text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Accountability Act of 
  2013''.
  
  SEC. 2. SEMIANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON COST OF CERTAIN TRAVEL.
  
      (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 5 of title 38, United 
  States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
  ``Sec. 518. Semiannual reports to Congress on cost of certain travel
      ``(a) Semiannual Reports.--Not later than June 30, 2014, and not 
  later than 60 days after each 180-day period thereafter, the Secretary 
  shall submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
  Representatives and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate a 
  semiannual report on covered travel made during the 180-day period 
  covered by the report.
      ``(b) Matters Included.--Each report under subsection (a) shall 
  include the following:
              ``(1) With respect to each instance of covered travel made 
          during the period covered by the report--
                      ``(A) the purpose of such travel;
                      ``(B) the destination;
                      ``(C) the name and title of each employee included 
                  on such travel;
                      ``(D) the duration of such travel;
                      ``(E) the total cost to the Department of such 
                  travel; and
                      ``(F) with respect to covered travel described in 
                  subsection (d)(2), the identity of the person or entity 
                  that paid or reimbursed for such travel.
              ``(2) The final costs to the Department with respect to all 
          covered travel made during the period covered by the report, 
          including costs relating to--
                      ``(A) transportation, including fares for travel by 
                  air, rail, bus, ferry, cruise ship, taxi, mass transit, 
                  or other mode of transportation;
                      ``(B) expenses or reimbursements relating to 
                  operating and maintaining a car, including the costs of 
                  fuel and mileage;
                      ``(C) passport and visa fees;
                      ``(D) lodging;
                      ``(E) per diem payments;
                      ``(F) baggage charges;
                      ``(G) computer rental fees;
                      ``(H) rental of halls, auditoriums, or other 
                  spaces;
                      ``(I) entertainment;
                      ``(J) contractors;
                      ``(K) registration fees; and
                      ``(L) promotional items.
      ``(c) Duplicative Information.--Each report under subsection (a) 
  shall include the information described in subsection (b) regardless of 
  whether such information is also included in a report under section 517 
  of this title.
      ``(d) Covered Travel Defined.--In this section, the term `covered 
  travel' means travel made by an employee of the Department of Veterans 
  Affairs, including an employee who is stationed in a foreign country, 
  on official business to any of the following locations:
              ``(1) If the Department or other element of the Federal 
          Government pays for such travel, a location outside of--
                      ``(A) the several States;
                      ``(B) the District of Columbia;
                      ``(C) a territory, commonwealth, or possession of 
                  the United States;
                      ``(D) Indian lands (as defined in section 4(4) of 
                  the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703(4))); 
                  or
                      ``(E) the territorial waters of the United States.
              ``(2) If any person or entity other than the Federal 
          Government pays (or reimburses) for such travel, any location, 
          regardless of whether the location is inside or outside of the 
          United States.''.
      (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
  such chapter is amended by adding after the item relating to section 
  517 the following new item:
  
  ``518. Semiannual reports to Congress on cost of certain travel.''.
  
  SEC. 3. REPORT OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE AT MEDICAL FACILITIES OF 
                DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
  
      (a) In General.--Section 7311 of title 38, United States Code, is 
  amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
      ``(f)(1) The Secretary shall report to the appropriate entity each 
  case of a notifiable infectious disease or condition that is diagnosed 
  at a medical facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs in 
  accordance with the laws of the State in which the facility is located.
      ``(2) In addition to reporting each case of a notifiable infectious 
  disease or condition at a medical facility of the Department pursuant 
  to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall report each such case that is 
  classified as a health-care-associated infection sentinel event to the 
  accrediting organization of such facility.
      ``(3)(A) If the Secretary fails to report a case of a notifiable 
  infectious disease or condition at a medical facility of the Department 
  in accordance with State law pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary 
  shall--
              ``(i) take any remedial action required under the laws of 
          the State to correct such failure; and
              ``(ii) if the Secretary does not correct such failure 
          pursuant to clause (i), pay to the State an amount equal to the 
          amount that a medical facility not owned by the Federal 
          Government that is located in the same State would pay as a 
          penalty to such State for such failure.
      ``(B) The State may file a civil action against the Secretary in 
  the United States district court for the district in which the medical 
  facility is located to recover from the United States the amount 
  described in subparagraph (A)(ii).
      ``(C) A civil action under subparagraph (B) may not be commenced 
  later than two years after the cause of action accrues.
      ``(4)(A) In any case in which the Inspector General of the 
  Department suspects that a director of a Veterans Integrated Service 
  Network has failed to comply with an applicable provision of this 
  subsection, the Inspector General shall conduct an investigation to 
  determine whether such director failed to comply with an applicable 
  provision of this section.
      ``(B) If the Inspector General determines under subparagraph (A) 
  that a director has failed to comply with a provision of this 
  subsection, the Secretary shall suspend such director for such period 
  as the Secretary considers appropriate under subchapter I or subchapter 
  II of chapter 75 of title 5, as the case may be. In addition to such 
  suspension, the Secretary may impose such other administrative 
  disciplinary action on the director as the Secretary considers 
  appropriate and for which the Secretary is otherwise authorized.
      ``(5) The Secretary shall--
              ``(A) maintain records of each notifiable infectious 
          disease or condition reported pursuant to paragraph (1); and
              ``(B) submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
          House of Representatives and the Senate a notification of each 
          such notifiable infectious disease or condition.
      ``(6) In this subsection, the term `notifiable infectious disease 
  or condition' means any infectious disease or condition that is--
              ``(A) on the list of nationally notifiable diseases or 
          conditions published by the Council of State and Territorial 
          Epidemiologists and the Centers for Disease Control and 
          Prevention; or
              ``(B) covered by a provision of law of a State that 
          requires the reporting of infectious diseases or conditions.''.
      (b) Effective Date.--The reporting requirement under section 
  7311(f) of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 
  shall apply with respect to a case of a notifiable infectious disease 
  or condition diagnosed at a medical facility of the Department of 
  Veterans Affairs on or after the date that is 60 days after the date of 
  the enactment of this Act.
  
  SEC. 4. PROHIBITION OF VISUAL RECORDING WITHOUT INFORMED CONSENT.
  
      Section 7331 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
              (1) by striking ``The Secretary, upon'' and inserting ``(a) 
          In General.--The Secretary, upon''; and
              (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
      ``(b) Visual Recording.--(1) The Secretary shall prescribe 
  regulations establishing procedures to ensure that, except as provided 
  by paragraph (2), any visual recording made by the Secretary of a 
  patient during the course of furnishing care under this title is 
  carried out only with the full and informed consent of the patient or, 
  in appropriate cases, a representative thereof.
      ``(2) The Secretary may waive the requirement for informed consent 
  under paragraph (1) with respect to the visual recording of a patient 
  if such recording is made--
              ``(A) pursuant to a determination by a physician or 
          psychologist that such recording is medically necessary or 
          necessary for the safety of the patient;
              ``(B) pursuant to a warrant or order of a court of 
          competent jurisdiction; or
              ``(C) in a public setting where a person would not have a 
          reasonable expectation to privacy, such as a waiting room or 
          hallway, and such recording is for general security purposes 
          not particularized to the patient.
      ``(3) In this subsection, the term `visual recording' means the 
  recording or transmission of images or video, but does not include--
              ``(A) medical imaging, including such imaging produced by 
          radiographic procedures, nuclear medicine, endoscopy, 
          ultrasound, or other similar procedures; or
              ``(B) images, video, and other clinical information 
          transmitted for the purposes of providing treatment through 
          telehealth and telemedicine technologies.''.
              Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to amend title 38, 
          United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
          to submit to Congress semiannual reports on the cost of certain 
          travel made by employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
          and for other purposes.''.
target: Veterans Accountability Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report semiannually to the congressional veterans committees on covered travel made by VA employees while on official business. Defines covered travel as travel: (1) outside the United States or its territories, possessions, or territorial waters, if paid for by the VA or another element of the government; or (2) to any location, if paid for by any person or entity other than the government. Requires each report to include the name of each employee and the destination, purpose, duration, total cost, and identity of a payor other than the government. Directs the Secretary to report each case of reportable infectious disease or condition (a disease or condition that a state requires to be reported) that occurs at a VA medical facility to the appropriate state entity and to report to the accrediting organization of such facility each case classified as a health-care-associated infection sentinel event. Requires the Secretary, upon a failure to report, to pay to a state the same penalty that a non-federal facility of such state would pay for a failure to report. Allows a state to file a civil action against the VA for the recovery of such amount. Requires the VA Inspector General to investigate and suspend and impose other appropriate administrative disciplinary action against a director of a Veterans Integrated Service Network who has failed to comply with such requirement. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations to ensure that any visual recording made by the Secretary of a patient during the course of furnishing care through the VA is carried out only with the full and informed consent of that patient. Allows the Secretary to waive such requirement if the recording is made: (1) upon a determination by a physician or psychologist that the recording is medically necessary or necessary for the patient's safety, (2) pursuant to a warrant or order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (3) in a public setting where a person would not have a reasonable expectation to privacy (such as a waiting room or hallway) and the recording is for general security purposes not particularized to the patient.
feat_title: Veterans Accountability Act of 2013