[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5042 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5042

   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot 
 program under which the Secretary enters into partnership agreements 
    with non-Federal entities for the construction of major medical 
                           facility projects.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 9, 2014

 Mr. McNerney introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot 
 program under which the Secretary enters into partnership agreements 
    with non-Federal entities for the construction of major medical 
                           facility projects.

    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 ``Jumpstart VA Construction Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The buildings of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
        have an average age of 60 years.
            (2) Since 2004, use of Department facilities has grown from 
        80 percent to 120 percent, while the condition of these 
        facilities has eroded from 81 percent to 71 percent over that 
        same period of time.
            (3) The Department currently manages and maintains more 
        than 5,600 buildings and almost 34,000 acres of land.
            (4) More than 3,900 infrastructure gaps remain that will 
        cost between $54,000,000,000 and $66,000,000,000 to close, 
        including $10,000,000,000 in activation costs.
            (5) The Veterans Health Administration has 21 major 
        construction projects dating to 2007 that have been only 
        partially funded.
            (6) The total unobligated amount for all currently budgeted 
        major construction projects exceeds $2,900,000,000.
            (7) To finish existing projects and to close current and 
        future gaps, the Department will need to invest at least 
        $23,200,000,000 over the next 10 years.
            (8) At current requested funding levels, it will take more 
        than 67 years to complete the 10-year capital investment plan 
        of the Department.

SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
              AFFAIRS MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY PROJECTS BY NON-FEDERAL 
              ENTITIES UNDER PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out 
a 10-year pilot program under which the Secretary shall enter into 
partnership agreements on a competitive basis with appropriate non-
Federal entities for the construction of major construction projects 
authorized by law.
    (b) Selection of Projects.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall select 10 major 
        construction projects for completion by non-Federal entities 
        under the pilot program. Each project selected shall be a major 
        medical facility project authorized by law for the construction 
        of a new facility for which--
                    (A) Congress has appropriated any funds;
                    (B) the design and development phase is complete; 
                and
                    (C) construction has not begun, as of the date of 
                the enactment of this Act.
            (2) Type of projects.--In selecting major construction 
        projects under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall select--
                    (A) four seismic-related projects;
                    (B) four community based outpatient clinic-related 
                projects; and
                    (C) two other projects.
    (c) Agreements.--Each partnership agreement for a construction 
project under the pilot program shall provide that--
            (1) the non-Federal entity shall obtain any permits 
        required pursuant to Federal and State laws before beginning to 
        carry out construction; and
            (2) if requested by the non-Federal entity, the Secretary 
        shall provide technical assistance for obtaining any necessary 
        permits for the construction project.
    (d) Responsibilities of Secretary.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) appoint a non-Department of Veterans Affairs entity as 
        the project manager of each major construction project for 
        which the Secretary enters into a partnership agreement under 
        the pilot program;
            (2) ensure that the project manager appointed under 
        paragraph (1) develops and implements a project management plan 
        to ensure concise and consistent communication of all parties 
        involved in the project;
            (3) work in cooperation with each non-Federal entity with 
        which the Secretary enters into a partnership agreement to 
        minimize multiple change orders;
            (4) develop metrics to monitor change order process times, 
        with the intent of expediting any change order; and
            (5) monitor any construction project carried out by a non-
        Federal entity under the pilot program to ensure that such 
        construction is in compliance with the Federal Acquisition 
        Regulations and Department of Veterans Affairs acquisition 
        regulations and that the costs are reasonable.
    (e) Reimbursement.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall reimburse, without 
        interest, a non-Federal entity that carries out work pursuant 
        to a partnership agreement under the pilot program in an amount 
        equal to the estimated Federal share of the cost of such work. 
        Any costs that exceed the amount originally agreed upon between 
        the Secretary and the non-Federal entity shall be paid by the 
        non-Federal entity. The Secretary may commence making payments 
        to a non-Federal entity under this subsection upon entering 
        into a partnership agreement with the entity under this 
        section.
            (2) Limitation.--The Secretary may not make any 
        reimbursement payment under this subsection until the Secretary 
        determines that the work for which the reimbursement is 
        requested has been performed in accordance with applicable 
        permits and approved plans.
            (3) Budget requests.--The Secretary shall budget for 
        reimbursement under this section on a schedule that is 
        consistent with the budgeting process of the Department and the 
        ongoing Strategic Capital Investment Planning priorities list.
    (f) Comptroller General Report.--The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to Congress a biennial report on the 
partnership agreements entered into under the pilot program.
    (g) Deadline for Implementation.--The Secretary shall begin 
implementing the pilot program under this section by not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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