,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #dcc #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ceic ,report ,no4 #aac-ehf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,november #ba1 #bjac ,mr4 ,coffman 7for himself and ,mrs4 ,kirkpatrick7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,september #ae1 #bjad ,additional sponsors3 ,mr4 ,gardner1 ,mr4 ,tipton1 ,mr4 ,lamborn1 ,mr4 ,roe of ,tennessee1 ,mr4 ,stivers1 and ,mr4 ,forbes ,september #ae1 #bjad ,committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union and ordered to be printed ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 to improve the construction of major medical facilities1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as ,the ,,va ,construction ,assistance ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,findings2 sense of ,congress 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,according to testimony by the ,director of ,physical ,infrastructure of the ,general ,accountability ,office before the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives in ,may #bjac1 schedule delays of major medical center construction projects of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs have averaged #ce months1 with the delays ranging from #ad months to #gd months4 7#b7 ,the average cost increase attributed to such delays has been #ccf1jjj1jjj per project4 7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the management of the major medical center construction projects of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs has been an abysmal failure2 7#b7 in order to minimize repeated delays and cost increases to such projects1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs should fully implement all recommendations made by the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states in an ,april #bjac report to improve construction procedures and practices of the ,department2 and 7#c7 management of the major medical facility projects currently underway as of the date of the enactment of this ,act in ,denver1 ,colorado1 ,orlando1 ,florida1 and ,new ,orleans1 ,louisiana1 should be subject to the oversight of a special project manager of the ,army ,corps of ,engineers that is independent of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4 #c4 ,implementation of major medical facility construction reforms ,section #hajd of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7i7 7#a7 ,with respect to each project described in paragraph 7#b71 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 use the services of a medical equipment planner as part of the architectural and engineering firm for the project2 7,b7 develop and use a project management plan to ensure clear and consistent communication among all parties2 7,c7 subject the project to construction peer excellence review2 7,d7 develop-- 7i7 a metrics program to enable the monitoring of change-order processing time2 and 7ii7 goals for the change-order process consistent with the best practices of other departments and agencies of the ,federal ,government2 and 7,e7 to the extent practicable1 use design-build processes to minimize multiple change orders4 7#b7 ,a project described in this paragraph is a construction or alteration project that is a major medical facility project4 4 #d4 ,special project manager for certain medical center construction projects 7a7 ,appointment of special project manager ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall enter into an agreement with the ,army ,corps of ,engineers to procure1 on a reimbursable basis1 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 #fj1jjj1jjj to oversee covered projects until the date on which the project is completed4 7b7 ,duties ,a special project manager appointed under subsection 7a7 to oversee a covered project shall-- 7#a7 conduct oversight of all construction-related operations at the project1 including with respect to-- 7,a7 the performance of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs involving the prime contractors2 and 7,b7 the compliance of the ,department with the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation1 including the ,,va ,acquisition ,regulation2 7#b7 advise and assist the ,department in any construction-related activity at the project1 including the approval of change-order requests for the purpose of achieving a timely completion of the project2 and 7#c7 recommend to the ,department best construction practices to improve operations for the project4 7c7 ,plans and report 7#a7 ,completion plans ,not later than #ij days after being appointed under subsection 7a71 a special project manager shall submit to the ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,senate detailed plans of the covered project for which the special project manager is so appointed4 7#b7 ,progress reports ,not later than #ahj days after being appointed under subsection 7a71 and each #ahj-;day period thereafter until the date on which the covered project is completed1 a special project manager shall submit to the ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,senate a report detailing the progress of the covered project for which the special project manager is so appointed4 ,each report shall include-- 7,a7 an analysis of all advice and assistance provided to the ,department under subsection 7b72 7,b7 an analysis of all changes ordered by the ,department with respect to the project1 or claimed to have been made by contract between the ,department and the prime contractor1 including the extent to which such changes comply with the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation1 including the ,,va ,acquisition ,regulation2 7,c7 an analysis of the communication and working relationship between the ,department and the prime contractor1 including any recommendations made by the prime contractor to aid in the completion of the project2 and 7,d7 identification of opportunities and recommendations with respect to improving the operation of any construction-related activity to reduce costs or complete the project in a more timely manner4 7d7 ,cooperation 7#a7 ,information ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall provide a special project manager appointed under subsection 7a7 with any necessary documents or information necessary for the special project manager to carry out subsections 7b7 and 7c74 7#b7 ,assistance ,upon request by the special project manager1 the ,secretary shall provide to the special project manager administrative assistance necessary for the special project manager to carry out subsections 7b7 and 7c74 7e7 ,covered projects defined ,in this section1 the term covered projects means each construction project that is a major medical facility project 7as defined in section #hajd7;a77#c77;,a7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code7 being carried out as of the date of the enactment of this ,act at the following locations3 7#a7 ,denver1 ,colorado4 7#b7 ,orlando1 ,florida4 7#c7 ,new ,orleans1 ,louisiana4 ,september #ae1 #bjad ,committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union and ordered to be printed