I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8901 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish new requirements for 
State homes for veterans that receive per diem from the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 8, 2020 
Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Mr. NEAL) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish new 
requirements for State homes for veterans that receive 
per diem from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holyoke Veterans 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. STATE HOMES FOR VETERANS: GOVERNING BOD-
IES; 
ADMINISTRATORS; 
INFECTION 
PREVENTIONISTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1741 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(g) A State home shall— 
‘‘(1) have a governing body that— 
‘‘(A) is legally responsible for establishing 
and implementing policies regarding the man-
agement and operation of the State home; 
‘‘(B) consists of more than one person; and 
‘‘(C) appoints an administrator or deputy 
superintendent described in paragraph (2); 
‘‘(2) employ an administrator or deputy super-
intendent who— 
‘‘(A) is licensed by the State, if required by 
State law; and 
‘‘(B) meets standards established by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services under 
subsection (f)(4) of sections 1819 and 1919 of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i–3, 
1396r); 
‘‘(3) employ an infection preventionist (as that 
term is defined in section 1744a of this title); and 
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‘‘(4) include in information submitted each year 
to the Secretary— 
‘‘(A) 
the 
name 
of 
the 
infection 
preventionist under paragraph (3); and 
‘‘(B) an emergency plan, updated annually, 
in case of public health emergency or other dis-
aster.’’. 
(b) FUNDING OF INFECTION PREVENTIONISTS.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Chapter 17 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
section 1744 the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1744a. 
Hiring 
and 
retention 
of 
infection 
preventionists: payments to assist States 
‘‘(a) PAYMENT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall make 
payments to States under this section for the purpose of 
assisting State homes in the hiring and retention of infec-
tion preventionists. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.—Payments to a State 
for a fiscal year under this section shall, subject to submis-
sion of an application, be made to any State that during 
that fiscal year receives per diem payments under this sub-
chapter for that fiscal year. 
‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—A 
payment under this section may not be used to provide 
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more than 50 percent of the salary or wages for an infec-
tion preventionist for a fiscal year. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—A payment under this section 
for any fiscal year with respect to any State home may 
only be made based upon an application submitted by the 
State seeking the payment with respect to that State 
home. Any such application shall describe the salary or 
wages of the infection preventionist. 
‘‘(e) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Payments under this sec-
tion shall be made from funds available for other pay-
ments under this subchapter. 
‘‘(f) DISBURSEMENT.—Payments under this section 
to a State home shall be made as part of the disbursement 
of payments under section 1741 of this title with respect 
to that State home. 
‘‘(g) USE OF CERTAIN RECEIPTS.—The Secretary 
shall require as a condition of any payment under this sec-
tion that, in any case in which the State home receives 
a refund payment made by an employee in breach of the 
terms of an agreement for employee assistance that used 
funds provided under this section, the payment shall be 
returned to the State home’s incentive program account 
and credited as a non-Federal funding source. 
‘‘(h) ANNUAL REPORT FROM PAYMENT.—(1) Any 
State home receiving a payment under this section for any 
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fiscal year, shall, as a condition of the payment, be re-
quired to agree to provide to the Secretary a report setting 
forth in detail the use of funds received through the pay-
ment, including the emergency plan under subsection (g) 
of section 1741 of this title. 
‘‘(2) The report for any fiscal year shall be provided 
to the Secretary within 60 days of the close of the fiscal 
year and shall be subject to audit by the Secretary. Eligi-
bility for a payment under this section for any later fiscal 
year is contingent upon the receipt by the Secretary of 
the annual report under this subsection for the previous 
fiscal year in accordance with this subsection. 
‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 
regulations to carry out this section. The regulations shall 
include the establishment of criteria for the award of pay-
ments under this section. 
‘‘(j) INFECTION PREVENTIONIST DEFINED.—In this 
section, the term ‘infection preventionist’ means an indi-
vidual— 
‘‘(1) who has primary professional training in 
nursing, medical technology, microbiology, epidemi-
ology, or a related field; 
‘‘(2) whom the Secretary determines is qualified 
by education, training, experience, or certification; 
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‘‘(3) who works at least part-time at the State 
home; and 
‘‘(4) who has completed specialized training in 
infection prevention and control.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 
by inserting, after the item relating to section 1744, 
the following new item: 
‘‘1744a. Hiring and retention of infection preventionists: payments to assist 
States.’’. 
(c) GAO STUDY.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 
of the United States shall submit a report to Congress 
containing the results of a study regarding how to improve 
oversight of State homes by the Secretary. 
Æ 
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