[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 82 (Thursday, May 17, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6268-S6269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 1417. A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit 
a report to Congress providing a master plan for the use of the West 
Los Angeles Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, California, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation 
to maintain the land on the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical 
Center campus for the exclusive use of America's Veterans.
  This legislation is a companion to an identical bill introduced by 
Congressman Waxman in the House earlier this month.
  The bill would:
  Prohibit the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, from issuing 
enhanced-use lease agreements on the West Los Angeles VA property; 
expand the scope of the Cranston Act, which already prohibits the 
disposal of land and the use of enhanced-use leases on 109 acres, to 
cover the entire 388-acre West Los Angeles VA property; prohibit the VA 
from exchanging, trading, auctioning or transferring any land connected 
to the West Los Angeles VA; require that a master plan related to the 
West Los Angeles VA property be completed no later than 1 year after 
this legislation is enacted; prohibit the VA from receiving funding to 
enact the provisions of a master plan for the West Los Angeles VA 
without first receiving Congressional authorization; and establish a 
public advisory committee, consisting of federally elected 
representatives, local elected officials, local Veterans, and community 
members to provide input on the master plan.
  The bill I am introducing today is absolutely essential in light of a 
number of unacceptable actions previously taken by the VA that, in my 
view, violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the law.
  In March, I joined with my colleagues Senator Barbara Boxer and 
Congressman Henry Waxman in writing a letter to VA Secretary James 
Nicholson, strongly objecting to recent decisions made by the VA 
relating to the West Los Angeles VA facility and land.
  For example, the VA has signed sharing agreements to allow an 
Enterprise-

[[Page S6269]]

Rent-A-Car facility to operate on the VA land. The VA also continues to 
film on the property and recently allowed Fox Studios to construct a 
set storage building there.
  In 1996, a 65,000-seat NFL Football stadium was proposed for the open 
space on the West Los Angeles VA land until Congress passed a 
resolution to prohibit this action.
  This legislation also ensures that the VA never issues an enhanced-
use lease agreement on the West Los Angeles VA property that would have 
little or nothing to do with direct veterans services.
  The VA now has a number of other effective tools at its disposal to 
provide services directly to veterans, including sharing agreements and 
existing legislation to address homeless veterans' needs.
  If the VA is already exceeding the scope of its sharing agreements, 
it is likely to also pursue enhanced-use leases for developing the 
property. Enhanced-use leases are disposal tools and should not be 
permitted on the West Los Angeles VA land, as the community and local 
veterans overwhelmingly oppose them.
  Notably, Congress mandated that the VA create a Land Use master plan 
for the entire West Los Angeles Veterans' property in 1998, Public Law 
105-368.
  Last year, the Senate approved language in the fiscal year 2007 
MILCON/VA Appropriations bill that required the VA to provide the 
Appropriations Committees a report on the master plan for the West Los 
Angeles VA Medical Center and connected land.
  The fiscal year 2007 MILCON/VA Appropriations Act passed the Senate 
on November 18, 2006.
  Unfortunately, all but 2 of the 11 Appropriations bills, including 
MILCON/VA, were ultimately packaged together in a continuing resolution 
for fiscal year 2007, and the language was never considered by the full 
Congress.
  For too long, commercial interests have trumped the needs of our 
Veterans.
  These 388 acres of land were donated to the Government in 1888 
specifically for serving and supporting our Nation's veterans and I 
strongly believe they should remain that way.
  This bill would make sure that this happens.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1417

       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 ``West Los Angeles Department 
     of Veterans Affairs Medical Center Preservation Act of 
     2007''.

     SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON DISPOSAL OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
                   AFFAIRS LANDS AND IMPROVEMENTS AT WEST LOS 
                   ANGELES MEDICAL CENTER, CALIFORNIA.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not 
     declare as excess to the needs of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs, or otherwise take any action to exchange, trade, 
     auction, transfer, or otherwise dispose of, or reduce the 
     acreage of, Federal land and improvements at the Department 
     of Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles Medical Center, 
     California, encompassing approximately 388 acres on the north 
     and south sides of Wilshire Boulevard and west of the 405 
     Freeway.
       (b) Special Provision Regarding Lease With Representative 
     of the Homeless.--Notwithstanding any provision of this Act, 
     Section 7 of the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Services Act 
     of 1992 (Public Law 102-590) shall remain in effect.
       (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 8162(c)(1) of title 38, 
     United States Code, is amended by inserting ``or section 2(a) 
     of the West Los Angeles Department of Veterans Affairs 
     Medical Center Preservation Act of 2007'' after ``section 421 
     (b)(2) of the Veterans' Benefits and Services Act of 1988 
     (Public Law 100-322; 102 Stat. 553)''.

     SEC. 3. MASTER PLAN REGARDING USE OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
                   AFFAIRS LANDS AT WEST LOS ANGELES MEDICAL 
                   CENTER, CALIFORNIA.

       (a) Finding.--Congress finds that section 707 of the 
     Veterans Programs Enhancement Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-
     368) required the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to 
     Congress a report on the master plan of the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs, or a plan for the development of such a 
     master plan, relating to the use of Department land at the 
     West Los Angeles Department of Veterans Affairs Medical 
     Center, California.
       (b) Master Plan Required.--Not later than one year after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
     submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 
     providing a master plan, consistent with the provisions of 
     this Act, for the use of the Federal land and improvements 
     described in section 2(a).
       (c) Advisory Committee.--The Secretary shall appoint a 
     committee to advise the Secretary in developing the master 
     plan. The committee shall include representatives of State 
     and local governments, veterans, veterans' service 
     organizations, and community organizations. The committee 
     shall be composed of 9 members, who shall be appointed by the 
     Secretary, of whom two shall be appointed on the 
     recommendation of the Member of Congress representing the 
     30th district of California, and two each shall be appointed 
     on the recommendation of each of the Senators from 
     California.
       (d) Limitation on Funding.--Except for direct veterans' 
     services, no funding shall be available to implement the 
     master plan except pursuant to provisions of law enacted 
     after the date of the receipt by the appropriate 
     congressional committees of the report providing such plan.
       (e) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
       (2) Direct veterans' services.--The term ``direct veterans' 
     services'' means services directly related to maintaining the 
     health, welfare, and support of veterans.
                                 ______