Reported in House

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8052 Reported in House (RH)]

<DOC>





                                                 Union Calendar No. 731
119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8052

                          [Report No. 119-834]

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to require that a sterile 
 processing technician of the Veterans Health Administration holds an 
    appropriate professional certification, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 24, 2026

   Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

                           September 24, 2026

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
 [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 
                               24, 2026]


_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to require that a sterile 
 processing technician of the Veterans Health Administration holds an 
    appropriate professional certification, 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 Infection Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. TEMPORARY PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT FOR STERILE 
              PROCESSING TECHNICIANS OF THE VETERANS HEALTH 
              ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Requirement.--To be eligible to be appointed to a sterile 
processing technician position (except for such a position that the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines is entry level), a person must 
be certified as a sterile processing technician by an accredited 
institution engaged in providing sterile processing technician training 
not later than two years after such an appointment.
    (b) Current Employees.--
            (1) Applicability.--Subsection (a) shall apply to a covered 
        employee on the day that is 18 months after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
            (2) Employee incentive scholarship program.--
                    (A) Requirement.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
                shall award to a covered employee a scholarship under 
                subchapter VI of chapter 76 of title 38, United States 
                Code, for certification described in section 
                7402(b)(14) of such title, as amended by subsection 
                (a).
                    (B) Period of obligated service.--Notwithstanding 
                section 7672(e) of such title, the period of obligated 
                service of a covered employee awarded a scholarship 
                pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be a period of one 
                day beginning on the day that the covered employee 
                receives such certification.
            (3) Covered employee defined.--In this subsection, the term 
        ``covered employee'' means a person--
                    (A) occupying a sterile processing technician 
                position in the Veterans Health Administration on the 
                date of the enactment of this Act; and
                    (B) who, on such date, is not certified as a 
                sterile processing technician by an accredited 
                institution engaged in providing sterile processing 
                technician training.
    (c) Termination.--This section shall have no effect after September 
30, 2028.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN LIMITS ON PAYMENTS OF PENSION.

    Section 5503(d)(7) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``January 31, 2033'' and inserting ``September 30, 2034''.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 731

119th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 8052

                          [Report No. 119-834]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to require that a sterile 
 processing technician of the Veterans Health Administration holds an 
    appropriate professional certification, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 24, 2026

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed