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Us Congress House Bill HB8371

Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB8371 Compare Versions

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1+I
12 118THCONGRESS
23 2
34 DSESSION H. R. 8371
4-AN ACT
5+To make certain improvements in the laws administered by the Secretary
6+of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
7+IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8+MAY14, 2024
9+Mr. C
10+ISCOMANI(for himself, Mr. ELLZEY, Mr. CAREY, Mr. BAIRD, Mr.
11+B
12+ERGMAN, Mr. LUTTRELL, Mr. BACON, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. BOST, Mrs.
13+K
14+IGGANSof Virginia, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, Mr. GIMENEZ, Mr. WIL-
15+LIAMSof New York, Mr. EDWARDS, and Mrs. STEEL) introduced the fol-
16+lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs,
17+and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, and Armed
18+Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
19+each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
20+tion of the committee concerned
21+A BILL
522 To make certain improvements in the laws administered by
623 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
724 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
8-tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2
9-•HR 8371 EH
10-SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1
25+tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
26+SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3
1127 (a) S
12-HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2
13-‘‘Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans 3
14-Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act’’. 4
15-(b) T
16-ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 5
17-this Act is as follows: 6
28+HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4
29+‘‘Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans 5
30+Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act’’. 6
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34+(b) TABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1
35+this Act is as follows: 2
1836 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
1937 TITLE I—HEALTH CARE MATTERS
2038 Subtitle A—Veterans Community Care Program Matters
21-Sec. 101. Implementation of provision of care under Veterans Community Care
22-Program upon determination of eligibility by veteran and vet-
23-eran’s referring clinician.
39+Sec. 101. Finality of decisions by veteran and referring clinician under Vet-
40+erans Community Care Program.
2441 Sec. 102. Outreach regarding care and services under Veterans Community
2542 Care Program.
2643 Sec. 103. Annual review and report on waivers of certain payment rates under
2744 Veterans Community Care Program.
2845 Sec. 104. Modification of requirements for standards for quality of care from
2946 Department of Veterans Affairs.
30-Sec. 105. Pilot program to improve administration of care under Veterans
47+Sec. 105. Standardized process to determine eligibility of covered veterans for
48+participation in certain mental health treatment programs.
49+Sec. 106. Improvements to Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Res-
50+idential Rehabilitation Treatment Program.
51+Sec. 107. Pilot program to improve administration of care under Veterans
3152 Community Care Program.
32-Sec. 106. Pilot program on consolidating approval process of Department of
53+Sec. 108. Pilot program on consolidating approval process of Department of
3354 Veterans Affairs for covered dental care.
34-Sec. 107. Strategic plan on value-based health care system for Veterans Health
55+Sec. 109. Strategic plan on value-based health care system for Veterans Health
3556 Administration; pilot program.
36-Sec. 108. Plan on adoption of certain health information standards for Depart-
57+Sec. 110. Plan on adoption of certain health information standards for Depart-
3758 ment of Veterans Affairs and certain health care providers.
38-Sec. 109. Report on use of value-based reimbursement models under Veterans
59+Sec. 111. Report on use of value-based reimbursement models under Veterans
3960 Community Care Program.
40-Sec. 110. Inspector General assessment of implementation of Veterans Commu-
61+Sec. 112. Inspector General assessment of implementation of Veterans Commu-
4162 nity Care Program.
42-Sec. 111. Comptroller General report on dentistry under Veterans Community
63+Sec. 113. Comptroller General report on dentistry under Veterans Community
4364 Care Program.
4465 Subtitle B—Matters Relating to Nursing Home and Other Long Term Care
4566 and Family Caregivers
4667 Sec. 120. Increase of expenditure cap for noninstitutional care alternatives to
4768 nursing home care.
4869 Sec. 121. Coordination with Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.
4970 Sec. 122. Authority for Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants or con-
5071 tracts to entities to improve provision of mental health support
5172 to family caregivers of veterans.
5273 Sec. 123. Home- and community-based services: programs.
5374 Sec. 124. Coordination with assistance and support services for caregivers.
5475 Sec. 125. Improvements to program of comprehensive assistance for family
55-caregivers. 3
56-•HR 8371 EH
76+caregivers.
5777 Sec. 126. Improvements relating to Homemaker and Home Health Aide pro-
5878 gram.
5979 Sec. 127. Pilot program to furnish assisted living services to certain veterans.
6080 Sec. 128. Provision of medicine, equipment, and supplies available to Depart-
6181 ment of Veterans Affairs to State homes.
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6285 Sec. 129. Recognition of organizations and individuals to assist veterans, family
6386 members, and caregivers navigating programs and services of
6487 Veterans Health Administration.
6588 Sec. 130. Reviews and other improvements relating to home- and community-
6689 based services.
6790 Sec. 131. GAO report on mental health support for caregivers.
6891 Sec. 132. Development of centralized website for program information.
6992 Sec. 133. Definitions.
7093 Subtitle C—Medical Treatment and Other Matters
7194 Sec. 140. Quarterly report on referrals for non-Department of Veterans Affairs
7295 health care.
7396 Sec. 141. Elimination of certain requirements for certain Department of Vet-
7497 erans Affairs Assistant Under Secretaries.
7598 Sec. 142. Modification of pay limitation for physicians, podiatrists, optom-
7699 etrists, and dentists of Department of Veterans Affairs.
77100 Sec. 143. Reimbursement of ambulance cost for care for certain rural veterans.
78101 Sec. 144. Pilot program to furnish dental care from the Department of Vet-
79102 erans Affairs to certain veterans diagnosed with ischemic heart
80103 disease.
81104 Sec. 145. Documentation of preferences of veterans for scheduling of appoint-
82105 ments for health care under laws administered by Secretary of
83106 Veterans Affairs.
84107 Sec. 146. Staffing model and performance metrics for certain employees of the
85108 Department of Veterans Affairs.
86109 Sec. 147. Online health education portal for veterans enrolled in patient enroll-
87110 ment system of Department of Veterans Affairs.
88111 Sec. 148. Limitation on detail of directors of medical centers of Department of
89112 Veterans Affairs to different positions.
90113 Sec. 149. National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report.
91114 Sec. 150. Report on physical infrastructure required by medical facilities of De-
92115 partment of Veterans Affairs to provide dental care services.
93116 Sec. 151. Comptroller General report on certain oral health care programs
94117 under laws administered by Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
95118 Sec. 152. Review of workflows associated with processing referrals between fa-
96119 cilities of the Veterans Health Administration.
97120 Sec. 153. Plan for timely scheduling of appointments at medical facilities of
98121 Department of Veterans Affairs.
99122 Sec. 154. Authorization of appropriations to support initiatives for mobile
100123 mammography services for veterans.
101124 TITLE II—ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY MATTERS
102125 Subtitle A—Educational Assistance
103126 Sec. 201. Temporary expansion of eligibility for Marine Gunnery Sergeant John
104127 David Fry Scholarship.
105128 Sec. 202. Removal of expiration on entitlement to Marine Gunnery Sergeant
106-John David Fry Scholarship for surviving spouses. 4
107-•HR 8371 EH
129+John David Fry Scholarship for surviving spouses.
108130 Sec. 203. Sole liability for transferred educational assistance by an individual
109131 who fails to complete a service agreement.
110132 Sec. 204. Notice to educational institutions of risk-based surveys.
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111136 Sec. 205. Relationship of participation by an educational institution in certain
112137 Federal student financial aid programs to approval of such in-
113138 stitution for purposes of Department of Veterans Affairs edu-
114139 cational assistance programs.
115140 Sec. 206. Expansion of Department of Veterans Affairs oversight of certain
116141 educational institutions.
117142 Sec. 207. Requirement that educational institutions approved for purposes of
118143 Department of Veterans Affairs educational assistance pro-
119144 grams provide digital official transcripts.
120145 Sec. 208. Payment of full monthly housing stipend for veterans enrolled in final
121146 semester using educational assistance under Post-9/11 Edu-
122147 cational Assistance Program.
123148 Sec. 209. Modification of rules for approval of commercial driver education pro-
124149 grams for purposes of educational assistance programs of the
125150 Department of Veterans Affairs.
126151 Sec. 210. Provision of certificates of eligibility and award letters using elec-
127152 tronic means.
128153 Sec. 211. Retroactive effective date of law regarding charge to entitlement to
129154 educational assistance for individuals who do not transfer cred-
130155 its from certain closed or disapproved programs of education.
131156 Sec. 212. Department of Veterans Affairs high technology program.
132157 Sec. 213. Notice of changes to Department of Veterans Affairs policies and
133158 guidance affecting the educational assistance programs of the
134159 Department.
135160 Sec. 214. Payment of VA educational assistance via electronic fund transfer to
136161 a foreign institution of higher education.
137162 Sec. 215. Improving transparency and accountability of educational institutions
138163 for purposes of veterans educational assistance.
139164 Subtitle B—Employment and Training
140165 Sec. 221. Improvements to reemployment rights of members of the Armed
141166 Forces.
142167 Sec. 222. Review of investigations manual of Veterans’ Employment and Train-
143168 ing Service.
144169 Sec. 223. Warrior Training Advancement Course.
145170 Subtitle C—Home Loans
146171 Sec. 231. Improvements to program for direct housing loans made to Native
147172 American veterans by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
148173 Sec. 232. Native community development financial institution relending pro-
149174 gram.
150175 TITLE III—DISABILITY AND MEMORIAL AFFAIRS MATTERS
151176 Sec. 301. Burial allowance for certain veterans who die at home while in receipt
152177 of hospice care furnished by Department of Veterans Affairs.
153178 Sec. 302. Authority for Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants to States
154179 and Indian Tribes to improve outreach to veterans.
155-Sec. 303. Definition of surviving spouse. 5
156-•HR 8371 EH
180+Sec. 303. Definition of surviving spouse.
157181 Sec. 304. Ensuring only licensed health care professionals perform medical dis-
158182 ability examinations under certain Department of Veterans Af-
159183 fairs pilot program.
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160187 Sec. 305. Provision of information regarding an agent or attorney to a licensed
161188 health care professional who performs a medical disability ex-
162189 amination under certain Department of Veterans Affairs pilot
163190 program.
164191 Sec. 306. Modernization of Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefit
165192 questionnaires.
166193 Sec. 307. Department of Veterans Affairs automatic processing of certain
167194 claims for temporary disability ratings.
168195 TITLE IV—HOMELESSNESS MATTERS
169196 Sec. 401. Short title.
170197 Sec. 402. Per diem payments provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for
171198 services furnished to homeless veterans.
172199 Sec. 403. Authorization for Secretary of Veterans Affairs to use of certain
173200 funds for improved flexibility in assistance to homeless vet-
174201 erans.
175202 Sec. 404. Access to Department of Veterans Affairs telehealth services.
176-TITLE V—OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS MATTERS
177-Sec. 501. Department of Veterans Affairs employee training regarding Office of
203+TITLE V—ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD MATTERS
204+Sec. 501. Short title.
205+Sec. 502. Definitions.
206+Subtitle A—Electronic Health Record System and Health Information
207+Technology Modernization
208+Sec. 511. Modernization of Department of Veterans Affairs electronic health
209+record system and health information technology.
210+Sec. 512. Responsibility for electronic health record program and health infor-
211+mation technology.
212+Sec. 513. Protection of personal information.
213+Subtitle B—Implementation Requirements
214+Sec. 521. Veterans Health Administration workflow baseline.
215+Sec. 522. Requirements for electronic health record system implementation.
216+Sec. 523. Conditional restructuring of Electronic Health Record Modernization
217+Program.
218+Subtitle C—Reporting
219+Sec. 531. Report on additional purposes.
220+Sec. 532. Reports on baseline of clinical workflows.
221+Sec. 533. Report on health care quality metrics.
222+Sec. 534. Report on support strategy for existing sites.
223+Sec. 535. Report on resources required for future sites.
224+Sec. 536. Report on alternative modernization strategies.
225+Sec. 537. Report on health information technology strategy and roadmap.
226+Sec. 538. Annual report on efforts to maintain VistA electronic health record
227+system.
228+Sec. 539. Modification of quarterly reports.
229+Sec. 540. Report on protection of personal information.
230+Sec. 541. Report on organization and needs.
231+Sec. 542. Report on governance, performance criteria, and readiness.
232+TITLE VI—OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS MATTERS
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236+Sec. 601. Department of Veterans Affairs employee training regarding Office of
178237 Inspector General.
179-Sec. 502. Annual review of security at covered facilities of the Department of
238+Sec. 602. Annual review of security at covered facilities of the Department of
180239 Veterans Affairs.
181-Sec. 503. Modification of certain housing loan fees.
240+Sec. 603. Modification of certain housing loan fees.
182241 TITLE I—HEALTH CARE 1
183242 MATTERS 2
184243 Subtitle A—Veterans Community 3
185244 Care Program Matters 4
186-SEC. 101. IMPLEMENTATION OF PROVISION OF CARE 5
187-UNDER VETERANS COMMUNITY CARE PRO-6
188-GRAM UPON DETERMINATION OF ELIGI-7
189-BILITY BY VETERAN AND VETERAN’S REFER-8
190-RING CLINICIAN. 9
245+SEC. 101. FINALITY OF DECISIONS BY VETERAN AND RE-5
246+FERRING CLINICIAN UNDER VETERANS COM-6
247+MUNITY CARE PROGRAM. 7
191248 (a) I
192-NGENERAL.—During the period specified in 10
193-subsection (c), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall im-11
194-plement section 1703(d)(1)(E) of title 38, United States 12 6
195-•HR 8371 EH
196-Code, in compliance with the implementing regulations for 1
197-such section under section 17.4010(a)(5) of title 38, Code 2
198-of Federal Regulations, such that the determination of eli-3
199-gibility for care is final and shall be made by the veteran 4
200-and the veteran’s referring clinician. 5
249+NGENERAL.—During the period specified in 8
250+subsection (c), and subject to subsection (b), an agreement 9
251+under section 1703(d)(1)(E) of title 38, United States 10
252+Code, between a covered veteran and the referring clini-11
253+cian of such veteran regarding the best medical interest 12
254+of the veteran is final and is not subject to review, ap-13
255+proval, or change by the Department of Veterans Affairs 14
256+unless a statutory or regulatory barrier prevents the De-15
257+partment from providing the care or services required 16
258+under such agreement. 17
201259 (b) C
202-ORRECTION OF ERRORS.—A covered veteran 6
203-and the referring clinician of such veteran may correct any 7
204-errors made with respect to a determination described in 8
205-subsection (a). 9
260+ORRECTION OF ERRORS.—A covered veteran 18
261+and the referring clinician of such veteran may correct any 19
262+errors made with respect to an agreement described in 20
263+subsection (a). 21
206264 (c) P
207-ERIODSPECIFIED.—The period specified in this 10
208-subsection is the two-year period beginning on the date 11
209-that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 12
210-Act. 13
211-(d) R
212-EPORT.—Not later than one year and not later 14
213-than two years after the commencement of the period 15
214-specified by subsection (c), the Secretary of Veterans Af-16
215-fairs shall submit to Congress a report on the care pro-17
216-vided under section 1703(d)(1)(E) of title 38, United 18
217-States Code, during the one-year period preceding the date 19
218-of the report, including— 20
219-(1) the number of instances of care provided; 21
220-(2) the type of care provided; and 22
221-(3) the cost of such care. 23
222-(e) R
223-ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-24
224-tion shall be construed to limit the Secretary’s authority 25 7
225-•HR 8371 EH
226-to prescribe, amend, or rescind regulations under section 1
227-1703 of title 38, United States Code. 2
228-(f) C
229-OVEREDVETERANDEFINED.—In this section, 3
230-the term ‘‘covered veteran’’ has the meaning given that 4
231-term in section 1703(b) of title 38, United States Code. 5
232-SEC. 102. OUTREACH REGARDING CARE AND SERVICES 6
233-UNDER VETERANS COMMUNITY CARE PRO-7
234-GRAM. 8
265+ERIODSPECIFIED.—The period specified in this 22
266+subsection is the two-year period beginning on the date 23
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270+that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 1
271+Act. 2
272+(d) A
273+NNUALREPORT.—Not later than one year and 3
274+not later than two years after the commencement of the 4
275+period specified under subsection (c), the Secretary of Vet-5
276+erans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on the care 6
277+provided under section 1703(d)(1)(E) of title 38, United 7
278+States Code, during the one-year period preceding the date 8
279+of the report, including— 9
280+(1) the number of instances of care provided; 10
281+(2) the type of care provided; and 11
282+(3) the cost of such care. 12
283+(e) C
284+OVEREDVETERANDEFINED.—In this section, 13
285+the term ‘‘covered veteran’’ has the meaning given that 14
286+term in section 1703(b) of title 38, United States Code. 15
287+SEC. 102. OUTREACH REGARDING CARE AND SERVICES 16
288+UNDER VETERANS COMMUNITY CARE PRO-17
289+GRAM. 18
235290 (a) R
236-EQUIREMENT.—Section 1703 of title 38, United 9
237-States Code, is further amended— 10
238-(1) by redesignating subsection (o) as sub-11
239-section (p); and 12
240-(2) by inserting after subsection (n) the fol-13
241-lowing new subsection (o): 14
242-‘‘(o) O
243-UTREACHREGARDINGAVAILABILITY OFCARE 15
244-ANDSERVICES.—(1) The Secretary shall conduct out-16
245-reach to inform veterans of the following: 17
246-‘‘(A) The conditions for care or services under 18
247-subsections (d) and (e). 19
248-‘‘(B) How to request such care or services. 20
249-‘‘(C) How to appeal a denial of a request for 21
250-such care or services using the clinical appeals proc-22
251-ess of the Veterans Health Administration. 23
252-‘‘(2) Upon enrollment of a veteran in the system of 24
253-annual patient enrollment established and operated under 25 8
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255-section 1705 of this title, and not less frequently than 1
256-every two years thereafter, the Secretary shall inform the 2
257-veteran of information described in paragraph (1). 3
258-‘‘(3) The Secretary shall ensure that information de-4
259-scribed in paragraph (1) is— 5
260-‘‘(A) publicly displayed in each medical facility 6
261-of the Department; 7
262-‘‘(B) prominently displayed on a website of the 8
263-Department; and 9
264-‘‘(C) included in other outreach campaigns and 10
265-activities conducted by the Secretary.’’. 11
266-(b) S
267-OLIDSTARTPROGRAM.—Section 6320(a)(2)(A) 12
268-of title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting 13
269-‘‘, including how to enroll in the system of annual patient 14
270-enrollment established and operated under section 1705 15
271-of this title and the ability to seek care and services under 16
272-sections 1703 and 1710 of this title’’ before the semicolon. 17
291+EQUIREMENT.—Section 1703 of title 38, United 19
292+States Code, is further amended— 20
293+(1) by redesignating subsection (o) as sub-21
294+section (p); and 22
295+(2) by inserting after subsection (n) the fol-23
296+lowing new subsection (o): 24
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300+‘‘(o) OUTREACHREGARDINGAVAILABILITY OFCARE 1
301+ANDSERVICES.—(1) The Secretary shall conduct out-2
302+reach to inform veterans of the following: 3
303+‘‘(A) The conditions for care or services under 4
304+subsections (d) and (e). 5
305+‘‘(B) How to request such care or services. 6
306+‘‘(C) How to appeal a denial of a request for 7
307+such care or services using the clinical appeals proc-8
308+ess of the Veterans Health Administration. 9
309+‘‘(2) Upon enrollment of a veteran in the system of 10
310+annual patient enrollment established and operated under 11
311+section 1705 of this title, and not less frequently than 12
312+every two years thereafter, the Secretary shall inform the 13
313+veteran of information described in paragraph (1). 14
314+‘‘(3) The Secretary shall ensure that information de-15
315+scribed in paragraph (1) is— 16
316+‘‘(A) publicly displayed in each medical facility 17
317+of the Department; 18
318+‘‘(B) prominently displayed on a website of the 19
319+Department; and 20
320+‘‘(C) included in other outreach campaigns and 21
321+activities conducted by the Secretary.’’. 22
322+(b) T
323+RANSITIONAL SERVICES.—Section 23
324+1144(f)(1)(B)(i) of title 10, United States Code, is amend-24
325+ed by inserting ‘‘, including how to enroll in the system 25
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329+of annual patient enrollment established and operated 1
330+under section 1705 of title 38 and the ability to seek care 2
331+and services under sections 1703 and 1710 of such title’’ 3
332+before the semicolon. 4
333+(c) S
334+OLIDSTARTPROGRAM.—Section 6320(a)(2)(A) 5
335+of title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting 6
336+‘‘, including how to enroll in the system of annual patient 7
337+enrollment established and operated under section 1705 8
338+of this title and the ability to seek care and services under 9
339+sections 1703 and 1710 of this title’’ before the semicolon. 10
340+(d) C
341+OMPTROLLER GENERALREPORT ON OUT-11
342+REACH.—Not later than two years after the date of the 12
343+enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 13
344+United Stats shall submit to Congress a report on the ef-14
345+forts of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that 15
346+veterans are informed of the conditions for eligibility for 16
347+care and services under section 1703 of title 38, United 17
348+States Code, including such efforts to conduct outreach 18
349+pursuant to subsection (q) of such section (as added by 19
350+subsection (a)). 20
351+SEC. 103. ANNUAL REVIEW AND REPORT ON WAIVERS OF 21
352+CERTAIN PAYMENT RATES UNDER VETERANS 22
353+COMMUNITY CARE PROGRAM. 23
354+(a) I
355+NGENERAL.—Section 1703 of title 38, United 24
356+States Code, is further amended— 25
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360+(1) by redesignating subsection (p) as sub-1
361+section (q); and 2
362+(2) by inserting after subsection (p) the fol-3
363+lowing new subsection (q): 4
364+‘‘(q) A
365+NNUALREVIEW ANDREPORT ONWAIVERS OF 5
366+P
367+AYMENTRATES.—(1) On an annual basis, the Secretary 6
368+shall— 7
369+‘‘(A) conduct a review of waivers of payment 8
370+rates under subsection (i) for Third Party Adminis-9
371+trators to identify whether such waivers help to al-10
372+leviate community-specific challenges, including scar-11
373+city of medical services associated with access to 12
374+health care; and 13
375+‘‘(B) submit to Congress a report on the results 14
376+of such review. 15
377+‘‘(2) Each report under paragraph (1)(B) shall in-16
378+clude, with respect to the period covered by the report— 17
379+‘‘(A) a statement, disaggregated by region, of 18
380+the total number of waivers described in subpara-19
381+graph (A) of such paragraph requested by Third 20
382+Party Administrators; 21
383+‘‘(B) a statement of the total number of such 22
384+waivers that were— 23
385+‘‘(i) granted by the Secretary; 24
386+‘‘(ii) denied by the Secretary; or 25
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390+‘‘(iii) withdrawn by a Third Party Admin-1
391+istrator; 2
392+‘‘(C) a description of the process for the review 3
393+required under paragraph (1); 4
394+‘‘(D) a statement, disaggregated by region, of 5
395+the average time to process such waivers; 6
396+‘‘(E) an assessment, disaggregated by region, of 7
397+the extent to which such waivers that were granted 8
398+by the Secretary improved access to health care for 9
399+covered veterans; and 10
400+‘‘(F) a description of trends, if any, identified 11
401+by the Secretary with respect to such waivers. 12
402+‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘Third Party Ad-13
403+ministrator’ has the meaning given such term in section 14
404+1703B of this title.’’. 15
405+(b) D
406+EADLINE.—The Secretary shall submit the first 16
407+report required under subsection (q) of section 1703 of 17
408+such title (as added by subsection (a)) not later than 180 18
409+days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 19
410+SEC. 104. MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR STAND-20
411+ARDS FOR QUALITY OF CARE FROM DEPART-21
412+MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 22
413+(a) I
414+NGENERAL.—Section 1703C of title 38, United 23
415+States Code, is amended— 24
416+(1) in subsection (a)— 25
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420+(A) in paragraph (2)— 1
421+(i) by striking ‘‘In establishing’’ and 2
422+inserting ‘‘(A) In establishing’’; and 3
423+(ii) by adding at the end the following 4
424+new subparagraph: 5
425+‘‘(B) The Secretary shall ensure that the stand-6
426+ards for quality established under paragraph (1) are 7
427+comparable to industry standards to ensure there is 8
428+adequate data transference between care furnished 9
429+by the Department and care furnished by a non-De-10
430+partment provider.’’; 11
431+(B) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end 12
432+the following new clauses: 13
433+‘‘(v) Equitable care. 14
434+‘‘(vi) Outcomes relating to patient 15
435+quality of life.’’; 16
436+(C) in paragraph (4)— 17
437+(i) by striking ‘‘and the Centers for 18
438+Medicare & Medicaid Services’’ and insert-19
439+ing ‘‘the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 20
440+Services, and the Indian Health Service’’; 21
441+and 22
442+(ii) by striking ‘‘and other nongovern-23
443+mental entities’’ and inserting ‘‘and other 24
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447+non-governmental entities including Third 1
448+Party Administrators’’; and 2
449+(D) by striking paragraph (5) and insert-3
450+ing the following new paragraphs: 4
451+‘‘(5) When collecting, considering, and applying data 5
452+related to patient care for purposes of establishing stand-6
453+ards for quality under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 7
454+ensure no metric is being over or under analyzed. 8
455+‘‘(6) In establishing standards for quality under para-9
456+graph (1), the Secretary shall— 10
457+‘‘(A) utilize the most up-to-date practices for 11
458+extracting and analyzing relevant data; 12
459+‘‘(B) utilize all relevant data available to the 13
460+Secretary; 14
461+‘‘(C) ensure the most efficient use of time and 15
462+resources related to the use of data scientists em-16
463+ployed by the Department; and 17
464+‘‘(D) collaborate, as appropriate, with entities 18
465+specified in paragraph (4). 19
466+‘‘(7)(A) Not less frequently than once every five 20
467+years, the Secretary shall update the standards for quality 21
468+established under paragraph (1) pursuant to the require-22
469+ments for the establishment of such standards under this 23
470+subsection. 24
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474+‘‘(B) Not later than 30 days after any date on which 1
475+the Secretary updates, pursuant to subparagraph (A), the 2
476+standards for quality under paragraph (1), the Secretary 3
477+shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 4
478+a report on such updated standards for quality.’’; and 5
479+(2) in subsection (b)— 6
480+(A) in paragraph (1)— 7
481+(i) by striking ‘‘Not later than 1 year 8
482+after the date on which the Secretary es-9
483+tablishes standards for quality under sub-10
484+section (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘Not less fre-11
485+quently than once every three years’’; and 12
486+(ii) by inserting ‘‘pursuant to stand-13
487+ards for quality under subsection (a)’’ 14
488+after ‘‘medical facilities of the Depart-15
489+ment’’; and 16
490+(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or up-17
491+dates’’ after ‘‘establishes’’. 18
492+(b) D
493+EADLINE FORUPDATE.—The Secretary, pursu-19
494+ant to paragraph (7) of section 1703C(a) of title 38, 20
495+United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), shall 21
496+make the first update to the standards for quality estab-22
497+lished under paragraph (1) of such section not later than 23
498+the date that is five years after the date on which the Sec-24
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502+retary submits the report under paragraph (2) of sub-1
503+section (d). 2
504+(c) R
505+EPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 3
506+of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 4
507+Affairs shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con-5
508+gress a report on how the Secretary— 6
509+(1) has consulted with entities specified in para-7
510+graph (4) of section 1703C(a) of title 38, United 8
511+States Code, before the date of the enactment of this 9
512+Act in establishing standards for quality under such 10
513+section; 11
514+(2) has continued to consult with those entities 12
515+on and after such date of enactment; and 13
516+(3) intends to leverage data sciences to improve 14
517+standards for quality care furnished by the Depart-15
518+ment of Veterans Affairs. 16
519+(d) U
520+PDATES TOQUALITYCAREMETRICS.— 17
521+(1) I
522+NITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 18
523+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-19
524+retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appro-20
525+priate committees of Congress a report on how the 21
526+Secretary plans to implement the amendments made 22
527+by subsection (a). 23
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531+(2) DEADLINE; SUMMARY REPORT .—Not later 1
532+than two years after the date of the enactment of 2
533+this Act, the Secretary shall— 3
534+(A) implement the amendments made by 4
535+subsection (a), including by updating the stand-5
536+ards for quality established under section 6
537+1703C of title 38, United States Code; and 7
538+(B) submit to the appropriate committees 8
539+of Congress a report detailing the standards for 9
540+quality updated pursuant to such amendments. 10
541+(e) A
542+UDIT OFQUALITYCAREMETRICS.— 11
543+(1) I
544+N GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 12
545+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-13
546+retary of Veterans Affairs shall enter into one or 14
547+more contracts with a non-Department entity de-15
548+scribed in paragraph (2) to conduct an audit on the 16
549+quality of care from the Department of Veterans Af-17
550+fairs, including through non-Department health care 18
551+providers pursuant to section 1703 of title 38 19
552+United States Code. 20
553+(2) N
554+ON-DEPARTMENT ENTITY DESCRIBED .—A 21
555+non-Department entity described in this paragraph 22
556+is an entity that— 23
557+(A) specializes in analyzing large-scale or-24
558+ganizational data collection and analysis efforts, 25
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562+especially with respect to the health care sector; 1
563+and 2
564+(B) has experience and proven outcomes in 3
565+optimizing the accuracy and comprehensiveness 4
566+of data collection and analysis related to the 5
567+quality of health care services. 6
568+(3) E
569+LEMENTS.—The audit required under 7
570+paragraph (1) shall include the following: 8
571+(A) An assessment of the methodology 9
572+used by the Department to collect and assess 10
573+data on the quality of care furnished by the De-11
574+partment, including any vulnerabilities in such 12
575+methodology. 13
576+(B) An assessment of the accuracy and re-14
577+liability of the data sources used by the Depart-15
578+ment to compile data on the quality of care fur-16
579+nished by the Department. 17
580+(C) The extent to which the standards the 18
581+Department uses to assess the quality of care 19
582+furnished by the Department are— 20
583+(i) comparable with industry stand-21
584+ards; 22
585+(ii) easily accessible to, and under-23
586+stood by— 24
587+(I) veterans; 25
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591+(II) employees of the Depart-1
592+ment; and 2
593+(III) other individuals, as the pri-3
594+vate sector entity considers appro-4
595+priate. 5
596+(D) Any recommendations of such private 6
597+sector entity with respect to improvements that 7
598+the Secretary could administer to more accu-8
599+rately capture the quality of care furnished by 9
600+the Department. 10
601+(4) R
602+EPORTS ON AUDIT.— 11
603+(A) R
604+EPORT ON FINDINGS AND REC -12
605+OMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 60 days after 13
606+any date on which a private sector entity de-14
607+scribed in paragraph (2) completes an audit 15
608+under paragraph (1), such private sector entity 16
609+shall submit to the Secretary, the Committee on 17
610+Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, and the Com-18
611+mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 19
612+Representatives a report that includes— 20
613+(i) the findings of such audit; and 21
614+(ii) recommendations of such private 22
615+sector entity with respect to such audit. 23
616+(B) R
617+EPORT ON PLANNED IMPROVE -24
618+MENTS.—Not later than 60 days after any date 25
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622+on which the Secretary receives a report under 1
623+subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall submit to 2
624+the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen-3
625+ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 4
626+the House of Representatives a report on how 5
627+the Secretary plans to improve the standards 6
628+for quality of care of the Department. 7
629+(f) A
630+PPROPRIATECOMMITTEES OF CONGRESSDE-8
631+FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit-9
632+tees of Congress’’ has the meaning given such term in sec-10
633+tion 1703C of title 38, United States Code. 11
634+SEC. 105. STANDARDIZED PROCESS TO DETERMINE ELIGI-12
635+BILITY OF COVERED VETERANS FOR PAR-13
636+TICIPATION IN CERTAIN MENTAL HEALTH 14
637+TREATMENT PROGRAMS. 15
638+(a) S
639+TANDARDIZED SCREENING PROCESS.—Not 16
640+later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 17
641+Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a 18
642+standardized screening process to determine, based on 19
643+clinical need, whether a covered veteran satisfies criteria 20
644+for priority or routine admission to a covered treatment 21
645+program. 22
646+(b) E
647+LIGIBILITYCRITERIA.— 23
648+(1) I
649+N GENERAL.—Under the standardized 24
650+screening process required by subsection (a), a cov-25
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654+ered veteran shall be eligible for priority admission 1
655+to a covered treatment program if the covered vet-2
656+eran meets criteria that include, but are not limited 3
657+to, the following: 4
658+(A) Symptoms that— 5
659+(i) significantly affect activities of 6
660+daily life; and 7
661+(ii) increase the risk of such veteran 8
662+for adverse outcomes. 9
663+(B) An unsafe living situation. 10
664+(C) A high-risk flag for suicide. 11
665+(D) A determination of being a high risk 12
666+for suicide. 13
667+(E) Risk factors for overdose. 14
668+(F) Non-responsive, relapsed, or unable to 15
669+find recovery from one other course of treat-16
670+ment, such as outpatient or intensive outpatient 17
671+treatment. 18
672+(G) Other such criteria as the Secretary 19
673+determines appropriate. 20
674+(2) C
675+ONSIDERATION.—In making a determina-21
676+tion under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall con-22
677+sider any referral of a health care provider of a cov-23
678+ered veteran for such covered veteran to be admitted 24
679+to a covered treatment program. 25
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683+(c) TIME FORSCREENING ANDADMISSION.—Under 1
684+the standardized screening process required by subsection 2
685+(a), the Secretary shall ensure a covered veteran— 3
686+(1) is screened not later than 48 hours after the 4
687+date on which the covered veteran, or a relevant 5
688+health care provider, makes a request for the cov-6
689+ered veteran to be admitted to a covered treatment 7
690+program. 8
691+(2) determined eligible for priority admission to 9
692+a covered treatment program is admitted to such 10
693+covered treatment program not later than 48 hours 11
694+after the date of such determination. 12
695+(d) A
696+CCESSSTANDARDS FOR ROUTINEADMIS-13
697+SION.—The Secretary shall include the standardized 14
698+screening process under this section in the wait time ac-15
699+cess standards for eligibility for mental health care under 16
700+section 1703(d) of such title established by the Secretary 17
701+under section 1703B of such title. 18
702+(e) C
703+ONDITIONSUNDERWHICHCARESHALLBE 19
704+F
705+URNISHEDTHROUGHNON-DEPARTMENTPROVIDERS.— 20
706+If the Secretary determines a covered veteran to be eligible 21
707+for either priority or routine admission to a covered treat-22
708+ment program pursuant to the standardized screening 23
709+process required by subsection (a), and the Secretary is 24
710+unable to admit such covered veteran to a clinically appro-25
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714+priate covered treatment program at a facility of the De-1
715+partment of Veterans Affairs within the State of residence 2
716+of the covered veteran in a manner that complies with the 3
717+applicable wait time standards established pursuant to 4
718+this section, the Secretary shall offer the covered veteran 5
719+the option to receive care— 6
720+(1) at another facility of the Department; or 7
721+(2) at a non-Department facility that— 8
722+(A) can admit the covered veteran within 9
723+the period required by the applicable standards 10
724+of the Department; and 11
725+(B) is party to a contract or agreement 12
726+with the Department or enters into such a con-13
727+tract or agreement under which the Department 14
728+furnishes a program that is equivalent to a cov-15
729+ered treatment program to a veteran through 16
730+such non-Departmental facility. 17
731+(f) S
732+UNSET.— 18
733+(1) I
734+N GENERAL.—The authority of the Sec-19
735+retary to make a determination under this section 20
736+expires on the day that is two years after the date 21
737+of the enactment of this Act. 22
738+(2) R
739+ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Paragraph (1) 23
740+shall not be construed to affect a covered veteran in 24
741+a covered treatment program pursuant to a deter-25
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745+mination made on or before the date in such para-1
746+graph. 2
747+(g) D
748+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 3
749+(1) The term ‘‘covered treatment program’’— 4
750+(A) means a mental health residential re-5
751+habilitation treatment program of the Depart-6
752+ment of Veterans Affairs; 7
753+(B) a program of the Department for resi-8
754+dential care for mental health and substance 9
755+abuse disorders; 10
756+(C) includes— 11
757+(i) the programs designated as of the 12
758+date of the enactment of this section as 13
759+domiciliary residential rehabilitation treat-14
760+ment programs; and 15
761+(ii) any programs designated as domi-16
762+ciliary residential rehabilitation treatment 17
763+programs on or after such date of enact-18
764+ment; and 19
765+(D) does not include Compensated Work 20
766+Therapy Transition Residence programs of the 21
767+Department. 22
768+(2) The term ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a vet-23
769+eran described in section 1703(b) of title 38, United 24
770+States Code. 25
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774+SEC. 106. IMPROVEMENTS TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 1
775+AFFAIRS MENTAL HEALTH RESIDENTIAL RE-2
776+HABILITATION TREATMENT PROGRAM. 3
777+(a) P
778+ERFORMANCEMETRICS.— 4
779+(1) I
780+N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 5
781+metrics to track, and shall subsequently track, the 6
782+performance of medical facilities and Veterans Inte-7
783+grated Service Networks of the Department in meet-8
784+ing the requirements for— 9
785+(A) screening, under section 105 of this 10
786+Act, for the Mental Health Residential Rehabili-11
787+tation Treatment Program (in this section re-12
788+ferred to as the ‘‘Program’’) ; and 13
789+(B) timely admission, under such screen-14
790+ing, to the Program. 15
791+(2) E
792+LEMENTS.—The metrics developed under 16
793+paragraph (1) shall include metrics for tracking the 17
794+performance of such medical facilities and Veterans 18
795+Integrated Service Networks with respect to routine 19
796+and priority admission under the Program. 20
797+(b) P
798+LACEMENT; TRANSPORTATION.— 21
799+(1) L
800+OCATIONS.—If the Secretary determines 22
801+that a covered veteran is in need of residential care 23
802+under the Program, the Secretary shall provide to 24
803+the covered veteran a list of locations at which such 25
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807+covered veteran can receive such residential care 1
808+that meets— 2
809+(A) the standards for screening under sec-3
810+tion 105 of this Act; and 4
811+(B) the care needs of the covered veteran, 5
812+including applicable treatment tracks. 6
813+(2) T
814+RANSPORTATION COVERAGE .—The Sec-7
815+retary shall provide transportation or pay for or re-8
816+imburse the costs of transportation for any covered 9
817+veteran who is admitted into the Program and needs 10
818+transportation assistance— 11
819+(A) from the residence of the covered vet-12
820+eran or a facility of the Department or author-13
821+ized non-Department facility that does not pro-14
822+vide such care to another such facility that pro-15
823+vides residential care covered under the Pro-16
824+gram; and 17
825+(B) back to the residence of the covered 18
826+veteran after the conclusion of the Program, if 19
827+applicable. 20
273828 (c) C
274-OMPTROLLER GENERALREPORT ON OUT-18
275-REACH.—Not later than two years after the date of the 19
276-enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 20
277-United Stats shall submit to Congress a report on the ef-21
278-forts of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that 22
279-veterans are informed of the conditions for eligibility for 23
280-care and services under section 1703 of title 38, United 24
281-States Code, including such efforts to conduct outreach 25 9
282-•HR 8371 EH
283-pursuant to subsection (q) of such section (as added by 1
284-subsection (a)). 2
285-SEC. 103. ANNUAL REVIEW AND REPORT ON WAIVERS OF 3
286-CERTAIN PAYMENT RATES UNDER VETERANS 4
287-COMMUNITY CARE PROGRAM. 5
829+ONSIDERATIONS.—In making placement deci-21
830+sions under the Program, the Secretary shall consider the 22
831+input of the covered veteran and the treating clinicians 23
832+of the covered veteran, including with respect to program 24
833+specialty, subtype, or treatment track offered to the cov-25
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837+ered veteran, and the geographic placement of the covered 1
