Department of Veterans Affairs other transaction authority and advance market commitments for technologies or services for provision of health care

Subchapter VI of chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code, as added by section 2 and amended by sections 3 and 6, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section: 8185. Other transaction authority (a) Authority The Secretary may enter into transactions (other than contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants) with nontraditional contractors to carry out extramural basic or applied research, or innovation development activities. Such authority may be exercised by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Innovation for activities aligned with the mission of the Veterans Health Administration Innovation Ecosystem. (b) Requirements The Secretary may enter into a transaction under subsection (a) to carry out extramural basic or applied research if each of the following criteria are met: (1) The research is not duplicative of other research being conducted by the Department under another program or through a contract, cooperative agreement, or grant. (2) The senior procurement executive has determined that entering into the transaction to carry out the research is appropriate. (3) The transaction will not exceed $5,000,000 (including all options), unless the senior procurement executive determines that exceeding such amount is appropriate. (4) Not less than 33 percent of the total cost of the research (regardless of the percentage of such total cost for which the transaction is funding) is paid for, or provided through nonmonetary contributions, by sources other than the Federal Government, unless the senior procurement executive determines that— (A) meeting such threshold for non-Federal sources of funding or contributions is not possible; and (B) carrying out the research without meeting such threshold is in the public interest. (5) In the case of transactions supporting innovation development activities described in subsection (a), the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Innovation certifies that such activities align with the goals of improving the delivery of health care for veterans, operational efficiency, or technology adoption, and do not require approval of the Institutional Review Board unless involving human subjects research as defined in part 16 of title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, or successor regulations. (c) Provision of information (1) Congress (A) Notification Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary enters into a transaction under this section, the Secretary shall notify the appropriate congressional committees of such transaction, including a copy of each determination made under subsection (b). (B) By request Upon the request of an appropriate congressional committee, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a copy of a transaction under this section or performance or financial information relating to such transaction. (2) Comptroller general of the United States With respect to transactions entered into under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that, upon request, the Comptroller General of the United States may examine records of any party to the transaction or any entity that participates in the performance of the transaction if such records are generated in the performance of the transaction or are directly related to the transaction. (d) Regulations The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section. (e) Termination The authority to enter into transactions under this section shall terminate on the date that is three years after the date of the enactment of the Acquisition Reform and Cost Assessment Act of 2025. (f) Definitions In this section: (1) The term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Subcommittees on Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs, and Related Agencies of the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Subcommittees on Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs, and Related Agencies of the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. (2) The term entity means a for-profit corporation, partnership, or single proprietorship, nonprofit organization, or university organized and having principal operations in the United States. (3) The terms extramural budget, research, and research and development have the meaning given those terms in subsection (e) of section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638). (4) The term innovation development activities means efforts to design, test, or implement new technologies, processes, or systems to improve health care delivery, operational efficiency, or veteran outcomes, including prototyping, pilot programs, and technology adoption initiatives, whether or not such efforts meet the definition of research under part 16 of title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, or successor regulations. (5) The term nontraditional contractor means an entity that is not currently performing and has never performed any contract or subcontract for any department or agency of the Federal Government. (6) The term senior procurement executive means the official of the Department designated under section 1702(c) of title 41. 8186. Advance market commitments for technologies or services for provision of health care (a) Authority The Secretary may enter into an advance market commitment under which the Secretary shall guarantee to purchase, for a predetermined price, a technology or service provided by an entity that addresses an unmet need in the provision of health care to veterans. (b) Requirements An advance market commitment entered into under subsection (a) shall include the following: (1) Clearly defined and transparent rules. (2) A clear definition of the technology or service to be provided, to ensure safety, effectiveness, and feasible delivery. (3) Dispute settlement mechanisms. (4) The ability to modify the terms of the commitment on the basis of new information regarding the number of veterans to be served with such technology or service. (c) Report Not later than 120 days after executing an advance market commitment under subsection (a), 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 the status and efficacy of such commitment..