[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7838 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7838

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a procurement 
    program to facilitate the ability of the medical centers of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs to make direct procurements of original 
    artwork from veterans who are patients, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 5, 2026

  Mr. Mills introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a procurement 
    program to facilitate the ability of the medical centers of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs to make direct procurements of original 
    artwork from veterans who are patients, 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 ``Veteran Artists Healing Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding after section 8129 the following new section:
``Sec. 8130. Direct purchases of original artwork from veterans 
              enrolled as patients
    ``(a) The Secretary shall carry out a procurement program under 
this section to facilitate the ability of the medical centers of the 
Department to make direct procurements of original artwork from 
veterans who are enrolled as patients.
    ``(b) Under the program, the Secretary shall ensure that the head 
of each medical center--
            ``(1) has the authority to make covered procurements; and
            ``(2) in exercising that authority, is not required to 
        obtain the approval of any official at the district, regional, 
        or Veterans Integrated Service Network level, except to the 
        extent such approval is required by law.
    ``(c) As used in this section, a `covered procurement' is a 
procurement--
            ``(1) under the micro-purchase authority in section 1902 of 
        title 41, United States Code;
            ``(2) directly from a veteran who, at the time of the 
        procurement, is a patient enrolled at the medical center and 
        has--
                    ``(A) a clinical recommendation for creative arts 
                therapy; or
                    ``(B) a history of participation in the National 
                Veterans Creative Arts Festival; and
            ``(3) of the veteran's own original artwork.
    ``(d) The head of a medical center may exercise the authority under 
this section only if--
            ``(1) the artwork is non-partisan and clinical in nature, 
        focusing on themes of recovery, nature, and service; and
            ``(2) the veteran certifies that the artwork is the 
        veteran's own original artwork.
    ``(e) The head of a medical center may make more than one covered 
procurement under this section from an individual veteran in a fiscal 
year but the aggregate amount of such procurements by that medical 
center from that veteran may not exceed $2,500 per fiscal year.
    ``(f) A covered procurement under this section--
            ``(1) shall be made without regard to whether the veteran 
        is registered in the System for Awards Management or certified 
        as a small business concern by the Small Business 
        Administration;
            ``(2) shall be treated as a procurement from a small 
        business concern owned and controlled by veterans for purposes 
        of contracting goals and priorities under sections 8127 and 
        8128 of this title; and
            ``(3) shall be made without regard to any requirement in 
        law, regulation, or policy that offers be obtained from 
        multiple sources or that awards be distributed in an equitable 
        manner, such as the requirements in section 1902(e) of title 
        41, United States Code, and section 15(j) of the Small Business 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 644(j)), as long as the price is determined to 
        be reasonable.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 81 of such title is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 8129 the following new item:

``8130. Direct purchases of original artwork from veterans enrolled as 
                            patients.''.
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