S4341Referred to Committee

Faster Department of Veterans Affairs Construction Act of 2026

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-04-16
Introduced
2
Cosponsors
S
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Jim Banks
Jim Banks
Republican · IN · Senator
Votes with party: 33.5% (319 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/B001299

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (2)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

2026-04-16

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

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Plain-English Summary

The Department of Veterans Affairs would be allowed to use building codes and standards from the private construction industry instead of or alongside federal government standards when building or renovating VA facilities like hospitals and clinics. This change could potentially speed up construction projects and reduce costs by giving the VA more flexibility in how it designs and builds facilities for veterans. The bill is currently under review by the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Armed Forces and National Security

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4341 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4341 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to use commercial codes and standards instead of or in addition to Federal codes and standards in the construction or alteration of facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 16 (legislative day, April 14), 2026 Mr. Banks (for himself and Ms. Hirono) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to use commercial codes and standards instead of or in addition to Federal codes and standards in the construction or alteration of facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Faster Department of Veterans Affairs Construction Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS USE OF COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION AND FACILITIES CODE AND STANDARDS. (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall use commercial codes and standards instead of or in addition to Federal codes and standards in the construction or alteration of facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, where such commercial codes and standards do not conflict with statutory and regulatory requirements. (b) Pilot Projects.--The Secretary shall undertake not fewer than three pilot projects during each of fiscal years 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, and 2031 utilizing commercial codes and standards instead of Federal codes and standards to lease or construct facilities of the Department for major construction, minor construction, or major lease projects. (c) Reports.--The Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives not later than 90 days after the end of each of fiscal years 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, and 2031 detailing the use by the Secretary of the authority provided by subsection (a) and conduct of each pilot project required by subsection (b) that was initiated, ongoing, or completed during the fiscal year. (d) Definitions.--In this section: (1) Commercial codes and standards.--The term ``commercial codes and standards'' means building codes or standards of the following: (A) The National Fire Protection Association. (B) The International Code Council. (C) The American Society for Testing and Materials. (D) The American Society of Civil Engineers. (E) Any other building code or standard, other than those described in paragraph (2), determined by the Secretary. (2) Federal codes and standards.--The term ``Federal codes and standards'' means the following: (A) Building codes or standards specific to one or more Federal agencies. (B) Building codes or standards specific to the Department, including the Technical Information Library. (C) Standards of the Federal Guidelines Institute. <all>
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