IIB 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6398 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources 
AN ACT 
To authorize the Department of Energy to conduct collabo-
rative research with the Department of Veterans Affairs 
in order to improve healthcare services for veterans in 
the United States, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:16 Sep 27, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6398.RFS
H6398
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
HR 6398 RFS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Energy 
Veterans’ Health Initiative Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 
means the Department of Energy. 
(2) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na-
tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given that term 
in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
U.S.C. 15801). 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Energy. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are to advance Department 
of Energy expertise in artificial intelligence and high per-
formance computing in order to improve health outcomes 
for veteran populations by— 
(1) supporting basic research through the appli-
cation of artificial intelligence, high performance 
computing, modeling and simulation, machine learn-
ing, and large scale data analytics to identify and 
solve outcome-defined challenges in the health 
sciences; 
(2) maximizing the impact of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs’ health and genomics data 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:16 Sep 27, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6398.RFS
H6398
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
HR 6398 RFS
housed at the National Laboratories, as well as data 
from other sources, on science, innovation, and 
health care outcomes through the use and advance-
ment of artificial intelligence and high-performance 
computing capabilities of the Department of Energy; 
(3) promoting collaborative research through 
the establishment of partnerships to improve data 
sharing between Federal agencies, National Labora-
tories, institutions of higher education, and non-
profit institutions; 
(4) establishing multiple scientific computing 
user facilities to house and provision available data 
to foster transformational outcomes; and 
(5) driving the development of technology to im-
prove artificial intelligence, high performance com-
puting, and networking relevant to mission applica-
tions of the Department of Energy, including mod-
eling, simulation, machine learning, and advanced 
data analytics. 
SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY VETERANS HEALTH RE-
SEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and 
carry out a research program in artificial intelligence and 
high performance computing, focused on the development 
of tools to solve big data challenges associated with vet-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:16 Sep 27, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6398.RFS
H6398
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
HR 6398 RFS
eran’s healthcare, and to support the efforts of the De-
partment of Veterans Affairs to identify potential health 
risks and challenges utilizing data on long term 
healthcare, health risks, and genomic data collected from 
veteran populations. The Secretary shall carry out this 
program through a competitive, merit-reviewed process, 
and consider applications from National Laboratories, in-
stitutions of higher education, multi-institutional collabo-
rations, and other appropriate entities. 
(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—In carrying out the 
program established under subsection (a), the Secretary 
may— 
(1) conduct basic research in modeling and sim-
ulation, machine learning, large scale data analytics, 
and predictive analysis in order to develop novel or 
optimized algorithms for prediction of disease treat-
ment and recovery; 
(2) develop methods to accommodate large data 
sets with variable quality and scale, and to provide 
insight and models for complex systems; 
(3) develop new approaches and maximize the 
use of algorithms developed through artificial intel-
ligence, machine learning, data analytics, natural 
language processing, modeling and simulation, and 
develop new algorithms suitable for high perform-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:16 Sep 27, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6398.RFS
H6398
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
HR 6398 RFS
ance computing systems and large biomedical data 
sets; 
(4) advance existing and construct new data en-
claves capable of securely storing data sets provided 
by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department 
of Defense, and other sources; and 
(5) promote collaboration and data sharing be-
tween National Laboratories, research entities, and 
user facilities of the Department by providing the 
necessary access and secure data transfer capabili-
ties. 
(c) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the program re-
quired under subsection (a), the Secretary is authorized 
to— 
(1) enter into memoranda of understanding in 
order to carry out reimbursable agreements with the 
Department of Veterans Affairs and other entities in 
order to maximize the effectiveness of Department 
of Energy research and development to improve vet-
erans’ healthcare; 
(2) consult with the Department of Veterans 
Affairs and other Federal agencies as appropriate; 
and 
(3) ensure that data storage meets all privacy 
and security requirements established by the Depart-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:16 Sep 27, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6398.RFS
H6398
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
HR 6398 RFS
ment of Veterans Affairs, and that access to data is 
provided in accordance with relevant Department of 
Veterans Affairs data access policies, including in-
formed consent. 
(d) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 
to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and 
the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-
resentatives, and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 
Senate, a report detailing the effectiveness of— 
(1) the interagency coordination between each 
Federal agency involved in the research program 
carried out under this section; 
(2) collaborative research achievements of the 
program; and 
(3) potential opportunities to expand the tech-
nical capabilities of the Department. 
(e) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall devote $27,000,000 to carry out the activities au-
thorized under this section during fiscal years 2019 
through 2023, subject to the availability of appropriations, 
to come from amounts made available for medical and 
prosthetic research. This section shall be carried out using 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:16 Sep 27, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6398.RFS
H6398
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
HR 6398 RFS
funds otherwise appropriated by law after the date of en-
actment of this Act. 
SEC. 5. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, DATA ANALYTICS, AND 
COMPUTATIONAL 
RESEARCH 
PILOT 
PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 
pilot program to develop tools for big data analytics by 
utilizing data sets generated by Federal agencies, institu-
tions of higher education, nonprofit research organiza-
tions, and industry in order to advance artificial intel-
ligence technologies to solve complex, big data challenges. 
The Secretary shall carry out this program through a com-
petitive, merit-reviewed process, and consider applications 
from National Laboratories, institutions of higher edu-
cation, multi-institutional collaborations, and other appro-
priate entities. 
(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—In carrying out the 
pilot program established under subsection (a), the Sec-
retary may— 
(1) establish a cross-cutting research initiative 
to prevent duplication and coordinate research ef-
forts in artificial intelligence and data analytics 
across the Department; 
(2) conduct basic research in modeling and sim-
ulation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:16 Sep 27, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6398.RFS
H6398
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
HR 6398 RFS
large scale data analytics, natural language proc-
essing, and predictive analysis in order to develop 
novel or optimized predictive algorithms suitable for 
high performance computing systems and large bio-
medical data sets; 
(3) develop multivariate optimization models to 
accommodate large data sets with variable quality 
and scale in order to visualize complex systems; 
(4) establish multiple scientific computing user 
facilities to serve as data enclaves capable of se-
curely storing data sets created by Federal agencies, 
institutions of higher education, nonprofit organiza-
tions, or industry at National Laboratories; and 
(5) promote collaboration and data sharing be-
tween National Laboratories, research entities, and 
user facilities of the Department by providing the 
necessary access and secure data transfer capabili-
ties. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 
to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on En-
ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report evalu-
ating the effectiveness of the pilot program under sub-
section (a), including basic research discoveries achieved 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:16 Sep 27, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6398.RFS
H6398
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
HR 6398 RFS
in the course of the program and potential opportunities 
to expand the technical capabilities of the Department 
through the development of artificial intelligence and data 
analytics technologies. 
(d) FUNDING.—For purposes of carrying out this 
section, the Secretary of Energy shall devote $52,000,000 
to carry out this section, which shall include $26,000,000 
for each fiscal years 2019 and 2020, subject to the avail-
ability of appropriations. This section shall be carried out 
using funds otherwise appropriated by law after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 6. SPENDING LIMITATION. 
No additional funds are authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out this Act and the amendments made 
by this Act, and this Act and such amendments shall be 
carried out using amounts otherwise available for such 
purpose. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 25, 
2018. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:16 Sep 27, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6398.RFS
H6398
dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS