[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 83 (Tuesday, May 20, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H4199-H4202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL FACILITY AUTHORIZATION AND LEASE
ACT OF 2008
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5856) to increase, effective as of December 1, 2008, the
rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected
disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for
survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5856
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 ``Department of Veterans
Affairs Medical Facility Authorization and Lease Act of
2008''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009 MAJOR MEDICAL
FACILITY PROJECTS.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may carry out the
following major medical facility projects in fiscal year 2009
in the amount specified for each project:
(1) Seismic corrections, Building 2, at the Department of
Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto
Division Palo Alto, California, in an amount not to exceed
$54,000,000.
(2) Construction of a polytrauma healthcare and
rehabilitation center at the Department of Veterans Affairs
Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, in an amount not to
exceed $66,000,000.
(3) Seismic corrections, Building 1, at the Department of
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico, in an
amount not to exceed $225,900,000.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORIZATION AMOUNTS FOR CERTAIN
MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED.
(a) Modification of Major Medical Facility
Authorizations.--Section 801(a) of the Veterans Benefits,
Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 (Public
Law 109-461) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``$300,000,000'' and inserting
``$625,000,000''; and
(B) by striking the second sentence; and
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking ``$98,000,000'' and
inserting ``$769,200,000''.
(b) Modification of Authorization for Certain Major Medical
Facility Construction Projects Previously Authorized in
Connection With Capital Asset Realignment Initiative.--
(1) Correction of patient privacy deficiencies at the
department of veterans affairs medical center, gainesville,
florida.--Paragraph (5) of section 802 of the Veterans
Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006
(Public Law 109-461) is amended by striking ``$85,200,000''
and inserting ``$136,700,000''.
(2) Construction of a new medical center facility at the
department of veterans affairs medical center, las vegas,
nevada.--Paragraph (7) of such section is amended by striking
``$406,000,000'' and inserting ``$600,400,000''.
(3) Construction of a new outpatient clinic, lee county,
florida.--Paragraph (8) of such section is amended--
(A) by striking ``ambulatory'' and all that follows through
``purchase,'' and inserting ``outpatient clinic in''; and
[[Page H4200]]
(B) by striking ``$65,100,000'' and inserting
``$131,800,000''.
(4) Construction of a new medical center facility, orlando,
florida.--Paragraph (11) of such section is amended by
striking ``$377,700,000'' and inserting ``$656,800,000''.
(5) Consolidation of campuses at the university drive and
h. john heinz iii divisions, pittsburgh, pennsylvania.--
Paragraph (12) of such section is amended by striking
``$189,205,000'' and inserting ``$295,600,000''.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF FISCAL YEAR 2009 MAJOR MEDICAL
FACILITY LEASES.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may carry out the
following major medical facility leases in fiscal year 2009
at the locations specified, and in an amount for each lease
not to exceed the amount shown for such location:
(1) For an outpatient clinic, Brandon, Florida, $4,326,000.
(2) For an outpatient clinic, Colorado Springs, Colorado,
$3,995,000.
(3) For an outpatient clinic, Eugene, Oregon, $5,826,000.
(4) For the expansion of an outpatient clinic, Green Bay,
Wisconsin, $5,891,000.
(5) For an outpatient clinic, Greenville, South Carolina,
$3,731,000.
(6) For an outpatient clinic, Mansfield, Ohio, $2,212,000.
(7) For an outpatient clinic, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico,
$6,276,000.
(8) For an outpatient clinic, Mesa, Arizona, $5,106,000.
(9) For interim research space, Palo Alto, California,
$8,636,000.
(10) For the expansion of an outpatient clinic, Savannah,
Georgia, $3,168,000.
(11) For an outpatient clinic, Sun City, Arizona,
$2,295,000.
(12) For a primary care annex, Tampa, Florida, $8,652,000.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF MAJOR MEDICAL
FACILITY, OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA.
(a) Authorization.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
carry out a major medical facility project to construct a new
medical facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs in
Okaloosa County, Florida, in an amount not to exceed
$54,475,000.
