[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 180 (Tuesday, November 12, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8760-H8761]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          VA DESIGN-BUILD CONSTRUCTION ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2019

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3996) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for 
certain requirements relating to the use of the design-build 
construction method for Department of Veterans Affairs construction 
projects, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3996

       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 ``VA Design-Build Construction 
     Enhancement Act of 2019''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE DESIGN-
                   BUILD CONSTRUCTION METHOD FOR DEPARTMENT OF 
                   VETERANS AFFAIRS CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The Inspector General of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs found that, in the Aurora, Colorado, replacement 
     medical center project, the Department decided to change its 
     acquisition strategy from traditional design-bid-build to 
     integrated-design and construct in the fourth year of the 
     project, which was too late for the integrated design-
     construction firm to provide effective input into the design.
       (2) In response to deficiencies in the Department's 
     management of the Aurora, Colorado, replacement medical 
     center project and in order to prevent reoccurrence of such 
     deficiencies in the future, Congress enacted section 8103 of 
     title 38, United States Code, which mandates that an 
     appropriate non-Department Federal entity take over 
     management of future super construction projects of the 
     Department, including project design, acquisition, 
     construction, and contract changes.
       (3) It has been the policy of the Federal Government since 
     the enactment of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (Public Law 
     104-106) that design-build shall be used when appropriate 
     circumstances are present.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the unsuccessful use of the integrated-design and 
     construct acquisition method in the Aurora, Colorado, 
     replacement medical center project should not be interpreted 
     to mean that design-build, as described in section 3309 of 
     title 41, United States Code, is unsuitable for construction 
     projects of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
       (2) when used properly by adequately trained acquisition 
     and construction management personnel and in the appropriate 
     circumstances, design-build is an effective construction 
     acquisition method for the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
     which has been demonstrated to reduce change orders, decrease 
     the duration between design completion and beneficial 
     occupancy, and increase warranty protections.

     SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS USE OF DESIGN-BUILD 
                   CONSTRUCTION METHOD.

       (a) Use of Design-Build Selection Procedures.--Section 8106 
     of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
     end the following new subsection:
       ``(d)(1) If the Secretary seeks to enter into a contract 
     for the design and construction of a building or facility, 
     the Secretary shall use the procedures established in section 
     3309 of title 41.
       ``(2) In the case of a super construction project for which 
     a non-Department Federal entity provides project management 
     services under section 8103(e) of this title, the Secretary 
     shall not discourage the entity from using the procedures 
     established in section 3309 of title 41.''.
       (b) Covered Certification Program.--Section 8103(g)(6)(A) 
     of such title is amended by inserting ``, including design-
     build construction'' before the period at the end.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Takano) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. David P. 
Roe) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to insert extraneous material on H.R. 3996.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3996, the VA Design-Build 
Construction Enhancement Act of 2019. This bipartisan bill encourages 
VA to use a method of managing construction projects termed design-
build in appropriate circumstances.
  In addition, this bill incorporates design-build training into the VA 
construction management curriculum. There have been multiple internal 
VA and Government Accountability Office reports that have been very 
critical, documenting serious delays in cost overruns in VA facility 
construction and other projects.
  At present, both veterans and taxpayers are suffering from the 
cumbersome VA construction process. I am confident this piece of 
legislation will help deliver state-of-the-art facilities to our 
veterans in a more effective and expeditious manner.
  Design-build is a proven way to deliver construction projects in a 
more efficient and timely manner. This method is widely used in the 
private sector, and it has been used in parts of the Federal Government 
for over 20 years.
  For those of you who are unfamiliar with this technique, design-build 
is a delivery method for construction projects that combines the 
architectural, engineering, and construction services into a single 
contract. It is an innovation from traditional design-bid-build 
construction, where design and construction are sequential and 
performed by different contractors, thus creating costly and lengthy 
timelines for delivering much-needed sites of care for our veterans.
  Over the years, the Department of Veterans Affairs has faced numerous 
challenges when it comes to managing construction projects. I am aware 
that some of these challenges are caused by Congress due to the time it 
takes to authorize and secure funds for new builds. However, a good 
portion of these construction challenges are self-inflicted.
  This committee is intimately aware of the Rocky Mountain Regional VA 
Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado. Not only was the opening of the new 
state-of-the-art medical center several years delayed, it was $1 
billion over budget. This is a tragic disservice to our Nation's 
veterans and taxpayers.
  Unfortunately, Aurora, Colorado, is only one of several examples of 
challenged VA construction projects. The VA is currently facing a 
multimillion-dollar backlog of construction projects. I am confident 
that a shift to design-build in appropriate circumstances could 
tremendously decrease the cost and shorten the length of time for VA 
construction projects.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H.R. 3996, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3996, the VA Design-
Build Construction Enhancement Act of 2019.
  This bill is sponsored by my good friend Congressman   Jim Banks from 
Indiana. Congressman Banks is a former chairman and current ranking 
member of the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization and a tireless 
advocate for his fellow veterans.
  His bill would encourage the use of the design-build construction 
method in the Department of Veterans Affairs by adding a reference to 
VA's construction statute, to existing government-

[[Page H8761]]

wide design-build construction procedures; prohibiting VA from 
discouraging other Federal agencies that manage construction projects 
on VA's behalf from using design-build; and incorporating design-build 
into VA's construction management training curriculum.
  Design-build is a construction delivery method that is characterized 
by combining architectural, engineering, and construction services into 
a single contract. Design-build has been used successfully across the 
Federal Government since the mid-1990s.
  When used appropriately, it can accelerate the completion of 
construction projects, reduce change orders, and increase warranty 
protections.
  However, design-build has been used infrequently by VA, particularly 
after it was unfairly blamed for the troubles that plagued the 
replacement medical center construction project in Aurora, Colorado, 
which is just outside of Denver, despite not being used until 4 years 
into that project when the majority of the design-build had already 
been completed.
  As the chairman said, that project was $1 billion over budget. And to 
put that in perspective for just regular folks like me out there where 
I live, that is 1,000 million dollars over budget. That is how much a 
billion is.

                              {time}  1730

  I believe that VA could have avoided these excessive change orders 
and other issues that caused the delays and cost overruns that came to 
characterize the Denver project had they incorporated design-build 
principles much earlier.
  Moving forward, I hope that the Department learns from the difficult 
lessons that Denver taught and does not shy away from using the design-
build method, when appropriate, to deliver high-quality construction 
projects to serve our Nation's veterans.
  I thank Congressman Banks for his work on this bill; and while I wish 
Chairman Takano had used regular order to bring it forward, I am 
pleased to support its passage today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I am prepared to 
close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Banks), my good friend. I have had a chance 
to visit his district and VA and talked to many groups in his district. 
There is no more passionate member of our committee than Congressman 
Banks.
  Mr. BANKS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my legislation, H.R. 
3996, the VA Design-Build Construction Enhancement Act.
  I first want to thank Mr. Perlmutter, my colleague on the other side 
of the aisle, for his tireless support and advocacy for veterans in the 
Denver area and beyond and for cosponsoring this legislation with me.
  Design-build has proven itself to be an innovative and effective 
method for managing construction projects in the private sector and in 
some key Federal agencies. The most prominent application of design-
build was to rebuild the Pentagon after 9/11, which was completed in 
less than 1 year.
  VA has a multibillion-dollar backlog of construction projects but has 
never made much use of the design-build method, despite it being 
available for over 20 years. Unfortunately, one of the few times the VA 
did use a method similar to design-build was during the troubled 
Aurora, Colorado, replacement medical center project that we have 
already heard about today.
  And as Dr. Roe noted, the VA only involved the construction 
contractor in the design decisions after the design was already 
complete. Design-build seems to have been given a bad name in the VA--
unfairly--as a result.
  My legislation today makes it clear that design-build is available to 
the VA and encourages the Department to use it when appropriate, as is 
already stipulated by the law, and incorporates design-build training 
into the VA construction management curriculum.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to make sure that the VA is using every available 
tool to deliver world-class facilities to our veterans. When used 
correctly, design-build can speed up construction and minimize costly 
change orders. That is exactly what we need in the VA, and I am 
committed to making sure that that happens.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I have no further 
speakers, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I think this is commonsense legislation, and certainly we can avoid 
what happened in Denver. That thousand million dollars could have been 
spent on veterans' healthcare or benefits or other much-needed projects 
in the VA. We don't have an endless supply of money.
  I certainly appreciate Mr. Banks' work on this.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, let me just say that, as a former community 
college trustee that had responsibility for overseeing many projects 
that were undertaken to build out the community college district, 
design-build was employed in those instances. And where appropriately 
used, I agree with the comments by my friends from the other side of 
the aisle that this can make future VA construction projects more 
efficient and more cost-effective for our taxpayers.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 
3996, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3996.
  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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