Veteran Artists Healing Act

Chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 8129 the following new section:

(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.

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: