I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4768

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

Affairs to enter into certain major medical facility leases, to authorize 

that Secretary to transfer real property subject to certain limitations, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 7, 2004

Mr. SIMMONS (for himself, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. 

EVANS, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. BEAUPREZ, and Mr. 

FILNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into certain major 

medical facility leases, to authorize that Secretary to 

transfer real property subject to certain limitations, 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; REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, 

4 UNITED STATES CODE. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

6 ‘‘Veterans Medical Facilities Management Act of 2004’’. 
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1 (b) REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES

2 CODE.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever 

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

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi5 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

6 section or other provision of title 38, United States Code. 

7 SEC. 2. MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY LEASES. 

8 (a) AUTHORIZED LEASES.—The Secretary of Vet9 erans Affairs may enter into contracts for major medical 

10 facility leases at the following locations, in an amount for 

11 each facility lease not to exceed the amount shown for that 

12 location: 

13 (1) Wilmington, North Carolina, Outpatient 

14 Clinic, $1,320,000. 

15 (2) Greenville, North Carolina, Outpatient Clin16 ic, $1,220,000. 

17 (3) Norfolk, Virginia, Outpatient Clinic, 

18 $1,250,000. 

19 (4) Summerfield, Florida, Marion County Out20 patient Clinic, $1,230,000. 

21 (5) Knoxville, Tennessee, Outpatient Clinic, 

22 $850,000. 

23 (6) Toledo, Ohio, Outpatient Clinic, 

24 $1,200,000. 
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1 (7) Crown Point, Indiana, Outpatient Clinic, 

2 $850,000. 

3 (8) Fort Worth, Texas, Tarrant County Out4 patient Clinic, $3,900,000. 

5 (9) Plano, Texas, Collin County Outpatient 

6 Clinic, $3,300,000. 

7 (10) San Antonio, Texas, Northeast Central 

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

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

10 $1,200,000. 

11 (12) Harlington, Texas, Outpatient Clinic, 

12 $650,000. 

13 (13) Denver, Colorado, Health Administration 

14 Center, $1,950,000. 

15 (14) Oakland, California, Outpatient Clinic, 

16 $1,700,000. 

17 (15) San Diego, California, North County Out18 patient Clinic, $1,300,000. 

19 (16) San Diego, California, South County, Out20 patient Clinic, $1,100,000. 

21 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

22 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans 

23 Affairs for fiscal year 2005 for the Medical Care account, 

24 $24,420,000 for the leases authorized in subsection (a). 
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1 (c) AUTHORITY FOR LEASE OF CERTAIN LANDS OF

2 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO.—Notwithstanding section 

3 8103 of title 38, United States Code, the Secretary of Vet4 erans Affairs may enter into a lease for real property lo5 cated at the Fitzsimons Campus of the University of Colo6 rado for a period up to 75 years. 

7 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CAPITAL 

8 ASSET FUND. 

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

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

11 new section: 

12 ‘‘§ 8117. Authority for transfer of real property; Cap13 ital Asset Fund 

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

15 under the jurisdiction or control of the Secretary (includ16 ing structures and equipment associated therewith) to an17 other department or agency of the United States or to a 

18 State (or a political subdivision of a State) or to any public 

19 or private entity, including an Indian tribe. Such a trans20 fer may be made only if the Secretary receives compensa21 tion of not less than the fair market value of the property, 

22 except that no compensation is required, or compensation 

23 at less than fair market value may be accepted, in the 

24 case of a transfer to a grant and per diem provider (as 

25 defined in section 2002 of this title). When a transfer is 
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1 made to a grant and per diem provider for less than fair 

2 market value, the Secretary shall require in the terms of 

3 the conveyance that if the property transferred is used for 

4 any purpose other than a purpose under chapter 20 of 

5 this title, all right, title, and interest to the property shall 

6 revert to the United States. 

7 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may exercise the authority pro8 vided by this section notwithstanding sections 521, 522 

9 and 541–545 of title 40. Any such transfer shall be in 

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

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

12 be used in a case to which section 8164 of this title ap13 plies. 

14 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may enter into partnerships or 

15 agreements with public or private entities dedicated to his16 toric preservation to facilitate the transfer, leasing, or 

17 adaptive use of structures or properties specified in sub18 section (b)(3)(D). 

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

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

21 of the enactment of this section. 

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

23 United States a revolving fund to be known as the Depart24 ment of Veterans Affairs Capital Asset Fund (hereinafter 
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1 in this section referred to as the ‘Fund’). Amounts in the 

2 Fund shall remain available until expended. 

3 ‘‘(2) Proceeds from the transfer of real property 

4 under this section shall be deposited into the Fund. 

5 ‘‘(3) To the extent provided in advance in appropria6 tions Acts, amounts in the Fund may be expended for the 

7 following purposes: 

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

9 property under this section, including costs of demo10 lition, environmental remediation, maintenance and 

11 repair, improvements to facilitate the transfer, and 

12 administrative expenses. 

13 ‘‘(B) Costs, including costs specified in sub14 paragraph (A), associated with future transfers of 

15 property under this section. 

16 ‘‘(C) Costs associated with enhancing medical 

17 care services to veterans by improving, renovating, 

18 replacing, updating, and establishing patient care fa19 cilities through construction projects to be carried 

20 out for an amount less than the amount specified in 

21 8104(a)(3)(A) for a major medical facility project. 

22 ‘‘(D) Costs, including costs specified in sub23 paragraph (A), associated with the transfer, lease or 

24 adaptive use of a structure or other property under 
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1 the jurisdiction of the Secretary that is listed on the 

2 National Register of Historic Places. 

3 ‘‘(c) The Secretary shall include in the budget jus4 tification materials submitted to Congress for any fiscal 

5 year in support of the President’s budget for that year 

6 for the Department specification of the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) The real property transfers to be under8 taken in accordance with this section during that fis9 cal year. 

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

11 during the preceding fiscal year and completed and 

12 scheduled to be completed during the year during 

13 which the budget is submitted. 

14 ‘‘(3) The deposits into, and expenditures from, 

15 the Fund that are incurred or projected for each of 

16 the preceding fiscal year, the current fiscal year, and 

17 the fiscal year covered by the budget.’’. 

18 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such 

19 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 

20 to section 8116 the following new item:

‘‘8117. Authority for transfer of real property; Capital Asset Fund.’’.

21 (b) INITIAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

22 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Department 

23 of Veterans Affairs Capital Asset Fund established under 

24 section 8117 of title 38, United States Code (as added 

25 by subsection (a)), the amount of $10,000,000. 
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1 (c) TERMINATION OF NURSING HOME REVOLVING

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

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

4 81 is amended by striking the item relating to section 

5 8116. 

6 (d) TRANSFER OF UNOBLIGATED BALANCES TO CAP7 ITAL ASSET FUND.—Any unobligated balances in the 

8 nursing home revolving fund under section 8116 of title 

9 38, United States Code, as of the date of the enactment 

10 of this Act shall be deposited in the Department of Vet11 erans Affairs Capital Asset Fund established under sec12 tion 8117 of title 38, United States Code (as added by 

13 subsection (a)). 

14 (e) PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO TRANSFERS.—(1) 

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

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), the Sec18 retary may not during any fiscal year transfer to any other 

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

20 entity real property that is owned by the United States 

21 and administered by the Secretary unless the proposed 

22 transfer is described in the budget submitted to Congress 

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

24 (2) Section 8122(d) is amended—
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Real property’’; 

2 and 

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

4 paragraph: 

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

6 this section, or under section 8117 of this title if the Sec7 retary— 

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

9 of local newspapers and in the Federal Register of 

10 the Secretary’s intent to transfer that real property 

11 (including land, structures, and equipment associ12 ated with the property); 

13 ‘‘(B) holds a public hearing; 

14 ‘‘(C) provides notice to the Administrator of 

15 General Services of the Secretary’s intention to 

16 transfer that real property and waits for 30 days to 

17 elapse after providing that notice; and 

18 ‘‘(D) after such 30-day period has elapsed, noti19 fies the congressional veterans’ affairs committees of 

20 the Secretary’s intention to dispose of the property 

21 and waits for 60 days to elapse from the date of 

22 that notice.’’. 

23 (3) Section 8164(a) is amended by inserting ‘‘8117 

24 or’’ after ‘‘rather than under section’’. 
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1 (4) Section 8165(a)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘nurs2 ing home revolving fund’’ and inserting ‘‘Capital Asset 

3 Fund established under section 8117 of this title.’’. 

4 (f) CONTINGENT EFFECTIVENESS.—The amend5 ments made by this section shall take effect at the end 

6 of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the 

7 Secretary of Veterans Affairs certifies to Congress that 

8 the Secretary is in compliance with subsection (b) of sec9 tion 1710B of title 38, United States Code. Such certifi10 cation shall demonstrate a plan for, and commitment to, 

11 ongoing compliance with the requirements of that sub12 section. 

13 (g) CONTINUING REPORTS.—Following a certifi14 cation under subsection (f), the Secretary shall submit to 

15 Congress an update on that certification every six months 

16 until the certification is included in the Department’s an17 nual budget submission. 

18 SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS ON INVENTORY OF 

19 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HIS20 TORIC PROPERTIES. 

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

22 2005, 2006, and 2007, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

23 shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 

24 the Senate and House of Representatives a report on the 
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1 historic properties administered or controlled by the Sec2 retary. 

3 (b) INITIAL REPORT.—In the initial report under 

4 subsection (a), the Secretary shall set forth a complete in5 ventory of the historic structures and property under the 

6 jurisdiction of the Secretary. The report shall include a 

7 description and classification of each such property based 

8 upon historical nature, current physical condition, and po9 tential for transfer, leasing, or adaptive use. 

10 (c) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—In reports under sub11 section (a) after the initial report, the Secretary shall pro12 vide an update of the status of each property identified 

13 in the initial report, with the proposed and actual disposi14 tion of each property. Each such report shall include any 

15 recommendation of the Secretary for legislation to en16 hance the transfer, leasing or adaptive use of such prop17 erties. 

18 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE PROJECT FUNDS TO CON19 STRUCT OR RELOCATE SURFACE PARKING 

20 INCIDENTAL TO A CONSTRUCTION OR NON21 RECURRING MAINTENANCE PROJECT. 

22 Section 8109 is amended by adding at the end the 

23 following new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(j) Funds in a construction account or capital ac25 count that are available for a construction project or a 
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1 nonrecurring maintenance project may be used for the 

2 construction or relocation of a surface parking lot inci3 dental to that project.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. INAPPLICABILITY OF LIMITATION ON USE OF AD5 VANCE PLANNING FUNDS TO AUTHORIZED 

6 MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY PROJECTS. 

7 Section 8104 is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following new subsection: 

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

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

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

12 SEC. 7. IMPROVEMENT IN ENHANCED-USE LEASE AUTHORI13 TIES. 

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

15 in the second sentence after ‘‘relating to’’. 

16 SEC. 8. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE CARE 

17 UNDER LONG-TERM CARE PILOT PROGRAMS. 

18 Subsection (h) of section 102 of the Veterans Millen19 nium Health Care and Benefits Act (38 U.S.C. 1710B 

20 note) is amended—

21 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The authority 

22 of’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

24 paragraph: 
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1 ‘‘(2) In the case of a veteran who is participating in 

2 a pilot program under this section as of the end of the 

3 three-year period applicable to that pilot program under 

4 paragraph (1), the Secretary may continue to provide to 

5 that veteran any of the services that could be provided 

6 under the pilot program. The authority to provide services 

7 to any veteran under the preceding sentence applies dur8 ing the period beginning on the date specified in para9 graph (1) with respect to that pilot program and ending 

10 on December 31, 2005.’’. 

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