Va Design-Build Construction Enhancement Act of 2019
Floor Speech
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Mr. BANKS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my legislation, H.R. 3996, the VA Design-Build Construction Enhancement Act.
I first want to thank Mr. Perlmutter, my colleague on the other side of the aisle, for his tireless support and advocacy for veterans in the Denver area and beyond and for cosponsoring this legislation with me.
Design-build has proven itself to be an innovative and effective method for managing construction projects in the private sector and in some key Federal agencies. The most prominent application of design- build was to rebuild the Pentagon after 9/11, which was completed in less than 1 year.
VA has a multibillion-dollar backlog of construction projects but has never made much use of the design-build method, despite it being available for over 20 years. Unfortunately, one of the few times the VA did use a method similar to design-build was during the troubled Aurora, Colorado, replacement medical center project that we have already heard about today.
And as Dr. Roe noted, the VA only involved the construction contractor in the design decisions after the design was already complete. Design-build seems to have been given a bad name in the VA-- unfairly--as a result.
My legislation today makes it clear that design-build is available to the VA and encourages the Department to use it when appropriate, as is already stipulated by the law, and incorporates design-build training into the VA construction management curriculum.
Mr. Speaker, I want to make sure that the VA is using every available tool to deliver world-class facilities to our veterans. When used correctly, design-build can speed up construction and minimize costly change orders. That is exactly what we need in the VA, and I am committed to making sure that that happens.
Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I think this is commonsense legislation, and certainly we can avoid what happened in Denver. That thousand million dollars could have been spent on veterans' healthcare or benefits or other much-needed projects in the VA. We don't have an endless supply of money.
I certainly appreciate Mr. Banks' work on this.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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