VA Supply Chain Resiliency Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2082 To make certain improvements relating to the supply chain of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 19, 2021 Mr. BOST (for himself, Mr. PAPPAS, and Mr. MANN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To make certain improvements relating to the supply chain of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘VA Supply Chain Re- 4 siliency Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:27 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2082.IH H2082 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2082 IH SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SUPPLY 1 CHAIN RESILIENCY. 2 (a) REPORT ON CRITICAL ITEMS AND REQUIRE- 3 MENTS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the en- 4 actment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 5 shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 6 the Senate and House of Representatives a report con- 7 taining each of the following: 8 (1) A description of the items and types of 9 items the Secretary considers critical with respect 10 to— 11 (A) the ongoing response to the 12 Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; and 13 (B) future epidemic, pandemic, emergency, 14 national emergency, or natural disaster sce- 15 narios. 16 (2) The quantities of the items described in 17 paragraph (1) that are available, as of the date of 18 the enactment of this Act, in inventories, emergency 19 caches, or other emergency inventories of the De- 20 partment of Veterans Affairs. 21 (3) The anticipated quantities of the items de- 22 scribed in paragraph (1) that would be necessary 23 under potential epidemic, pandemic, emergency, na- 24 tional emergency, or natural disaster scenarios the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:27 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2082.IH H2082 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2082 IH Secretary determines to be relevant for planning 1 purposes. 2 (4) The assumptions and key planning factors 3 used by the Secretary to identify the items, types of 4 items, and necessary quantities of items for types of 5 scenarios, as described in paragraphs (1) and (3). 6 (b) PARTICIPATION IN WARSTOPPER PROGRAM.— 7 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 8 of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Sec- 9 retary of Defense shall enter into an agreement to provide 10 for the participation of the Department of Veterans Af- 11 fairs in the program known as the ‘‘Warstopper Program’’ 12 of the Defense Logistics Agency, or any successor pro- 13 gram. Pursuant to such agreement, the Defense Logistics 14 Agency shall— 15 (1) ensure the maintenance and stability of the 16 items that are identified as critical in the report re- 17 quired under subsection (a) and that the Secretary 18 of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense de- 19 termine are appropriate for the Warstopper Pro- 20 gram; 21 (2) establish guidance for the participation of 22 the Department of Veterans Affairs in the 23 Warstopper Program that includes an identification 24 of the items and types of items that are critical to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:27 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2082.IH H2082 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2082 IH the needs of the Department of Veterans Affairs; 1 and 2 (3) use existing contracts and agreements and 3 enter into new contracts and agreements, as nec- 4 essary, with manufacturers and distributors to re- 5 serve the supply of such critical items rather than 6 rely on holding physical inventories of such items. 7 (c) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 10 retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com- 11 mittees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 12 House of Representatives a report on the implemen- 13 tation of this section. Such report shall contain each 14 the following: 15 (A) An implementation plan for the par- 16 ticipation of the Department of Veterans Af- 17 fairs in the Warstopper Program, including 18 milestones and timelines for related administra- 19 tive, contracting, and readiness activities. 20 (B) For each of the items and associated 21 quantities identified in paragraphs (1) and (3) 22 of subsection (a)— 23 (i) the method by which the Secretary 24 of Veterans Affairs plans to ensure the De- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:27 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2082.IH H2082 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2082 IH partment continues to have access to ade- 1 quate quantities of such items and types of 2 items, including in the Warstopper Pro- 3 gram and in regional, physical inventories; 4 and 5 (ii) justifications for the method or 6 methods identified under clause (i). 7 (2) UPDATES TO REPORT.—The Secretary shall 8 update the report required under paragraph (1) on 9 an annual basis for each of the two years following 10 the submission of the report under paragraph (1) 11 and submit such updates to the Committees on Vet- 12 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep- 13 resentatives. 14 (d) PROHIBITION ON EXCLUSIVE RELIANCE ON RE- 15 GIONAL INVENTORIES.—The Secretary of Veterans Af- 16 fairs shall ensure that the Department does not exclusively 17 rely on holding regional, physical inventories of critical 18 items in order to respond to greater than expected needs 19 for such items during epidemic, pandemic, emergency, na- 20 tional emergency, or natural disaster situations. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:27 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2082.IH H2082 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS