[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 100 (Thursday, May 28, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H2328-H2329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2020

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 3414) to authorize major medical facility projects for the 
Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2020, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 3414

       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 ``Major Medical Facility 
     Authorization Act of 2020''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY PROJECTS OF 
                   DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR FISCAL YEAR 
                   2020.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may 
     carry out the following major medical facility projects in 
     fiscal year 2020 at the locations specified and in an amount 
     for each project not to exceed the amount specified for such 
     location:
       (1) Construction of an outpatient clinic and national 
     cemetery in Alameda, California, in an amount not to exceed 
     $113,332,000.
       (2) Realignment and closure of the Livermore Campus in 
     Livermore, California, in an amount not to exceed 
     $311,730,000.
       (3) Construction of a new medical facility in Louisville, 
     Kentucky, in an amount not to exceed $860,000,000.
       (4) Construction relating to flood recovery of the medical 
     center in Manhattan, New York, in an amount not to exceed 
     $372,600,000.
       (5) Construction of a spinal cord injury building with a 
     community living center, including a parking garage, in San 
     Diego, California, in an amount not to exceed $230,840,000.
       (6) Completion of construction of a medical facility 
     project, including a parking garage, in San Juan, Puerto 
     Rico, in an amount not to exceed $307,000,000.
       (7) Construction of a new critical care center in West Los 
     Angeles, California, in an amount not to exceed $75,790,000.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for 
     fiscal year 2020 or the year in which funds are appropriated 
     for the Construction, Major Projects account, $2,271,292,000 
     for the projects authorized in subsection (a).

  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 may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to insert extraneous material on S. 3414.
  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 today in support of S. 3414, the Major Medical 
Facility Authorization Act of 2020.
  Each year the Department of Veterans Affairs submits an annual budget 
request to Congress, and then it is our job to authorize and 
appropriate the funding that VA needs to care for America's veterans 
and their families.
  Within that larger funding request is VA's request for funds to 
replace and modernize its medical facilities. This year's major 
construction requests total $2.27 billion, and will build a new 
critical care center in West Los Angeles, California; complete 
construction of a medical facility project in San Juan, Puerto Rico; 
construct a spinal cord injury center with a community living center in 
San Diego, California; complete flood recovery construction at the 
medical center in Manhattan, New York; and fully fund the medical 
facility replacement project in Louisville, Kentucky; as well as 
construct an outpatient clinic and a national cemetery in Alameda, 
California; and finally, realign the Livermore, California campus.
  Mr. Speaker, with a major construction need that totals more than $15 
billion, this authorization takes needed steps to reduce the backlog of 
major construction projects.
  It is no secret that VA's infrastructure is old. The average age of 
its facilities is 60. The Secretary of the VA himself, Secretary 
Wilkie, emphasized this point by making the statement: There are 
several VA facilities that Abraham Lincoln would recognize.

[[Page H2329]]

  Even with outdated facilities, the Annals of Internal Medicine found 
in a 2018 report that VA provides better care than private options in 
most cases. That is right. VA provides better care, even though they 
are working from outdated facilities. What would those findings look 
like if VA was competing with a modern infrastructure?
  Mr. Speaker, not only does VA provide better care, veterans want to 
use VA-delivered healthcare. A survey conducted by the Veterans of 
Foreign Wars found that 92 percent of veterans who participated in the 
survey responded that fixing VA facilities was the best way to improve 
VA's delivery of healthcare to veterans.
  Ninety percent of respondents who use VA stated they would recommend 
VA healthcare to another veteran.
  It is clear that veterans, given the option, want to preserve the VA 
healthcare system and feel that it is a quality option for veterans to 
receive care.
  Mr. Speaker, that is why I support S. 3414. I thank Senator Moran, 
the chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for 
prioritizing and passing this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  0930

  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 S. 3414, the VA Major Medical 
Facility Authorization Act. This bill is sponsored by my good friends 
on the other side of the Capitol, Chairman Jerry Moran and Ranking 
Member Jon Tester of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  This bill would authorize the construction of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs major medical facility projects in Kentucky, 
California, New York, and Puerto Rico. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown 
us the value of the VA healthcare system in serving not just our 
Nation's veterans, which is the Department's foremost responsibility, 
but also in supporting all Americans during times of crisis.
  The seven projects that would be authorized in this legislation have 
been requested by the administration in VA's most recent budget 
submission. They would increase access to high-quality care and 
services to veterans of all ages and eras. It would also ensure that VA 
is better able to fulfill the Department's important service training, 
research, and emergency response missions.
  Mr. Speaker, to associate myself with the chairman's remarks, Abraham 
Lincoln would recognize the VA medical center in my hometown, which was 
authorized right after the Civil War and opened in 1903 as an Old 
Soldiers' Home and now is a first-class VA medical center.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill. Mr. 
Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am 
prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I have no further 
speakers. I urge all of my colleagues to join in supporting this bill, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to vote 
``yes'' on passage of this important legislation, S. 3414, 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, S. 3414.
  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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