BUILD for Veterans Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 3089 To improve the construction and leasing of medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 18, 2019 Mr. TESTER (for himself and Mr. HAWLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To improve the construction and leasing of medical facilities 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 ‘‘Build, Utilize, Invest, 4 Lease, and Deliver for Veterans Act of 2019’’ or the 5 ‘‘BUILD for Veterans Act of 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3089.IS S3089 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 3089 IS SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY LEASES 1 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF- 2 FAIRS. 3 (a) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF MAJOR MEDICAL 4 FACILITY LEASES.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 6 8104(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amend- 7 ed— 8 (A) by striking ‘‘No funds’’ and inserting 9 ‘‘(A) No funds’’; 10 (B) by striking ‘‘or any major medical fa- 11 cility lease’’; 12 (C) by striking ‘‘or lease’’; and 13 (D) by adding at the end the following new 14 subparagraph: 15 ‘‘(B) No funds may be appropriated for any fiscal 16 year (other than for advance planning and design) for any 17 major medical facility lease unless the Committee on Vet- 18 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet- 19 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives each adopt 20 a resolution approving the lease.’’. 21 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made 22 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to a lease 23 that has not been specifically authorized by law on 24 or before the date of the enactment of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3089.IS S3089 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 3089 IS (b) MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF MAJOR MED- 1 ICAL FACILITY LEASE.—Paragraph (3)(B) of such section 2 is amended to read as follows: 3 ‘‘(B) The term ‘major medical facility lease’ 4 means a lease for space for use as a new medical fa- 5 cility at an average annual rent equal to or greater 6 than the dollar threshold for leases procured through 7 the General Services Administration under section 8 3307(a)(2) of title 40, which shall be subject to an- 9 nual adjustment in accordance with section 3307(h) 10 of such title, but such term does not include a lease 11 for space for use as a shared Federal medical facility 12 for which the Department’s estimated share of the 13 lease costs does not exceed that dollar threshold.’’. 14 SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS TO ENHANCED-USE LEASE AU- 15 THORITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET- 16 ERANS AFFAIRS. 17 Section 8162(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, 18 is amended to read as follows: 19 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary may enter into an enhanced- 20 use lease on or after the date of the enactment of the 21 Build, Utilize, Invest, Lease, and Deliver for Veterans Act 22 of 2019 only if the Secretary determines that— 23 ‘‘(i) the lease will not be inconsistent with and 24 will not adversely affect— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3089.IS S3089 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 3089 IS ‘‘(I) the mission of the Department; or 1 ‘‘(II) the operation of facilities, programs, 2 and services of the Department in the local 3 area; and 4 ‘‘(ii)(I) the lease will enhance the use of the 5 leased property by directly or indirectly benefitting 6 veterans; or 7 ‘‘(II) the leased property will provide supportive 8 housing. 9 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall give priority to enhanced 10 used leases that, on the leased property— 11 ‘‘(i) provide supportive housing for veterans; 12 ‘‘(ii) provide direct services or benefits targeted 13 to veterans; or 14 ‘‘(iii) provide services or benefits that indirectly 15 support veterans.’’. 16 SEC. 4. FACILITY PLANNING STAFF AT MEDICAL CENTERS 17 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF- 18 FAIRS. 19 (a) STAFFING.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 21 Affairs shall ensure that each medical center of the 22 Department of Veterans Affairs has not fewer than 23 one staff member whose sole job is— 24 (A) facility planning; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3089.IS S3089 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 3089 IS (B) long-range capital planning; and 1 (C) management of projects and capital as- 2 sets relating to the execution of major construc- 3 tion projects, minor construction projects, 4 major leases, minor leases, non-recurring main- 5 tenance, and related matters at the medical 6 center and the catchment area surrounding the 7 medical center. 8 (2) TREATMENT OF STATES AND TERRITORIES 9 WITHOUT A MEDICAL CENTER.—In the case of a 10 State or territory of the United States in which the 11 Department does not operate a full-service medical 12 center, the staff member required under paragraph 13 (1) shall be located at the largest medical facility of 14 the Department in that State or territory, and any 15 reference in this section to a medical center shall be 16 deemed to be a reference to that medical facility. 17 (b) LONG-TERM PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT.—An 18 individual in a position described in subsection (a) at a 19 medical center of the Department shall not be the same 20 individual responsible for day to day maintenance and re- 21 pairs at the medical center or other medical facilities of 22 the Department in the catchment area surrounding the 23 medical center. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3089.IS S3089 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 3089 IS (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Secretary shall ensure 1 that an individual in a position described in subsection (a) 2 has the appropriate professional certifications, educational 3 background, and other qualifications to manage the duties 4 of such position under this section. 5 (d) DUTIES.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual in a position 7 described in subsection (a) at a medical center of the 8 Department shall have the following duties: 9 (A) The development, monitoring, and im- 10 plementation of capital asset objectives for the 11 catchment area surrounding the medical center, 12 including community-based outpatient clinics 13 and other sites of care of the Department in 14 that area. 15 (B) The coordination of capital asset man- 16 agement and planning with counterparts at 17 other medical centers of the Department in the 18 region and facility planners for the Veterans In- 19 tegrated Service Network or Networks in the 20 region. 21 (C) Constantly monitoring the needs of 22 veterans and staff of the Department as it re- 23 lates to medical space and services at the med- 24 ical center and the catchment area surrounding 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3089.IS S3089 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 3089 IS the medical center to forward plan and identify 1 and submit plans to meet those needs. 