[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 85 (Monday, May 17, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2372-H2373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DIRECTING SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO SUBMIT A REPORT ON USE OF 
      CAMERAS IN MEDICAL CENTERS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1510) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit 
to Congress a report on the use of cameras in the medical centers of 
the Department of Veterans Affairs, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1510

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. REPORT ON USE OF CAMERAS IN MEDICAL FACILITIES OF 
                   THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

       (a) Report Required.--Not later than one year after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs, in collaboration with the Office of Operations, 
     Security, and Preparedness of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs, the Veterans Health Administration, and the Office 
     of Construction and Facilities Management of the Department, 
     shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
     Senate and the House of Representatives a report analyzing 
     the policies, use, and maintenance of cameras deployed by the 
     Department for patient safety and law enforcement at medical 
     facilities of the Department.
       (b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall 
     include the following:
       (1) A comprehensive review of the policies and procedures 
     of the Department regarding the use and maintenance of 
     cameras with respect to the following:
       (A) Patient safety, including--
       (i) an analysis of how cameras are used to monitor staff 
     and patients;
       (ii) an analysis of the specific units within medical 
     facilities in which the use of cameras is prioritized to 
     protect patient safety;

[[Page H2373]]

       (iii) an analysis of the procedures regarding the 
     positioning of cameras;
       (iv) an analysis of the extent to which cameras monitor 
     locations where drugs are stored to ensure that drugs are 
     accounted for, and an assessment of whether this is a widely 
     used practice; and
       (v) an analysis of the actions taken to preserve and 
     protect patient privacy.
       (B) Law enforcement of medical facilities of the 
     Department, including--
       (i) how exterior cameras are used;
       (ii) how interior cameras are used; and
       (iii) an analysis of locations, interior and exterior, in 
     which camera use is prioritized.
       (2) Recommendations of the Secretary to improve patient 
     safety and law enforcement, including--
       (A) the placement and maintenance of cameras;
       (B) the storage of data from such cameras;
       (C) the authority of supervisors at medical facilities of 
     the Department to review recordings from cameras;
       (D) the number of staff required to monitor live footage 
     from cameras at each medical facility of the Department;
       (E) the funding necessary to address shortfalls with 
     respect to cameras and the specific uses for such funding;
       (F) any additional actions required to preserve and protect 
     patient privacy; and
       (G) such other matters the Secretary determines 
     appropriate.
       (c) Camera Defined.--In this section, the term ``camera'' 
     means any video camera used in a medical facility of the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs for purposes of patient safety 
     or law enforcement, but does not include cameras used solely 
     by the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs to assist in criminal investigations conducted by the 
     Inspector General.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. TAKANO) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and insert extraneous material on H.R. 1510, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1510, the Veterans' Camera 
Reporting Act, introduced by Representative McKinley of West Virginia.
  This bill, as amended by the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 
requires VA to submit a report to Congress analyzing the Department's 
use and maintenance of video cameras for the purposes of patient safety 
and law enforcement within all of its medical facilities.
  Last Tuesday, a nursing assistant who was formerly employed at a VA 
hospital in West Virginia was sentenced to seven consecutive life 
sentences plus 20 years after she pleaded guilty to murdering seven 
veterans and assaulting an eighth veteran with intent to commit murder. 
She took insulin that she was not authorized to administer, and she 
injected it into veterans who did not need it, killing all eight of 
them.
  Following the sentencing last week, the VA Office of the Inspector 
General issued a report identifying numerous deficiencies in patient 
care and failures in VA oversight at the facility where these murders 
occurred. Among other things, the OIG found that there were no cameras 
in the ward where these events occurred, nor in the medication room 
where the insulin was stored, and there were no locks or other 
mechanisms for monitoring access to medication carts where insulin was 
also kept.
  There are no words to adequately express the horror and sorrow we 
feel about the heinous crimes committed against these veterans. We 
cannot imagine the pain the families have endured since evidence of 
these murders came to light nearly 3 years ago. We can only hope that 
last week's sentencing will help the victims' families begin to heal 
and to find a sense of closure.
  In Congress, we have a responsibility to help ensure that VA never 
allows something like this to happen again. Now, as an initial step, we 
need to better understand how VA uses video cameras for monitoring 
patient safety and physical security within its medical facilities. To 
that end, H.R. 1510 will require VA to submit a report summarizing how 
cameras are used to monitor staff and patients, the units within which 
cameras are prioritized, and how cameras are used to monitor drug 
storage. The report also must include recommendations on improving the 
use of cameras at VA, including whether the Department needs additional 
resources to install cameras for patient safety and law enforcement 
purposes.
  This bill will require VA's report to encompass all of its medical 
facilities nationwide. Drug diversion, assaults, harassment, suicides, 
and other patient safety incidents can occur at any VA medical 
facility, not just hospitals. VA operates more than 1,000 inpatient and 
outpatient facilities across the country. Congress needs a complete 
picture of the extent to which cameras are used across VA so that we 
can better assist the Department in addressing any shortfalls.
  Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in approving this 
important bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1510, as amended, the 
Veterans' Camera Reporting, or the VCR, Act. The VCR Act would require 
VA to assess how cameras are used for patient safety and law 
enforcement purposes in VA medical center facilities. It would also 
require VA to report to Congress about how camera use could be improved 
to make VA safer and more responsive to veterans' needs.
  I was proud to introduce this bill with Congressman   David McKinley 
of West Virginia and others earlier this year. We drafted it in 
response to a series of incidents across the country where missing or 
malfunctioning cameras played a role in serious lapses. In some of 
those incidents, veterans' lives were lost. Those tragedies have no 
place in the VA healthcare system. The VCR Act will help make sure they 
will never happen again.
  Most importantly, it will help ensure that veterans are safe seeking 
the care that they have earned. The VCR Act is a bipartisan bill. It is 
supported by the VA and the veterans service organizations, including 
The VFW and the Wounded Warrior Project. I am grateful for that 
support.
  Madam Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers. In closing, I 
ask all my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 1510, which cleared 
the committee unanimously. I can see no reason why any Member would 
vote against this bill.
  Madam Speaker, 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. 1510, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ROSENDALE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

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