PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Apr 16, 2015
Department of Veterans Affairs Construction, Accountability, and Reform Act
This bill authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out the Aurora medical facility project to replace the VA Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado.
The Secretary may not pay any bonus during FY2015-FY2016.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
If the project to replace the VA Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado, is not completed by September 30, 2016, the Secretary may not pay any bonus until the date on which the Secretary certifies to Congress that such major medical facility project is fully operational. The aggregate amount of subsequent fiscal year bonuses is capped through FY2024.
The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the Secretary of the Army for the Army Corps of Engineers to carry out the design, contract, construction management, and other similar services for the Aurora project.
The Secretary is prohibited from carrying out any major medical facility project.
The Secretary of the Army, through the Chief of Engineers, shall carry out all major medical facility projects for the Department.
The Government Accountability Office shall review the Secretary's management of the Aurora project.
The Secretary must notify Congress at least 120 days (currently at least 30 days) before obligating funds for major medical facility projects that exceed authorized amounts.
People & committees
Sen. Gardner, Cory [R-CO] · R–CO
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 12, 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 S.997 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 S.997 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 S.997 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 S.997 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.