838+veteran, including family- or occupation-related pref-2
839+erences or circumstances. 3
840+(d) A
841+PPEALS.— 4
842+(1) I
843+N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 5
844+a national policy and associated procedures under 6
845+which a covered veteran, a representative of a cov-7
846+ered veteran, or a provider who requests a covered 8
847+veteran be admitted to the Program, including a 9
848+provider of the Department or a non-Department 10
849+provider, may file a clinical appeal pursuant to this 11
850+subsection if the covered veteran is— 12
851+(A) denied admission into the Program; or 13
852+(B) accepted into the Program but is not 14
853+offered bed placement in a timely manner. 15
854+(2) T
855+IMELINESS STANDARDS FOR REVIEW .— 16
288856 (A) I
289-NGENERAL.—Section 1703 of title 38, United 6
290-States Code, is further amended— 7
291-(1) by redesignating subsection (p) as sub-8
292-section (q); and 9
293-(2) by inserting after subsection (p) the fol-10
294-lowing new subsection (q): 11
295-‘‘(q) A
296-NNUALREVIEW ANDREPORT ONWAIVERS OF 12
297-P
298-AYMENTRATES.—(1) On an annual basis, the Secretary 13
299-shall— 14
300-‘‘(A) conduct a review of waivers of payment 15
301-rates under subsection (i) for Third Party Adminis-16
302-trators to identify whether such waivers help to al-17
303-leviate community-specific challenges, including scar-18
304-city of medical services associated with access to 19
305-health care; and 20
306-‘‘(B) submit to Congress a report on the results 21
307-of such review. 22
308-‘‘(2) Each report under paragraph (1)(B) shall in-23
309-clude, with respect to the period covered by the report— 24 10
310-•HR 8371 EH
311-‘‘(A) a statement, disaggregated by region, of 1
312-the total number of waivers described in subpara-2
313-graph (A) of such paragraph requested by Third 3
314-Party Administrators; 4
315-‘‘(B) a statement of the total number of such 5
316-waivers that were— 6
317-‘‘(i) granted by the Secretary; 7
318-‘‘(ii) denied by the Secretary; or 8
319-‘‘(iii) withdrawn by a Third Party Admin-9
320-istrator; 10
321-‘‘(C) a description of the process for the review 11
322-required under paragraph (1); 12
323-‘‘(D) a statement, disaggregated by region, of 13
324-the average time to process such waivers; 14
325-‘‘(E) an assessment, disaggregated by region, of 15
326-the extent to which such waivers that were granted 16
327-by the Secretary improved access to health care for 17
328-covered veterans; and 18
329-‘‘(F) a description of trends, if any, identified 19
330-by the Secretary with respect to such waivers. 20
331-‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘Third Party Ad-21
332-ministrator’ has the meaning given such term in section 22
333-1703B of this title.’’. 23
857+N GENERAL.—The national policy and 17
858+procedures developed under paragraph (1) for 18
859+appeals described in such paragraph shall in-19
860+clude timeliness standards for the Department 20
861+to review and make a decision on such an ap-21
862+peal. 22
334863 (B) D
335-EADLINE.—The Secretary shall submit the first 24
336-report required under subsection (q) of section 1703 of 25 11
337-•HR 8371 EH
338-such title (as added by subsection (a)) not later than 180 1
339-days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 2
340-SEC. 104. MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR STAND-3
341-ARDS FOR QUALITY OF CARE FROM DEPART-4
342-MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 5
864+ECISION.—The Secretary shall re-23
865+view and respond to any appeal under para-24
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869+graph (1) not later than 72 hours after the Sec-1
870+retary receives such appeal. 2
871+(3) P
872+UBLIC GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall 3
873+develop, and make available to the public, guidance 4
874+on how a covered veteran, a representative of the 5
875+covered veteran, or a provider of the covered veteran 6
876+can file a clinical appeal pursuant to this sub-7
877+section— 8
878+(A) if the covered veteran is denied admis-9
879+sion into the Program; 10
880+(B) if the first date on which the covered 11
881+veteran may enter the Program does not comply 12
882+with the standards established by the Depart-13
883+ment under section 1703B of title 38, United 14
884+States Code for purposes of determining eligi-15
885+bility for mental health care under subsections 16
886+(d) and (h) of section 1703 of such title; or 17
887+(C) with respect to such other factors as 18
888+the Secretary may specify. 19
889+(4) R
890+ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Nothing in this 20
891+subsection may be construed as granting a covered 21
892+covered veteran the right to appeal a decision of the 22
893+Secretary with respect to admission to the Program 23
894+to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals under chapter 71 24
895+of title 38, United States Code. 25
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899+(e) TRACKING OFAVAILABILITY ANDWAITTIMES.— 1
900+(1) I
901+N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, to the 2
902+extent practicable, create a method for tracking 3
903+availability and wait times under the Program across 4
904+all facilities of the Department, Veterans Integrated 5
905+Service Networks of the Department, and non-De-6
906+partment providers throughout the United States. 7
907+(2) A
908+VAILABILITY OF INFORMATION .—The Sec-8
909+retary shall, to the extent practicable, make the in-9
910+formation tracked under paragraph (1) available in 10
911+real time to— 11
912+(A) the mental health treatment coordina-12
913+tors at each facility of the Department; 13
914+(B) the leadership of each medical center 14
915+of the Department; 15
916+(C) the leadership of each Veterans Inte-16
917+grated Service Network; and 17
918+(D) the Office of the Under Secretary for 18
919+Health of the Department. 19
920+(f) T
921+RAINING ANDOVERSIGHT.— 20
922+(1) T
923+RAINING.— 21
343924 (A) I
344-NGENERAL.—Section 1703C of title 38, United 6
345-States Code, is amended— 7
346-(1) in subsection (a)— 8
347-(A) in paragraph (2)— 9
348-(i) by striking ‘‘In establishing’’ and 10
349-inserting ‘‘(A) In establishing’’; and 11
350-(ii) by adding at the end the following 12
351-new subparagraph: 13
352-‘‘(B) The Secretary shall ensure that the stand-14
353-ards for quality established under paragraph (1) are 15
354-comparable to industry standards to ensure there is 16
355-adequate data transference between care furnished 17
356-by the Department and care furnished by a non-De-18
357-partment provider.’’; 19
358-(B) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end 20
359-the following new clause: 21
360-‘‘(v) Outcomes relating to patient 22
361-quality of life.’’; 23
362-(C) in paragraph (4)— 24 12
363-•HR 8371 EH
364-(i) by striking ‘‘and the Centers for 1
365-Medicare & Medicaid Services’’ and insert-2
366-ing ‘‘the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 3
367-Services, and the Indian Health Service’’; 4
368-and 5
369-(ii) by striking ‘‘and other nongovern-6
370-mental entities’’ and inserting ‘‘and other 7
371-non-governmental entities including Third 8
372-Party Administrators’’; and 9
373-(D) by striking paragraph (5) and insert-10
374-ing the following new paragraphs: 11
375-‘‘(5) When collecting, considering, and applying data 12
376-related to patient care for purposes of establishing stand-13
377-ards for quality under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 14
378-ensure no metric is being over or under analyzed. 15
379-‘‘(6) In establishing standards for quality under para-16
380-graph (1), the Secretary shall— 17
381-‘‘(A) utilize the most up-to-date practices for 18
382-extracting and analyzing relevant data; 19
383-‘‘(B) utilize all relevant data available to the 20
384-Secretary; 21
385-‘‘(C) ensure the most efficient use of time and 22
386-resources related to the use of data scientists em-23
387-ployed by the Department; and 24 13
388-•HR 8371 EH
389-‘‘(D) collaborate, as appropriate, with entities 1
390-specified in paragraph (4). 2
391-‘‘(7)(A) Not less frequently than once every five 3
392-years, the Secretary shall update the standards for quality 4
393-established under paragraph (1) pursuant to the require-5
394-ments for the establishment of such standards under this 6
395-subsection. 7
396-‘‘(B) Not later than 30 days after any date on which 8
397-the Secretary updates, pursuant to subparagraph (A), the 9
398-standards for quality under paragraph (1), the Secretary 10
399-shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 11
400-a report on such updated standards for quality.’’; and 12
401-(2) in subsection (b)— 13
402-(A) in paragraph (1)— 14
403-(i) by striking ‘‘Not later than 1 year 15
404-after the date on which the Secretary es-16
405-tablishes standards for quality under sub-17
406-section (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘Not less fre-18
407-quently than once every three years’’; and 19
408-(ii) by inserting ‘‘pursuant to stand-20
409-ards for quality under subsection (a)’’ 21
410-after ‘‘medical facilities of the Depart-22
411-ment’’; and 23
412-(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or up-24
413-dates’’ after ‘‘establishes’’. 25 14
414-•HR 8371 EH
415-(b) DEADLINE FORUPDATE.—The Secretary, pursu-1
416-ant to paragraph (7) of section 1703C(a) of title 38, 2
417-United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), shall 3
418-make the first update to the standards for quality estab-4
419-lished under paragraph (1) of such section not later than 5
420-the date that is five years after the date on which the Sec-6
421-retary submits the report under paragraph (2) of sub-7
422-section (d). 8
423-(c) R
424-EPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 9
425-of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 10
426-Affairs shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con-11
427-gress a report on how the Secretary— 12
428-(1) has consulted with entities specified in para-13
429-graph (4) of section 1703C(a) of title 38, United 14
430-States Code, before the date of the enactment of this 15
431-Act in establishing standards for quality under such 16
432-section; 17
433-(2) has continued to consult with those entities 18
434-on and after such date of enactment; and 19
435-(3) intends to leverage data sciences to improve 20
436-standards for quality care furnished by the Depart-21
437-ment of Veterans Affairs. 22
438-(d) U
439-PDATES TOQUALITYCAREMETRICS.— 23
925+N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall up-22
926+date and implement training for staff of the 23
927+Department directly involved in the Program 24
928+regarding referrals, screening, admission, place-25
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932+ment decisions, and appeals for the Program, 1
933+including all changes to processes and guidance 2
934+under the Program required by this section and 3
935+under section 105 of this Act. 4
936+(B) C
937+OVERED VETERANS AWAITING ADMIS -5
938+SION.—The training under subparagraph (A) 6
939+shall include procedures for the care of covered 7
940+veterans awaiting admission into the Program 8
941+and communication with such covered veterans 9
942+and the providers of such covered veterans. 10
943+(C) T
944+IMING OF TRAINING.— 11
945+(i) I
946+N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 12
947+require the training under subparagraph 13
948+(A) to be completed by staff required to 14
949+complete such training— 15
950+(I) not later than 60 days after 16
951+beginning employment at the Depart-17
952+ment in a position that includes work 18
953+directly involving the Program; and 19
954+(II) not less frequently than an-20
955+nually. 21
956+(ii) T
957+RACKING.—The Secretary shall 22
958+track completion of training required 23
959+under clause (i) by staff required to com-24
960+plete such training. 25
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964+(2) OVERSIGHT STANDARDS .—The Secretary 1
965+shall review and revise oversight standards for the 2
966+leadership of the Veterans Integrated Service Net-3
967+works and the Veterans Health Administration to 4
968+ensure that facilities and staff of the Department 5
969+are adhering to the policy of the Program on access 6
970+to care. 7
971+(g) C
972+ARECOORDINATION AND FOLLOW-UPCARE.— 8
973+(1) C
974+ONTINUITY OF CARE.—The Secretary shall 9
975+ensure each covered veteran who is screened for ad-10
976+mission to the Program is offered, and provided if 11
977+agreed upon, care options during the period between 12
978+screening of the covered veteran and admission of 13
979+the covered veteran to the Program to ensure the 14
980+covered veteran does not experience any lapse in 15
981+care. 16
982+(2) C
983+ARE COORDINATION FOR SUBSTANCE USE 17
984+DISORDER.—For a covered veteran being treated for 18
985+substance use disorder, the Secretary shall— 19
986+(A) ensure there is a care plan in place 20
987+during the period between any detoxification 21
988+services or inpatient care received by the cov-22
989+ered veteran and admission of the covered vet-23
990+eran to the Program; and 24
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994+(B) communicate that care plan to the cov-1
995+ered veteran, the primary care provider of the 2
996+covered veteran, and the facility of the Program 3
997+where the covered veteran is or will be residing. 4
998+(3) C
999+ARE PLANNING PRIOR TO DISCHARGE .— 5
1000+(A) I
1001+N GENERAL.—The Secretary, in con-6
1002+sultation with the covered veteran and the 7
1003+treating providers of the covered veteran in the 8
1004+Program, shall ensure the completion of a care 9
1005+plan prior to the covered veteran being dis-10
1006+charged from the Program. 11
1007+(B) M
1008+ATTERS TO BE INCLUDED .—The 12
1009+care plan required under subparagraph (A) for 13
1010+a covered veteran shall include details on the 14
1011+course of treatment for the covered veteran fol-15
1012+lowing completion of treatment under the Pro-16
1013+gram, including any necessary follow-up care. 17
1014+(C) S
1015+HARING OF CARE PLAN .—The care 18
1016+plan required under subparagraph (A) shall be 19
1017+shared with the covered veteran, the primary 20
1018+care provider of the covered veteran, and any 21
1019+other providers with which the covered veteran 22
1020+consents to sharing the plan. 23
1021+(D) D
1022+ISCHARGE FROM NON -DEPARTMENT 24
1023+FACILITY.—Upon discharge of a covered vet-25
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1027+eran under the Program from a non-Depart-1
1028+ment facility, the facility shall share with the 2
1029+Department all care records maintained by the 3
1030+facility with respect to the covered veteran and 4
1031+shall work in consultation with the Department 5
1032+on the care plan of the covered veteran required 6
1033+under subparagraph (A). 7
1034+(h) R
1035+EPORTS TOCONGRESS.— 8
1036+(1) R
1037+EPORT ON MODIFICATIONS TO PRO -9
1038+GRAM.— 10
1039+(A) I
1040+N GENERAL.—Not later than two 11
1041+years after the date of the enactment of this 12
1042+Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 13
1043+submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs 14
1044+of the House of Representatives and the Senate 15
1045+a report on modifications made to the guidance, 16
1046+operation, and oversight of the Program to ful-17
1047+fill the requirements of this section. 18
1048+(B) E
1049+LEMENTS.—The report required by 19
1050+subparagraph (A) shall include— 20
1051+(i) an assessment of whether costs of 21
1052+the Program, including for residential care 22
1053+provided through facilities of the Depart-23
1054+ment and non-Department facilities, serve 24
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1057+•HR 8371 IH
1058+as a disincentive to placement in the Pro-1
1059+gram; 2
1060+(ii) a description of actions taken by 3
1061+the Department to address the findings 4
1062+and recommendations by the Secretary 5
1063+contained in the report under section 6
1064+503(c) of the STRONG Veterans Act of 7
1065+2022 (division V of Public Law 117–328), 8
1066+including such actions with respect to— 9
1067+(I) any new locations of the Pro-10
1068+gram added; 11
1069+(II) any beds added at existing 12
1070+facilities of the Program; and 13
1071+(III) any additional treatment 14
1072+tracks or sex-specific programs cre-15
1073+ated or added at facilities of the De-16
1074+partment; and 17
1075+(iii) such recommendations as the 18
1076+Secretary may have for legislative or ad-19
1077+ministrative action to address any funding 20
1078+constraints or disincentives for use of the 21
1079+Program. 22
1080+(2) A
1081+NNUAL REPORT ON OPERATION OF PRO -23
1082+GRAM.— 24
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1086+(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 1
1087+after the submission of the report under para-2
1088+graph (1)(A), and not less frequently than an-3
1089+nually thereafter during the duration of the 4
1090+Program, the Secretary shall submit to the 5
1091+Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 6
1092+of Representatives and the Senate a report on 7
1093+the operation of the Program. 8
1094+(B) E
1095+LEMENTS.—Subject to subparagraph 9
1096+(C), each report required by subparagraph (A) 10
1097+shall include the following: 11
1098+(i) The number of covered veterans 12
1099+served by the Program, disaggregated by— 13
1100+(I) Veterans Integrated Service 14
1101+Network in which the covered veteran 15
1102+receives care; 16
1103+(II) facility, including facilities of 17
1104+the Department and non-Department 18
1105+facilities, at which the covered veteran 19
1106+receives care; 20
1107+(III) type of residential rehabili-21
1108+tation treatment care received by the 22
1109+covered veteran under the Program; 23
1110+(IV) sex of the covered veteran; 24
1111+and 25
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1115+(V) race or ethnicity of the cov-1
1116+ered veteran. 2
1117+(ii) Wait times under the Program for 3
1118+the most recent year data is available, 4
1119+disaggregated by— 5
1120+(I) treatment track or specificity 6
1121+of residential rehabilitation treatment 7
1122+care sought by the covered veteran; 8
1123+(II) sex of the covered veteran; 9
1124+(III) State or territory in which 10
1125+the covered veteran is located; 11
1126+(IV) Veterans Integrated Service 12
1127+Network in which the covered veteran 13
1128+is located; and 14
1129+(V) facility of the Department at 15
1130+which the covered veteran seeks care. 16
1131+(iii) A list of all locations of the Pro-17
1132+gram and number of bed spaces at each 18
1133+such location, disaggregated by residential 19
1134+rehabilitation treatment care or treatment 20
1135+track provided under the Program at such 21
1136+location. 22
1137+(iv) A list of any new Program loca-23
1138+tions added or removed and any bed spaces 24
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1142+added or removed during the one-year pe-1
1143+riod preceding the date of the report. 2
1144+(v) Average cost of a stay under the 3
1145+Program, including total stay average and 4
1146+daily average, at— 5
1147+(I) a facility of the Department; 6
1148+and 7
1149+(II) a non-Department facility. 8
1150+(vi) A review of staffing needs and 9
1151+gaps with respect to the Program. 10
1152+(vii) Any recommendations for 11
1153+changes to the operation of the Program, 12
1154+including any policy changes, guidance 13
1155+changes, training changes, or other 14
1156+changes. 15
1157+(C) A
1158+NONYMITY.—The Secretary shall pro-16
1159+vide the data under this paragraph pursuant to 17
1160+Federal laws and in a manner that is wholly 18
1161+consistent with applicable Federal privacy and 19
1162+confidentiality laws, including the Privacy Act 20
1163+(5 U.S.C. 552a), the Health Insurance Port-21
1164+ability and Accountability Act (Public Law 22
1165+104–191; 42 U.S.C. 201 note) and regulations 23
1166+(title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, parts 24
1167+160 and 164, or successor regulations), and 25
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1171+sections 5701, 5705, and 7332 of title 38, 1
1172+United States Code, to ensure that the provided 2
1173+data, or some portion of the data, will not un-3
1174+dermine the anonymity of a veteran. 4
1175+(i) R
1176+EVISION OFGUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall 5
1177+update the guidance of the Department of Veterans Af-6
1178+fairs on the operation of the Mental Health Residential 7
1179+Rehabilitation Treatment Program to reflect each of the 8
1180+requirements under subsections (b) through (h). 9
1181+(j) D
1182+EADLINE.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 10
1183+shall carry out each requirement under this section by not 11
1184+later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 12
1185+Act, unless otherwise specified. 13
1186+(k) C
1187+OMPTROLLERGENERALREVIEW.— 14
4401188 (1) I
441-NITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 24
442-after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-25 15
443-•HR 8371 EH
444-retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appro-1
445-priate committees of Congress a report on how the 2
446-Secretary plans to implement the amendments made 3
447-by subsections (a). 4
448-(2) D
449-EADLINE; SUMMARY REPORT .—Not later 5
450-than two years after the date of the enactment of 6
451-this Act, the Secretary shall— 7
452-(A) implement the amendments made by 8
453-subsection (a), including by updating the stand-9
454-ards for quality established under section 10
455-1703C of title 38, United States Code; and 11
456-(B) submit to the appropriate committees 12
457-of Congress a report detailing the standards for 13
458-quality updated pursuant to such amendments. 14
459-(e) A
460-UDIT OFQUALITYCAREMETRICS.— 15
461-(1) I
462-N GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 16
463-after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-17
464-retary of Veterans Affairs shall enter into one or 18
465-more contracts with a non-Department entity de-19
466-scribed in paragraph (2) to conduct an audit on the 20
467-quality of care from the Department of Veterans Af-21
468-fairs, including through non-Department health care 22
469-providers pursuant to section 1703 of title 38 23
470-United States Code. 24 16
471-•HR 8371 EH
472-(2) NON-DEPARTMENT ENTITY DESCRIBED .—A 1
473-non-Department entity described in this paragraph 2
474-is an entity that— 3
475-(A) specializes in analyzing large-scale or-4
476-ganizational data collection and analysis efforts, 5
477-especially with respect to the health care sector; 6
478-and 7
479-(B) has experience and proven outcomes in 8
480-optimizing the accuracy and comprehensiveness 9
481-of data collection and analysis related to the 10
482-quality of health care services. 11
483-(3) E
484-LEMENTS.—The audit required under 12
485-paragraph (1) shall include the following: 13
486-(A) An assessment of the methodology 14
487-used by the Department to collect and assess 15
488-data on the quality of care furnished by the De-16
489-partment, including any vulnerabilities in such 17
490-methodology. 18
491-(B) An assessment of the accuracy and re-19
492-liability of the data sources used by the Depart-20
493-ment to compile data on the quality of care fur-21
494-nished by the Department. 22
495-(C) The extent to which the standards the 23
496-Department uses to assess the quality of care 24
497-furnished by the Department are— 25 17
498-•HR 8371 EH
499-(i) comparable with industry stand-1
500-ards; 2
501-(ii) easily accessible to, and under-3
502-stood by— 4
503-(I) veterans; 5
504-(II) employees of the Depart-6
505-ment; and 7
506-(III) other individuals, as the pri-8
507-vate sector entity considers appro-9
508-priate. 10
509-(D) Any recommendations of such private 11
510-sector entity with respect to improvements that 12
511-the Secretary could administer to more accu-13
512-rately capture the quality of care furnished by 14
513-the Department. 15
514-(4) R
515-EPORTS ON AUDIT.— 16
516-(A) R
517-EPORT ON FINDINGS AND REC -17
518-OMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 60 days after 18
519-any date on which a private sector entity de-19
520-scribed in paragraph (2) completes an audit 20
521-under paragraph (1), such private sector entity 21
522-shall submit to the Secretary, the Committee on 22
523-Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, and the Com-23
524-mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 24
525-Representatives a report that includes— 25 18
526-•HR 8371 EH
527-(i) the findings of such audit; and 1
528-(ii) recommendations of such private 2
529-sector entity with respect to such audit. 3
530-(B) R
531-EPORT ON PLANNED IMPROVE -4
532-MENTS.—Not later than 60 days after any date 5
533-on which the Secretary receives a report under 6
534-subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall submit to 7
535-the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen-8
536-ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 9
537-the House of Representatives a report on how 10
538-the Secretary plans to improve the standards 11
539-for quality of care of the Department. 12
540-(f) A
541-PPROPRIATECOMMITTEES OF CONGRESSDE-13
542-FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit-14
543-tees of Congress’’ has the meaning given such term in sec-15
544-tion 1703C of title 38, United States Code. 16
545-SEC. 105. PILOT PROGRAM TO IMPROVE ADMINISTRATION 17
1189+N GENERAL.—Not later than two years 15
1190+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 16
1191+Comptroller General of the United States shall re-17
1192+view access to care under the Program for covered 18
1193+veterans in need of residential mental health care 19
1194+and substance use disorder care. 20
1195+(2) E
1196+LEMENTS.—The review required by para-21
1197+graph (1) shall include the following: 22
1198+(A) A review of wait times under the Pro-23
1199+gram, disaggregated by— 24
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1203+(i) treatment track or specificity of 1
1204+residential rehabilitation treatment care 2
1205+needed; 3
1206+(ii) sex of the covered veteran; 4
1207+(iii) home State of the covered vet-5
1208+eran; 6
1209+(iv) home Veterans Integrated Service 7
1210+Network of the covered veteran; and 8
1211+(v) wait times for— 9
1212+(I) facilities of the Department; 10
1213+and 11
1214+(II) non-Department facilities. 12
1215+(B) A review of policy and training of the 13
1216+Department on screening, admission, and place-14
1217+ment under the Program. 15
1218+(C) A review of the rights of covered vet-16
1219+erans and providers to appeal admission deci-17
1220+sions under the Program and how the Depart-18
1221+ment adjudicates appeals. 19
1222+(D) When determining the facility at which 20
1223+a covered veteran admitted to the Program will 21
1224+be placed in the Program, a review of how the 22
1225+input of the covered veteran is taken into con-23
1226+sideration with respect to— 24
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1230+(i) program specialty, subtype, or 1
1231+treatment track offered to the covered vet-2
1232+eran; and 3
1233+(ii) the geographic placement of the 4
1234+covered veteran, including family- or occu-5
1235+pation-related preferences or cir-6
1236+cumstances. 7
1237+(E) A review of staffing and staffing needs 8
1238+and gaps of the Program, including with re-9
1239+spect to— 10
1240+(i) mental health providers and coor-11
1241+dinators at the facility level; 12
1242+(ii) staff of Program facilities; 13
1243+(iii) staff of Veterans Integrated Serv-14
1244+ice Networks; and 15
1245+(iv) overall administration of the Pro-16
1246+gram at the national level. 17
1247+(F) Recommendations for improvement of 18
1248+access by covered veterans to care under the 19
1249+Program, including with respect to— 20
1250+(i) any new sites or types of programs 21
1251+needed or in development; 22
1252+(ii) changes in training or policy; 23
1253+(iii) changes in communications with 24
1254+covered veterans; and 25
1255+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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1258+(iv) oversight of the Program by the 1
1259+Department. 2
1260+(l) D
1261+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 3
1262+(1) The term ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a vet-4
1263+eran described in section 1703(b) of title 38, United 5
1264+States Code. 6
1265+(2) The term ‘‘Mental Health Residential Reha-7
1266+bilitation Treatment Program’’— 8
1267+(A) means— 9
1268+(i) a mental health residential reha-10
1269+bilitation treatment program of the De-11
1270+partment under sections 103 and 104 of 12
1271+the Veterans Mental Health and Other 13
1272+Care Improvement Act of 2008 (Public 14
1273+Law 110–387); and 15
1274+(ii) the array of programs and serv-16
1275+ices of the Department that comprise resi-17
1276+dential care for mental health and sub-18
1277+stance use disorders; 19
1278+(B) includes— 20
1279+(i) the programs designated as of the 21
1280+date of the enactment of this Act as domi-22
1281+ciliary residential rehabilitation treatment 23
1282+programs; and 24
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1286+(ii) any programs designated as domi-1
1287+ciliary residential rehabilitation treatment 2
1288+programs on or after such date of enact-3
1289+ment; and 4
1290+(C) does not include compensated work 5
1291+therapy transition resident programs of the De-6
1292+partment. 7
1293+(3) The term ‘‘treatment track’’ means a spe-8
1294+cialized treatment program that is provided to a sub-9
1295+set of covered veterans in the Program who receive 10
1296+the same or similar intensive treatment and rehabili-11
1297+tative services. 12
1298+(m) S
1299+UNSET.—This section shall terminate on the 13
1300+day that is two years after that date on which the Sec-14
1301+retary completes carrying out each requirement pursuant 15
1302+to subsection (j). 16
1303+SEC. 107. PILOT PROGRAM TO IMPROVE ADMINISTRATION 17
5461304 OF CARE UNDER VETERANS COMMUNITY 18
5471305 CARE PROGRAM. 19
5481306 (a) E
5491307 STABLISHMENT.—Pursuant to section 1703E of 20
5501308 title 38, United States Code, the Secretary of Veterans 21
551-Affairs, acting through the Center for Innovation for Care 22
552-and Payment established under such section, shall carry 23
553-out a pilot program to seek to develop and implement a 24
554-plan— 25 19
555-•HR 8371 EH
556-(1) to provide monetary and non-monetary in-1
557-centives to a covered health care provider— 2
558-(A) to allow the Secretary to see the sched-3
559-uling system of the provider, to assess the avail-4
560-ability of, and to assist in scheduling appoint-5
561-ments for, veterans under the Veterans Com-6
562-munity Care Program under section 1703 of 7
563-such title, including through synchronous, asyn-8
564-chronous, and asynchronous assisted digital 9
565-scheduling; 10
566-(B) to complete continuing professional 11
567-educational training available through the VHA 12
568-TRAIN program (or any successor program or 13
569-initiative) regarding veteran cultural com-14
570-petency, the opioid safety initiative (or any suc-15
571-cessor program or initiative), and other subjects 16
572-determined appropriate by the Secretary; 17
573-(C) to improve methods of accounting for 18
574-non-Department training that is equivalent or 19
575-substantially similar to the continuing profes-20
576-sional educational training described in sub-21
577-paragraph (B); 22
578-(D) to improve the rate of the timely re-23
579-turn to the Secretary of medical record docu-24 20
580-•HR 8371 EH
581-mentation for care or services provided under 1
582-the Veterans Community Care Program; 2
583-(E) to improve the timeliness and quality 3
584-of the delivery of care and services to veterans 4
585-under such program; and 5
586-(F) to achieve other objectives determined 6
587-appropriate by the Secretary; and 7
588-(2) to decrease the rate of no-show appoint-8
589-ments under such program. 9
1309+Affairs shall carry out a pilot program to seek to develop 22
1310+and implement a plan— 23
1311+(1) to provide monetary and non-monetary in-24
1312+centives to a covered health care provider— 25
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1316+(A) to allow the Secretary to see the sched-1
1317+uling system of the provider, to assess the avail-2
1318+ability of, and to assist in scheduling appoint-3
1319+ments for, veterans under the Veterans Com-4
1320+munity Care Program under section 1703 of 5
1321+such title, including through synchronous, asyn-6
1322+chronous, and asynchronous assisted digital 7
1323+scheduling; 8
1324+(B) to complete continuing professional 9
1325+educational training available through the VHA 10
1326+TRAIN program (or any successor program or 11
1327+initiative) regarding veteran cultural com-12
1328+petency, the opioid safety initiative (or any suc-13
1329+cessor program or initiative), and other subjects 14
