[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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