Health

14 Administration is disseminated throughout the Administra15 tion.

16 ‘‘(2) Information shall be disseminated under this sub17 section through publications, through programs of con18 tinuing medical and related education provided through re19 gional medical education centers under subchapter VI of

20 chapter 74 of this title, and through other means.

21 ‘‘(h) NATIONAL OVERSIGHT.—The Under Secretary for

22 Health shall designate an appropriate officer to oversee the

23 operation of the centers designated under this section and

24 provide for periodic evaluation of the centers.
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1 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—(1) There

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Vet3 erans Affairs for the centers designated under this section

4 amounts as follows:

5 ‘‘(A) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.

6 ‘‘(B) $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006

7 through 2008.

8 ‘‘(2) In addition to amounts authorized to be appro9 priated by paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Under Sec10 retary for Health may allocate to each center designated

11 under this section, from other funds authorized to be appro12 priated for such fiscal year for the Department generally

13 for medical and for medical and prosthetic research, such

14 amounts as the Under Secretary for Health determines ap15 propriate to carry out the purposes of this section.’’.

16 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

17 73 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section

18 7326 the following new item:

‘‘7327. Centers for research, education, and clinical activities on complex multitrauma associated with combat injuries.’’.

19 (b) DESIGNATION OF CENTERS.—The Secretary of Vet20 erans Affairs shall designate the centers for research, edu21 cation, and clinical activities on complex multi-trauma as22 sociated with combat injuries required by section 7327 of

23 title 38, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)),
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1 not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of

2 this Act.

3 (c) ANNUAL REPORTS.—(1) Not later than eighteen

4 months after the date of the designation of centers for re5 search, education, and clinical activities on complex multi6 trauma associated with combat injuries required by section

7 7327 of title 38, United States Code (as so added), and an8 nually thereafter through 2008, the Secretary shall submit

9 to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and

10 House of Representatives a report on the status and activi11 ties of such centers during the one-year period beginning

12 on the date of such designation, for the first such report,

13 and for successive one-year periods, for subsequent reports.

14 (2) Each such report shall include, for the period cov15 ered by such report, the following:

16 (A) A description of the activities carried out at

17 each center, and the funding provided for such activi18 ties.

19 (B) A description of any advances made in the

20 participating programs of each center in research,

21 education, training, and clinical activities on com22 plex multi-trauma associated with combat injuries.

23 (C) A description of the actions taken by the

24 Under Secretary for Health pursuant to subsection

25 (g) of that section (as so added) to disseminate
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1 throughout the Veterans Health Administration infor2 mation derived from such activities.

3 SEC. 303. ENHANCEMENT OF MEDICAL PREPAREDNESS OF

4 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

5 (a) PEER REVIEW PANEL.—In order to assist the Sec6 retary of Veterans Affairs in selecting facilities of the De7 partment of Veterans Affairs to serve as sites for centers

8 under section 7328 of title 38, United States Code, as added

9 by subsection (c), the Secretary shall establish a peer review

10 panel to assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals

11 that are submitted to the Secretary for the selection of such

12 facilities. The panel shall be established not later than 90

13 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall

14 include experts in the fields of toxicological research, infec15 tious diseases, radiology, clinical care of veterans exposed

16 to such hazards, and other persons as determined appro17 priate by the Secretary. Members of the panel shall serve

18 as consultants to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

19 Amounts available to the Secretary for Medical Care may

20 be used for purposes of carrying out this subsection. The

21 panel shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory Com22 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

23 (b) PROPOSALS.—The Secretary shall solicit proposals

24 for designation of facilities as described in subsection (a).

25 The announcement of the solicitation of such proposals shall
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1 be issued not later than 60 days after the date of the enact2 ment of this Act, and the deadline for the submission of

3 proposals in response to such solicitation shall be not later

4 than 90 days after the date of such announcement. The peer

5 review panel established under subsection (a) shall complete

6 its review of the proposals and submit its recommendations

7 to the Secretary not later than 60 days after the date of

8 the deadline for the submission of proposals. The Secretary

9 shall then select the four sites for the location of such centers

10 not later than 45 days after the date on which the peer

11 review panel submits its recommendations to the Secretary.

12 (c) REVISED SECTION.—(1) Subchapter II of chapter

13 73 is amended by inserting after section 7327, as added

14 by section 302(a)(1) of this Act, a new section with—

15 (A) a heading as follows:

16 ‘‘§ 7328. Medical preparedness centers’’; and

17 (B) a text consisting of the text of subsections (a)

18 through (h) of section 7325 of title 38, United States

19 Code, and a subsection (i) at the end as follows:

20 ‘‘(i) FUNDING.—(1) There are authorized to be appro21 priated for the centers under this section $10,000,000 for

22 each of fiscal years 2005 through 2007.

23 ‘‘(2) In addition to any amounts appropriated for a

24 fiscal year specifically for the activities of the centers pursu25 ant to paragraph (1), the Under Secretary for Health shall
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1 allocate to the centers from other funds appropriated for

2 that fiscal year generally for the Department medical care

3 account and the Department medical and prosthetic re4 search account such amounts as the Under Secretary deter5 mines necessary in order to carry out the purposes of this

6 section.’’.

7 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

8 73 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section

9 7327, as added by section 302(a)(2) of this Act, the fol10 lowing new item:

‘‘7328. Medical preparedness centers.’’.

11 TITLE IV—MEDICAL FACILITIES

12 MANAGEMENT AND ADMINIS13 TRATION

14 Subtitle A—Major Medical Facility

15 Leases

16 SEC. 401. MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY LEASES.

17 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may enter into con18 tracts for major medical facility leases at the following loca19 tions, in an amount for each facility lease not to exceed

20 the amount shown for that location:

21 (1) Wilmington, North Carolina, Outpatient

22 Clinic, $1,320,000.

23 (2) Greenville, North Carolina, Outpatient Clin24 ic, $1,220,000.
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1 (3) Norfolk, Virginia, Outpatient Clinic,

2 $1,250,000.

3 (4) Summerfield, Florida, Marion County Out4 patient Clinic, $1,230,000.

5 (5) Knoxville, Tennessee, Outpatient Clinic,

6 $850,000.

7 (6) Toledo, Ohio, Outpatient Clinic, $1,200,000.

8 (7) Crown Point, Indiana, Outpatient Clinic,

9 $850,000.

10 (8) Fort Worth, Texas, Tarrant County Out11 patient Clinic, $3,900,000.

12 (9) Plano, Texas, Collin County Outpatient

13 Clinic, $3,300,000.

14 (10) San Antonio, Texas, Northeast Central

15 Bexar County Outpatient Clinic, $1,400,000.

16 (11) Corpus Christi, Texas, Outpatient Clinic,

17 $1,200,000.

18 (12) Harlingen, Texas, Outpatient Clinic,

19 $650,000.

20 (13) Denver, Colorado, Health Administration

21 Center, $1,950,000.

22 (14) Oakland, California, Outpatient Clinic,

23 $1,700,000.

24 (15) San Diego, California, North County Out25 patient Clinic, $1,300,000.
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1 (16) San Diego, California, South County Out2 patient Clinic, $1,100,000.

3 SEC. 402. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary

5 of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2005 for the Medical Care

6 account, $24,420,000 for the leases authorized in section

7 401.

8 SEC. 403. AUTHORITY FOR LONG-TERM LEASE OF CERTAIN

9 LANDS OF UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO.

10 Notwithstanding section 8103 of title 38, United States

11 Code, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may enter into a

12 lease for real property located at the Fitzsimmons Campus

13 of the University of Colorado for purposes of a medical fa14 cility (as that term is defined in section 8101 of title 38,

15 United States Code) for a period of up to 75 years.

16 Subtitle B—Facilities Management

17 SEC. 411. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CAPITAL

18 ASSET FUND.

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—(1) Subchapter I of

20 chapter 81 is amended by adding at the end the following

21 new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 8118. Authority for transfer of real property; De2 partment of Veterans Affairs Capital

3 Asset Fund

4 ‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary may transfer real property

5 under the jurisdiction or control of the Secretary (including

6 structures and equipment associated therewith) to another

7 department or agency of the United States, to a State (or

8 a political subdivision of a State), or to any public or pri9 vate entity, including an Indian tribe. Such a transfer may

10 be made only if the Secretary receives compensation of not

11 less than the fair market value of the property, except that

12 no compensation is required, or compensation at less than

13 fair market value may be accepted, in the case of a transfer

14 to a grant and per diem provider (as defined in section

15 2002 of this title). When a transfer is made to a grant and

16 per diem provider for less than fair market value, the Sec17 retary shall require in the terms of the conveyance that if

18 the property transferred is used for any purpose other than

19 a purpose under chapter 20 of this title, all right, title, and

20 interest to the property shall revert to the United States.

21 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may exercise the authority pro22 vided by this section notwithstanding sections 521, 522, and

23 541 through 545 of title 40. Any such transfer shall be in

24 accordance with this section and section 8122 of this title.

25 ‘‘(3) The authority provided by this section may not

26 be used in a case to which section 8164 of this title applies.
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1 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may enter into partnerships or

2 agreements with public or private entities dedicated to his3 toric preservation to facilitate the transfer, leasing, or

4 adaptive use of structures or properties specified in sub5 section (b)(3)(D).

6 ‘‘(5) The authority of the Secretary under paragraph

7 (1) expires on the date that is seven years after the date

8 of the enactment of this section.

9 ‘‘(b)(1) There is established in the Treasury of the

10 United States a revolving fund to be known as the Depart11 ment of Veterans Affairs Capital Asset Fund (hereinafter

12 in this section referred to as the ‘Fund’). Amounts in the

13 Fund shall remain available until expended.

14 ‘‘(2) Proceeds from the transfer of real property under

15 this section shall be deposited into the Fund.

16 ‘‘(3) To the extent provided in advance in appropria17 tions Acts, amounts in the Fund may be expended for the

18 following purposes:

19 ‘‘(A) Costs associated with the transfer of real

20 property under this section, including costs of demoli21 tion, environmental remediation, maintenance and

22 repair, improvements to facilitate the transfer, and

23 administrative expenses.
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1 ‘‘(B) Costs, including costs specified in subpara2 graph (A), associated with future transfers of prop3 erty under this section.

4 ‘‘(C) Costs associated with enhancing medical

5 care services to veterans by improving, renovating, re6 placing, updating, or establishing patient care facili7 ties through construction projects to be carried out for

8 an amount less than the amount specified in

9 8104(a)(3)(A) for a major medical facility project.

10 ‘‘(D) Costs, including costs specified in subpara11 graph (A), associated with the transfer, lease, or

12 adaptive use of a structure or other property under

13 the jurisdiction of the Secretary that is listed on the

14 National Register of Historic Places.

15 ‘‘(c) The Secretary shall include in the budget justifica16 tion materials submitted to Congress for any fiscal year in

17 support of the President’s budget for that fiscal year for the

18 Department specification of the following:

19 ‘‘(1) The real property transfers to be undertaken

20 in accordance with this section during that fiscal

21 year.

22 ‘‘(2) All transfers completed under this section

23 during the preceding fiscal year and completed and

24 scheduled to be completed during the fiscal year dur25 ing which the budget is submitted.
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1 ‘‘(3) The deposits into, and expenditures from,

2 the Fund that are incurred or projected for each of the

3 preceding fiscal year, the current fiscal year, and the

4 fiscal year covered by the budget.’’.

5 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chap6 ter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section

7 8117 the following new item:

‘‘8118. Authority for transfer of real property; Department of Veterans Affairs

Capital Asset Fund.’’.

8 (b) INITIAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

9 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Department

10 of Veterans Affairs Capital Asset Fund established under

11 section 8118 of title 38, United States Code (as added by

12 subsection (a)), the amount of $10,000,000.

13 (c) TERMINATION OF NURSING HOME REVOLVING

14 FUND.—(1) Section 8116 is repealed.

15 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

16 81 is amended by striking the item relating to section 8116.

17 (d) TRANSFER OF UNOBLIGATED BALANCES TO CAP18 ITAL ASSET FUND.—Any unobligated balances in the nurs19 ing home revolving fund under section 8116 of title 38,

20 United States Code, as of the date of the enactment of this

21 Act shall be deposited in the Department of Veterans Affairs

22 Capital Asset Fund established under section 8118 of title

23 38, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)).
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1 (e) PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO TRANSFERS.—(1)

2 Paragraph (2) of section 8122(a) is amended to read as

3 follows:

4 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), the Sec5 retary may not during any fiscal year transfer to any other

6 department or agency of the United States or to any other

7 entity real property that is owned by the United States and

8 administered by the Secretary unless the proposed transfer

9 is described in the budget submitted to Congress pursuant

10 to section 1105 of title 31 for that fiscal year.’’.

11 (2) Section 8122(d) is amended—

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Real property’’;

13 and

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

15 paragraph:

16 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may transfer real property under

17 this section, or under section 8118 of this title, if the

18 Secretary—

19 ‘‘(A) places a notice in the real estate section of

20 local newspapers and in the Federal Register of the

21 Secretary’s intent to transfer that real property (in22 cluding land, structures, and equipment associated

23 with the property);

24 ‘‘(B) holds a public hearing;
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1 ‘‘(C) provides notice to the Administrator of

2 General Services of the Secretary’s intention to trans3 fer that real property and waits for 30 days to elapse

4 after providing that notice; and

5 ‘‘(D) after such 30-day period has elapsed, noti6 fies the congressional veterans’ affairs committees of

7 the Secretary’s intention to dispose of the property

8 and waits for 60 days to elapse from the date of that

9 notice.’’.

10 (3) Section 8164(a) is amended by inserting ‘‘8118 or’’

11 after ‘‘rather than under section’’.

12 (4) Section 8165(a)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘nurs13 ing home revolving fund’’ and inserting ‘‘Department of

14 Veterans Affairs Capital Asset Fund established under sec15 tion 8118 of this title’’.

16 (f) CONTINGENT EFFECTIVENESS.—Subsection (d) and

17 the amendments made by subsection (c) shall take effect at

18 the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which

19 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs certifies to Congress that

20 the Secretary is in compliance with subsection (b) of section

21 1710B of title 38, United States Code.

22 (g) ANNUAL UPDATE.—Following a certification

23 under subsection (f), the Secretary shall submit to Congress

24 an annual update on that certification.
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1 SEC. 412. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS ON INVENTORY

2 OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HIS3 TORIC PROPERTIES.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 15 of

5 2005, 2006, and 2007, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

6 shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the

7 Senate and House of Representatives a report on the his8 toric properties administered or controlled by the Secretary.

9 (b) INITIAL REPORT.—In the initial report under sub10 section (a), the Secretary shall set forth a complete inven11 tory of the historic structures and property under the juris12 diction of the Secretary. The report shall include a descrip13 tion and classification of each such property based upon

14 historical nature, current physical condition, and potential

15 for transfer, leasing, or adaptive use.

16 (c) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—In reports under sub17 section (a) after the initial report, the Secretary shall pro18 vide an update of the status of each property identified in

19 the initial report, with the proposed and actual disposition,

20 if any, of each property. Each such report shall include any

21 recommendation of the Secretary for legislation to enhance

22 the transfer, leasing, or adaptive use of such properties.
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1 SEC. 413. AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE AND TRANSFER REAL

2 PROPERTY FOR USE FOR HOMELESS VET3 ERANS.

4 (a) AUTHORITY.—Upon identification of a parcel of

5 real property meeting the description in subsection (b), the

6 Secretary of Veterans Affairs may acquire that property

7 (with the structures and improvements thereon) or, in the

8 case of property owned by the United States and adminis9 tered by another Federal department or agency, may accept

10 administrative jurisdiction over that property, with the ex11 pectation of promptly transferring that property to a home12 less assistance provider identified under paragraph (2) of

13 subsection (b), subject to the condition that the primary

14 purpose for which the property shall be used is to provide

15 housing for homeless veterans.

16 (b) SPECIFIED PROPERTY.—A parcel of real property

17 referred to in subsection (a) is a parcel in the District of

18 Columbia—

19 (1) that the Secretary determines to be suitable

20 for use for housing for homeless veterans; and

21 (2) for which there is an identified homeless as22 sistance provider that is prepared to acquire the

23 property for such purpose from the Secretary prompt24 ly upon the acquisition of the property by the Sec25 retary.
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1 (c) TRANSFER OF PROPERTY.—Upon acquiring real

2 property under subsection (a), the Secretary shall imme3 diately transfer all right, title, and interest of the United

4 States (other than the reversionary interest retained under

5 subsection (e)) to the homeless assistance provider identified

6 under subsection (b)(2). Such transfer shall be for such con7 sideration as the Secretary determines appropriate.

8 (d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The acquisition and

9 transfer of real property under this section shall be made

10 upon such terms and conditions as the Secretary may speci11 fy not inconsistent with other applicable provisions of law.

12 (e) REVERTER.—The terms of the transfer shall pro13 vide that if the property is no longer used for the purpose

14 for which conveyed by the Secretary, title to the property

15 shall revert to the United States.

16 SEC. 414. LIMITATION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF MISSION

17 CHANGES FOR SPECIFIED VETERANS HEALTH

18 ADMINISTRATION FACILITIES.

19 (a) LIMITATION.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs

20 may not implement a mission change for a medical facility

21 of the Department of Veterans Affairs specified in sub22 section (c) until—

23 (1) the Secretary submits to the Committees on

24 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep-
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1 resentatives a written notice of the mission change;

2 and

3 (2) the period prescribed by subsection (b) has

4 elapsed.

5 (b) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW PERIOD.—(1) The period

6 referred to in subsection (a)(2) is the period beginning on

7 the date of the receipt of the notice under subsection (a)(1)

8 by the committees specified in that subsection and ending

9 on the later of—

10 (A) the end of the 60-day period beginning on

11 the date on which the notice is received by those com12 mittees; or

13 (B) the end of a period of 30 days of continuous

14 session of Congress beginning on the date on which

15 the notification is received by those committees or, if

16 either House of Congress is not in session on such

17 date, the first day after such date that both Houses

18 of Congress are in session.

19 (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(B)—

20 (A) the continuity of a session of Congress is bro21 ken only by an adjournment of Congress sine die; and

22 (B) any day on which either House is not in ses23 sion because of an adjournment of more than three

24 days to a day certain is excluded in the computation
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1 of any period of time in which Congress is in contin2 uous session.

3 (c) SPECIFIED FACILITIES.—A facility referred to in

4 subsection (a) as being specified in this subsection is any

5 of the following facilities of the Department of Veterans Af6 fairs:

7 (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs medical

8 centers in Boston, Massachusetts.

9 (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs medical

10 centers in New York City, New York.

11 (3) The Department of Veterans Affairs medical

12 center in Big Spring, Texas.

13 (4) The Carl Vinson Department of Veterans Af14 fairs Medical Center, Dublin, Georgia.

15 (5) The Department of Veterans Affairs medical

16 center in Montgomery, Alabama.

17 (6) The Department of Veterans Affairs medical

18 center in Louisville, Kentucky.

19 (7) The Department of Veterans Affairs medical

20 center in Muskogee Oklahoma, and the outpatient

21 clinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

22 (8) The John J. Pershing Department of Vet23 erans Affairs Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

24 (9) The Department of Veterans Affairs medical

25 center in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
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1 (10) The Department of Veterans Affairs Medical

2 Center in Waco, Texas.

3 (11) The Jonathan M. Wainwright Department

4 of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Walla Walla,

5 Washington.

6 (d) COVERED MISSION CHANGES.—For purposes of

7 this section, a mission change for a medical facility shall

8 consist of any of the following:

9 (1) Closure of the facility.

10 (2) Consolidation of the facility.

11 (3) An administrative reorganization of the fa12 cility covered by section 510(b) of title 38, United

13 States Code.

14 (e) REQUIRED CONTENT OF NOTICE OF MISSION

15 CHANGE.—Written notice of a mission change for a medical

16 facility under subsection (a) shall include the following:

17 (1) An assessment of the effect of the mission

18 change on the population of veterans served by the fa19 cility.

20 (2) A description of the availability and quality

21 of health care, including long-term care, mental

22 health care, and substance abuse programs, available

23 in the area served by the facility.
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1 (3) An assessment of the effect of the mission

2 change on the economy of the community in which the

3 facility is located.

4 (4) An analysis of any alternatives to the mis5 sion change proposed by—

6 (A) the community in which the facility is

7 located;

8 (B) organizations recognized by the Sec9 retary under section 5902 of title 38, United

10 States Code;

11 (C) organizations that represent Depart12 ment employees in such community; or

13 (D) the Department.

14 (f) MEDICAL FACILITY CONSOLIDATION.—For the pur15 poses of subsection (d)(2), the term ‘‘consolidation’’ means

16 an action that closes one or more medical facilities within

17 a geographic service area for the purpose of relocating those

18 activities to another medical facility or facilities.

19 (g) COORDINATION OF PROVISIONS.—In the case of a

20 mission change covered by subsection (a) that is also an

21 administrative reorganization covered by section 510(b) of

22 title 38, United States Code, both this section and such sec23 tion 510(b) shall apply with respect to the implementation

24 of that mission change.
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1 SEC. 415. AUTHORITY TO USE PROJECT FUNDS TO CON2 STRUCT OR RELOCATE SURFACE PARKING IN3 CIDENTAL TO A CONSTRUCTION OR NON4 RECURRING MAINTENANCE PROJECT.

5 Section 8109 is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing new subsection:

7 ‘‘(j) Funds in a construction account or capital ac8 count that are available for a construction project or a non9 recurring maintenance project may be used for the construc10 tion or relocation of a surface parking lot incidental to that

11 project.’’.

12 SEC. 416. INAPPLICABILITY OF LIMITATION ON USE OF AD13 VANCE PLANNING FUNDS TO AUTHORIZED

14 MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY PROJECTS.

15 Section 8104 is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing new subsection:

17 ‘‘(g) The limitation in subsection (f) does not apply

18 to a project for which funds have been authorized by law

19 in accordance with subsection (a)(2).’’.

