Title: VIPER Act of 2021
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
VA Infrastructure Powers Exceptional Research Act of 2021 or the VIPER Act of 2021
This bill addresses research activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), particularly those within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
First, the bill provides statutory authority for the VHA's Office of Research and Development to serve veterans through a full spectrum of research, technology transfer, and application.
Next, the bill exempts VA research activities from the Paperwork Reduction Act, including research conducted via the Office of Research and Development
The VA is authorized to appoint statisticians, economists, data scientists, and other professionals within the VHA.
The bill provides a three-year authorization for the VA to enter into transactions, other than contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants, with nontraditional contractors to carry out extramural basic or applied research. Such transactions must meet specified criteria (e.g., the research must not be duplicative of other VA research under another program). Additionally, the VA must notify Congress within 30 days of entering into a transaction and must provide specified information and records to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Congress upon request.
The Office of Research and Development is authorized to establish a grant program for certain individuals employed by specified research institutions to conduct research related to health care furnished by the VA.
The GAO must study the amount of time dedicated for research for clinician-scientists appointed by the VA.
Finally, the bill updates the process by which the VA uses commercial institutional review boards in sponsored clinical trials.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5721 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5721

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve research conducted 
   within the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 25, 2021

 Mr. Takano (for himself and Mr. Bost) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve research conducted 
   within the Department 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 ``VA Infrastructure Powers Exceptional 
Research Act of 2021'' or the ``VIPER Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. INAPPLICABILITY OF PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 120. Inapplicability of Paperwork Reduction Act
    ``Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 
(commonly known as the `Paperwork Reduction Act') shall not apply to 
research activities of the Department, including activities under 
subchapter V of chapter 73.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``120. Inapplicability of Paperwork Reduction Act.''.

SEC. 3. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) Office of Research and Development.--Chapter 73 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subchapter:

                ``SUBCHAPTER V--RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

``Sec. 7381. Office of Research and Development
    ``(a) Office of Research and Development.--There is in the Veterans 
Health Administration an Office of Research and Development (in this 
section referred to as the `Office').
    ``(b) Purposes.--The function of the Office is to serve veterans 
through a full spectrum of research (including pre-clinical, clinical, 
and health systems science), technology transfer, and application.
    ``(c) Chief Research and Development Officer.--The head of the 
Office is the Chief Research and Development Officer.
    ``(d) Organization and Personnel.--The Office shall be organized in 
such manner, and its personnel shall perform such duties and have such 
titles, as the Secretary may prescribe.
``Sec. 7382. Research personnel
    ``(a) Waiver of Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program 
Limits.--The Secretary may waive the limit on the period and number of 
assignments required under section 3372(a) of title 5 with respect to 
an individual who performs research for the Department under the 
mobility program under subchapter VI of chapter 33 of such title 
(commonly referred to as the `Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility 
Program').
    ``(b) Outside Earned Income for Research for the Department.--(1) 
Compensation from a nonprofit corporation established under subchapter 
IV of this chapter, or a university affiliated with the Department, may 
be paid, without regard to section 209 of title 18, to an employee 
described in paragraph (2), for research conducted pursuant to section 
7303 of this title if--
            ``(A) the research has been approved in accordance with 
        procedures prescribed by the Under Secretary for Health;
            ``(B) the employee conducts research under the supervision 
        of personnel of the Department; and
            ``(C) the Secretary agreed to the terms of such 
        compensation in writing.
    ``(2) An employee described in this subsection is an employee who 
has an appointment within the Department, whether with or without 
compensation, and without regard to the source of such compensation.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following:

                ``subchapter v--research and development

``7381. Office of Research and Development.
``7382. Research personnel.''.
    (c) Service of Incumbent.--The individual serving as the Chief 
Research and Development Officer of the Office of Research and 
Development as of the date of the enactment of this Act may continue to 
serve as such Chief Research and Development Officer commencing as of 
that date, without further appointment.

SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF HIRING AUTHORITIES FOR CERTAIN CLASSES OF RESEARCH 
              OCCUPATIONS.

    Section 7401(3) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting ``statisticians, economists, informaticists, data scientists, 
and'' after ``blind rehabilitation outpatient specialists,''.

SEC. 5. OTHER TRANSACTION AUTHORITY.

    (a) Authority.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may enter into 
transactions (other than contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants) 
with nontraditional contractors to carry out extramural basic or 
applied research.
    (b) Requirements.--The Secretary may enter into a transaction under 
subsection (a) to carry out extramural basic or applied research if 
each of the following criteria are met:
            (1) The research is not duplicative of other research being 
        conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs under another 
        program or through a contract, cooperative agreement, or grant.
            (2) The senior procurement executive has determined that 
        entering into the transaction to carry out the research is 
        appropriate.
            (3) The transaction will not exceed $5,000,000 (including 
        all options), unless the senior procurement executive 
        determines that exceeding such amount is appropriate.
            (4) Not less than 33 percent of the total cost of the 
        research (regardless of the percentage of such total cost for 
        which the transaction is funding) is paid for, or provided 
        through nonmonetary contributions, by sources other than the 
        Federal Government, unless the senior procurement executive 
        determines that--
                    (A) meeting such threshold for non-Federal sources 
                of funding or contributions is not possible; and
                    (B) carrying out the research without meeting such 
                threshold is in the public interest.
    (c) Provision of Information.--
            (1) Congress.--
                    (A) Notification.--Not later than 30 days after the 
                date on which the Secretary enters into a transaction 
                under this section, the Secretary shall notify the 
                appropriate congressional committees of such 
                transaction, including a copy of each determination 
                made under subsection (b).
                    (B) By request.--Upon the request of an appropriate 
                congressional committee, the Secretary shall submit to 
                the appropriate congressional committees a copy of a 
                transaction under this section or performance or 
                financial information relating to such transaction.
            (2) Comptroller general of the united states.--With respect 
        to transactions entered into under this section, the Secretary 
        shall ensure that, upon request, the Comptroller General of the 
        United States may examine records of any party to the 
        transaction or any entity that participates in the performance 
        of the transaction if such records are generated in the 
        performance of the transaction or are directly related to the 
        transaction.
    (d) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to 
carry out this section.
    (e) Termination.--The authority to enter into transactions under 
this section shall terminate on the date that is three years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means 
        the following:
                    (A) The Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
                House of Representatives and the Senate.
                    (B) The Subcommittees on Military Construction, 
                Veterans' Affairs, and Related Agencies of the 
                Committees on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives and the Senate.
            (2) The term ``entity'' means a for-profit corporation, 
        partnership, or single proprietorship, non-profit organization, 
        or university organized and having principal operations in the 
        United States.
            (3) The terms ``extramural budget'', ``research'', and 
        ``research and development'' have the meaning given those terms 
        in subsection (e) of section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 638).
            (4) The term ``nontraditional contractor'' means an entity 
        that is not currently performing and has never performed any 
        contract or subcontract for any department or agency of the 
        Federal Government.
            (5) The term ``senior procurement executive'' means the 
        official of the Department of Veterans Affairs designated under 
        section 1702(c) of title 41, United States Code.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZING A CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD GRANT PROGRAM FOR 
              MEDICAL RESEARCH AT R3 RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS.

    (a) Grants Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--The CRDO may establish a grant program--
                    (A) to fund research related to health care 
                furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs;
                    (B) that is a CDA-1 level award of the career 
                development program of the Department of Veterans 
                Affairs; and
                    (C) modelled on the Historically Black Colleges and 
                Universities Research Scientist Training Program of the 
                Department.
            (2) Eligible recipients.--The CRDO may award a grant under 
        this section--
                    (A) to an individual--
                            (i) employed by an R3 research institution; 
                        and
                            (ii) whom the CRDO determines is in the 
                        early stage of a career as a scientist; and
                    (B) based on a peer review process.
            (3) Use of funds.--A grantee under this section may use the 
        grant amount to conduct research related to health care 
        furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
            (4) Meetings.--As a condition of a grant under this 
        section, a grantee shall periodically meet with researchers and 
        administrators at a medical center of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs, located near the R3 research institution that 
        employs such grantee, to discuss research described in 
        paragraph (1).
    (b) Regulations.--If the CRDO establishes a grant program under 
this section, the CRDO shall prescribe regulations regarding--
            (1) the evaluation of applications for grants under the 
        program; and
            (2) administration of the program.
    (c) CRDO Defined.--The term ``CRDO'' means the Chief Research and 
Development Officer of the Office of Research and Development of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs.

SEC. 7. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY ON DEDICATED RESEARCH TIME FOR 
              CERTAIN PERSONNEL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study on the amount of time dedicated for research for 
clinician-scientists appointed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
    (b) Elements.--The study under subsection (a) shall include the 
following:
            (1) A review of the policies and practices of the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs regarding the time dedicated for 
        research for the personnel specified in subsection (a).
            (2) An assessment of the effect of such policies and 
        practices on the following:
                    (A) The recruitment and retention efforts of the 
                Department.
                    (B) The productivity of the personnel specified in 
                subsection (a) with respect to research.
                    (C) The efficient use of resources available for 
                research on issues relating to veterans' health.

SEC. 8. CLERICAL AMENDMENT.

    Section 704 of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental 
Health Care Improvement Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-171 (38 U.S.C. 7303 
note)) is amended as follows:
            (1) In the section heading, by striking ``research'' and 
        inserting ``clinical''.
            (2) In subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``research'' and inserting 
                ``clinical''; and
                    (B) by striking ``accredited''.
            (3) In subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``identify accredited'' and 
                        inserting ``designate''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``research'' and inserting 
                        ``trials''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``its 
                accreditation'' and inserting ``such designation''.
            (4) In subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by inserting ``commercial'' before 
                        ``institutional'';
                            (ii) by inserting ``and central Federal 
                        agency institutional review boards'' before 
                        ``used by the Department''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``, including central 
                        institutional review boards and commercial 
                        institutional review boards'' and inserting 
                        ``in clinical investigations (as that term is 
                        defined in section 50.3 of title 21, Code of 
                        Federal Regulations, or successor 
                        regulation)''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``an'' 
                        and inserting ``such'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B)--
                                    (I) by inserting ``commercial or 
                                central Federal agency'' before 
                                ``institutional review board'';
                                    (II) by striking ``or institutional 
                                review boards'' and inserting ``or 
                                boards''; and
                            (iii) in subparagraph (C) by inserting 
                        ``(as determined by the Secretary)'' after 
                        ``submission''.
                                 <all>