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Faster Department of Veterans Affairs Construction Act of 2026
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.
Summary
This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to use commercial building codes and standards (such as those from the International Code Council or American Society of Civil Engineers) instead of or in addition to Federal codes when constructing or altering VA facilities, provided they do not conflict with statutory or regulatory requirements. The bill requires the VA to conduct at least three pilot projects each year from 2027 through 2031 using commercial codes and standards for major construction, minor construction, or major lease projects. The VA must submit annual reports to Congress by the end of each fiscal year detailing its use of this authority and the results of each pilot project. The goal is to test whether commercial codes can expedite VA facility construction or leasing projects.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN)
2 cosponsors
Actions (2)
- Apr 16, 2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. · senate
- Apr 16, 2026 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
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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