[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 24, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H7144-H7145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CREATION OF ON-SITE TREATMENT SYSTEMS
AFFORDING VETERANS IMPROVEMENTS AND NUMEROUS GENERAL SAFETY
ENHANCEMENTS ACT
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 5974) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
to use on-site regulated medical waste treatment systems at certain
Department of Veterans Affairs facilities, and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5974
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 ``Department of Veterans
Affairs Creation of On-Site Treatment Systems Affording
Veterans Improvements and Numerous General Safety
Enhancements Act'' or the ``VA COST SAVINGS Enhancements
Act''.
SEC. 2. USE OF ON-SITE REGULATED MEDICAL WASTE TREATMENT
SYSTEMS AT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
FACILITIES.
(a) Identification of Facilities.--The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall identify Department of Veterans
Affairs facilities that would benefit from cost savings
associated with the use of an on-site regulated medical waste
treatment system over a five-year period.
(b) Regulated Medical Waste Cost Analysis Model.--For
purposes of carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall
develop a uniform regulated medical waste cost analysis model
to be used to determine the cost savings associated with the
use of an on-site regulated medical waste treatment system at
Department facilities. Such model shall be designed to
calculate savings based on--
(1) the cost of treating regulated medical waste at an off-
site location under a contract with a non-Department entity,
compared to
(2) the cost of treating regulated medical waste on-site,
based on the equipment specification of treatment system
manufacturers, with capital costs amortized over a ten-year
period.
(c) Installation.--At each Department facility identified
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall secure, install,
and operate an on-site regulated medical waste treatment
system.
(d) Use of Blanket Purchase Agreement.--Any medical waste
treatment system purchased pursuant to this section shall be
purchased under the blanket purchase agreement known as the
``VHA Regulated Medical Waste On-Site Treatment Equipment
Systems Blanket Purchase Agreement'' or any successor,
contract, agreement, or other arrangement.
(e) Regulated Medical Waste Defined.--In this section, the
term ``regulated medical waste'' has the meaning given such
term under section 173.134(a)(5) of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations, concerning regulated medical waste and
infectious substances, or any successor regulation, except
that, in the case of an applicable State law that is more
expansive, the definition in the State law shall apply.
SEC. 3. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out the requirements of this Act. Such requirements
shall be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized to be
appropriated.
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 have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and insert 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. 5974, as amended, the
Department of Veterans Affairs Creation of On-Site Treatment Systems
Affording Veterans Improvements and Numerous General Safety
Enhancements, or, perhaps the most creative naming of a bill since I
have been in Congress, the VA COST SAVINGS Enhancements Act.
This bill will require VA to identify facilities that could benefit
from onsite medical waste management and, in those facilities, install
and operate onsite medical waste treatment capabilities.
The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention both consider onsite medical waste management to be a best
practice. However, only a relatively small percentage of VA medical
facilities have installed onsite sterilization equipment to date.
By considering which VA medical facilities could find value in onsite
medical waste management and making a deliberate effort to transition
those facilities away from off-site medical waste management
arrangements, VA could achieve considerable savings of taxpayer dollars
that could, in turn, be used to fund other VA initiatives. It would
also result in more VA facilities utilizing a waste disposal method
that is both safer and more environmentally friendly.
This bill is sponsored by Congressman Jeff Denham from California,
and I thank him for bringing this issue to the committee's attention. I
applaud the gentleman for his creativity in coming up with an acronym
for a bill of this size.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting it,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5974, as amended, the
Department of Veterans Affairs Creation of On-Site Treatment Systems
Affording Veterans Improvements and Numerous General Safety
Enhancements Act, otherwise known as the VA COST SAVINGS Enhancements
Act.
Mr. Speaker, the current funding issues currently surrounding VA are
evidence of the need for creative cost savings measures. I must thank
Representative Denham in identifying and championing one such creative
solution.
The VA COST SAVINGS Enhancements Act simply asks VHA to review its
current medical waste disposal system and determine whether hosting
this disposal onsite would result in cost savings over the next 5
years. If so, then the facility is required to implement onsite
disposal.
Onsite medical waste disposal is safer and far more efficient in most
cases, and this bill would simply require VHA to ensure they are
achieving the safest and most cost-effective method of medical waste
disposal.
Again, I thank Representative Denham for his work on the bill, and I
[[Page H7145]]
urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the measure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from California (Mr. Denham), who is my friend and a fellow veteran.
Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and ranking member for
their support of H.R. 5974, the VA COST SAVINGS Enhancements Act.
This bipartisan bill improves care for our veterans. It also ensures
that the VA is using the latest cost-saving technology. It directs the
VA to install onsite medical waste treatment systems in facilities
where this will result in a cost savings within 5 years. Systemwide,
this will save the VA millions of dollars each year and directly
improve safety and healthcare for our veterans.
In addition to the significant cost savings, this technology is safer
and increases crisis readiness. Safety is paramount when caring for our
vets, and treating waste onsite prevents the spread of dangerous
infections. Both the CDC and the World Health Organization recommend
this technology, and this policy brings the VA in line with recommended
practices for private medicine.
Likewise, in the event of an earthquake or a wildfire, which we saw
in California, transportation infrastructure can be compromised and
prevent hazardous waste from being trucked to a disposal site or
through a city. We need to make sure that this is handled onsite. In a
disaster scenario like this, treating waste is critical to preventing
an outbreak and keeping the facility actually up and running without
huge backloads of the waste.
Our veterans deserve the highest quality of care. This technology
improves crisis-readiness and is safer, more efficient, more cost
effective, and more environmentally friendly than traditional medical
waste disposal. Installing these machines will immediately begin saving
the VA millions of dollars per year and directly improve care for our
veterans.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5974.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I ask my
colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 5974, as amended, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.
At this time, I want to thank both minority and majority staffs for
the hard work they have done on these eight bills. We once again have
shown that we can work in a bipartisan way and close many loopholes
that no one ever attempted in previous law or just common sense, like
when a spouse has lost their loved one to be free to move along with a
cable bill or a lease and other issues that we have dealt with here
today.
I want to thank Mr. Takano, Mr. Walz, the staff on the minority side,
and the staff on the majority side for the hard work that they have
done on all of these bills. The committee will continue to move forward
with other bills later in the year.
Mr. Speaker, I once again encourage all Members to support H.R. 5974,
as amended, and 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. 5974, 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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