VA Design-Build Construction Enhancement Act of 2019

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3996 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 13, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs AN ACT To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for certain requirements relating to the use of the design-build con- struction method for Department of Veterans Affairs construction projects, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3996.RFS H3996 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 3996 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘VA Design-Build Con- 2 struction Enhancement Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE 4 DESIGN-BUILD CONSTRUCTION METHOD FOR 5 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CON- 6 STRUCTION PROJECTS. 7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 8 ings: 9 (1) The Inspector General of the Department of 10 Veterans Affairs found that, in the Aurora, Colo- 11 rado, replacement medical center project, the De- 12 partment decided to change its acquisition strategy 13 from traditional design-bid-build to integrated-design 14 and construct in the fourth year of the project, 15 which was too late for the integrated design-con- 16 struction firm to provide effective input into the de- 17 sign. 18 (2) In response to deficiencies in the Depart- 19 ment’s management of the Aurora, Colorado, re- 20 placement medical center project and in order to 21 prevent reoccurrence of such deficiencies in the fu- 22 ture, Congress enacted section 8103 of title 38, 23 United States Code, which mandates that an appro- 24 priate non-Department Federal entity take over 25 management of future super construction projects of 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3996.RFS H3996 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 3996 RFS the Department, including project design, acquisi- 1 tion, construction, and contract changes. 2 (3) It has been the policy of the Federal Gov- 3 ernment since the enactment of the Clinger-Cohen 4 Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–106) that design-build 5 shall be used when appropriate circumstances are 6 present. 7 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 8 gress that— 9 (1) the unsuccessful use of the integrated-de- 10 sign and construct acquisition method in the Aurora, 11 Colorado, replacement medical center project should 12 not be interpreted to mean that design-build, as de- 13 scribed in section 3309 of title 41, United States 14 Code, is unsuitable for construction projects of the 15 Department of Veterans Affairs; and 16 (2) when used properly by adequately trained 17 acquisition and construction management personnel 18 and in the appropriate circumstances, design-build is 19 an effective construction acquisition method for the 20 Department of Veterans Affairs, which has been 21 demonstrated to reduce change orders, decrease the 22 duration between design completion and beneficial 23 occupancy, and increase warranty protections. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3996.RFS H3996 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 3996 RFS SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS USE OF DE- 1 SIGN-BUILD CONSTRUCTION METHOD. 2 (a) USE OF DESIGN-BUILD SELECTION PROCE- 3 DURES.—Section 8106 of title 38, United States Code, is 4 amended by adding at the end the following new sub- 5 section: 6 ‘‘(d)(1) If the Secretary seeks to enter into a contract 7 for the design and construction of a building or facility, 8 the Secretary shall use the procedures established in sec- 9 tion 3309 of title 41. 10 ‘‘(2) In the case of a super construction project for 11 which a non-Department Federal entity provides project 12 management services under section 8103(e) of this title, 13 the Secretary shall not discourage the entity from using 14 the procedures established in section 3309 of title 41.’’. 15 (b) COVERED CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.—Section 16 8103(g)(6)(A) of such title is amended by inserting ‘‘, in- 17 cluding design-build construction’’ before the period at the 18 end. 19 Passed the House of Representatives November 12, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3996.RFS H3996 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS