[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 23, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H7179-H7181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY VETERANS' HEALTH INITIATIVE ACT

  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 617) to authorize the Department of Energy to 
conduct collaborative research with the Department of Veterans Affairs 
in order to improve healthcare services for veterans in the United 
States, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 617

       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 Energy 
     Veterans' Health Initiative Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
     Department of Energy.
       (2) National laboratory.--The term ``National Laboratory'' 
     has the meaning given that term in section 2 of the Energy 
     Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
       (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Energy.

     SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

       The purposes of this Act are to advance Department of 
     Energy expertise in artificial intelligence and high-
     performance computing in order to improve health outcomes for 
     veteran populations by--
       (1) supporting basic research through the application of 
     artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, modeling 
     and simulation, machine learning, and large-scale data 
     analytics to identify and solve outcome-defined challenges in 
     the health sciences;
       (2) maximizing the impact of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs' health and genomics data housed at the National 
     Laboratories, as well as data from other sources, on science, 
     innovation, and health care outcomes through the use and 
     advancement of artificial intelligence and high-performance 
     computing capabilities of the Department of Energy;
       (3) promoting collaborative research through the 
     establishment of partnerships to improve data sharing between 
     Federal agencies, National Laboratories, institutions of 
     higher education, and nonprofit institutions;
       (4) establishing multiple scientific computing user 
     facilities to house and provision available data to foster 
     transformational outcomes; and
       (5) driving the development of technology to improve 
     artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and 
     networking relevant to mission applications of the Department 
     of Energy, including modeling, simulation, machine learning, 
     and advanced data analytics.

     SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY VETERANS HEALTH RESEARCH AND 
                   DEVELOPMENT.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish and carry 
     out a research program in artificial intelligence and high-
     performance computing, focused on the development of tools to 
     solve big data challenges associated with veteran's 
     healthcare, and to support the efforts of the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs to identify potential health risks and 
     challenges utilizing data on long-term healthcare, health 
     risks, and genomic data collected from veteran populations. 
     The Secretary shall carry out this program through a 
     competitive, merit-reviewed process, and consider 
     applications from National Laboratories, institutions of 
     higher education, multi-institutional collaborations, and 
     other appropriate entities.
       (b) Program Components.--In carrying out the program 
     established under subsection (a), the Secretary may--
       (1) conduct basic research in modeling and simulation, 
     machine learning, large-scale data analytics, and predictive 
     analysis in order to develop novel or optimized algorithms 
     for prediction of disease treatment and recovery;
       (2) develop methods to accommodate large data sets with 
     variable quality and scale, and to provide insight and models 
     for complex systems;
       (3) develop new approaches and maximize the use of 
     algorithms developed through artificial intelligence, machine 
     learning, data analytics, natural language processing, 
     modeling and simulation, and develop new algorithms suitable 
     for high-performance computing systems and large biomedical 
     data sets;
       (4) advance existing and construct new data enclaves 
     capable of securely storing data sets provided by the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, and 
     other sources; and
       (5) promote collaboration and data sharing between National 
     Laboratories, research entities, and user facilities of the 
     Department by providing the necessary access and secure data 
     transfer capabilities.
       (c) Coordination.--In carrying out the program required 
     under subsection (a), the Secretary is authorized to--
       (1) enter into memoranda of understanding in order to carry 
     out reimbursable agreements with the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs and other entities in order to maximize the 
     effectiveness of Department of Energy research and 
     development to improve veterans' healthcare;
       (2) consult with the Department of Veterans Affairs and 
     other Federal agencies as appropriate; and
       (3) ensure that data storage meets all privacy and security 
     requirements established by the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs, and that access to data is provided in accordance 
     with relevant Department of Veterans Affairs data access 
     policies, including informed consent.
       (d) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act,

[[Page H7180]]

     the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Science, 
     Space, and Technology and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
     of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Energy 
     and Natural Resources and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
     of the Senate, a report detailing the effectiveness of--
       (1) the interagency coordination between each Federal 
     agency involved in the research program carried out under 
     this section;
       (2) collaborative research achievements of the program; and
       (3) potential opportunities to expand the technical 
     capabilities of the Department.
       (e) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
     the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out this section 
     $27,000,000 during the period of fiscal years 2020 through 
     2024.

     SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to carry out 
     research, development, and demonstration activities to 
     develop tools to apply to big data that enable Federal 
     agencies, institutions of higher education, nonprofit 
     research organizations, and industry to better leverage the 
     capabilities of the Department to solve complex, big data 
     challenges. The Secretary shall carry out these activities 
     through a competitive, merit-reviewed process, and consider 
     applications from National Laboratories, institutions of 
     higher education, multi-institutional collaborations, and 
     other appropriate entities.
       (b) Activities.--In carrying out the research, development, 
     and demonstration activities authorized under subsection (a), 
     the Secretary may--
       (1) utilize all available mechanisms to prevent duplication 
     and coordinate research efforts across the Department;
       (2) establish multiple user facilities to serve as data 
     enclaves capable of securely storing data sets created by 
     Federal agencies, institutions of higher education, nonprofit 
     organizations, or industry at National Laboratories; and
       (3) promote collaboration and data sharing between National 
     Laboratories, research entities, and user facilities of the 
     Department by providing the necessary access and secure data 
     transfer capabilities.
       (c) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
     Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources of the Senate a report evaluating the effectiveness 
     of the activities authorized under subsection (a).
       (d) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
     the Secretary of Energy to carry out subsection (a) 
     $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2023.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Johnson) and the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
to include extraneous materials on H.R. 617, the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 617, the Department of 
Energy Veterans' Health Initiative Act. This bill authorizes the 
Department of Energy to conduct collaborative research with the 
Department of Veterans Affairs to address large and complex data 
management challenges associated with veterans' healthcare issues.
  H.R. 617 also authorizes the Department of Energy to support 
activities that will better enable other Federal agencies to leverage 
the Department's capabilities in developing advanced data analytics 
tools for a broad range of applications.
  I would like to thank the members of the Veterans' Affairs Committee 
for working with us to improve this legislation. I would also like to 
thank the bill's sponsor, Mr. Norman, for his hard work on this bill.
  Before I began my career in politics, I worked as a chief psychiatric 
nurse for the Dallas VA Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. In that 
position, I saw firsthand the unique healthcare needs of the veteran 
community. I believe the bill before us today will be a positive step 
toward tackling some of the critical problems that the VA is currently 
facing in providing our veterans with the care they deserve when they 
come home.
  I strongly support this bipartisan bill and encourage my colleagues 
to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Representative Norman's bill, H.R. 
617, the Department of Energy Veterans' Health Initiative Act.
  This bill authorizes a critical and ongoing partnership between the 
Department of Energy and the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve 
the way we diagnose and care for our veterans. This partnership, known 
as the MVP-CHAMPION initiative, allows DOE to support the VA in 
analyzing healthcare data.
  H.R. 617 formally authorizes this program, allowing VA researchers to 
gain access to DOE's high-performance computing research facilities and 
significant resources, including DOE's extensive expertise in data 
analysis and complex modeling.
  The VA currently collects genomic and healthcare data, including the 
deepest levels of DNA sequencing that allows for high-quality genomic 
research, from veterans who have volunteered for the program. This data 
is then securely transferred to DOE, where it is stored and analyzed in 
a secure site at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
  This partnership and exchange of data benefits both DOE and the VA. 
The rich and expansive dataset provided by the VA presents an 
incredible opportunity to train DOE's next-generation computing 
capacities to solve complex challenges; and with what they learn from 
this analysis, the VA can improve and better target health treatments 
for veterans.
  This data can help the VA make discoveries about the causes of 
various diseases and develop diagnostics to move more quickly to detect 
them in our veterans. It will also help the VA develop more effective 
treatments and improve treatment for critical medical needs.
  In return, by giving DOE access to such a large database of 
information, the VA will help DOE researchers improve their ability to 
develop next-generation computing systems, algorithms, and models, 
capacities that are critical in maintaining U.S. science and 
technological leadership.
  These enhanced capacities can then be applied in support of DOE's 
core mission areas and has the potential to enhance expertise in 
everything from biosciences and material designs to maintaining our 
nuclear weapons stockpile.
  With the next generation of supercomputers right around the corner, 
most notably, the computing systems that DOE is expected to field in 
2021, DOE will be able to tackle even bigger challenges after gaining 
expertise in solving big data problems like this.
  In short, the Department of Energy Veterans' Health Initiative Act 
will improve the healthcare for those men and women who have served our 
country. It also maximizes our Federal resources for facilitating 
collaboration, and gives other agencies, academia, and industry the 
chance to benefit from the Department of Energy's R&D expertise.
  I want to thank Representative Norman for championing this important 
collaboration, along with the basic research that will support our 
veterans and American innovation.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I 
continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from South 
Carolina (Mr. Norman).
  Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairwoman Johnson and 
Ranking Member Lucas for their support of this all-important bill.
  I rise in support of H.R. 617, the Department of Energy Veterans' 
Health Initiative Act.
  This legislation authorizes a partnership between the Department of 
Energy--the DOE--and the Department of Veterans Affairs--the VA--to 
conduct collaborative research in computing, artificial intelligence, 
and big data science in order to improve healthcare for all of our 
veterans.
  The VA hosts one of the largest and most valuable health datasets. 
Through its voluntary data collection program, entitled the Million 
Veterans Program, MVP, the VA has collected

