Title: Holyoke Veterans Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Holyoke Veterans Act
This bill requires state homes that receive funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to have a governing body that is legally responsible for establishing and implementing policies regarding the management and operation of the home. A state home is a home established by a state for veterans disabled by age, disease, or otherwise and who are incapable of earning a living because of such disability. The term also includes a home that furnishes nursing home care for veterans.
Additionally, the bill requires the VA to assist state homes in the hiring and retention of infection preventionists.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8901 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Holyoke Veterans Act''.

SEC. 2. STATE HOMES FOR VETERANS: GOVERNING BODIES; ADMINISTRATORS; 
              INFECTION PREVENTIONISTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1741 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g) A State home shall--
            ``(1) have a governing body that--
                    ``(A) is legally responsible for establishing and 
                implementing policies regarding the management 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 superintendent 
        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
            ``(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 disaster.''.
    (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:
``Sec. 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 infection preventionists.
    ``(b) Eligible Recipients.--Payments to a State for a fiscal year 
under this section shall, subject to submission of an application, be 
made to any State that during that fiscal year receives per diem 
payments under this subchapter for that fiscal year.
    ``(c) Limitations on Amount of Payment.--A payment under this 
section may not be used to provide more than 50 percent of the salary 
or wages for an infection 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 section shall be made 
from funds available for other payments 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 section 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 fiscal year, shall, as a condition 
of the payment, be required to agree to provide to the Secretary a 
report setting forth in detail the use of funds received through the 
payment, 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. Eligibility 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 payments under this section.
    ``(j) Infection Preventionist Defined.--In this section, the term 
`infection preventionist' means an individual--
            ``(1) who has primary professional training in nursing, 
        medical technology, microbiology, epidemiology, or a related 
        field;
            ``(2) whom the Secretary determines is qualified by 
        education, training, experience, or certification;
            ``(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 sections 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.
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