[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 23, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4676]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2985. Ms. CORTEZ MASTO submitted an amendment intended to be 
proposed by her to the bill H.R. 3944, making appropriations for 
military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related 
agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other 
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place in title II, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. PROHIBITION ON PRIVATIZATION OF VETERANS HEALTH 
                   CARE.

       (a) Prohibition.--None of the funds made available in this 
     title may be used to privatize, outsource, or transfer 
     ownership or control of any health care facility or service 
     of the Department of Veterans Affairs to a non-Department 
     entity.
       (b) Scope.--The prohibition under subsection (a) includes--
       (1) the permanent closure or downsizing of medical 
     facilities of the Department that results in the redirection 
     of care to non-Department providers; and
       (2) the use of limited staffing levels of the Department as 
     justification for increased reliance on non-Department care.
       (c) Privatize Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``privatize'' includes any action that reduces the 
     availability or scope of direct care provided by personnel of 
     the Department in facilities owned and operated by the 
     Department in favor of community care or private contracting, 
     except in cases where clinical access standards require it.
                                 ______