Veteran Infection Prevention Act

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

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8052

   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

_______________________________________________________________________

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

    (a) Requirement.--Section 7402(b) of title 38, United States Code,
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (14) as (15); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (13) the following new
        paragraph:
    ``(14) Sterile Processing Technician.--To be eligible to be
appointed to a sterile processing technician position (except for such
a position that the Secretary 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.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
        shall apply to a covered employee two years 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 of 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 two
                years 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.
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