[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 176 (Wednesday, December 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H7303-H7306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMMUNITIES HELPING INVEST THROUGH PROPERTY AND IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED FOR
VETERANS ACT OF 2016
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 5099) to establish a pilot program on partnership
agreements to construct new facilities for the Department of Veterans
Affairs, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5099
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 ``Communities Helping Invest
through Property and Improvements Needed for Veterans Act of
2016'' or the ``CHIP IN for Vets Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON ACCEPTANCE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS OF DONATED FACILITIES AND
RELATED IMPROVEMENTS.
(a) Pilot Program Authorized.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding sections 8103 and 8104 of
title 38, United States Code, the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs may carry out a pilot program under which the
Secretary may accept donations of the following property from
entities described in paragraph (2):
(A) Real property (including structures and equipment
associated therewith)--
(i) that includes a constructed facility; or
(ii) to be used as the site of a facility constructed by
the entity.
(B) A facility to be constructed by the entity on real
property of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(2) Entities described.--Entities described in this
paragraph are the following:
(A) A State or local authority.
(B) An organization that is described in section 501(c)(3)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.
(C) A limited liability corporation.
(D) A private entity.
(E) A donor or donor group.
(F) Any other non-Federal Government entity.
(3) Limitation.--The Secretary may accept not more than
five donations of real property and facility improvements
under the pilot program and as described in this section.
(b) Conditions for Acceptance of Property.--The Secretary
may accept the donation of a property described in subsection
(a)(1) under the pilot program only if--
(1) the property is--
(A) a property with respect to which funds have been
appropriated for a Department facility project; or
(B) a property identified as--
(i) meeting a need of the Department as part of the long-
range capital planning process of the Department; and
(ii) the location for a Department facility project that is
included on the Strategic Capital Investment Planning process
priority list in the most recent budget submitted to Congress
by the President pursuant to section 1105(a) of title 31,
United States Code; and
(2) an entity described in subsection (a)(2) has entered
into or is willing to enter into a formal agreement with the
Secretary in accordance with subsection (c) under which the
entity agrees to independently donate the real property,
improvements, goods, or services, for the Department facility
project in an amount acceptable to the Secretary and at no
additional cost to the Federal Government.
(c) Requirement to Enter Into an Agreement.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may accept real property and
improvements donated under the pilot program by an entity
described in subsection (a)(2) only if the entity enters into
a formal agreement with the Secretary that provides for--
(A) the donation of real property and improvements
(including structures and equipment associated therewith)
that includes a constructed facility; or
(B) the construction by the entity of a facility on--
(i) real property and improvements of the Department of
Veterans Affairs; or
(ii) real property and improvements donated to the
Department by the entity.
(2) Content of formal agreements.--With respect to an
entity described in subsection (a)(2) that seeks to enter
into a formal agreement under paragraph (1) of this
subsection that includes the construction by the entity of a
facility, the formal agreement shall provide for the
following:
(A) The entity shall conduct all necessary environmental
and historic preservation due diligence, shall comply with
all local zoning requirements (except for studies and
consultations required of the Department under Federal law),
and shall obtain all permits required in connection with the
construction of the facility.
(B) The entity shall use construction standards required of
the Department when designing, repairing, altering, or
building the facility, except to the extent the Secretary
determines otherwise, as permitted by applicable law.
(C) The entity shall provide the real property,
improvements, goods, or services in a manner described in
subsection (b)(2) sufficient to complete the construction of
the facility, at no additional cost to the Federal
Government.
(d) No Payment of Rent or Usage Fees.--The Secretary may
not pay rent, usage fees, or any other amounts to an entity
described in subsection (a)(2) or any other entity for
[[Page H7304]]
the use or occupancy of real property or improvements donated
under this section.
(e) Funding.--
(1) From department.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary may not provide funds to
help the entity finance, design, or construct a facility in
connection with real property and improvements donated under
the pilot program by an entity described in subsection (a)(2)
that are in addition to the funds appropriated for the
facility as of the date on which the Secretary and the entity
enter into a formal agreement under subsection (c) for the
donation of the real property and improvements.
(B) Terms and conditions.--The Secretary shall provide
funds pursuant to subparagraph (A) under such terms,
conditions, and schedule as the Secretary determines
appropriate.
(2) From entity.--An entity described in subsection (a)(2)
that is donating a facility constructed by the entity under
the pilot program shall be required, pursuant to a formal
agreement entered into under subsection (c), to provide other
funds in addition to the amounts provided by the Department
under paragraph (1) that are needed to complete construction
of the facility.
