BUILD for Veterans Act of 2023

BUILD for Veterans A th Congress

Source: Congress.gov · 16,397 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill aims to improve how the Department of Veterans Affairs manages and performs its building and property programs. The bill focuses on hiring enough qualified staff, creating performance measures, and developing better plans to serve veterans and their families more effectively through improved facilities and infrastructure. ##

Who It Affects

* Veterans and their families * Department of Veterans Affairs employees * Veterans caregivers and survivors * Congress (through reporting requirements) * Other federal agencies including the Department of Defense, Indian Health Service, and Department of Health and Human Services ##

Key Provisions

* The Department must establish dedicated offices with enough qualified staff at each medical center and regional office to manage building projects, maintenance, planning, and property disposal within 540 days of the law passing (Sec. 101(a)(1)) * The Department must create meaningful performance goals and metrics to measure how well its building management programs are working, and develop a dashboard tool to track progress within one year (Sec. 102(a)) * The Department must conduct a comprehensive review of how climate change affects its buildings and properties, including flooding and wildfire risks, and submit reports on findings and recommended actions (Sec. 201) * The Department must submit a strategic plan within one year addressing staffing needs, workforce planning for the next 10 years, and methods to improve how capital projects are planned and delivered (Sec. 202(a)) * The Department must centralize management of property disposal and reuse activities in one office and submit annual reports on progress (Sec. 203) ##

What Changes

If this becomes law, the Department of Veterans Affairs will need to: * Hire and train dedicated staff specializing in facility planning, project management, maintenance, property disposal, engineering, and other building-related functions at multiple organizational levels * Develop and publicly report measurable performance metrics for all building projects and track progress against these metrics regularly * Review all its properties for climate risks and create plans to strengthen buildings vulnerable to flooding, wildfires, storms, and other climate hazards * Create a 10-year workforce plan identifying current staffing gaps and projecting future staffing needs for building management work * Streamline how it manages the sale, reuse, demolition, and transfer of unused properties through one centralized office * Submit regular reports to Congress on capital asset projects, including costs, schedules, completed projects, and any cost overruns or delays * Review its minor construction project processes and report on potential improvements * Assess how information technology funding aligns with activating new medical spaces ##

Important Definitions

* **Capital Asset** - Physical buildings, land, and related items under the Department's control, including the technology and support systems needed to deliver services and functions (Sec. 2(2)) * **Climate Resilience** - The ability to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to changing environmental conditions like temperature and precipitation variations, and to withstand and recover quickly from disruptions while maintaining critical operations (Sec. 201(d)) * **Major Construction** - Capital projects costing more than $20,000,000 to construct, alter, or improve any facility (Sec. 204(c)(1)) * **Minor Construction** - Capital projects costing $20,000,000 or less to construct, alter, or improve any facility (Sec. 204(c)(2)) ##

