,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #hjj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,april #bd1 #bjac   
,mr4 ,cornyn introduced the following   
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs
  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the ,secretary 
of ,veterans ,affairs to ensure that the
 ,south ,texas ,department of ,veterans 
,affairs ,health ,care ,center at       
,harlingen1 located in ,harlingen1      
,texas1 includes a full-service         
inpatient health care facility of the   
,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 to   
redesignate such center1 and for other  
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,treto ,garza ,far  
,south ,texas ,veterans ,inpatient ,care
 ,act of #bjac4  #b4 ,inpatient health  
care facility at ,department of         
,veterans ,affairs medical facility in  
,harlingen1 ,texas  7a7 ,findings       
,congress makes the following findings3 
7#a7 ,the current and future health care
 needs of veterans residing in ,far     

,south ,texas are not being fully met by
 the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4 
7#b7 ,according to recent census data1  
more than #ajh1jjj veterans reside in   
,far ,south ,texas4  7#c7 ,travel times 
for veterans from the ,valley ,coastal  
,bend area from their homes to the      
nearest ,department of ,veterans        
,affairs hospital for acute inpatient   
health care can exceed six hours4  7#d7 
,even with the significant travel times1
 veterans from ,far ,south ,texas       
demonstrate a high demand for health    
care services from the ,department of   
,veterans ,affairs4  7#e7 ,ongoing      
overseas deployments of members of the  
,armed ,forces from ,texas1 including   
members of the ,armed ,forces on active 
duty1 members of the ,texas ,national   
,guard1 and members of the other reserve
 components of the ,armed ,forces1 will 
continue to increase demand for medical 
services provided by the ,department of 
,veterans ,affairs4  7#f7 ,the          
,department of ,veterans ,affairs       

employs an annual ,strategic ,capital   
,investment ,planning process to enable 
the ,,va to continually adapt to changes
 in demographics1 medical and           
information technology1 and health care 
delivery1 which results in the          
development of a multi-year investment  
plan that determines where gaps in      
services exist or are projected and     
develops an appropriate solution to meet
 those gaps4  7#g7 ,according to the    
,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 final
 approval of the ,strategic ,capital    
,investment ,planning priority list     
serves as the building block of the     
annual budget request for the           
,department4  7#h7 ,arturo ,treto       
,garza1 a veteran who served in the     
,marine ,corps1 rose to the rank of     
,sergeant1 and served two tours in the  
,vietnam ,war1 passed away on ,october  
#c1 #bjab4  7#i7 ,treto ,garza1 who was 
also a former co-chairman of the        
,veterans ,alliance of the ,rio ,grande 
,valley1 tirelessly fought to improve   

health care services for veterans in the
 ,rio ,grande ,valley1 with his efforts 
successfully leading to the creation of 
the ,south ,texas ,,va ,health ,care    
,center at ,harlingen1 located in       
,harlingen1 ,texas4  7b7 ,redesignation 
of ,south ,texas ,department of         
,veterans ,affairs ,health ,care ,center
  7#a7 ,in general ,the ,south ,texas   
,department of ,veterans ,affairs       
,health ,care ,center at ,harlingen1    
located in ,harlingen1 ,texas1 is       
redesignated as the ,treto ,garza ,south
 ,texas ,department of ,veterans        
,affairs ,health ,care ,center4  7#b7   
,references ,any reference in a law1    
map1 regulation1 document1 paper1 or    
other record of the ,united ,states to  
the medical facility of the ,department 
of ,veterans ,affairs referred to in    
paragraph 7#a7 shall be deemed to be a  
reference to the ,treto ,garza ,south   
,texas ,department of ,veterans ,affairs
 ,health ,care ,center4  7c7            
,requirement of full-,service inpatient 

facility  7#a7 ,in general ,the         
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
ensure that the ,treto ,garza ,south    
,texas ,department of ,veterans ,affairs
 ,health ,care ,center includes a       
full-service inpatient health care      
facility of the ,department and shall   
modify the existing facility as         
necessary to meet that requirement4     
7#b7 ,plan to expand facility           
capabilities ,the ,secretary shall      
include in the annual ,strategic        
,capital ,investment ,plan of the       
,department a project to expand the     
capabilities of the ,treto ,garza ,south
 ,texas ,department of ,veterans        
,affairs ,health ,care ,center by adding
 the following3  7,a7 ,inpatient        
capability for #ej beds with appropriate
 administrative1 clinical1 diagnostic1  
and ancillary services needed for       
support4  7,b7 ,an urgent care center4  
7,c7 ,the capability to provide a full  
range of services to meet the needs of  
women veterans4  7d7 ,report to congress

 ,not later than #ahj days after the    
date of the enactment of this ,act1 the 
,secretary shall submit to the          
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the
 ,senate and the ,committee on          
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of    
,representatives a report detailing a   
plan to implement the requirements in   
subsection 7c71 including an estimate of
 the cost of required actions and the   
time necessary for the completion of    
those actions4  7e7 ,far ,south ,texas  
defined ,in this section1 the term ,far 
,south ,texas means the following       
counties in ,texas3 ,aransas1 ,bee1     
,brooks1 ,calhoun1 ,cameron1 ,de,witt1  
,dimmit1 ,duval1 ,goliad1 ,hidalgo1     
,jackson1 ,jim ,hogg1 ,jim ,wells1      
,kenedy1 ,kleberg1 ,nueces1 ,refugio1   
,san ,patricio1 ,starr1 ,victoria1      
,webb1 ,willacy1 ,zapata4