VA Construction Assistance Act of 2014
Latest action · Sep 17, 2014 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedNov 21, 2013
- Passed HouseSep 16, 2014
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
VA Construction Assistance Act of 2014 - (Sec. 2) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the management of the major medical center construction projects of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been an abysmal failure; and (2) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should fully implement all recommendations made by the Comptroller General in an April 2013 report to improve VA construction procedures.
(Sec. 3) Requires the Secretary, for any construction or alteration project that is a major medical facility project, to: (1) use the services of a medical equipment planner as part of the architectural and engineering firm for the project, (2) develop and use a project management plan to ensure clear and consistent communication among all parties, (3) subject the project to construction peer excellence review, (4) develop a metrics program to enable the monitoring of change-order processing time and goals for the change-order process consistent with the best practices of other federal agencies, and (5) use design-build processes to minimize multiple change orders.
(Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary to procure the services of the Army Corps of Engineers with respect to appointing not less than one special project manager who has experience in managing construction projects that exceed $60 million to oversee such covered projects until completion. Requires a special project manager to submit to specified congressional committees detailed plans of a covered project and progress reports, which shall include an analysis of all changes ordered by the VA and recommendations for improving the operation of any construction-related activity to reduce costs or complete the project in a more timely manner.
Defines "covered projects" to mean each construction project that is a major medical facility project that: (1) was the subject of a report by the Comptroller General (GAO) titled "Additional Actions Needed to Decrease Delays and Lower Costs of Major Medical-Facility Projects," published in April 2013; and (2) has not been activated to accept patients as of this Act's enactment.
(Sec. 5) Prohibits additional funds from being authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act.
Cosponsors 7
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Nov 21, 2013 to Jun 17, 2014; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-AZ | Ann Kirkpatrick | Original | Nov 21, 2013 |
| R-CO | Cory Gardner | Jan 7, 2014 | |
| R-CO | Scott R. Tipton | Feb 25, 2014 | |
| R-CO | Doug Lamborn | Feb 27, 2014 | |
| R-TN | David P. Roe | Apr 3, 2014 | |
| R-OH | Steve Stivers | Apr 28, 2014 | |
| R-VA | J. Randy Forbes | Jun 17, 2014 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Nov 21, 2013Markup Sep 10, 2014Reported Sep 15, 2014 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Dec 11, 2013Discharged Mar 7, 2014 | |
| Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee | Referred Mar 7, 2014Hearings Mar 25, 2014 | |
| Senate | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Sep 17, 2014 |
Actions 16
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 17, 2014Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- Sep 16, 2014Mr. Lamborn moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Sep 16, 2014Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H7581-7585)
- Sep 16, 2014DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3593.
- Sep 16, 2014Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H7581-7582)
- Sep 16, 2014Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Sep 15, 2014Reported by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 113-586.
- Sep 15, 2014Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 433.
- Sep 10, 2014Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Sep 10, 2014Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
- Mar 25, 2014Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- Mar 7, 2014Subcommittee on Health Discharged.
- Mar 7, 2014Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
- Dec 11, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Nov 21, 2013Introduced in House
- Nov 21, 2013Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H7581–H7585Text printed H7581 | Ann Kirkpatrick D-AZ, Corrine Brown D-FL, Doug Lamborn R-CO, Lee Terry R-NE, Mike Coffman R-CO | Sep 16, 2014 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Sep 12, 2014H.R. 3593, VA Construction Assistance Act of 2013As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on September 10, 2014
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H7356.
Printed hearings 3
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 113-65 | CONSTRUCTION CONUNDRUMS: A REVIEW OF CONTINUED DELAYS AND COST OVERRUNS AT THE REPLACEMENT AURORA, COLORADO, VAMC79 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Apr 22, 2014 |
| Serial No. 113-60 | LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON H.R. 3593, H.R. 4261, H.R. 4281 AND OTHER DRAFT LEGISLATION67 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Mar 26, 2014 |
| Serial No. 113-58 | LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON H.R. 3593, H.R. 4261, H.R. 4281 AND OTHER DRAFT LEGISLATION107 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Mar 25, 2014 |
Titles 4
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the construction of major medical facilities, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- VA Construction Assistance Act of 2013
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- VA Construction Assistance Act of 2013
- Short Titles as Passed House
- VA Construction Assistance Act of 2014
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Army Corps of Engineers
- Building construction
- Colorado
- Congressional oversight
- Department of Defense
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Florida
- Government buildings, facilities, and property
- Health facilities and institutions
- Louisiana
- Public contracts and procurement
- Veterans' medical care
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 17, 2014Referred in Senate
- Sep 16, 2014Engrossed in House
- Sep 15, 2014Reported in House
- Nov 21, 2013Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