2 (D) In order to formulate local and re- 3 gional capital improvement and asset manage- 4 ment plans for medical facilities of the Depart- 5 ment, the collection, not less frequently than 6 once every two years, of— 7 (i) views and expectations of veterans 8 in the catchment area surrounding the 9 medical center who are users of health care 10 provided by the Department with respect 11 to— 12 (I) preferences and needs of 13 those veterans for the care received 14 from medical facilities of the Depart- 15 ment in that area; and 16 (II) the need for improvements 17 and enhancements to infrastructure of 18 the Department; and 19 (ii) views of relevant medical staff of 20 the Department at the medical center and 21 in the catchment area surrounding the 22 medical center regarding their preferences 23 and needs for how to deliver health care to 24 veterans and how those preferences impact 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3089.IS S3089 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 3089 IS the infrastructure needs of the Depart- 1 ment. 2 (E) With respect to space, planning, and 3 infrastructure policies and directives of the De- 4 partment, including those issued by the central 5 office of the Department, the Veterans Health 6 Administration, the Office of Acquisition, Lo- 7 gistics, and Construction, the Office of Manage- 8 ment, the Office of General Counsel, a Veterans 9 Integrated Service Network, and any other of- 10 fice of the Department with significant respon- 11 sibility over capital asset management and plan- 12 ning— 13 (i) understanding and implementing 14 locally those policies and directives; and 15 (ii) providing feedback regarding ways 16 in which those policies and directives can 17 be improved. 18 (2) COLLECTION OF VIEWS AND EXPECTA- 19 TIONS.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Views and expectations 21 may be collected under paragraph (1)(D) 22 through multiple channels and the process used 23 for such collection shall ensure that the views 24 and expectations collected provide a representa- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3089.IS S3089 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 3089 IS tive sample of the population from which such 1 views and expectations are collected. 2 (B) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Any information 3 collected under paragraph (1)(D) shall be col- 4 lected in a manner that provides an option for 5 submission of views that are anonymous and 6 confidential. 7 (C) INCLUSION OF DIVERSE VIEW- 8 POINTS.—In collecting views and expectations 9 of veterans under paragraph (1)(D)(i), an indi- 10 vidual in a position described in subsection (a) 11 at a medical center of the Department shall en- 12 sure that the viewpoints of a diverse population 13 of veterans being served by the medical center 14 are captured. 15 (e) DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARD PROCESS TO SO- 16 LICIT VIEWS ON EFFECTIVENESS.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 18 a standardized process to solicit, not less frequently 19 than once every two years, feedback from medical 20 centers and Veterans Integrated Service Networks of 21 the Department regarding the effectiveness of and 22 ways to improve the infrastructure and asset man- 23 agement investment processes and guidance of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3089.IS S3089 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 3089 IS central office of the Department and Veterans Inte- 1 grated Service Networks. 2 (2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Any information col- 3 lected under paragraph (1) shall be collected in a 4 manner that provides an option for submission of 5 views that are anonymous and confidential. 6 SEC. 5. REVIEW OF CLIMATE RESILIENCE OF FACILITIES 7 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF- 8 FAIRS. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 10 shall conduct a comprehensive review of the climate resil- 11 ience of facilities under the authority and jurisdiction of 12 the Secretary. 13 (b) ELEMENTS.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The review conducted under 15 subsection (a) shall— 16 (A) provide a comprehensive assessment of 17 existing facilities that may be at risk due to 18 changes in the climate, including potential 19 vulnerabilities related to— 20 (i) proximity to a body of water; 21 (ii) proximity to an area prone to 22 flooding; 23 (iii) proximity to an area prone to 24 wild fire; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3089.IS S3089 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 3089 IS (iv) proximity to an area prone to tor- 1 nadoes, hurricanes, or other storms; and 2 (v) such other matters as the Sec- 3 retary considers appropriate after con- 4 sulting with the United States Global 5 Change Research Program on the best 6 available observations and forward-looking 7 climate projections by region, including sea 8 level rise data; 9 (B) include a description of strategies to 10 improve the climate resilience of existing facili- 11 ties at risk due to changes in the climate, in- 12 cluding potential modifications to facility oper- 13 ations and maintenance practices, and the cost 14 of such strategies; 15 (C) include an analysis of the design 16 standards and building codes used by the De- 17 partment to site, plan, build, lease, and ren- 18 ovate facilities and whether those design stand- 19 ards and building codes reflect both observed 20 and forward-looking climate information; 21 (D) use, in consultation with the United 22 States Global Change Research Program, for- 23 ward-looking climate information and other pro- 24 jections to anticipate changing environmental 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3089.IS S3089 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 3089 IS conditions during the design life of existing or 1 planned facilities and infrastructure; and 2 (E) include recommendations for best 3 practices for future placement, planning, ren- 4 ovation, and construction of facilities of the De- 5 partment so as to avoid or mitigate the chal- 6 lenges resulting from placing a facility in an 7 area at risk of being vulnerable to harm from 8 the impacts of changing environmental condi- 9 tions. 10 (2) SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND PROJEC- 11 TIONS.—Sources of information and projections used 12 under paragraph (1)(D) may include the Bureau of 13 the Census (for population projections), the National 14 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 15 (for land use change projections and climate projec- 16 tions), the United States Geological Survey (for land 17 use change projections), the United States Global 18 Change Research Program and the National Climate 19 Assessment (for climate observations and projec- 20 tions), and such other sources as the Secretary con- 21 siders reliable in consultation with the United States 22 Global Change Research Program. 23 (c) REPORT.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3089.IS S3089 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 3089 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years 1 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 2 retary shall submit to the appropriate committees of 3 Congr [Text truncated for display. 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