(f) Application.--An entity described in subsection (a)(2)
that seeks to donate real property and improvements under the
pilot program shall submit to the Secretary an application to
address needs relating to facilities of the Department,
including health care needs, identified in the Construction
and Long-Range Capital Plan of the Department, at such time,
in such manner, and containing such information as the
Secretary may require.
(g) Information on Donations and Related Projects.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall include in the budget
submitted to Congress by the President pursuant to section
1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, information
regarding real property and improvements donated under the
pilot program during the year preceding the submittal of the
budget and the status of facility projects relating to that
property.
(2) Elements.--Information submitted under paragraph (1)
shall provide a detailed status of donations of real property
and improvements conducted under the pilot program and
facility projects relating to that property, including the
percentage completion of the donations and projects.
(h) Biennial Report of Comptroller General of the United
States.--Not less frequently than once every two years until
the termination date set forth in subsection (i), the
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to
Congress a report on the donation agreements entered into
under the pilot program.
(i) Termination.--The authority for the Secretary to accept
donations under the pilot program shall terminate on the date
that is five years after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(j) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed as a limitation on the authority of the Secretary
to enter into other arrangements or agreements that are
authorized by law and not inconsistent with this section.
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 and add extraneous material.
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.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5099, as amended, the
Communities Helping Invest Through Property and Improvements Needed for
Veterans Act of 2016--and that is a mouthful--or the CHIP IN for Vets
Act of 2016. This bill, sponsored by our colleague Congressman Brad
Ashford from Nebraska, would authorize the Department of Veterans
Affairs to carry out a pilot program to accept from certain non-Federal
entities up to five donations of either real property that includes a
constructed facility or is to be used as a site of a facility
constructed by the entity, or a facility to be constructed by the
entity on VA real property. Such donation may be accepted only if it is
for a project for which funds have been appropriated for a VA facility
or is identified as meeting both a VA need as part of the Department's
long-range capital planning process and as the location for a VA
facility project that is included on the strategic capital investment
plan.
VA is one of our government's largest real property holders; and,
considering that the average age of a VA medical building is five times
older than the average age of a building in a nonprofit hospital
system, VA's capital needs continue to grow in both cost and
complexity. Meanwhile, the high-profile scandals and failures that VA's
construction and capital asset program has undergone have been well
publicized over the last few years.
In April of 2013, the Government Accountability Office found that
VA's major medical facility construction projects, which are already
costly, complicated endeavors, experienced cost increases ranging from
66 percent to 427 percent and schedule delays ranging from 14 months to
86 months. Needless to say, it is clear that the time to look for
innovative solutions to VA's capital needs is now.
Currently, VA has the authority to accept a donated facility if that
facility is already complete; however, it can be challenging to find
existing facilities that both meet demonstrated VA need and satisfy all
the requirements and mandates that a Federal facility must meet.
Allowing VA to accept unconditional donations of real property,
improvements, goods, or services from community donors, within certain
parameters, could provide a viable solution to meeting VA's capital
needs in an expedient, fiscally responsible manner while allowing
communities and individuals the opportunity to step up and contribute
in honor of their veteran friends and neighbors in a meaningful way.
As chairman in the 115th Congress, I look forward to continuing to
aggressively oversee VA's troubled construction program and to leave no
stones unturned when looking for new ways to ensure that VA has
facilities they need to provide the services our veterans require. I
believe that the pilot program could lay the foundation for doing just
that.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 5099, as amended, Communities Helping
Invest through Property and Improvements Needed for Veterans Act of
2016. Indeed, it is a mouthful but is a very, very important,
potentially transformative piece of legislation. Otherwise, we can
shorten it down to the CHIP IN for Vets Act of 2016, which was
introduced by my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Nebraska,
Brad Ashford. The bill is a testament to his hard work, as well as many
Members and staff on both sides of the Capitol, that we are considering
this bill today.
This bipartisan legislation will authorize a pilot program, allowing
the Department of Veterans Affairs to partner with nonprofit and
private donors to build VA hospitals, receive donated land, and acquire
other VA facilities so that the VA may continue to serve veterans.
Today there are generous donors and organizations ready to pitch in
and invest in their community's willingness to support and serve our
veterans. That is why we must take immediate action and pass H.R. 5099,
as amended.
This bill will permit the VA to accept facilities constructed by
donors, land where a future facility will be constructed by a donor,
and permit a donor to construct a facility on VA property under an
agreement to donate the facility to VA upon completion. It will also
preserve VA's authority to determine need by only allowing projects to
move forward under this program based on projects authorized and funded
by Congress or included on the VA's strategic capital investment
planning process priority list.
This bill is necessary not only because of the Federal Government's
significant budget constraints, but also so that VA has clear authority
to undertake these projects and accept donations for the acquisition of
facilities.
It also allows VA and Congress to determine whether this pilot
program that permits the VA and non-Federal organizations to combine
resources to construct facilities is a viable future model for the
funding and management of major and minor VA construction projects.
Thanks to the public-private partnerships this legislation will
foster, the VA will be able to take meaningful steps in improving its
capacity to provide our veterans the quality care they
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deserve at state-of-the-art VA facilities, all the while saving
American taxpayers millions of dollars in the process. It is the very
definition of a win-win situation.
Mr. Speaker, strengthening the VA and increasing its capacity to
provide and coordinate care is one of our highest priorities at the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and I am pleased to support H.R. 5099,
as amended, which will only improve VA's ability to do so.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry) for his comments.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, as we are about to conclude this
legislative session, I hope everyone here realizes the magnitude of
what this bill before us does.
Yes, we have got a lot going on. We are distracted. We are eager to
finish up business and start a transition period. But, as Congressman
Takano just said, this is transformative. This creates a blueprint of
the architecture for a 21st century VA. And why? As Congressman Roe
pointed out, we have had extreme difficulties and complexities and
problems in the VA with service delivery as well as budgetary cost
overruns.
{time} 1430
We have had for a very long time an aging hospital in Omaha. We have
had a community that is very eager to find a new innovative way out of
this problem. We have a pot of money that has been sitting here for a
very long time and will continue to sit here for a very long time
unless we become innovative, unless we do something different.
That is what Congressman Ashford has done with the rest of the
Federal delegation from Nebraska, including Senator Fischer. He has
come up with an innovative transformative model that will create a new
center of excellence based on a public-private partnership, using
existing Federal moneys, using a base of community support that has
already come forward looking to help the VA better integrate with the
private facilities that already exist in the community of Omaha, which
are quite extraordinary. As Congressman Takano said, this is a win-win-
win.
I want to congratulate my friend and colleague, Congressman Ashford,
for his extraordinary leadership and vision in this regard as well as
the integrity to stay with it until the very end. We have had some
complexities along the way, but it is my hope, Mr. Chairman,
particularly as you take over the reins of the entire committee, that
you will help us implement this rapidly, as I know you will, because it
is a transformative mechanism by which we are going to deliver the
highest and best possible care for our veterans back home.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Nebraska (Mr. Ashford), who had the tenacity to stick it through and
bring this legislation finally in this form to the floor.
Mr. ASHFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Takano, Chairman
Roe, certainly Chairman Miller, and Mr. Speaker for bringing this
important bill up for a vote today.
H.R. 5099, the CHIP IN for Vets Act, was introduced by myself and
others in the House and by my good friend and colleague, Senator Deb
Fischer, in the United States Senate. There is an identical bill in the
Senate awaiting action as we speak.
As has been suggested and mentioned, this bill allows for the
Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into donation agreements with
community groups in order to complete VA construction projects. This is
a new and innovative idea not necessarily brought to this body by
myself, but by so many other people, as has been mentioned, who have
worked on this bill for literally 2 years. I appreciate my good friend,
Congressman Fortenberry from Lincoln, Nebraska, for his comments and
his ability to hold me back from time to time as we proceeded down this
course.
I think when we started out with this process, what I was focused on
was the idea that in our own communities it is veterans who can make
those tough decisions as to what their needs are. Nobody better than
our veterans understands those needs. What this bill will allow us to
do is to combine community donors with veterans to actually involve
themselves together in the development of these projects. Certainly in
Omaha, in my community in Iowa, and Nebraska area, we have had a need
for such a renovated facility for many, many years.
My bill, I believe, empowers our veterans. It puts an end to the
decades-long wait for hundreds of thousands of veterans in my area who
have been promised new facilities. I think, as clearly as Congressman
Fortenberry, Ranking Member Takano, and Chairman Roe mentioned, that
this really does open up opportunities for VA facilities across the
entire country and starts the course moving forward.
Let me just conclude by thanking so many of you. I would be here much
longer than 5 minutes if I were going to name everyone, but certainly I
appreciate my cosponsors, Congressman Walz from Minnesota, Congressman
Fortenberry, Congressman Smith from Nebraska, Congressman Dave Young
from across the river in Iowa.
I thank Chairman Miller, who gave me the opportunity to discuss, even
on weekends, some of the positive elements of what we were trying to do
in Nebraska.
Lastly, thanks to the staff and certainly my staff leader on this
bill, Denise Fleming. I am going to be in the House only a few more
weeks, but I can't say that she is actually welcoming me leaving, but
she certainly has been a tenacious advocate and has worked very, very
hard.
There have been other staff members as well, and certainly they have
all added a tremendous amount to this bill: Christine Hill and Grace
Rodden most particularly.
