#aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  ,h4   
,r4 #fag  ,,an ,,act  ,to authorize the 
,department of ,energy to conduct       
collaborative research with the         
,department of ,veterans ,affairs in    
order to improve healthcare services for
 veterans in the ,united ,states1 and   
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,department of ,energy ,veterans'       
,health ,initiative ,act4  #b4          
,definitions ,in this ,act3  7#a7       
,department ,the term ,department means 
the ,department of ,energy4  7#b7       
,national ,laboratory ,the term         
,national ,laboratory has the meaning   
given that term in section #b of the    
,energy ,policy ,act of #bjje 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #aehja74  7#c7 ,secretary ,the
 term ,secretary means the ,secretary of
 ,energy4  #c4 ,purposes ,the purposes  
of this ,act are to advance ,department 
of ,energy expertise in artificial      
intelligence and high-performance       
computing in order to improve health    

outcomes for veteran populations by--   
7#a7 supporting basic research through  
the application of artificial           
intelligence1 high-performance          
computing1 modeling and simulation1     
machine learning1 and large-scale data  
analytics to identify and solve         
outcome-defined challenges in the health
 sciences2  7#b7 maximizing the impact  
of the ,department of ,veterans         
,affairs' health and genomics data      
housed at the ,national ,laboratories1  
as well as data from other sources1 on  
science1 innovation1 and health care    
outcomes through the use and advancement
 of artificial intelligence and         
high-performance computing capabilities 
of the ,department of ,energy2  7#c7    
promoting collaborative research through
 the establishment of partnerships to   
improve data sharing between ,federal   
agencies1 ,national ,laboratories1      
institutions of higher education1 and   
nonprofit institutions2  7#d7           
establishing multiple scientific        

computing user facilities to house and  
provision available data to foster      
transformational outcomes2 and  7#e7    
driving the development of technology to
 improve artificial intelligence1       
high-performance computing1 and         
networking relevant to mission          
applications of the ,department of      
,energy1 including modeling1 simulation1
 machine learning1 and advanced data    
analytics4  #d4 ,department of ,energy  
veterans health research and development
  7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall 
establish and carry out a research      
program in artificial intelligence and  
high-performance computing1 focused on  
the development of tools to solve big   
data challenges associated with         
veteran's healthcare1 and to support the
 efforts of the ,department of ,veterans
 ,affairs to identify potential health  
risks and challenges utilizing data on  
long-term healthcare1 health risks1 and 
genomic data collected from veteran     
populations4 ,the ,secretary shall carry

 out this program through a competitive1
 merit-reviewed process1 and consider   
applications from ,national             
,laboratories1 institutions of higher   
education1 multi-institutional          
collaborations1 and other appropriate   
entities4  7b7 ,program components ,in  
carrying out the program established    
under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary    
may-- 7#a7 conduct basic research in    
modeling and simulation1 machine        
learning1 large-scale data analytics1   
and predictive analysis in order to     
develop novel or optimized algorithms   
for prediction of disease treatment and 
recovery2  7#b7 develop methods to      
accommodate large data sets with        
variable quality and scale1 and to      
provide insight and models for complex  
systems2  7#c7 develop new approaches   
and maximize the use of algorithms      
developed through artificial            
intelligence1 machine learning1 data    
analytics1 natural language processing1 
modeling and simulation1 and develop new

 algorithms suitable for                
high-performance computing systems and  
large biomedical data sets2  7#d7       
advance existing and construct new data 
enclaves capable of securely storing    
data sets provided by the ,department of
 ,veterans ,affairs1 ,department of     
,defense1 and other sources2 and  7#e7  
promote collaboration and data sharing  
between ,national ,laboratories1        
research entities1 and user facilities  
of the ,department by providing the     
necessary access and secure data        
transfer capabilities4  7c7             
,coordination ,in carrying out the      
program required under subsection 7a71  
the ,secretary is authorized to-- 7#a7  
enter into memoranda of understanding in
 order to carry out reimbursable        
agreements with the ,department of      
,veterans ,affairs and other entities in
 order to maximize the effectiveness of 
,department of ,energy research and     
development to improve veterans'        
healthcare2  7#b7 consult with the      

,department of ,veterans ,affairs and   
other ,federal agencies as appropriate2 
and  7#c7 ensure that data storage meets
 all privacy and security requirements  
established by the ,department of       
,veterans ,affairs1 and that access to  
data is provided in accordance with     
relevant ,department of ,veterans       
,affairs data access policies1 including
 informed consent4  7d7 ,report ,not    
later than #b years after the date of   
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary shall submit to the          
,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and     
,technology and the ,committee on       
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of    
,representatives1 and the ,committee on 
,energy and ,natural ,resources and the 
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the
 ,senate1 a report detailing the        
effectiveness of-- 7#a7 the interagency 
coordination between each ,federal      
agency involved in the research program 
carried out under this section2  7#b7   
collaborative research achievements of  

the program2 and  7#c7 potential        
opportunities to expand the technical   
capabilities of the ,department4  7e7   
,funding ,there are authorized to be    
appropriated to the ,secretary of       
,veterans ,affairs to carry out this    
section #bg1jjj1jjj during the period of
 fiscal years #bjbj through #bjbd4  #e4 
,interagency collaboration  7a7 ,in     
general ,the ,secretary is authorized to
 carry out research1 development1 and   
demonstration activities to develop     
tools to apply to big data that enable  
,federal agencies1 institutions of      
higher education1 nonprofit research    
organizations1 and industry to better   
leverage the capabilities of the        
,department to solve complex1 big data  
challenges4 ,the ,secretary shall carry 
out these activities through a          
competitive1 merit-reviewed process1 and
 consider applications from ,national   
,laboratories1 institutions of higher   
education1 multi-institutional          
collaborations1 and other appropriate   

entities4  7b7 ,activities ,in carrying 
out the research1 development1 and      
demonstration activities authorized     
under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary    
may-- 7#a7 utilize all available        
mechanisms to prevent duplication and   
coordinate research efforts across the  
,department2  7#b7 establish multiple   
user facilities to serve as data        
enclaves capable of securely storing    
data sets created by ,federal agencies1 
institutions of higher education1       
nonprofit organizations1 or industry at 
,national ,laboratories2 and  7#c7      
promote collaboration and data sharing  
between ,national ,laboratories1        
research entities1 and user facilities  
of the ,department by providing the     
necessary access and secure data        
transfer capabilities4  7c7 ,report ,not
 later than #b years after the date of  
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary shall submit to the          
,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and     
,technology of the ,house of            

,representatives and the ,committee on  
,energy and ,natural ,resources of the  
,senate a report evaluating the         
effectiveness of the activities         
authorized under subsection 7a74  7d7   
,funding ,there are authorized to be    
appropriated to the ,secretary of       
,energy to carry out subsection 7a7     
#ae1jjj1jjj for each of the fiscal years
 #bjbj through #bjbc4  ,passed the      
,house of ,representatives ,july #bc1   
#bjai4;,clerk4