[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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