(b) Facility Location.--The facility authorized to be
constructed pursuant to subsection (a) shall be built in
accordance with option 2 of the report to Congress dated June
26, 2007, required to be submitted under section 823 of the
Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology
Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-461; 120 Stat. 3449).
(c) Plan for Sharing of Inpatient and Outpatient
Services.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of the Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate
and House of Representatives a plan that sets forth terms and
conditions for the sharing of inpatient and outpatient
services at the medical facility authorized to be constructed
pursuant to subsection (a).
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2009
Major Medical Facility Projects.--There is authorized to be
appropriated for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for fiscal
year 2009 for the Construction, Major Projects, account--
(1) $345,900,000 for the projects authorized in section 2;
(2) $1,694,295,000 for the increased amounts authorized for
projects whose authorizations are modified by section 3; and
(3) $54,475,000 for the project authorized in section 5.
(b) Authorization for Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2009
Major Medical Facility Leases.--There is authorized to be
appropriated for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for fiscal
year 2009 for the Medical Facilities account, $60,114,000,
for the leases authorized in section 4.
SEC. 7. FACILITIES ADMINISTRATION.
Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to
the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House
of Representatives a report updating the progress of the
Secretary in complying with section 312A of title 38, United
States Code.
SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT ON OUTPATIENT CLINICS.
(a) Annual Report Required.--Subchapter I of chapter 81 of
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
``Sec. 8119. Annual report on outpatient clinics
``(a) Annual Report Required.--The Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs
of the Senate and House of Representatives an annual report
on community-based outpatient clinics and other outpatient
clinics. The report shall be submitted each year not later
than the date on which the budget for the next fiscal year is
submitted to the Congress under section 1105 of title 31.
``(b) Contents of Report.--Each report required under
subsection (a) shall include the following:
``(1) A list of each community-based outpatient clinic and
other outpatient clinic of the Department, and for each such
clinic, the type of clinic, location, size, number of health
professionals employed by the clinic, workload, whether the
clinic is leased or constructed and operated by the
Secretary, and the annual cost of operating the clinic.
``(2) A list of community-based outpatient clinics and
other outpatient clinics that the Secretary opened during the
fiscal year preceding the fiscal year during which the report
is submitted and a list of clinics the Secretary proposes
opening during the fiscal year during which the report is
submitted and the subsequent fiscal year, together with the
cost of activating each such clinic and the information
required to be provided under paragraph (1) for each such
clinic and proposed clinic.
``(3) A list of proposed community-based outpatient clinics
and other outpatient clinics that are, as of the date of the
submission of the report, under review by the National Review
Panel and a list of possible locations for future clinics
identified in the Department's strategic planning process,
including any identified locations in rural and underserved
areas.
``(4) A prioritized list of sites of care identified by the
Secretary that the Secretary could establish without carrying
out construction or entering into a lease, including--
``(A) any such sites that could be expanded by hiring
additional staff or allocating staff to Federal facilities or
facilities operating in collaboration with the Federal
Government; and
``(B) any sites established, or able to be established,
under sections 8111 and 8153 of this title.''.
(b) Deadline for First Annual Report.--The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall submit the first report required under
section 8119(a) of title 38, United States Code, as added by
subsection (a), by not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end of
the items relating to subchapter I the following new item:
``8119. Annual report on outpatient clinics.''.
SEC. 9. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.
Section 807(e) of the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and
Information Technology Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-461) is
amended by striking ``Medical Care'' each place it appears
and inserting ``Medical Facilities''.
SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, this is one of the most important and
difficult pieces of legislation to come to the Health Subcommittee of
our committee. The chairman, Mr. Michaud of Maine, has done an
incredibly good job, along with his ranking member, Mr. Miller. I would
yield to Mr. Michaud such time as he might consume to explain the bill.
Mr. MICHAUD. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5856, the Department of
Veterans Affairs Medical Facilities Authorization and Lease Act of
2008. This legislation authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to
build or lease major medical facilities across this country. I believe
we must do everything possible to take care of the men and women who
defend our Nation and fight for freedom around the world.