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 42 To improve the management and performance of the capital asset programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs so as to better serve veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 24 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2023 Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BROWN, and Mr. WARNER) in- troduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To improve the management and performance of the capital asset programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs so as to better serve veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Build, Utilize, Invest, Learn, and Deliver for Veterans 5 Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘BUILD for Veterans Act of 2023’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 DMWilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 42 IS Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT Sec. 101. Improving capital asset staffing of Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 102. Development of performance metrics of capital asset management by Department of Veterans Affairs and monitoring for improve- ment. Sec. 103. Expansion of membership of the Capital Asset Planning Committee. TITLE II—STRATEGIC PLAN AND REPORTS Sec. 201. Review of climate resilience of facilities, land, and other relevant cap- ital assets of Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 202. Strategic plan to improve planning, management, budgeting, staffing, capacity, and performance of Department of Veterans Affairs capital asset activities. Sec. 203. Centralized management of capital asset disposal and reuse and an- nual report on completion of disposal and reuse activities of Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 204. Report on options to improve minor construction program of Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 205. Report on improvements to alignment of information technology funding and activation of medical and other space of Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 206. Reports on key capital asset investments, activities, and performance of Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 207. Reports on projected need for funding for infrastructure and capital assets of Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 208. Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs reports on Department infrastructure projects. Sec. 209. Comptroller General reports on capital asset program management and execution by Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 210. Report on dental care physical infrastructure needs of Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 211. Report on long-term care physical infrastructure needs of Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 212. Report on feasibility and advisability of using a dedicated budget ac- count for maintenance of capital assets of Department of Vet- erans Affairs. Sec. 213. Report on women veterans retrofit initiative. Sec. 214. Report on capital asset and information technology needs of the re- search and development program of Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 215. Review and report on provisions of law relating to Department of Veterans Affairs capital asset management and oversight. Sec. 216. Improving prevention, detection, and reporting of waste, fraud, and abuse in Department of Veterans Affairs capital asset projects and activities. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 DMWilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 42 IS (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 1 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 2 gress’’ means— 3 (A) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 4 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 5 Senate; and 6 (B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 7 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 8 House of Representatives. 9 (2) CAPITAL ASSET.—The term ‘‘capital asset’’ 10 means the physical infrastructure, land, buildings, 11 and other related items under the operation and con- 12 trol of the Department of Veterans Affairs, includ- 13 ing the information technology and other support 14 systems needed to ensure the physical space can be 15 used to deliver intended services and functions of the 16 Department. 17 TITLE I—CAPITAL ASSET 18 MANAGEMENT 19 SEC. 101. IMPROVING CAPITAL ASSET STAFFING OF DE- 20 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 21 (a) CAPITAL ASSET PERSONNEL OF THE DEPART- 22 MENT.— 23 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR DEDICATED OFFICES 24 AND SUFFICIENT STAFF.—Not later than 540 days 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 DMWilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 42 IS after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 1 retary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that the De- 2 partment of Veterans Affairs has dedicated offices 3 or entities and sufficient staff, including at each 4 medical center of the Department, to conduct rel- 5 evant critical responsibilities for the life-cycle of cap- 6 ital asset management at the local, regional, and 7 central office level. This may include ensuring such 8 mix as the Secretary considers appropriate of per- 9 sonnel with duties from the following categories: 10 (A) Facility planning. 11 (B) Long-range capital planning. 12 (C) Management of projects and capital 13 assets relating to the execution of major con- 14 struction projects, minor construction projects, 15 major leases, minor leases, nonrecurring main- 16 tenance, and related matters at medical centers 17 and facilities of the Department in the sur- 18 rounding catchment areas of the centers and fa- 19 cilities. 20 (D) Property disposal or transfer, environ- 21 mental remediation, and historic preservation. 22 (E) Engineering, including matters relat- 23 ing to seismic repairs and projects. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 DMWilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 42 IS (F) Maintenance and repair of existing in- 1 frastructure. 2 (G) The collection of views of veterans and 3 employees of the Department to understand the 4 capital assets needs of the Department. 5 (H) Other relevant functions relating to 6 the full life-cycle of capital asset management 7 of the Department as determined by the Sec- 8 retary. 9 (2) TASKS.—To the greatest extent practicable, 10 the Secretary shall ensure that each of the cat- 11 egories of duties under paragraph (1) are assigned 12 to a different individual or group of individuals so 13 as— 14 (A) to organize common work in a cohesive 15 manner; and 16 (B) not to overburden a small number of 17 individuals with such requirements. 18 (3) LEAD OFFICIAL.