article: SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF FT. LYON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER, COLORADO, TO THE STATE OF COLORADO. (a) Conveyance Authorized.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law and subject to the provisions of this section, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may convey, without consideration, to the State of Colorado all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to a parcel of real property, including improvements thereon other than Kit Carson Chapel, consisting of approximately 512 acres and comprising the location of the Ft. Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The purpose of the conveyance is to permit the State of Colorado to utilize the property for purposes of a correctional facility. (b) Public Access.--(1) The Secretary may not make the conveyance of real property authorized by subsection (a) unless the State of Colorado agrees to provide appropriate public access to Kit Carson Chapel and the cemetery located on the real property. (2) The State of Colorado may satisfy the condition specified in paragraph (1) with respect to Kit Carson Chapel by relocating the chapel to Fort Lyon National Cemetery, Colorado, or another appropriate location jointly selected by the Secretary and the State of Colorado. (c) Replacement Facilities.--The Secretary may not make the conveyance authorized by subsection (a) until the date on which the Secretary opens not less than three health care facilities, and a nursing home care facility, in Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 19, which shall serve as replacement facilities for the Ft. Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. (d) Environmental Restoration.--The Secretary may not make the conveyance authorized by subsection (a) until the Secretary completes the evaluation and performance of any environmental restoration activities required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), and by any other provision of law. (e) Personal Property.--As part of the conveyance authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary may convey, without consideration, to the State of Colorado any furniture, fixtures, equipment, and other personal property associated with the property conveyed under that subsection that the Secretary determines is not required for purposes of the Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities to be established by the Secretary in southern Colorado or for purposes of Ft. Lyon National Cemetery. (f) Legal Description.--The exact acreage and legal description of the real property to be conveyed under subsection (a), and of any fixtures and other personal property conveyed under subsection (e), shall be determined by a survey, and by such other methods, as are satisfactory to the Secretary. Any costs associated with activities under this subsection shall be borne by the State of Colorado. (g) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may require such other terms and conditions in connection with the conveyances authorized by subsections (a) and (e) as the Secretary considers appropriate to protect the interests of the United States. SEC. 2. EFFECT OF CLOSURE OF FT. LYON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER ON ADMINISTRATION OF HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS. (a) Payment for Nursing Home Care.--Notwithstanding any limitation under section 1720 or 1741 of title 38, United States Code, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may pay the State of Colorado, or any private nursing home care facility, for costs incurred in providing nursing home care to any veteran who is relocated from the Ft. Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Colorado, to the State of Colorado or such private facility, as the case may be, as a result of the closure of the Ft. Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. (b) Obligation To Provide Extended Care Services.--Nothing in this Act may be construed to alter or otherwise effect the obligation of the Secretary to meet the requirements of section 1710B(b) of title 38, United States Code, relating to staffing and levels of extended care services in fiscal years after fiscal year 1998. (c) Extension of Voluntary Early Retirement Authority.-- Notwithstanding section 1109(a) of the Department of Veterans Affairs Employment Reduction Assistance Act of 1999 (title XI of Public Law 106-117; 113 Stat. 1599; 5 U.S.C. 5597 note), the authority to pay voluntary separation incentive payments under that Act to employees of the Ft. Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center shall apply to eligible employees (as defined by section 1110 of that Act) at the Ft. Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center whose separation occurs before June 30, 2001. (d) Report on Veterans Health Care in Southern Colorado.--Not later than one year after the conveyance, if any, authorized by section 1, the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs, acting through the Director of Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 19, shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the status of the health care system for veterans under the Network in the Southern Colorado. The report shall describe any improvements to the system in Southern Colorado that have been put into effect in the period beginning on the date of the conveyance and ending on the date of the report.
summary: Prohibits the Secretary from making the conveyance unless the State agrees to provide public access to the Chapel and the cemetery located on such property. Permits the State to satisfy such condition respecting the chapel by relocating it to Ft. Lyon National Cemetery, Colorado, or another appropriate location jointly selected by the Secretary and the State. Prohibits the Secretary from making the conveyance until: (1) the date on which the Secretary opens not less than three health care facilities, and a nursing home care facility, in Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 19, which shall serve as replacement facilities for the Medical Center; and (2) the Secretary completes required environmental restoration activities. Authorizes the Secretary to pay the State or any private nursing home care facility for costs incurred in providing nursing home care to any veteran who is relocated from the Medical Center as a result of the Medical Center's closure. States that the authority to pay voluntary separation incentive payments under the Department of Veterans Affairs Employment Reduction Assistance Act of 1999 to employees of the Medical Center shall apply to eligible employees whose separation occurs before June 30, 2001. Requires the Under Secretary for Health of the Department, acting through the Director of VISN 19, not later than one year after the conveyance, to submit to congressional veterans affairs committees a report on the status of the health care system for veterans under VISN in southern Colorado describing any improvements to such system in southern Colorado that have been put into effect since the date of such conveyance.