S.Amdt. 5493

1. Adds SEC. 2842. REQUIREMENTS PERTAINING TO CONSTRUCTION OF WALTER REED NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, BETHESDA, MARYLAND on page 458, between lines 12 and 13

   Adds a sectionPrinted page

   Inserted: SEC. 2842. REQUIREMENTS PERTAINING TO CONSTRUCTION OF WALTER REED NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, BETHESDA, MARYLAND.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:

   Inserted: (1) Military personnel and their families, as well as veterans and retired military personnel living in the National Capital region, deserve to be treated in world class medical facilities.

   Inserted: (2) World class medical facilities are defined as incorporating the best practices of the premier private health facilities in the country as well as the collaborative input of military health care professionals into a design that supports the unique needs of military personnel and their families.

   Inserted: (3) The closure of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the resulting construction of the National Military Medical Center at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, and a new military hospital at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, offers the Department of Defense the opportunity to transition from antiquated existing facilities into world class medical centers providing the highest quality of joint service care for military personnel.

   Inserted: (4) Congress has supported a Department of Defense request to expedite the construction of the new facilities at Bethesda and Fort Belvoir in order to provide care in better facilities as quickly as possible.

   Inserted: (5) The Department of Defense has a responsibility to ensure that the expedited design and construction of such facilities do not result in degradation of the quality standards required for world class facilities.

   Inserted: (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that--

   Inserted: (1) the Secretary of Defense should immediately establish a panel consisting of medical facility design experts, military healthcare professionals, representatives of premier health care facilities in the United States, and patient representatives--

   Inserted: (A) to review conceptual design plans for the National Military Medical Center; and

   Inserted: (B) to advise the Secretary whether the design, in the view of the panel, will result in the goal of providing a world-class medical facility; and

   Inserted: (2) if the panel determines that the conceptual design plan will not meet such goal, the panel should, as soon as possible but in no case later than 15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, make recommendations for changes to those plans to ensure the construction of a world-class medical facility.

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   Inserted: (c) Milestone Schedule.--

   Inserted: (1) Preparation.--The Secretary of Defense shall prepare a complete milestone schedule for the closure of Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, the design and construction of replacement facilities at the National Naval Medical Center and Fort Belvoir, and the relocation of operations to the replacement facilities. The schedule shall include a detailed plan regarding how the Department of Defense will carry out the transition of operations between Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital and the replacement facilities.

   Inserted: (2) Submission.--The Secretary of Defense shall submit the milestone schedule and transition plan prepared under paragraph (1) to the congressional defense committees as soon as possible, but in no case later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

   Original wording

   On page 458, between lines 12 and 13, insert the following:

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As printed