—Not later than 180 days 19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 20 retary shall— 21 (A) designate one individual as the lead 22 senior official responsible for integration and 23 coordination of, and accountability for, the eval- 24 uation of the capital asset workforce needs of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 DMWilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 42 IS the Department, the staffing model established 1 under paragraph (4), and the ongoing imple- 2 mentation and monitoring of actions to ensure 3 adequate capital asset staffing across the De- 4 partment, including those at the field, regional, 5 and central offices of the Veterans Health Ad- 6 ministration, the National Cemetery Adminis- 7 tration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, 8 and the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and 9 Construction; and 10 (B) notify the appropriate committees of 11 Congress who has been designated under sub- 12 paragraph (A). 13 (4) STAFFING MODEL.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 16 Secretary shall establish a staffing model for 17 the relevant administrations, staff offices, and 18 other elements of the Department to carry out 19 paragraph (1) that— 20 (i) ensures a minimum base level of 21 capital asset staffing; and 22 (ii) is adjusted based on the volume 23 and complexity of capital asset work of a 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 DMWilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 42 IS particular facility, catchment area, region, 1 or central office responsibility. 2 (B) UPDATE.—The Secretary shall update 3 the staffing model under subparagraph (A) reg- 4 ularly to ensure it is effective in carrying out 5 paragraph (1). 6 (5) TREATMENT OF STATES AND TERRITORIES 7 WITHOUT A MEDICAL CENTER.—In the case of a 8 State or territory of the United States in which the 9 Department does not operate a full-service medical 10 center, the Secretary shall, in carrying out para- 11 graph (1), ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, 12 that the Department has a dedicated office or entity 13 and sufficient staff 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 (6) PURPOSE AND INTENT.—The purpose of 18 this subsection is to ensure that field, regional, and 19 central offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs 20 have an appropriately sized and credentialed capital 21 asset workforce to allow for efficient and effective 22 execution of their relevant segment of capital asset 23 work. Nothing in this subsection is intended to man- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 DMWilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 42 IS date a realignment of capital asset workforce roles, 1 responsibilities, and reporting structures. 2 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Secretary shall ensure 3 that appropriate professional certifications, educational 4 background, and other qualifications are in effect for indi- 5 viduals employed in a position at a dedicated office or enti- 6 ty required by subsection (a) to manage the duties under 7 the categories set forth under subsection (a)(1). 8 (c) DUTIES OF DEDICATED OFFICES OR ENTITIES 9 AT MEDICAL CENTERS.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The duties of a dedicated of- 11 fice or entity required by subsection (a) at a medical 12 center of the Department may include such combina- 13 tion of the following duties as the Secretary con- 14 siders appropriate to achieve efficient and effective 15 capital asset management and performance as it 16 pertains to relevant activities at the field level: 17 (A) The development, monitoring, and im- 18 plementation of capital asset objectives for the 19 catchment area surrounding the medical center, 20 including community-based outpatient clinics 21 and other sites of care of the Department in 22 that area. 23 (B) The coordination of capital asset man- 24 agement and planning with counterparts at 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 DMWilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 42 IS other medical centers of the Department in the 1 region and facility planners for the Veterans In- 2 tegrated Service Network or Networks in the 3 region. 4 (C) Effective delivery of capital asset 5 projects. 6 (D) Maintenance and repair of infrastruc- 7 ture. 8 (E) Capital asset disposal or transfer, envi- 9 ronmental remediation, and historic preserva- 10 tion. 11 (F) Regularly monitoring state-of-the-art 12 best practices in health care capital asset deliv- 13 ery and management. 14 (G) Constantly monitoring the needs of 15 veterans and employees of the Department as it 16 relates to medical space and services at the 17 medical center and facilities in the catchment 18 area surrounding the medical center to forward 19 plan and identify and submit plans, through 20 processes of the Department, to meet those 21 needs, including by formulating local and re- 22 gional capital improvement and asset manage- 23 ment plans for medical facilities of the Depart- 24 ment through the regular collection of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 DMWilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 42 IS (i) views and expectations of veterans, 1 including as expressed by relevant local or 2 national veterans service organizations, in 3 that area who are eligible users of health 4 care and related services provided by the 5 Department with respect to— 6 (I) preferences and needs of 7 those veterans for the care received 8 from medical facilities of the Depart- 9 ment in that area; and 10 (II) the need for improvements 11 and enhancements to infrastructure of 12 the Department; and 13 (ii) views of relevant medical staff of 14 the Department at the medical center and 15 facilities in that catchment area regarding 16 their preferences and needs for how to de- 17 liver health care to veterans and how those 18 preferences impact the infrastructure 19 needs of the Department. 20 (H) Understanding the capital asset poli- 21 cies, procedures, and directives of the Depart- 22 ment, including those issued by the central of- 23 fice of the Department, the Veterans Health 24 Administration, Veterans Integrated Service 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Jan 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S42.IS S42 DMWilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 42 IS Networks, the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, 1 and Construction, the Office of Asset Enter- 2 prise Management, the Office of General Coun- 3 sel, the Office of Information and Technology, 4 or any successor offices, and any other office of 5 the Department with significant responsibility 6 over capital asset management and planning. 7 (I) Implementing locally the policies, proce- 8 dures, and directives described in subparagraph 9 (H). 10 (J) Providing feedback regarding ways in 11 which the policies, procedures and directives de- 12 scribed in subparagraph (H) can be improved. 13 (K) Understanding the importance for col- 14 laboration and coordination among all relevant 15 offices of the Department, including the Office 16 of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction, the 17 Office of Asset Enterprise Management, the Of- 18 fice of Information and Technology, or suc- 19 ces [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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