[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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