[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 9, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H616-H617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  LAKE BALDWIN VETERANS AFFAIRS OUTPATIENT CLINIC PROPERTY CONVEYANCE

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 4056) to authorize the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs to convey to the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs all 
right, title, and interest of the United States to the property known 
as ``The Community Living Center'' at the Lake Baldwin Veterans Affairs 
Outpatient Clinic, Orlando, Florida, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4056

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS LAND CONVEYANCE, 
                   LAKE BALDWIN VETERANS AFFAIRS OUTPATIENT 
                   CLINIC, ORLANDO, FLORIDA.

       (a) Conveyance Authorized.--The Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs shall convey to the Florida Department of Veterans 
     Affairs all right, title, and interest of the United States 
     in and to the property known as ``The Community Living 
     Center'', including any improvements thereon, which is part 
     of the Lake Baldwin Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic, 
     Orlando, Florida, located at 5201 Raymond Street, Orlando, 
     Florida.
       (b) Conditions of Conveyance.--The conveyance under 
     subsection (a) shall be subject to the following conditions:
       (1) The recipient shall agree to accept the conveyed real 
     property in its condition at the time of the conveyance.
       (2) The recipient shall agree not to apply the small house 
     design model of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of 
     Construction and Facilities Management Design Guide for 
     Community Living Centers to the conveyed real property.
       (c) Use of Property.--The deed of conveyance for the 
     parcels of real property conveyed under subsection (a) shall 
     provide that all of the property be used and maintained for 
     the sole purpose of providing nursing home, domiciliary, or 
     adult day health care to veterans.
       (d) Description of Property.--The exact acreage and legal 
     description of the parcels of real property conveyed under 
     subsection (a) shall be determined by surveys satisfactory to 
     the Secretary.
       (e) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may 
     require such additional terms and conditions in connection 
     with the conveyances under subsection (a) as the Secretary 
     considers appropriate to protect the interests of the United 
     States.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Miller) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to add any extraneous material they may have on H.R. 4056, 
as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4056, as amended, which was 
introduced by my colleague and fellow Floridian, Congressman Mica.
  This bill would authorize the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs 
to convey The Community Living Center on the Lake Baldwin campus in 
Orlando to the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs.
  This conveyance is in line with the VA's plans to repurpose the Lake 
Baldwin campus and would save VA from expending money, maintaining the 
property that the Department has no further use for while allowing this 
parcel of land to continue to be used in the service of our veterans.
  I am grateful to Congressman Mica for sponsoring this legislation.
  I would urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation, H.R. 4056, introduced by my colleague 
from Florida, Mr. John Mica, will authorize the VA to convey to the 
Florida Department of Veterans Affairs The Community Living Center at 
the Lake Baldwin Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Orlando, 
Florida.
  When the Orlando VA center is fully completed, it will include 134 
inpatient beds, an outpatient clinic, parking garage, chapel, and 
central energy plant.
  One of the first buildings opened at the Orlando VA Medical Center 
was the 120-bed Community Living Center and the 60-bed domiciliary. 
Both are now open and accepting veterans. With the new facilities, it 
is not necessary for the VA to keep two facilities open in close 
proximity.
  I am pleased that Mr. Mica was able to work with the Florida 
Department of Veterans Affairs to take over this facility and continue 
to serve the veterans of central Florida.
  Let me just say one other thing. I am just very impressed with the 
opening of this facility, the domiciliary, and also the clinic. We were 
able to get that facility open before the hospital opened, and it was 
taking veterans.
  In addition to that, the Department of Defense gave that facility to 
the Department of Veterans Affairs--institutional memory is very 
important--and I am just very pleased that we will continue to use this 
facility for veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Mica for bringing this before the 
House.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the 
gentleman from the Seventh District of Florida (Mr. Mica), who authored 
this piece of legislation.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank Chairman 
Miller and also thank Ranking Member Brown for their strong support in 
helping to expedite this legislation.
  This is a simple measure. It does transfer a vacant 120-bed VA 
nursing care building in Orlando's VA veteran Baldwin Park facility to 
the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, as the chairman described.
  As the ranking member mentioned, we actually have opened a 120-bed 
new facility to the south of Orlando and a 60-bed domiciliary unit also 
open now for nearly 2 years. Adjacent to that is a new hospital at Lake 
Nona.
  I think Ms. Brown was with me back in 1999 when this 120-bed nursing 
care facility was dedicated. The facility is not that old. It was 
closed 2 years ago when we opened the new facility, and the VA used 
that building and some of the rooms for transition for training for 
employment.
  Now the new hospital is open. The new 120-bed facility is open to the 
south and domiciliary unit. We have agreement from the State of Florida 
to take that facility. You might be interested to know why central 
Florida would want another veterans facility.

[[Page H617]]

  In some areas, there is a declining population. The chief financial 
officer of the State just announced that we had 1,000 new people come 
to Florida every day last year. We have now exceeded 20 million. Many 
of those are veterans, and they are settling in central Florida.
  We do have an agreement with the State of Florida to assume this 
facility. They can open it quicker. They can do it in a cost-effective 
manner for VA. They can take some of the burden off of the Federal VA, 
which we know has a full set of challenges right now.
  I want to thank VA Secretary McDonald. I also want to thank my 
colleagues in 2014, the ranking member, Ms. Brown; Mr. Webster; Mr. 
Grayson; and myself.
  We all wrote to Secretary Shinseki, the Secretary at that time, and 
asked that this be done. It has taken a little bit of time, but we are 
getting there.
  Again, I ask concurrence in passing H.R. 4056. It will expedite and 
make available the needed nursing homes with our aging veterans 
population and many thousands of veterans moving to the State of 
Florida and, particularly, central Florida.
  I thank you again for expediting this, and I ask for the House to 
concur in passing H.R. 4056.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I again thank Mr. Mica for his 
leadership in this area.
  I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 4056.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I, too, urge my colleagues to 
support H.R. 4056, as amended.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4056, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to direct 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to convey to the Florida Department 
of Veterans Affairs all right, title, and interest of the United States 
to the property known as `The Community Living Center' at the Lake 
Baldwin Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic, Orlando, Florida.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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