20 SEC. 417. IMPROVEMENTS TO ENHANCED-USE LEASE AU21 THORITY.

22 Section 8166(a) is amended by inserting ‘‘land use,’’

23 in the second sentence after ‘‘relating to’’.
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1 SEC. 418. FIRST OPTION FOR COMMONWEALTH OF KEN2 TUCKY ON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF3 FAIRS MEDICAL CENTER, LOUISVILLE, KEN4 TUCKY.

5 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Upon determining to convey,

6 lease, or otherwise dispose of the Department of Veterans

7 Affairs Medical Center, Louisville, Kentucky, or any por8 tion thereof, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall engage

9 in negotiations for the conveyance, lease, or other disposal

10 of the Medical Center or portion thereof solely with the Com11 monwealth of Kentucky.

12 (b) DURATION OF REQUIREMENT.—The requirement

13 for negotiations under subsection (a) shall remain in effect

14 for one year after the date of the determination referred to

15 in that subsection.

16 (c) SCOPE OF NEGOTIATIONS.—The negotiations under

17 subsection (a) shall address the use of the medical center

18 referred to in subsection (a), or portion thereof, by the Com19 monwealth of Kentucky for the primary purpose of the pro20 vision of services for veterans and related activities, includ21 ing use for a State veterans’ home.

22 SEC. 419. TRANSFER OF JURISDICTION, GENERAL SERV23 ICES ADMINISTRATION PROPERTY, BOISE,

24 IDAHO.

25 (a) TRANSFER.—The Administrator of General Serv26 ices shall transfer to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs,
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1 under such terms and conditions as the Administrator and

2 the Secretary agree, jurisdiction, custody, and control over

3 the parcel of real property, including any improvements

4 thereon, consisting of approximately 2.3 acres located at the

5 General Services Administration facility immediately north

6 of the Army Reserve facility in Boise, Idaho.

7 (b) UTILIZATION.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs

8 shall utilize the property transferred under subsection (a)

9 for purposes relating to the delivery of benefits to veterans.

10 Subtitle C—Designation of

11 Facilities

12 SEC. 421. THOMAS E. CREEK DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

13 AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Veterans Affairs

15 medical center in Amarillo, Texas, shall after the date of

16 the enactment of this Act be known and designated as the

17 ‘‘Thomas E. Creek Department of Veterans Affairs Medical

18 Center’’.

19 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula20 tion, map, document, record, or other paper of the United

21 States to the medical center referred to in subsection (a)

22 shall be considered to be a reference to the Thomas E. Creek

23 Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
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1 SEC. 422. JAMES J. PETERS DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF2 FAIRS MEDICAL CENTER.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Veterans Affairs

4 medical center in the Bronx, New York, shall after the date

5 of the enactment of this Act be known and designated as

6 the ‘‘James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Med7 ical Center’’.

8 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula9 tion, map, document, record, or other paper of the United

10 States to the medical center referred to in subsection (a)

11 shall be considered to be a reference to the James J. Peters

12 Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

13 SEC. 423. BOB MICHEL DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF14 FAIRS OUTPATIENT CLINIC.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Veterans Affairs

16 outpatient clinic located in Peoria, Illinois, shall after the

17 date of the enactment of this Act be known and designated

18 as the ‘‘Bob Michel Department of Veterans Affairs Out19 patient Clinic’’.

20 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula21 tion, map, document, record, or other paper of the United

22 States to the outpatient clinic referred to in subsection (a)

23 shall be considered to be a reference to the Bob Michel De24 partment of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic.
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1 SEC. 424. CHARLES WILSON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

2 AFFAIRS OUTPATIENT CLINIC.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Veterans Affairs

4 outpatient clinic located in Lufkin, Texas, shall after the

5 date of the enactment of this Act be known and designated

6 as the ‘‘Charles Wilson Department of Veterans Affairs Out7 patient Clinic’’.

8 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula9 tion, map, document, record, or other paper of the United

10 States to the outpatient clinic referred to in subsection (a)

11 shall be considered to be a reference to the Charles Wilson

12 Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic.

13 SEC. 425. THOMAS P. NOONAN, JR. DEPARTMENT OF VET14 ERANS AFFAIRS OUTPATIENT CLINIC.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Veterans Affairs

16 outpatient clinic in Sunnyside, Queens, New York, shall

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act be known and

18 designated as the ‘‘Thomas P. Noonan, Jr. Department of

19 Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic’’.

20 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, map,

21 regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United

22 States to the outpatient clinic referred to in subsection (a)

23 shall be considered to be a reference to the Thomas P.

