PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Congressional Research Service
Version 36 · Passed House amended · Sep 13, 2006
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facility Authorization Act of 2006 - (Sec. 2) Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a major medical facility project (project) for restoration of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Biloxi, Mississippi.
(Sec. 3) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement with: (1) Louisiana State University to design, construct, and operate a joint-use medical facility in or near New Orleans, Louisiana, to replace the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New Orleans damaged by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005; and (2) the Medical University of South Carolina to design, construct, and operate a joint-use medical facility in Charleston, South Carolina, to replace the Ralph H. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Charleston.
(Sec. 5) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement to purchase a site for the replacement of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Denver, Colorado. Requires a report from the Secretary to the congressional veterans' committees on options available for the replacement facility.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
(Sec. 6) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out specified projects in connection with the Capital Asset Realignment Initiative (Initiative) in Alaska, California, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
(Sec. 7) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out specified major medical facility leases in: (1) FY2006 in Indiana, Maryland, and Texas; and (2) FY2007 in Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, and Texas.
(Sec. 8) Authorizes appropriations for: (1) FY2006 projects; (2) projects under the Initiative; and (3) major medical facility leases.
(Sec. 9) Expresses the sense of Congress recognizing the need for veterans' medical facility improvements in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Requires a report from the Secretary to the veterans' committees on options available for replacing the current Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Juan.
(Sec. 10) Authorizes the Secretary to convey to the city of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, a portion of Tower Park in Fort Thomas.
(Sec. 11) Establishes in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) the position of Director, Construction and Facilities Management, with responsibility for: (1) construction and facilities management across the VA; and (2) all VA major and minor construction projects.
(Sec. 12) Directs the Secretary to submit to the veterans' committees: (1) a business plan for enhanced access to outpatient care for primary, mental health, and specialty care in the areas of Lewiston-Auburn, Houlton, and Dover-Foxcroft in Maine and Whiteside County, Illinois; and (2) a report identifying and outlining options available for the placement of a VA medical center in Okaloosa County, Florida.
People & committees
Rep. Brown, Henry E., Jr. [R-SC-1] · R–SC
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H6453-6455)
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H6453-6455)
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5815.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H6453-6459)
Mr. Buyer moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 382.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 109-643.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 109-643.
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Apr 7, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.5815 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.5815 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.5815 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.5815 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.