[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 176 (Wednesday, December 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H7302-H7303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1415
AUTHORIZING DIRECTORS OF VETERANS INTEGRATED SERVICE NETWORKS TO ENTER 
             INTO CONTRACTS TO INVESTIGATE MEDICAL CENTERS

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 6435) to authorize the Directors of Veterans 
Integrated Service Networks of the Department of Veterans Affairs to 
enter into contracts with appropriate civilian accreditation entities 
or appropriate health care evaluation entities to investigate medical 
centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6435

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

     SECTION 1. AUTHORITY OF DIRECTORS OF VETERANS INTEGRATED 
                   SERVICE NETWORKS TO INVESTIGATE MEDICAL CENTERS 
                   OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

       (a) In General.--The Director of a Veterans Integrated 
     Service Network of the Department of Veterans Affairs may 
     contract with an appropriate entity specializing in civilian 
     accreditation or health care evaluation to investigate any 
     medical center within such Network to assess and report 
     deficiencies of the facilities at such medical center.
       (b) Coordination.--Before entering into any contract under 
     subsection (a), the Director of a Veterans Integrated Service 
     Network shall notify the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the 
     Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and 
     the Comptroller General of the United States for purposes of 
     coordinating any investigation conducted pursuant to such 
     contract with any other investigations or accreditations that 
     may be ongoing.
       (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
     construed--
       (1) to prevent the Office of the Inspector General of the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs from conducting any review, 
     audit, evaluation, or inspection regarding a topic for which 
     a review is conducted under subsection (a); or
       (2) to modify the requirement that employees of the 
     Department assist with any review, audit, evaluation, or 
     inspection conducted by the Office of the Inspector General 
     of the Department.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Roe) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 6435, a bill to authorize the 
Directors of Veterans Integrated Service Networks, or VISN, of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into contracts with appropriate 
civilian accreditation entities or appropriate health care evaluation 
entities to investigate VA medical centers.
  This bill would allow VISN directors to contract with an appropriate 
non-VA entity with expertise and civilian accreditation or healthcare 
evaluation to investigate any medical center within that director's 
catchment area.
  It is no secret that the last few years have been tumultuous for the 
VA healthcare system, beginning with the access and accountability 
crisis in Phoenix and across the country in 2014, and continuing to 
just last week when reports surfaced of potential infectious disease 
concerns at a troubled VA medical center in Tomah, Wisconsin.
  While the committee has an important oversight and investigative 
responsibility toward VA, as a Federal bureaucracy, VA is all too often 
charged with policing itself through internal watchdogs like the Office 
of Medical Inspector and the VA Office of Inspector General. However, 
despite all of our best efforts, waste, fraud, and abuse still persist 
and still continue to harm veterans throughout the VA healthcare 
system.
  H.R. 6435 would provide VA regional leadership yet another tool to 
root out deficiencies within the VA medical facilities while providing 
VISN directors the ability to work with an experienced, objective 
entity to assess a given VA medical center's operations and management.
  I believe this bill will empower VISN leaders to take a more active 
role in creating a culture of quality and accountability and lead to 
the provision of better, safer care to veteran patients.
  I am grateful to my friend and colleague Congressman Markwayne

[[Page H7303]]

Mullin of Oklahoma for sponsoring this legislation, and I encourage all 
of my colleagues to join me in supporting it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of this legislation by the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin).
  Ensuring VA delivers safe and high-quality health care to veterans is 
an important priority for this committee. This bill will allow Veterans 
Integrated Service Network directors to contract with civilian 
accreditation and healthcare evaluation organizations to inspect and 
investigate VA medical centers. This gives VA another tool to evaluate 
and improve the quality of care provided at its facilities.
  VA medical centers are routinely inspected and accredited by 
recognized organizations in the healthcare world, such as the Joint 
Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals and the Commission on 
Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. This bill would allow other 
organizations to inspect and accredit VA hospitals at VA's discretion.
  Since the VA inspector general and Government Accountability Office 
also routinely conduct investigations, inspections, and audits of VA 
medical facilities, I would like to emphasize that this bill requires 
both GAO and the IG to be notified when a VISN chooses to contract with 
civilian inspection and accreditation organizations.
  Coordination of efforts with GAO and the IG will avoid duplication 
and prevent the waste of taxpayer dollars. I also want to emphasize 
that this authority should not be used to replace the role of the IG 
and GAO in conducting investigations, inspections, and evaluations of 
VA medical facilities.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin), who brought this legislation to our 
committee.
  Mr. MULLIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman-elect Roe for yielding and 
for his work on the committee. I have no doubt that he will perform 
admirably in his new role, and I want to extend my appreciation to him 
and to Chairman Miller for their leadership in getting this bill to the 
floor for consideration.
  This bill is simple, so I will keep it short. All the bill does is 
authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs to contract with 
appropriate civilian healthcare accrediting or evaluating groups to 
investigate the VA medical centers.
  Our veterans deserve care equal to the finest civilian hospitals, so 
let's allow the VA to invite the people who evaluate and accredit those 
private hospitals to take a look at our VA medical centers when they 
have problems.
  This is a commonsense bill that will help improve the care of our 
veterans who need us the most. I urge passage of this bill.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support 
this important legislation and to join me in passing H.R. 6435.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, as Mr. Mullin said, this is a very 
commonsense piece of legislation.
  I worked in hospitals for almost four decades that had joint 
commission supervision. It is a good way. It is best for patient 
safety. With that, I encourage all Members to support this legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 6435.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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