§ 8103 — Authority To Construct And Alter, And To Acquire Sites For, Medical Facilities

(a) Subject to section 8104 of this title, the Secretary— (1) may construct or alter any medical facility and may acquire, by purchase, lease, condemnation, donation, exchange, or otherwise, such land or interests in land as the Secretary considers necessary for use as the site for such construction or alteration; (2) may acquire, by purchase, lease, condemnation, donation, exchange, or otherwise, any facility (including the site of such facility) that the Secretary considers necessary for use as a medical facility; and (3) in order to assure compliance with section 8110(a)(2) of this title, in the case of any outpatient medical facility for which it is proposed to lease space and for which a qualified lessor and an appropriate leasing arrangement are available, shall execute a lease for such facility within 12 months after funds are made available for such purpose. (b) Whenever the Secretary considers it to be in the interest of the United States to construct a new medical facility to replace an existing medical facility, the Secretary (1) may demolish the existing facility and use the site on which it is located for the site of the new medical facility, or (2) if in the judgment of the Secretary it is more advantageous to construct such medical facility on a different site in the same locality, may exchange such existing facility and the site of such existing facility for the different site. (c) Whenever the Secretary determines that any site acquired for the construction of a medical facility is not suitable for that purpose, the Secretary may exchange such site for another site to be used for that purpose or may sell such site. (1) The Secretary may provide for the acquisition of not more than three facilities for the provision of outpatient services or nursing home care through lease-purchase arrangements on real property under the jurisdiction of the Department of Veterans Affairs. (A) In carrying out this subsection and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may lease, with or without compensation and for a period of not to exceed 35 years, to another party any of the real property described in paragraph (1) of this subsection. (B) Such real property shall be used as the site of a facility referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection— (i) constructed and owned by the lessee of such real property; and (ii) leased under paragraph (3)(A) of this subsection to the Department for such use and for such other activities as the Secretary determines are appropriate. (A) The Secretary may enter into a lease for the use of any facility described in paragraph (2)(B) of this subsection for not more than 35 years under such terms and conditions as may be in the best interests of the Department. (B) Each agreement to lease a facility under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall include a provision that— (i) the obligation of the United States to make payments under the agreement is subject to the availability of appropriations for that purpose; and (ii) the ownership of such facility shall vest in the United States at the end of such lease. (A) The Secretary may sublease any space in such a facility to another party at a rate not less than— (i) the rental rate paid by the Secretary for such space under paragraph (3) of this subsection; plus (ii) the amount the Secretary pays for the costs of administering such facility (including operation, maintenance, utility, and rehabilitation costs) which are attributable to such space. (B) In any such sublease, the Secretary shall include such terms relating to default and nonperformance as the Secretary considers appropriate to protect the interests of the United States. (5) The Secretary shall use the receipts of any payment for the lease of real property under paragraph (2) for the payment of the lease of a facility under paragraph (3). (6) The authority to enter into an agreement under this subsection— (A) shall not take effect until the Secretary has entered into agreements under section 316 of this title to carry out at least three collocations; and (B) shall expire on October 1, 1993. (1) In the case of any super construction project, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with an appropriate non-Department Federal entity to provide full project management services for the super construction project, including management over the project design, acquisition, construction, and contract changes. (2) An agreement entered into under paragraph (1) with a Federal entity shall provide that the Secretary shall reimburse the Federal entity for all costs associated with the provision of project management services under the agreement. (3) In this subsection, the term “super construction project” means a project for the construction, alteration, or acquisition of a medical facility involving a total expenditure of more than $100,000,000. (f) To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall use industry standards, standard designs, and best practices in carrying out the construction of medical facilities. (A) Not later than September 30 of the fiscal year following the fiscal year during which the VA Asset and Infrastructure Review Act of 2018 is enacted, the Secretary shall implement the covered training curriculum and the covered certification program. (B) In designing and implementing the covered training curriculum and the covered certification program under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall use as models existing training curricula and certification programs that have been established under chapter 87 of title 10, United States Code, as determined relevant by the Secretary. (2) The Secretary may develop the training curriculum under paragraph (1)(A) in a manner that provides such training in any combination of— (A) training provided in person; (B) training provided over an internet website; or (C) training provided by another department or agency of the Federal Government. (3) The Secretary may develop the certification program under paragraph (1)(A) in a manner that uses— (A) one level of certification; or (B) more than one level of certification, as determined appropriate by the Secretary with respect to the level of certification for different grades of the General Schedule. (4) The Secretary may enter into a contract with an appropriate entity to provide the covered training curriculum and the covered certification program under paragraph (1)(A). (A) Not later than September 30 of the second fiscal year following the fiscal year during which the VA Asset and Infrastructure Review Act of 2018 is enacted, the Secretary shall ensure that the majority of employees subject to the covered certification program achieve the certification or the appropriate level of certification pursuant to paragraph (3), as the case may be. (B) After carrying out subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall ensure that each employee subject to the covered certification program achieves the certification or the appropriate level of certification pursuant to paragraph (3), as the case may be, as quickly as practicable. (6) In this subsection: (A) The term “covered certification program” means, with respect to employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs who are members of occupational series relating to construction or facilities management, or employees of the Department who award or administer contracts for major construction, minor construction, or nonrecurring maintenance, including as contract specialists or contracting officers’ representatives, a program to certify knowledge and skills relating to construction or facilities management and to ensure that such employees maintain adequate expertise relating to industry standards and best practices for the acquisition of design and construction services. (B) The term “covered training curriculum” means, with respect to employees specified in subparagraph (A), a training curriculum relating to construction or facilities management. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law requiring the use of competitive procedures, including section 3301 of title 41, when the Secretary determines it to be in the best interest of the Department, the Secretary may enter into a lease with an academic affiliate or covered entity to acquire space for the purpose of providing health-care resources to veterans. (2) In this subsection: (A) The term “academic affiliate” means an institution or organization described in section 7302(d) of this title. (B) The term “covered entity” means a unit or subdivision of a State, local, or municipal government, public or nonprofit agency, institution, or organization, or other institution or organization as the Secretary considers appropriate that owns property controlled by an academic affiliate to be leased under this subsection. (C) The term “health-care resource” has the meaning given that term in section 8152(1) of this title. (D) The term “space” means any room, unit, floor, wing, building, parking facility, or other subdivision of a building or facility owned or controlled by an academic affiliate.