S.Amdt. 1631

SA 1631. Ms. MURKOWSKI submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 1463 proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities
of the Department of Defense and for military construction, to
prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:

SEC. 1085. MAINTENANCE BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OF
CERTAIN JOINT VENTURES WITH DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE.

(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b) and
notwithstanding the policy statement of the Department of
Veterans Affairs dated May 12, 2015, and entitled ``Veterans
Health Administration Hierarchy for Purchased Care'' or any
other policy of the Department relating to purchased care for
purposes of implementing section 101 of the Veterans Access,
Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-146;
38 U.S.C. 1701 note), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may
not--
(1) withdraw from any arrangement under which the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense jointly
operate a hospital;
(2) reduce or eliminate staffing, funding, or the provision
of other resources to a hospital that is so jointly operated;
or
(3) limit the access of veterans to any such hospital.
(b) Exception.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may carry
out an action listed in paragraphs (1) through (3) of
subsection (a) with respect to a hospital if the Secretary
submits a report to the Secretary of Defense, the appropriate
committees of Congress, and each Member of the Senate and the
House of Representatives who represents the State in which
the hospital is located--
(1) providing 180 days advance notice of the intent of the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out the action; and
(2) specifying the reasons of the Secretary for carrying
out the action.
(c) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress''
means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives.
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