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.