24 Noonan, Jr. Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient

25 Clinic.
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1 TITLE V—PERSONNEL

2 ADMINISTRATION

3 SEC. 501. PILOT PROGRAM TO STUDY INNOVATIVE RE4 CRUITMENT TOOLS TO ADDRESS NURSING

5 SHORTAGES AT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

6 AFFAIRS HEALTH CARE FACILITIES.

7 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—(1) Not later than 90 days after

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet9 erans Affairs shall designate a health care service region,

10 or a section within such a region, in which health care fa11 cilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs are adversely

12 affected by a shortage of qualified nurses.

13 (2) The Secretary shall conduct a pilot program in

14 the region or section designated under paragraph (1) to de15 termine the effectiveness of the use of innovative human cap16 ital tools and techniques in the recruitment of qualified

17 nurses for positions at Department health care facilities in

18 such region or section and for the retention of nurses at

19 such facilities. In carrying out the pilot program, the Sec20 retary shall enter into a contract with a private sector enti21 ty for services under the pilot program for recruitment of

22 qualified nurses.

23 (b) PRIVATE SECTOR RECRUITMENT PRACTICES.—For

24 purposes of the pilot program under this section, the Sec25 retary shall identify and use recruitment practices that
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1 have proven effective for placing qualified individuals in

2 positions that are difficult to fill due to shortages of quali3 fied individuals or other factors. Recruitment practices to

4 be reviewed by the Secretary for use in the pilot program

5 shall include—

6 (1) employer branding and interactive adver7 tising strategies;

8 (2) Internet technologies and automated staffing

9 systems; and

10 (3) the use of recruitment, advertising, and com11 munication agencies.

12 (c) STREAMLINED HIRING PROCESS.—In carrying out

13 the pilot program under this section, the Secretary shall,

14 at health care facilities of the Department in the region or

15 section in which the pilot program is conducted, revise pro16 cedures and systems for selecting and hiring qualified

17 nurses to reduce the length of the hiring process. If the Sec18 retary identifies measures to streamline and automate the

19 hiring process that can only be implemented if authorized

20 by law, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on

21 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representa22 tives recommendations for such changes in law as may be

23 necessary to enable such measures to be implemented.

24 (d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date

25 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to
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1 the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and

2 House of Representatives a report on the extent to which

3 the pilot program achieved the goal of improving the re4 cruitment and retention of nurses in Department of Vet5 erans Affairs health care facilities.

6 SEC. 502. TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO LISTING OF CER7 TAIN HYBRID POSITIONS IN VETERANS

8 HEALTH ADMINISTRATION.

9 Section 7401(3) is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘and dental technologists’’ and

11 inserting ‘‘technologists, dental hygienists, dental as12 sistants’’; and

13 (2) by striking ‘‘technicians, therapeutic

14 radiologic technicians, and social workers’’ and in15 serting ‘‘technologists, therapeutic radiologic tech16 nologists, social workers, blind rehabilitation special17 ists, and blind rehabilitation outpatient specialists’’.

18 SEC. 503. UNDER SECRETARY FOR HEALTH.

19 Section 305(a)(2) is amended—

20 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A),

21 by striking ‘‘shall be a doctor of medicine and’’; and

22 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and in

23 health-care’’ and inserting ‘‘or in health-care’’.
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1 TITLE VI—OTHER MATTERS

2 SEC. 601. EXTENSION AND CODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY

3 FOR RECOVERY AUDITS.

4 Section 1703 is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new subsection:

6 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary shall conduct a program of re7 covery audits for fee basis contracts and other medical serv8 ices contracts for the care of veterans under this section,

9 and for beneficiaries under sections 1781, 1782, and 1783

10 of this title, with respect to overpayments resulting from

11 processing or billing errors or fraudulent charges in pay12 ments for non-Department care and services. The program

13 shall be conducted by contract.

14 ‘‘(2) Amounts collected, by setoff or otherwise, as the

15 result of an audit under the program conducted under this

16 subsection shall be available for the purposes for which

17 funds are currently available to the Secretary for medical

18 care and for payment to a contractor of a percentage of

19 the amount collected as a result of an audit carried out

20 by the contractor.

21 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall allocate all amounts collected

22 under this subsection with respect to a designated geo23 graphic service area of the Veterans Health Administration,

24 net of payments to the contractor, to that region.
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1 ‘‘(4) The authority of the Secretary under this sub2 section terminates on September 30, 2008.’’.

3 SEC. 602. INVENTORY OF MEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT

4 ACTIVITIES AT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

5 AFFAIRS HEALTH CARE FACILITIES.

6 (a) INVENTORY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs

7 shall establish and maintain a national inventory of med8 ical waste management activities in the health care facili9 ties of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The inventory

10 shall include the following:

11 (1) A statement of the current national policy of

12 the Department on managing and disposing of med13 ical waste, including regulated medical waste in all

14 its forms.

