[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 167 (Tuesday, November 10, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S7932]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2799. Mr. THUNE (for himself and Mr. Rounds) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2763 proposed by Mr. 
Kirk (for himself, Mr. Tester, and Ms. Mikulski) to the bill H.R. 2029, 
making appropriations for military construction, the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2016, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on 
the table; as follows:

       At the end of title II, add the following:
       Sec. 2__. (a) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not 
     carry out any action described in subsection (b) at a medical 
     facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs located in 
     Veterans Integrated Service Network 23 as part of a planned 
     realignment of services from the Department until the 
     Secretary has submitted to the appropriate committees of 
     Congress a report that includes the following:
       (1) A national realignment strategy for the Veterans Health 
     Administration that includes a detailed description of 
     realignment plans within each Veterans Integrated Service 
     Network.
       (2) An explanation of the process by which such realignment 
     plans were developed and coordinated within each Veterans 
     Integrated Service Network.
       (3) An analysis of the cost versus the benefit of each 
     realignment included in such realignment plans, including the 
     cost of replacing services furnished directly by the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs with services provided under a 
     contract with a non-Department entity.
       (4) An analysis of how each realignment will impact health 
     care within each Veterans Integrated Service Network for the 
     following veterans:
       (A) Veterans who are members of Indian tribes.
       (B) Veterans who live in rural or highly rural areas.
       (5) An analysis of how each realignment will impact access 
     to and enrollment in posttraumatic stress disorder programs 
     and residential rehabilitation treatment programs of the 
     Department and the capacity of such programs to provide 
     services within each Veterans Integrated Service Network and 
     nationally.
       (b) The actions described in this subsection are the 
     following:
       (1) The closure of a medical facility of the Department.
       (2) The use of any funds of the Department to prepare any 
     environment impact statement that is related to the closure 
     of a medical facility of the Department.
       (3) Any action that--
       (A) diminishes the ability of veterans to receive health 
     care from the Department, or diminishes the quality of such 
     health care; and
       (B) is related to the closure of a medical facility of the 
     Department.
       (c) In this section--
       (1) the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
       (2) the term ``Indian tribe'' has the meaning given that 
     term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
     Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
                                 ______