,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #cbbd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,january #ba1  
#bjbj,mr4 ,cassidy 7for himself and ,mr4
 ,tester7 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 allow for the use
 of commercial institutional review     
boards for research1 and for other      
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,,va ,research      
,approval ,efficiency ,act of #bjbj4    
#b4 ,use by ,department of ,veterans    
,affairs of commercial institutional    
review boards in sponsored research     
trials  7a7 ,in general ,not later than 
#ij days after the date of the enactment
 of this ,act1 the ,secretary of        
,veterans ,affairs shall complete all   
necessary policy revisions within the   
directive of the ,veterans ,health      
,administration numbered #abjj4je and   
titled ,requirements for the ,protection

 of ,human ,subjects in ,research1 to   
allow sponsored clinical research of the
 ,department of ,veterans ,affairs to   
use accredited commercial institutional 
review boards to review research        
proposal protocols of the ,department4  
7b7 ,identification of review boards    
,not later than #ij days after the      
completion of the policy revisions under
 subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall-- 
7#a7 identify accredited commercial     
institutional review boards for use in  
connection with sponsored clinical      
research of the ,department2 and  7#b7  
establish a process to modify existing  
approvals in the event that a commercial
 institutional review board loses its   
accreditation during an ongoing clinical
 trial4  7c7 ,report  7#a7 ,in general  
,not later than #ij days after the      
completion of the policy revisions under
 subsection 7a71 and annually           
thereafter1 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 on all        
approvals of institutional review       
boards1 including central institutional 
review boards and commercial            
institutional review boards4  7#b7      
,elements ,the report required by       
paragraph 7#a7 shall include1 at a      
minimum1 the following3 7,a7 ,the name  
of each clinical trial with respect to  
which the use of an institutional review
 board has been approved4  7,b7 ,the    
institutional review board or           
institutional review boards used in the 
approval process for each clinical      
trial4  7,c7 ,the amount of time between
 submission and approval4  #c4 ,creation
 of ,office of ,research ,reviews within
 the ,office of ,information and        
,technology of the ,department of       
,veterans ,affairs  7a7 ,in general ,not
 later than one year after the date of  
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
establish within the ,office of         

,information and ,technology of the     
,department of ,veterans ,affairs an    
,office of ,research ,reviews 7in this  
section referred to as the ,office74    
7b7 ,elements ,the ,office shall do the 
following3 7#a7 ,perform centralized    
security reviews and complete security  
processes for approved research         
sponsored outside the ,department1 with 
a focus on multi-site clinical trials4  
7#b7 ,develop and maintain a list of    
commercially available software         
preferred for use in sponsored clinical 
trials of the ,department and ensure    
such list is maintained as part of the  
official approved software products list
 of the ,department4  7#c7 ,develop     
benchmarks for appropriate timelines for
 security reviews conducted by the      
,office4  7c7 ,report  7#a7 ,in general 
,not later than one year after the      
establishment of the ,office1 the       
,office shall submit to the ,committee  
on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate   
and the ,committee on ,veterans'        

,affairs of the ,house of               
,representatives a report on the        
activity of the ,office4  7#b7 ,elements
 ,the report required by paragraph 7#a7 
shall include the following3 7,a7 ,the  
number of security reviews completed4   
7,b7 ,the number of personnel assigned  
for performing the functions described  
in subsection 7b74