[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7352 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7352

 To direct the Administrator of General Services to carry out a pilot 
 program under which the Administrator shall enter into agreements for 
 the construction, renovation, improvement, and lease of facilities in 
  order to address the deferred capital backlog of the Department of 
               Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 19, 2018

 Mr. Shuster introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the 
    Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Administrator of General Services to carry out a pilot 
 program under which the Administrator shall enter into agreements for 
 the construction, renovation, improvement, and lease of facilities in 
  order to address the deferred capital backlog of the Department of 
               Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Performance-Based Building Act of 
2018''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The deferred maintenance backlog for Department of 
        Veterans Affairs facilities (including hospitals, clinics, 
        housing, and offices) is not sustainable.
            (2) There are insufficient discretionary funds available to 
        meet the critical capital requirements of the Department in 
        support of its mission.
            (3) Alternative authorities for the construction and 
        improvement of capital facilities have proven successful, 
        particularly with respect to military housing.

SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of General Services, in 
coordination with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall carry out a 
pilot program using authorities of the Administrator pursuant to title 
40, United States Code, under which the Administrator may enter into 
agreements with appropriate non-Government entities pursuant to which--
            (1) the non-Government entity will acquire through ground-
        lease, finance, and execute improvements or renovations to a 
        Department of Veterans Affairs facility identified under 
        subsection (b) or construct a new facility to address a 
        shortage of capacity identified under such subsection;
            (2) the Administrator will leaseback the facility from the 
        non-Government entity for use by the Department; and
            (3) the facility shall be operated and maintained by the 
        non-Government entity subject to a performance-based management 
        and operations agreement entered into between the entity and 
        the Administrator.
    (b) Identification of Facilities.--
            (1) Comprehensive evaluation of department of veterans 
        affairs property.--
                    (A) Review of the department.--For purposes of 
                carrying out the pilot program, not later than 180 days 
                from enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide 
                to the Administrator of General Services a report 
                identifying potential sites based on a comprehensive 
                evaluation of Department of Veterans Affairs real 
                property to determine conditions, continued 
                connectivity, and relevance to the broader mission of 
                the Department. The Secretary shall take into 
                consideration such sites where the condition of 
                facilities is negatively impacting the ability of the 
                Department of Veterans Affairs to fulfill its mission.
                    (B) Evaluation by the administrator.--The 
                Administrator of General Services shall review the 
                recommendations provided by the Department pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A) and identify viable recapitalization 
                opportunities, consistent with other provisions of law.
                    (C) Criteria.--In carrying out the evaluation under 
                subparagraph (B), the Administrator shall implement 
                criteria that--
                            (i) are used to evaluate Federal assets;
                            (ii) ensure the modernization or 
                        realignment of the capital facilities of the 
                        Department; and
                            (iii) maximize the use of the capital of 
                        the Department (consistent with the Federal 
                        Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 (40 U.S.C. 
                        1303 note)).
            (2) GSA determination.--Not later than one year after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, based on the results of the 
        evaluation under paragraph (1), the Administrator of General 
        Services shall identify--
                    (A) Department facilities that require improvements 
                or renovations and would be appropriate for an 
                agreement under the pilot program; and
                    (B) shortages of Department capacity that could be 
                addressed through the construction of a new facility 
                under such an agreement.
    (c) Number of Projects.--The Administrator shall enter into 
agreements with respect to no less than five and no more than ten 
facilities under the pilot program, including--
            (1) agreements providing for the construction, improvement, 
        or renovation of facilities; and
            (2) operating leases, including enhanced use leases, ground 
        lease or lease back arrangements, and leases that incorporate 
        an option to purchase at less than fair market value.
    (d) Reports.--
            (1) Project reports.--The Administrator shall submit to 
        Congress a report on each facility that is improved, renovated, 
        or constructed under an agreement under the pilot program.
            (2) Final report.--Not later than 5 years following the 
        determination under subsection (b)(2), the Administrator, in 
        consultation with the Secretary, shall submit to Congress a 
        final report on the effectiveness of the pilot program in 
        providing for the improvement of the assets of the Department 
        of Veterans Affairs.
    (e) Termination.--The authority to enter into an agreement under 
this Act shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
    (f) Experts and Consultants.--
            (1) Personnel.--In carrying out the pilot program the 
        Administrator and Secretary shall identify and use General 
        Services Administration and Department personnel with knowledge 
        and experience in complex real estate transactions.
            (2) Experts and contracted services.--The Administrator 
        shall, to the extent practicable and subject to appropriations 
        Acts, use contracts, including non-appropriated contracts, for 
        real estate services necessary to carry out this section.
    (g) Submission of Prospectuses.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of 
the Senate prospectuses, in accordance with section 3307 for each 
project identified under this Act.
    (h) Definitions.--In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Performance-based management and operations 
        agreement.--The term ``performance-based management and 
        operations agreement'' means an agreement that--
                    (A) reflects an obligation by the non-Government 
                entity to design, build, finance, deliver, operate and 
                maintain an infrastructure asset;
                    (B) requires the non-Government entity to provide 
                the Department a single point of responsibility and 
                obligation;
                    (C) stipulates all requirements of the Department 
                and contains the terms and conditions for annual 
                performance-based availability payments in accordance 
                with the non-Government entity meeting or exceeding 
                those requirements; and
                    (D) stipulates the terms and conditions for 
                reductions of any and all availability payments to the 
                non-Government entity for any given period the asset is 
                unavailable to the Government or otherwise not 
                delivered, operated, or maintained in accordance with 
                the requirements included in the agreement.
            (2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of General Services.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Veterans Affairs.
            (4) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs.
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