Title: CHIP-IN Improvement Act of 2022
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
CHIP-IN Improvement Act of 2022
This bill modifies the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pilot program that authorizes the VA to accept property donations from certain entities (e.g., private entities), including by authorizing the VA to provide additional unobligated funds to finance, design, or construct a facility proposed to be accepted by the VA if specified requirements are met.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5059 Considered and Passed Senate (CPS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5059

    To improve the pilot program on acceptance by the Department of 
  Veterans Affairs of donated facilities and related improvements to 
   account for issues relating to inflation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2022

Mr. Lankford (for himself, Mr. Inhofe, and Mrs. Fischer) introduced the 
following bill; which was read twice, considered, read the third time, 
                               and passed

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To improve the pilot program on acceptance by the Department of 
  Veterans Affairs of donated facilities and related improvements to 
   account for issues relating to inflation, 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 ``CHIP-IN Improvement Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVING PILOT PROGRAM ON ACCEPTANCE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF 
              VETERANS AFFAIRS OF DONATED FACILITIES AND RELATED 
              IMPROVEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 2 of the Communities Helping Invest 
through Property and Improvements Needed for Veterans Act of 2016 
(Public Law 114-294; 38 U.S.C. 8103 note) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting ``or for which 
        funds are available from the Construction, Minor Projects, or 
        Construction, Major Projects appropriations accounts'';
            (2) in subsection (e)(1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) by striking ``The Secretary'' and 
                        inserting ``Except as otherwise provided in 
                        this paragraph, the Secretary''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``or funds already 
                        generally available in the Construction, Minor 
                        Projects, or Construction, Major Projects 
                        appropriations accounts'' after ``that are in 
                        addition to the funds appropriated for the 
                        facility'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``subparagraph 
                (A)'' and inserting ``this paragraph'';
                    (C) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
                subparagraph (F); and
                    (D) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the 
                following new subparagraphs:
                    ``(B) Unobligated amounts.--The Secretary may 
                provide additional funds to help an entity described in 
                subsection (a)(2) finance, design, or construct a 
                facility in connection with real property and 
                improvements to be donated under the pilot program and 
                proposed to be accepted by the Secretary under 
                subsection (b)(1)(B) if--
                            ``(i) the Secretary determines that doing 
                        so is in the best interest of the Department 
                        and consistent with the mission of the 
                        Department; and
                            ``(ii) funding provided under this 
                        subparagraph--
                                    ``(I) is in addition to amounts 
                                that have been appropriated for the 
                                facility before the date on which the 
                                Secretary and the entity enter into a 
                                formal agreement under subsection (c) 
                                for the construction and donation of 
                                the real property and improvements; and
                                    ``(II) is derived only from amounts 
                                that--
                                            ``(aa) are unobligated 
                                        balances available in the 
                                        Construction, Minor Projects, 
                                        or Construction, Major Projects 
                                        appropriations accounts of the 
                                        Department that--

                                                    ``(AA) are not 
                                                associated with a 
                                                specific project; or

                                                    ``(BB) are amounts 
                                                that are associated 
                                                with a specific 
                                                project, but are 
                                                unobligated because 
                                                they are the result of 
                                                bid savings; and

                                            ``(bb) were appropriated to 
                                        such an account before the date 
                                        described in subclause (I).
                    ``(C) Escalation clauses.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary may 
                        include an escalation clause in a formal 
                        agreement under subsection (c) that authorizes 
                        an escalation of not more than an annual amount 
                        based on a rate established in the formal 
                        agreement and mutually agreed upon by the 
                        Secretary and an entity to account for 
                        inflation for an area if the Secretary 
                        determines, after consultation with the head of 
                        an appropriate Federal entity that is not part 
                        of the Department, that such escalation is 
                        necessary and in the best interest of the 
                        Department.
                            ``(ii) Use of existing amounts.--The 
                        Secretary may obligate funds pursuant to clause 
                        (i) in connection with a formal agreement under 
                        subsection (c) using amounts that--
                                    ``(I) are unobligated balances 
                                available in the Construction, Minor 
                                Projects, or Construction, Major 
                                Projects appropriations accounts of the 
                                Department that--
                                            ``(aa) are not associated 
                                        with a specific project; or
                                            ``(bb) are amounts that are 
                                        associated with a specific 
                                        project, but are unobligated 
                                        because they are the result of 
                                        bid savings; and
                                    ``(II) were appropriated to such an 
                                account before the date on which the 
                                Secretary and the entity entered into 
                                the formal agreement.
                    ``(D) Availability.--Unobligated amounts shall be 
                available pursuant to subparagraphs (B) and (C) only to 
                the extent and in such amounts as provided in advance 
                in appropriations Acts subsequent to date of the 
                enactment of the CHIP-IN Improvement Act of 2022, 
                subject to subparagraph (E).
                    ``(E) Limitation.--Unobligated amounts made 
                available pursuant to subparagraphs (B) and (C) may not 
                exceed 40 percent of the amount appropriated for the 
                facility before the date on which the Secretary and the 
                entity entered into a formal agreement under subsection 
                (c).''; and
            (3) in subsection (j)--
                    (A) by striking ``Rule'' and inserting ``Rules'';
                    (B) by striking ``Nothing in'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(1) Entering arrangements and agreements.--Nothing in''; 
        and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(2) Treatment of assistance.--Nothing provided under this 
        section shall be treated as Federal financial assistance as 
        defined in section 200.40 of title 2, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, as in effect on February 21, 2021.''.
    (b) Amendments to Existing Agreements.--Each agreement entered into 
under section (2)(c) of such Act before the date of the enactment of 
this Act that was in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act 
may be amended to incorporate terms authorized by subparagraphs (B) and 
(C) of section 2(e)(1) of such Act, as added by subsection (a)(2)(D) of 
this section.
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