VA Design-Build Construction Enhancement Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1846 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1846

     To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for certain 
   requirements relating to the use of the design-build construction 
 method for Department of Veterans Affairs construction projects, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 21, 2025

 Mr. Banks (for himself and Mr. Hickenlooper) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for certain 
   requirements relating to the use of the design-build construction 
 method for Department of Veterans Affairs construction projects, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``VA Design-Build Construction 
Enhancement Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE DESIGN-BUILD 
              CONSTRUCTION METHOD FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
              CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) It has been the policy of the Federal Government since 
        the enactment of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (divisions D and 
        E of Public Law 104-106) that design-build construction methods 
        shall be used when appropriate circumstances are present.
            (2) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs estimated in the 
        congressional justification of the fiscal year 2025 budget 
        request for the Department of Veterans Affairs that the cost to 
        implement the long term capital plan of the Department may be 
        as high as $184,000,000,0000, and that estimate has increased 
        in every successive fiscal year's budget request since the 
        origination of such estimate.
            (3) The Secretary expects to open the replacement medical 
        center of the Department in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2026, 
        which will be the first replacement medical center constructed 
        since the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center opened in 
        Aurora, Colorado, in July 2018.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) construction challenges with the Rocky Mountain 
        Regional VA Medical Center involving use of the integrated 
        design and construct acquisition method should not be 
        interpreted to mean that a design-build construction method, as 
        described in section 3309 of title 41, United States Code, is 
        unsuitable for construction projects of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs;
            (2) when used properly by adequately trained acquisition 
        and construction management personnel and in the appropriate 
        circumstances, a design-build construction method is an 
        effective construction acquisition method for the Department, 
        which has been demonstrated to reduce change orders, decrease 
        the duration between design completion and beneficial 
        occupancy, and increase warranty protections; and
            (3) in order to provide veterans with modern, high-quality 
        medical facilities, implement the long-term capital plan of the 
        Department, and reduce the size of the outstanding capital need 
        of the Department, it would be beneficial for the Secretary of 
        Veterans Affairs to accelerate the pace of medical center 
        construction and carry out such construction more efficiently, 
        including by making greater use of design-build construction 
        methods in accordance with the amendments made by this Act.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS USE OF DESIGN-BUILD CONSTRUCTION 
              METHOD.

    (a) Use of Design-Build Selection Procedures.--Section 8106 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(d)(1) If the Secretary seeks to enter into a contract for the 
design and construction of a building or facility, the Secretary shall 
use the procedures established in section 3309 of title 41.
    ``(2) In the case of a super construction project for which a non-
Department Federal entity provides project management services under 
section 8103(e) of this title, the Secretary shall not discourage the 
entity from using the procedures established in section 3309 of title 
41.''.
    (b) Covered Certification Program.--Section 8103(g)(6)(A) of such 
title is amended by inserting ``, including design-build construction'' 
before the period at the end.
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