AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT FUNDS FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING.

SEC. 204. AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT FUNDS FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING. (a) Establishment of Nonprofit Corporations at Medical Centers.—Section 7361(a) is amended— (1) by inserting “and education” after “research”; and (2) by adding at the end the following: “Such a corporation may be established to facilitate either research or education or both research and education.”. (b) Purpose of Corporations.—Section 7362 is amended— (1) in the first sentence— (A) by inserting “(a)” before “Any corporation”; and (B) by inserting “and education and training as described in sections 7302, 7471, 8154, and 1701(6)(B) of this title” after “of this title”; (2) in the second sentence— (A) by inserting “or education” after “research”; and (B) by striking “that purpose” and inserting “these purposes”; and (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(b) For purposes of this section, the term ‘education and training’ means the following: “(1) In the case of employees of the Veterans Health Administration, such term means work-related instruction or other learning experiences to— “(A) improve performance of current duties; “(B) assist employees in maintaining or gaining specialized proficiencies; and “(C) expand understanding of advances and changes in patient care, technology, and health care administration. Such term includes (in the case of such employees) education and training conducted as part of a residency or other program designed to prepare an individual for an occupation or profession. “(2) In the case of veterans under the care of the Veterans Health Administration, such term means instruction or other learning experiences related to improving and maintaining the health of veterans to patients and to the families and guardians of patients.”. (c) Board of Directors.—Section 7363(a) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking all after “medical center, and” and inserting “as appropriate, the assistant chief of staff for research for the medical center and the assistant chief of staff for education for the medical center, or, in the case of a facility at which such positions do not exist, those officials who are responsible for carrying out the responsibilities of the medical center director, chief of staff, and, as appropriate, the assistant chief of staff for research and the assistant chief of staff for education; and”; (2) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting “or education, as appropriate” after “research”; and (3) in subsection (c), by inserting “or education” after “research”. (d) Approval of Expenditures.—Section 7364 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: 113 STAT. 1563 “(c) (1)A corporation established under this subchapter may not spend funds for an education activity unless the activity is approved in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Under Secretary for Health. “(2) The Under Secretary for Health shall prescribe policies and procedures to guide the expenditure of funds by corporations under paragraph (1) consistent with the purpose of such corporations as flexible funding mechanisms.”. (e) Accountability and Oversight.—Section 7366(d) is amended— (1) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting “for research and the amount received from governmental entities for education” after “entities”; (2) in paragraph (2)(C), by inserting “for research and the amount received from all other sources for education” after “sources”; (3) in paragraph (2)(D), by striking “the” and inserting “a”; (4) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking “and” and inserting the amount expended for salary for education staff, and the amount expended”; (5) in paragraph (3)(B), by inserting “and the amount expended for direct support of education” after “research”; and (6) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(4) The amount expended by each corporation during the year for travel conducted in conjunction with research and the amount expended for travel in conjunction with education.”.