IB 
Union Calendar No. 167 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1804 
[Report No. 113–227] 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs to submit to Congress semiannual reports on the cost of foreign 
travel made by employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 26, 2013 
Mr. HUELSKAMP introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 26, 2013] 
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A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress semi-
annual reports on the cost of foreign travel made by 
employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
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‘‘(J) contractors; 
‘‘(K) registration fees; and 
‘‘(L) promotional items. 
‘‘(c) DUPLICATIVE INFORMATION.—Each report under 
subsection (a) shall include the information described in 
subsection (b) regardless of whether such information is also 
included in a report under section 517 of this title. 
‘‘(d) COVERED TRAVEL DEFINED.—In this section, the 
term ‘covered travel’ means travel made by an employee of 
the Department of Veterans Affairs, including an employee 
who is stationed in a foreign country, on official business 
to any of the following locations: 
‘‘(1) If the Department or other element of the 
Federal Government pays for such travel, a location 
outside of— 
‘‘(A) the several States; 
‘‘(B) the District of Columbia; 
‘‘(C) a territory, commonwealth, or posses-
sion of the United States; 
‘‘(D) Indian lands (as defined in section 
4(4) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 
U.S.C. 2703(4))); or 
‘‘(E) the territorial waters of the United 
States. 
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‘‘(2) If any person or entity other than the Fed-
eral Government pays (or reimburses) for such travel, 
any location, regardless of whether the location is in-
side or outside of the United States.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 
the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding after 
the item relating to section 517 the following new item: 
‘‘518. Semiannual reports to Congress on cost of certain travel.’’. 
SEC. 3. REPORT OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE AT MEDICAL FA-
CILITIES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-
FAIRS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7311 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection: 
‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary shall report to the appropriate 
entity each case of a notifiable infectious disease or condi-
tion that is diagnosed at a medical facility of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs in accordance with the laws of the 
State in which the facility is located. 
‘‘(2) In addition to reporting each case of a notifiable 
infectious disease or condition at a medical facility of the 
Department pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
report each such case that is classified as a health-care-asso-
ciated infection sentinel event to the accrediting organiza-
tion of such facility. 
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‘‘(3)(A) If the Secretary fails to report a case of a 
notifiable infectious disease or condition at a medical facil-
ity of the Department in accordance with State law pursu-
ant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(i) take any remedial action required under the 
laws of the State to correct such failure; and 
‘‘(ii) if the Secretary does not correct such fail-
ure pursuant to clause (i), pay to the State an 
amount equal to the amount that a medical facility 
not owned by the Federal Government that is located 
in the same State would pay as a penalty to such 
State for such failure. 
‘‘(B) The State may file a civil action against the Sec-
retary in the United States district court for the district 
in which the medical facility is located to recover from the 
United States the amount described in subparagraph 
(A)(ii). 
‘‘(C) A civil action under subparagraph (B) may not 
be commenced later than two years after the cause of action 
accrues. 
‘‘(4)(A) In any case in which the Inspector General 
of the Department suspects that a director of a Veterans 
Integrated Service Network has failed to comply with an 
applicable provision of this subsection, the Inspector Gen-
eral shall conduct an investigation to determine whether 
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such director failed to comply with an applicable provision 
of this section. 
‘‘(B) If the Inspector General determines under sub-
paragraph (A) that a director has failed to comply with 
a provision of this subsection, the Secretary shall suspend 
such director for such period as the Secretary considers ap-
propriate under subchapter I or subchapter II of chapter 
75 of title 5, as the case may be. In addition to such suspen-
sion, the Secretary may impose such other administrative 
disciplinary action on the director as the Secretary con-
siders appropriate and for which the Secretary is otherwise 
authorized. 
‘‘(5) The Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) maintain records of each notifiable infec-
tious disease or condition reported pursuant to para-
graph (1); and 
‘‘(B) submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-
fairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate 
a notification of each such notifiable infectious dis-
ease or condition. 
‘‘(6) In this subsection, the term ‘notifiable infectious 
disease or condition’ means any infectious disease or condi-
tion that is— 
‘‘(A) on the list of nationally notifiable diseases 
or conditions published by the Council of State and 
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Territorial Epidemiologists and the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention; or 
‘‘(B) covered by a provision of law of a State 
that requires the reporting of infectious diseases or 
conditions.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The reporting requirement 
under section 7311(f) of title 38, United States Code, as 
added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to a case 
of a notifiable infectious disease or condition diagnosed at 
a medical facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs on 
or after the date that is 60 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION OF VISUAL RECORDING WITHOUT IN-
FORMED CONSENT. 
Section 7331 of title 38, United States Code, is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary, upon’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, upon’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(b) VISUAL RECORDING.—(1) The Secretary shall 
prescribe regulations establishing procedures to ensure that, 
except as provided by paragraph (2), any visual recording 
made by the Secretary of a patient during the course of 
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