# BUILD for Veterans Act of 2023: Plain Language Summary

This bill is about fixing how the Department of Veterans Affairs manages its buildings, land, and facilities so that veterans get better care. Right now, the VA struggles with managing its physical infrastructure—things like medical centers, clinics, maintenance, and construction projects. The bill tackles this problem by requiring the VA to hire more specialized staff, create better management systems, and develop detailed plans for improving and maintaining its facilities.

The core issue is that the VA's buildings and infrastructure are often outdated, poorly maintained, or not properly planned for future needs. Veterans sometimes show up to clinics that don't have the right equipment or space, dental services are inadequate, and long-term care facilities need upgrades. The bill requires the VA to hire dedicated teams at each medical center with expertise in facility planning, construction management, maintenance, property disposal, and engineering. These teams would work with veterans and medical staff to understand what improvements are needed and make sure projects actually get completed efficiently. The VA also has to create a staffing model that ensures every facility has enough qualified people to handle capital asset work, with more staff at larger or more complex facilities.

Beyond hiring, the bill requires the VA to develop comprehensive strategic plans and submit numerous reports to Congress about its infrastructure needs, climate resilience of facilities, dental and long-term care facility requirements, and how well capital projects are being managed. The VA must also improve how it handles waste and fraud in construction projects and better coordinate between different departments that handle building and technology needs. For veterans, this means the VA should eventually provide better facilities, shorter wait times for construction projects, and more input into what their local VA facilities should look like. The bill essentially creates accountability and structure where there currently isn't enough, forcing the VA to think long-term about infrastructure instead of handling problems as they arise.

BUILD for Veterans Act of 2023

Deluzio, Christopher R.

Build, Utilize, Invest, Learn, and Deliver for Veterans Act of 2023 or the BUILD for Veterans Act of 2023 This bill addresses Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) capital asset management, planning, and investment. Among other requirements, the VA must <ul> <li>ensure it has dedicated offices or entities and sufficient staff to conduct relevant critical responsibilities for the life cycle of capital asset management at the local, regional, and central office levels;</li> <li>establish a staffing model to ensure a minimum base level of capital asset staffing;</li> <li>develop goals and metrics to assess and improve the performance of VA capital asset management programs;</li> <li>comprehensively review the climate resilience of its facilities, land, and other relevant capital assets;</li> <li>submit the Strategic Plan to Improve VA's Delivery and Management of Capital Assets; and</li> <li>review all relevant authorities of the VA to determine whether the provisions are meaningful, relevant, and reflect current operational needs, organization structure, and all other necessary requirements for the full life cycle of effective and efficient management of capital assets.</li> </ul> The Inspector General of the VA must examine and report on the management and performance of relevant capital asset projects of the VA. The Government Accountability Office must review and report on the VA's progress toward meeting the goals, metrics, and other plans set forth in this bill. The bill also requires various reports from the VA relating to capital asset improvement and the implementation of capital asset directives (e.g., reports on the VA's physical infrastructure and information technology needs).