Dive Brief:

• As Congress revs up to investigate the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), with its widely publicized delays in getting treatment for patients, a bill passed by the Senate would cover construction practices as well as medical care.
• Delays and cost overruns on VA projects have riled members of Congress and a Government Accountability Office review of four CA projects found costs had increased between 50% and 144% from what was planned.
• The House has passed a VA-review bill that does not address construction, so it will be up to negotiators whether buildings wind up on the radar in a final bill.

Dive Insight:

VA construction operations are being targeted in differ legislation that would fund projects, too. While proposing to raise funding for major – over $10 million – projects and cut it for minor projects, the House and Senate each have suggestions for exploring ways to do things better. A House report with the legislation suggests looking at sale-leaseback projects. A Senate committee wants the VA to get the Army Corps of Engineers to help it look at its "troubled projects" for ways to fix them.