I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1720
To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out construction 
projects for the purpose of improving, renovating, establishing, and up-
dating patient care facilities at Department of Veterans Affairs medical 
centers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 10, 2003
Mr. SIMMONS (for himself and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 
construction projects for the purpose of improving, ren-
ovating, establishing, and updating patient care facilities 
at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers.
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 ‘‘Veterans Health Care 
Facilities Capital Improvement Act’’.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY 
PROJECTS FOR PATIENT CARE IMPROVE-
MENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs is authorized to carry out major medical facility 
projects in accordance with this section, using funds ap-
propriated for fiscal year 2004, 2005, or 2006 pursuant 
to section 3. The cost of any such project may not exceed 
(A) $100,000,000 in fiscal year 2004; 
(B) $125,000,000 in fiscal year 2005; and 
(C) $150,000,000 in fiscal year 2006. 
(2) Projects carried out under this section are not 
subject to section 8104(a)(2) of title 38, United States 
Code. 
(b) TYPE
OF PROJECTS.—A project carried out 
under subsection (a) may be carried out only at a Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs medical center and only for the 
purpose of one or more of the following: 
(1) Improving a patient care facility. 
(2) Replacing a patient care facility. 
(3) Renovating a patient care facility. 
(4) Updating a patient care facility to contem-
porary standards. 
(5) Establishing a new patient care facility at 
a location where no Department patient care facility 
exists.
(6) Improving, replacing, or renovating a re-
search facility or updating such a facility to contem-
porary standards. 
(c) PURPOSE OF PROJECTS.—In selecting medical 
centers for projects under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall select projects to improve, replace, renovate, update, 
or establish facilities to achieve one or more of the fol-
lowing: 
(1) Seismic protection improvements related to 
patient safety (or, in the case of a research facility, 
patient or employee safety). 
(2) Fire safety improvements. 
(3) Improvements to utility systems and ancil-
lary patient care facilities (including such systems 
and facilities that may be exclusively associated with 
research facilities). 
(4) Improved accommodation for persons with 
disabilities, including barrier-free access. 
(5) Improvements at patient care facilities to 
specialized programs of the Department, including 
the following: 
(A) Blind rehabilitation centers. 
(B) Inpatient and residential programs for 
seriously mentally ill veterans, including mental 
illness research, education, and clinical centers.
section 2. The Secretary shall include in each such report 
the following: 
(1) A listing by project of each such project se-
lected by the Secretary under that section, together 
with a prospectus description of the purposes of the 
project, the estimated cost of the project, and a 
statement attesting to the review of the project 
under section 2(c), and, if that project was not rec-
ommended by the board, the Secretary’s justification 
under section 2(d) for not following the rec-
ommendation of the board. 
(2) An assessment of the utility to the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs of that authorization proc-
ess. 
(3) Such recommendations as the Secretary 
considers appropriate for future congressional policy 
for authorizations of major and minor medical facil-
ity construction projects for the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs. 
(4) Any other matter that the Secretary con-
siders to be appropriate with respect to oversight by 
Congress of capital facilities projects of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs.
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