Moving this bill ensures that Senator Fischer's bill, which is now in
the Senate, can move in the Senate and become law so we can begin this
project now. My friends in Omaha, in Nebraska, and Iowa are ready to
donate what is necessary to unleash, as Mr. Fortenberry suggests, the
money that has already been appropriated for our Omaha facility.
Lastly, I would like to thank the Secretary of the Veterans
Administration, Robert McDonald. I met Bob McDonald 2 years ago about
just now when I was coming in to Congress. I suggested to him that we
needed something to be done in Omaha, and I also suggested that I
thought that our donor community and our veterans community would work
together on an innovative public-private partnership to enable some
sort of new way, some sort of center of excellence to develop; and
certainly Secretary McDonald and his team have been great and have been
so incredibly helpful in moving this along.
Lastly, again, I thank my colleague and friend actually from our
years together in the unicameral legislature in Nebraska, Deb Fischer,
whose staff has been tireless and helpful in this matter.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman
from Iowa (Mr. Young), my good friend, to speak on this issue.
Mr. YOUNG of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak in support of
H.R. 5099, the bipartisan CHIP IN for Vets Act of 2016, which is
sponsored by my colleague from across the river, Congressman Brad
Ashford in Nebraska.
Our veterans make great sacrifices in defense of our freedoms, and it
is incumbent upon us to provide them with the best possible health care
when they return home.
Now, many of our Department of Veterans Affairs facilities are aging.
They are in need of upgrades and repair, some complete overhauls, yet
cost overruns and significant delays trouble VA construction programs
and hinder work on other VA facilities in need of improvements.
The CHIP IN for Vets Act of 2016 seeks to address some of these
problems by authorizing the VA to carry out a 5-year pilot program
examining the feasibility of leveraging private donations to construct
new VA facilities, that public-private partnership.
This is a new way of doing things and a unique opportunity for the
taxpayer and for veterans. This bill could help facilities--and it
will--like the Omaha VA Medical Center, which serve my constituents in
Iowa as well as those in Nebraska.
Now, I appreciate my colleague's work, Congressman Ashford, for
pushing this bill along. I was proud to sign
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on as a cosponsor. Congressman Ashford has shown great leadership and
tenacity in getting this bill over the finish line. That is what he
came here to do, to get things done.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
I want to add some more comments about the legislation that we are
about to pass. I concur in and associate myself with the remarks of my
colleague from Nebraska, Mr. Fortenberry. I certainly want to extend my
appreciation to the majority for its generosity of spirit in this
particular case. If there is anything that fills me with great hope
that we can restore the esteem of this great institution in the eyes of
the American people, it is when we pass legislation such as Mr.
Ashford's bill today. We rose above politics--both sides rose above
politics--to do the right thing for veterans. It was our regard for
veterans that brought us together. It is fitting that this action is
happening in the heartland of our country. This is no small measure
today. The American people do not really see the drama. It looks very
effortless about what we are going to do because it is going to be
voice voted. No real big drama is going to play out in front of
everybody, but I am going to tell you that Republicans and Democrats
worked together.
I want to congratulate and show my appreciation to my whip, Mr.
Hoyer. He worked his relationships with some Members on the other side
in the Senate, and it showed that we shouldn't be so hasty to move our
more senior Members so quickly out of their positions because these
relationships matter after so many years. I will go more into detail
with anyone who cares to know more about it later. Mr. McCarthy, of my
home State of California, my own Leader Pelosi, and staff on both sides
of the aisle worked tirelessly to bring this bill.
We are about to head home for the holiday season, and I can't think
of a greater gift that we can give--well, I can think of a lot of
greater gifts, but this is a very important gift that we are going to
give. It is truly a potentially transformative piece of legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time. I just want to
encourage all of my colleagues to support this important piece of
legislation and join me in passing H.R. 5099, as amended.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
I, too, want to associate myself with the remarks of all the speakers
and thank Mr. Ashford for his perseverance in bringing this, along with
Mr. Fortenberry on our side and Chairman Miller and Ranking Member
Takano. This is the way we are going to have to do this more. There is
a finite amount of money we have. There is a finite amount of money we
can provide for services, and looking for public-private partnerships,
as my city in Johnson City, Tennessee, is doing right now with other
projects. I think this is a model for what could go on in the country.
I have a CBOC in my district where the local mayor provided use at a
hospital for a dollar a year for the VA to have the VA facility there.
I think that is going on in Nebraska right now. They are trying to see
that happen. We need to be thinking about how we can provide these
facilities to serve these great veterans who have served our country.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this legislation.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois). 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. 5099, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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