15 (2) A description of the program of each geo16 graphic service area of the Department to manage

17 and dispose of medical waste, including general med18 ical waste and regulated medical waste, with a de19 scription of the primary methods used in those pro20 grams and the associated costs of those programs,

21 with cost information shown separately for in-house

22 costs (including full-time equivalent employees) and

23 contract costs.

24 (b) REPORT.—Not later than June 30, 2005, the Sec25 retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees
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1 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representa2 tives a report on medical waste management activities in

3 the facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The re4 port shall include the following:

5 (1) The inventory established under subsection

6 (a), including all the matters specified in that sub7 section.

8 (2) A listing of each violation of medical waste

9 management and disposal regulations reported at any

10 health care facility of the Department over the pre11 ceding five years by any Federal or State agency,

12 along with an explanation of any remedial or other

13 action taken by the Secretary in response to each such

14 reported violation.

15 (3) A description of any plans to modernize, con16 solidate, or otherwise improve the management of

17 medical waste and disposal programs at health care

18 facilities of the Department, including the projected

19 costs associated with such plans and any barriers to

20 achieving goals associated with such plans.

21 (4) An assessment or evaluation of the available

22 methods of disposing of medical waste and identifica23 tion of which of those methods are more desirable

24 from an environmental perspective in that they would
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1 be least likely to result in contamination of air or

2 water or otherwise cause future cleanup problems.

3 SEC. 603. INCLUSION OF ALL ENROLLED VETERANS AMONG

4 PERSONS ELIGIBLE TO USE CANTEENS OPER5 ATED BY VETERANS’ CANTEEN SERVICE.

6 The text of section 7803 is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(a) PRIMARY BENEFICIARIES.—Canteens operated by

8 the Service shall be primarily for the use and benefit of—

9 ‘‘(1) veterans hospitalized or domiciled at the fa10 cilities at which canteen services are provided; and

11 ‘‘(2) other veterans who are enrolled under sec12 tion 1705 of this title.

13 ‘‘(b) OTHER AUTHORIZED USERS.—Service at such

14 canteens may also be furnished to—

15 ‘‘(1) personnel of the Department and recognized

16 veterans’ organizations who are employed at a facil17 ity at which canteen services are provided and to

18 other persons so employed;

19 ‘‘(2) the families of persons referred to in para20 graph (1) who reside at the facility; and

21 ‘‘(3) relatives and other persons while visiting a

22 person specified in this section.’’.
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1 SEC. 604. ANNUAL REPORTS ON WAITING TIMES FOR AP2 POINTMENTS FOR SPECIALTY CARE.

3 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than January 31

4 each year through 2007, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

5 shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the

6 Senate and the House of Representatives a report on wait7 ing times for appointments for specialty health care from

8 the Department of Veterans Affairs under chapter 17 of title

9 38, United States Code, during the preceding year.

10 (b) REPORT ELEMENTS.—Each report under sub11 section (a) shall specify, for the year covered by the report,

12 the following:

13 (1) A tabulation of the number of veterans whose

14 appointment for specialty health care furnished by the

15 Department was more than three months after the

16 date of the scheduling of such appointment, and the

17 waiting times of such veterans for such appointments,

18 for each category of specialty care furnished by the

19 Department, broken out by Veterans Integrated Serv20 ice Network.

21 (2) An identification of the categories of spe22 cialty care furnished by the Department for which

23 there were delays of more than three months between

24 the scheduling date of appointments and appoint25 ments in each Veterans Integrated Service Network.
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1 (3) A discussion of the reasons for the delays

2 identified under paragraph (2) for each category of

3 care for each Veterans Integrated Service Network so

4 identified, including lack of personnel, financial re5 sources, or other resources.

6 (c) CERTIFICATION ON REPORT INFORMATION.—The

7 Comptroller General of the United States shall certify to

8 the committees of Congress referred to in subsection (a)

9 whether or not each report under this section is accurate.

10 SEC. 605. TECHNICAL CLARIFICATION.

11 Section 8111(d)(2) is amended by inserting before the

12 period at the end of the last sentence the following: ‘‘and

13 shall be available for any purpose authorized by this sec14 tion’’.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘An Act to amend

title 38, United States Code, to increase the authorization of appropriations for grants to benefit homeless veterans, to improve programs for management and administration of veterans’ facilities and health care programs,

and for other purposes.’’.

Attest:

Secretary.
108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3936

AMENDMENTS