The facilities authorized in this legislation will provide the much-
needed physical facilities around the country where we can take care of
veterans for different health care reasons. This legislation has strong
bipartisan support. We did take a lot of time working with the minority
members and had hearings on this bill and actually went around the
country to look at the facilities that the VA currently has. This bill
is desperately needed to make sure that we keep upgrading and building
the facilities that are needed around this great Nation of ours.
I do want to thank the staff on both the majority side and minority
side for all their efforts in really moving this legislation forward.
Especially I want to thank Mr. Miller, who has been a strong supporter
of this legislation. We spent hundreds of hours going through this
proposal with committee staff and within the VA staff as well. I
especially want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Ranking Member Buyer,
for your interest in this legislation as well.
This legislation did receive a lot of interest from a variety of
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, and we wish we could
accommodate all the interest and concerns that we heard, but we were
unable to do that at this time. We will be able to move forward with
report language in this legislation that actually requires the VA to
report back to the Veterans' Affairs Committee on how we deal with some
of the lower cost items, CBOCs around the country, and look forward to
that report. Hopefully, we will be able to move forward in a more
aggressive way
[[Page H4201]]
and get the facilities that we need around the country.
With that, I would urge my colleagues to strongly support H.R. 5856.
Mr. BUYER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5856, the VA Medical
Facility Authorization and Lease Act, which would authorize major
medical facility projects and major medical facility leases for the
Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2009. I want to extend
my compliments to Chairman Michaud and Mr. Miller, and I think when
Chairman Michaud thanked me for the interest, I think he meant, Thank
you for the cooperation. I enjoyed working with you and your staff and
the chairman in getting a bill to the floor.
Madam Speaker, this bill authorizes $2.2 billion to improve access to
health care for our Nation's veterans. As we consider this construction
authorization bill that includes VA's fiscal year 2008 and 2009
request, I would like to share my enthusiasm for the announcement
Secretary Peake made on April 24, 2008, to change course in Denver and
move to a joint facility, with which I know Chairman Michaud also
concurs.
Secretary Peake announced that the VA intends to construct a new bed
tower in partnership with the University of Colorado at Denver and the
University of Colorado Hospital on university property at the former
Fitzsimons Army Medical Center campus. Madam Speaker, I have been a
strong supporter of moving forward with a joint use facility and
believe that the idea of collaboration promises significant value as we
move in to providing veterans access to care in the 21st century VA
system.
There has been a long and detailed history of planning for a shared
facility to replace the existing Denver VA Medical Center. Discussions
between VA and the University of Colorado Hospital regarding the
relocation of the Denver Veterans Medical Center to Fitzsimons campus
started in the year 2000, and I am pleased to see this collaboration
again moving forward.
H.R. 5856 would provide VA to authorize in the amount of not to
exceed $769.2 million for the replacement of the Denver, Colorado VA
Medical Center. This authorization was requested by the administration
in February in its fiscal year 2009 budget submission.
Madam Speaker, I recommend at this time that we retain this $769.2
million authorization for a major medical facility in Denver contained
in this bill as a placeholder. However, as the planning and design of
the Denver partnership is further defined, it will be necessary to
amend the authorization of this project.
H.R. 5856 also includes authorization for the construction of a fifth
polytrauma center in San Antonio, Texas. VA's four current polytrauma
centers are located in Richmond, Virginia; Tampa, Florida; Minneapolis,
Minnesota; and Palo Alto, California. These centers provide a valuable
service to injured servicemembers and veterans and are designed to
provide comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation services for individuals
with complex, severe, and disabling traumas. Creating a fifth
polytrauma center in San Antonio reinforces our commitment to the
veterans and servicemembers who have honorably served our country by
expanding access to the southwest United States.
I also want to thank Chairman Filner and Chairman Michaud with regard
to the report language in the bill. We had some matters outside the
bill that we needed to work through. I know the chairman had visited
deep south Texas and I also went to deep south Texas to work on these
issues that were brought to us by Mr. Ortiz and Mr. Hinojosa, and we
were able to work through those, not only working with these members,
being on the ground, talking to the veterans, working with the
administration, and having that report language in here as we work with
the University of Texas, I think, was prudent and wise.
I want to thank Chairman Michaud and Chairman Filner for working
through these matters.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, as I said before, we have some very active
new members in our caucus, and Mr. Kagen from Green Bay, Wisconsin,
brought to us some needs he would like to speak on, and I am glad we
know there are other needs in Green Bay besides a new quarterback. I
would yield to him such time as he may consume.
Mr. KAGEN. Thank you for your kind comments about the needs for
quarterbacks. I want to thank you for quarterbacking this bill, H.R.
5856 to the House floor and towards a successful passage. It has the
support of Republicans and Democrats alike. While we may be divided
about war policy and foreign policy, we are united behind the support
of our troops.
{time} 1445
Now, what does this bill do? It provides for 11 construction
projects, $60 million, and 12 new leases in 2009. The construction
projects range from Denver, Colorado, to San Antonio, Texas, to New
Orleans, Louisiana. They involve lease projects from Eugene, Oregon, to
Mesa, Arizona, to Mansfield, Ohio, and, of course, Green Bay Wisconsin,
where the needs of our veterans require the construction of a new CBOC
and also the presence of an outpatient surgical specialty area. This
bill will take a major step toward developing the infrastructure of our
Veterans Administration.
Let me add by saying that as a physician who has served for 6 years
in veterans hospitals, we need to invest in our infrastructure of the
Veterans Administration throughout the country, not just in Green Bay.
H.R. 5856 authorizes $5.8 million in fiscal year 2009 for the lease of
a new facility to expand the Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Green
Bay. This lease will extend for 20 years.
Heretofore, we have had thousands and thousands of veterans in
Northeast Wisconsin who had to drive beyond Green Bay, beyond Appleton,
south to Milwaukee, to Zablocki in order to get the care they require.
The new facility will offer specialty services heretofore not available
in Northeast Wisconsin; lab work, radiology, physical therapy,
pharmacy, mental health care services, dietetics, dental, podiatry,
dermatology, urology, neurology, audiology, and social work. For many
soldiers, the Comp and Pen examinations will be done closer to home,
not just for their convenience, but also for their personal-family
economy. After all, when the price of gasoline reaches $4 per gallon,
it costs everyone a lot more to travel.
Madam Speaker, 1,500 patients now are waiting on a fee basis for
service at the veterans facility in Green Bay. Hundreds and hundreds of
veterans are on waiting lists to receive care that they require.
This project could not have happened without the strong bipartisan
support of not just the chairman, but also the ranking member. So I
thank you, Mr. Filner, and also the subcommittee chairman as well.
Thank you for putting your best efforts forward to making sure that the
veterans in Green Bay and Northeast Wisconsin get the care they need
close to home.
Mr. BUYER. Madam Speaker, I reserve my time.
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez).
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Chairman, once again, thank you for this piece of
legislation. As indicated earlier, we have four major polytrauma
centers throughout the country. The fifth one has been selected by a
commission that was established, with the selection of the site in San
Antonio. These polytrauma centers look at those veterans that are the
most vulnerable in our community, the ones that have multiple problems.
So this major polytrauma center in San Antonio is going to be a great
addition.
Let me just add also that as we look at providing services to our
veterans, one of the realities is that approximately 80 percent of our
veterans never get to have any degree of access, so we understand that
there is a big void out there. What happened at Walter Reed, in spite
of the fact that that is a DOD facility, we also need to look at the
facilities in the VA sites. And we know that we have been negligent in
not providing the resources to upgrade those.
The reports that are going to be required by this language allow an
opportunity for us to get a good grasp of what some of our needs are
out there in terms of our VA facilities, and allows an opportunity for
us to improve on
[[Page H4202]]
those, from nursing homes that are out there to clinics and to others.
As also indicated, in South Texas we have a large number of our
veterans that don't have access and have to travel long distance for
access to health care. I want to thank the leadership on both sides for
going there and listening to the reports, Congressman Ortiz,
Congressman Hinojosa, Congressman Cuellar and others, about the lack of
services for our veterans in Deep South Texas and the need for some of
these facilities and resources.
Once again, I thank the chairman for allowing me this opportunity and
for passing this piece of legislation.
Mr. BUYER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Rodriguez, when you go back to Texas over the Memorial Day break,
I want you to share with your good friends in Deep South Texas how much
I enjoyed the visit and their tequila. I don't know what it is about
tequila that makes you either forget or remember the most, but I really
enjoyed that, and you have much to smile for when you go back to Texas.
When I went to Deep South Texas, I also went to San Antonio and
toured not only the burn unit at Brook and the Intrepid at Fort Sam
Houston, but also I went over to the VA hospital and met with your
hospital director and the team for the polytrauma center, and they are
extraordinary. If you have the opportunity at all, I welcome you to
visit the other polytrauma centers, or any of them. It is extraordinary
what they do in that full continuum of care, and it is seamless as they
move from the military to the VA and then back in.
There are always some bumps in the road, so as you take on this fifth
site in your backyard, too often we place that burden on the families
to be the case manager, and now in Wounded Warrior we say okay, we are
going to assign case managers. But as we open up that fifth polytrauma
center, we are going to look to your leadership to make sure the fifth
site opens up and opens well. I just wanted to share that with you.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Buyer, I want to thank you also, because I do have
a beautiful community, and we have a large number of both Afghan and
Iraqi theatre soldiers that have come to the San Antonio area and the
community there. We know that we have had our problems and our
difficulties, but we are expanding those services, and I am extremely
elated.
One thing I tell our veterans now is if they ever have had
difficulties in the past, I am urging them to go back, go back and
visit the VA. There is a lot of enthusiasm out there, and I am really
pleased. Thank you very much for those comments, and you are welcome to
come down and share a tequila.
Mr. BUYER. Please also know that I spoke with John Barnes, who is the
owner of Panther Racing. We coordinated with the Surgeon General of the
Army, and he is going to take the Indy car which is sponsored by the
National Guard along with some of the Indy drivers to Fort Sam Houston
to go to Brook Army Hospital to the burn unit and the Intrepid, and I
think that is going to occur the first week of June.
I also would like to compliment Chairman Filner and Chairman Michaud
with regard to working with myself and Mr. Latham as we addressed his
concerns that were brought to the committee in Northeast Iowa. We also
had other issues that were brought regarding Fort Ord. As we all know,
CARES was sort of that snapshot in time, and now we are 4 years beyond
CARES and it is almost being overtaken by certain events. So I
appreciate Chairman Filner allowing us to work through some of these in
our language, and we are going to have to address CARES No. 2 probably
or redux here in the upcoming future.
With that, I urge my colleagues to adopt the bill.
Madam Speaker, I yield back my time.
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I certainly appreciate the remarks of Mr.
Buyer and the bipartisan work that was necessary to get this bill to
the floor in the current form.
General Leave
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I would ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5856.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support
of H.R. 5856, the VA Medical Facility Authorization and Lease Act of
2008. I am pleased that this bill will comprehensively address the
needs of veterans throughout the Nation.
Important to delivering high quality care to our Nation's veterans is
the planning for the construction of VA's substantial health care
infrastructure. It is vital that veterans can continue to receive care
where they need it most and will be able to receive it where they need
it in the future. They have given so much for our country, and
providing them with timely access to the best health care possible is
just one important way we can show them how thankful we are for what
all they have done.
This legislation improves access to care for veterans by ensuring
that current VA facilities are modernized and that future construction
occurs where it is needed. That means keeping track of where veterans
live and locating facilities in those areas. Too often, veterans must
travel great distances to receive their health care, but this is
something that we can fix, and the VA Medical Facility Authorization
and Lease Act of 2008 is an important step in that direction.
I commend Chairman Michaud for his work on this legislation through
the Subcommittee on Health and the full Veterans' Affairs Committee,
and look forward to its passage.
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 5856.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
____________________