[[Page H7181]]

detailed health information and genomic data volunteered by over 
600,000 veterans.

  But the VA simply doesn't have the computing power or expertise to 
analyze all of this complex data. In order to learn from their data and 
provide better healthcare for veterans, the VA needs access to more 
advanced computing capabilities, expertise, and infrastructure than is 
currently available at the agency.
  As a world leader in high-performance computing, the DOE is an ideal 
partner to help the VA meet this need. In its national laboratory 
system, DOE hosts 5 of the world's top 10 fastest supercomputers, 
including the fastest supercomputer in the world, Summit, at Oak Ridge 
National Laboratory.
  The DOE also funds research and computational sciences and data 
analytics, which can be used to solve a range of complex big data 
challenges in the physical sciences. The interagency partnership 
between DOE and the VA authorized by my bill is necessary to analyze 
this data and ultimately provide better care for our Nation's veterans.
  DOE has the capability to securely store, using supercomputers at the 
national labs, and analyze the VA's health data to look for patterns. 
Learning from these patterns can help us improve the medical treatments 
for heart disease, traumatic brain injury, and cancer.
  I think we can all agree that we should be taking any steps possible 
to improve the medical care of our men and women who have answered the 
call to serve. Not only does this bill take that step, but it has 
benefit in giving our scientists the ability to analyze complex data 
that will help America remain the world's leader in advanced computing.
  The bill also requires the DOE to establish data storage facilities 
to securely transmit and store data that the VA provides. This will 
make certain that privacy and security are maintained for veterans who 
volunteer for the programs.
  I am grateful that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle have been 
able to come together and move this bill forward. Providing better care 
for our veterans is a place where we can find common ground, especially 
since America's veterans fought to keep us all safe, regardless of our 
political party.
  In closing, I would like to thank my fellow Committee on Science, 
Space, and Technology members who cosponsored this legislation and the 
many veterans serving in the House who supported my bill. I also want 
to thank Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, who has been a strong advocate 
of this partnership.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' in favor of 
improving healthcare for veterans.
  Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Puerto Rico (Miss Gonzalez-Colon).
  Miss GONZALEZ-COLON of Puerto Rico. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking 
Member Lucas for yielding me the time.
  I rise in strong support of H.R. 617, the Department of Energy 
Veterans' Health Initiative Act, introduced by my colleague, 
Congressman Ralph Norman from South Carolina.
  I think this bill is very simple, but very essential at the same 
time. It essentially authorizes collaboration between the Department of 
Energy and the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a program 
that facilitates computing capabilities to process data on health 
issues affecting all of our veterans. The bill will subsequently 
support the Veterans Administration with identifying potential health 
risks and challenges that our communities have.
  I think it is important because combining those processing 
capabilities with health information compiled by the VA will help us to 
better understand the healthcare issues related to our veterans and the 
general population as well and ensures that both agencies will remain 
at the forefront of scientific and medical research.
  I am a proud cosponsor of this bill on behalf of our veterans. 
Actually, we have more than 90,000 veterans registered in Puerto Rico, 
and we are very grateful to Congressman Ralph Norman for introducing 
this bill.
  I want to also thank Chairwoman Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas for 
their great work together on behalf of the scientific community and our 
veterans.
  I urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.
  Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to 
close, since I have no additional speakers.
  Mr. Speaker, simply put, H.R. 617 harnesses the power of DOE's 
supercomputers to revolutionize the way we care for America's veterans.
  I want to thank Representative Norman for his leadership on this 
bill.
  I strongly encourage my colleagues to support this bipartisan 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to close by simply 
thanking all of the members of the full committee, as well as the 
staff, and to urge passage of this legislation, H.R. 617.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Johnson) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 617, 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.

                          ____________________