1330+determined appropriate by the Secretary; 15
1331+(C) to improve methods of accounting for 16
1332+non-Department training that is equivalent or 17
1333+substantially similar to the continuing profes-18
1334+sional educational training described in sub-19
1335+paragraph (B); 20
1336+(D) to improve the rate of the timely re-21
1337+turn to the Secretary of medical record docu-22
1338+mentation for care or services provided under 23
1339+the Veterans Community Care Program; 24
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1343+(E) to improve the timeliness and quality 1
1344+of the delivery of care and services to veterans 2
1345+under such program; and 3
1346+(F) to achieve other objectives determined 4
1347+appropriate by the Secretary; and 5
1348+(2) to decrease the rate of no-show appoint-6
1349+ments under such program. 7
5901350 (b) R
591-EPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 10
592-of the establishment of the pilot program under this sec-11
593-tion, and annually thereafter during the term of the pilot 12
594-program, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 13
595-to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 14
596-Representatives and the Senate a report on the pilot pro-15
597-gram that includes, with respect to the period covered by 16
598-the report— 17
599-(1) an assessment of the extent to which— 18
600-(A) the system of the Department of Vet-19
601-erans Affairs for scheduling appointments for 20
602-veterans under the Veterans Community Care 21
603-Program has improved; 22
604-(B) the rate of timely return to the Sec-23
605-retary of medical record documentation de-24 21
606-•HR 8371 EH
607-scribed in subparagraph (D) of subsection 1
608-(a)(1) has improved; 2
609-(C) the timeliness and quality of the deliv-3
610-ery of care and services described in subpara-4
611-graph (E) of such subsection has improved; and 5
612-(D) the frequency of no-show appointments 6
613-described in paragraph (2) of such subsection 7
614-decreased; 8
615-(2) a list of the continuing professional edu-9
616-cational training courses under subparagraph (B) of 10
617-such subsection available to covered health care pro-11
618-viders; 12
619-(3) the rate of participation in such continuing 13
620-professional education training courses; and 14
621-(4) any other matter the Secretary determines 15
622-appropriate. 16
1351+EPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 8
1352+of the establishment of the pilot program under this sec-9
1353+tion, annually thereafter during the term of the pilot pro-10
1354+gram, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to 11
1355+the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-12
1356+resentatives and the Senate a report on the pilot program 13
1357+that includes, with respect to the period covered by the 14
1358+report— 15
1359+(1) an assessment of the extent to which— 16
1360+(A) the system of the Department of Vet-17
1361+erans Affairs for scheduling appointments for 18
1362+veterans under the Veterans Community Care 19
1363+Program has improved; 20
1364+(B) the rate of timely return to the Sec-21
1365+retary of medical record documentation de-22
1366+scribed in subparagraph (D) of subsection 23
1367+(a)(1) has improved; 24
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1371+(C) the timeliness and quality of the deliv-1
1372+ery of care and services described in subpara-2
1373+graph (E) of such subsection has improved; and 3
1374+(D) the frequency of no-show appointments 4
1375+described in paragraph (2) of such subsection 5
1376+decreased; 6
1377+(2) a list of the continuing professional edu-7
1378+cational training courses under subparagraph (B) of 8
1379+such subsection available to covered health care pro-9
1380+viders; 10
1381+(3) the rate of participation in such continuing 11
1382+professional education training courses; and 12
1383+(4) any other matter the Secretary determines 13
1384+appropriate. 14
6231385 (c) D
624-EFINITIONS.—In this section: 17
625-(1) The term ‘‘covered health care provider’’ 18
626-means a health care provider— 19
627-(A) described in subsection (c) of section 20
628-1703 of title 38, United States Code, that fur-21
629-nishes care or services under the Veterans Com-22
630-munity Care Program pursuant to a contract or 23
631-agreement with a Third Party Administrator; 24
632-or 25 22
633-•HR 8371 EH
634-(B) that otherwise furnishes care or serv-1
635-ices outside of Department facilities pursuant 2
636-to a contract or agreement with the Secretary 3
1386+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 15
1387+(1) The term ‘‘covered health care provider’’ 16
1388+means a health care provider— 17
1389+(A) described in subsection (c) of section 18
1390+1703 of title 38, United States Code, that fur-19
1391+nishes care or services under the Veterans Com-20
1392+munity Care Program pursuant to a contract or 21
1393+agreement with a Third Party Administrator; 22
1394+or 23
1395+(B) that otherwise furnishes care or serv-24
1396+ices outside of Department facilities pursuant 25
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1400+to a contract or agreement with the Secretary 1
1401+of Veterans Affairs. 2
1402+(2) The term ‘‘opioid safety initiative’’ means 3
1403+the programs, processes, and guidelines of the Vet-4
1404+erans Health Administration of the Department of 5
1405+Veterans Affairs relating to the management of 6
1406+opioid therapy and chronic pain. 7
1407+(3) The term ‘‘Third Party Administrator’’ 8
1408+means an entity that manages a network of health 9
1409+care providers and performs administrative services 10
1410+related to such network under section 1703 of such 11
1411+title. 12
1412+(4) The term ‘‘VHA TRAIN program’’ means 13
1413+the free program of the Veterans Health Adminis-14
1414+tration that offers veteran-specific continuing med-15
1415+ical education courses. 16
1416+SEC. 108. PILOT PROGRAM ON CONSOLIDATING APPROVAL 17
1417+PROCESS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-18
1418+FAIRS FOR COVERED DENTAL CARE. 19
1419+(a) I
1420+NGENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 20
1421+date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-21
1422+erans Affairs shall carry out a pilot program to hire— 22
1423+(1) general dentists at medical facilities of the 23
1424+Department of Veterans Affairs to manage approval 24
1425+by the Department of treatment plans requested by 25
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1429+dental providers in providing covered dental care; 1
1430+and 2
1431+(2) dental specialists at Veterans Integrated 3
1432+Service Networks of the Department to manage ap-4
1433+proval by the Department of treatment plans for 5
1434+specialty dental care requested by dental providers 6
1435+in providing covered dental care. 7
1436+(b) L
1437+OCATIONS.—The Secretary shall carry out the 8
1438+pilot program in not fewer than two Veterans Integrated 9
1439+Service Networks of the Department. 10
1440+(c) R
1441+EPORTS.— 11
1442+(1) I
1443+NITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 12
1444+after the date of the commencement of such pilot 13
1445+program, the Secretary shall submit to the Commit-14
1446+tees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 15
1447+House of Representatives a report on the pilot pro-16
1448+gram, that includes— 17
1449+(A) an identification of the Veterans Inte-18
1450+grated Service Networks participating in such 19
1451+pilot program; 20
1452+(B) a description of the implementation of 21
1453+such pilot program; 22
1454+(C) an identification of any barriers or 23
1455+challenges to implementing such pilot program; 24
1456+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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1459+(D) an assessment of the efficacy of hiring 1
1460+general dentists and dental specialists pursuant 2
1461+to such pilot program; 3
1462+(E) aggregated feedback with respect to 4
1463+such pilot program from dentists of the Depart-5
1464+ment in Veterans Integrated Service Networks 6
1465+participating in such pilot program; and 7
1466+(F) aggregated feedback from dental pro-8
1467+viders providing covered dental care within such 9
1468+Veterans Integrated Service Networks regard-10
1469+ing any changes in the timeliness of treatment 11
1470+plan approvals by the Department. 12
1471+(2) F
1472+INAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 13
1473+before the date of the completion of such pilot pro-14
1474+gram, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees 15
1475+on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of 16
1476+Representatives a report on the pilot program that— 17
1477+(A) includes, with respect to the period 18
1478+covered by the report, each element of the re-19
1479+port required under paragraph (1) described in 20
1480+subparagraphs (A) through (F) of such para-21
1481+graph; 22
1482+(B) includes recommendations of the Sec-23
1483+retary on whether the pilot program should 24
1484+be— 25
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1488+(i) extended; 1
1489+(ii) expanded; or 2
1490+(iii) adopted throughout the Depart-3
1491+ment; and 4
1492+(C) indicates whether the Secretary re-5
1493+quests action by Congress to make the pilot 6
1494+program permanent. 7
1495+(d) S
1496+UNSET.—The authority to carry out the pilot 8
1497+program under this section shall terminate on the date 9
1498+that is two years after the date of the enactment of this 10
1499+Act. 11
1500+(e) C
1501+OVEREDDENTALCAREDEFINED.—In this sec-12
1502+tion, the term ‘‘covered dental care’’ means dental care 13
1503+provided— 14
1504+(1) under section 1703 of title 38, United 15
1505+States Code; or 16
1506+(2) pursuant to a Veterans Care Agreement 17
1507+under section 1703A of such title. 18
1508+SEC. 109. STRATEGIC PLAN ON VALUE-BASED HEALTH 19
1509+CARE SYSTEM FOR VETERANS HEALTH AD-20
1510+MINISTRATION; PILOT PROGRAM. 21
1511+(a) E
1512+STABLISHMENT OF WORKINGGROUP.— 22
1513+(1) I
1514+N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 23
1515+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-24
1516+retary of Veterans Affairs shall— 25
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1520+(A) establish a working group on value- 1
1521+based care; and 2
1522+(B) submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 3
1523+Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 4
1524+Senate the strategic plan developed by the 5
1525+working group pursuant to subsection (b). 6
1526+(2) M
1527+EMBERSHIP.— 7
1528+(A) R
1529+EQUIRED MEMBERS .—The working 8
1530+group shall include, at a minimum, the fol-9
1531+lowing members: 10
1532+(i) The Under Secretary for Health of 11
1533+the Department of Veterans Affairs. 12
1534+(ii) The Director of the Office of Men-13
1535+tal Health and Suicide Prevention of the 14
1536+Department of Veterans Affairs (or any 15
1537+successor office). 16
1538+(iii) The Director of the Office of In-17
1539+tegrated Veteran Care of the Department 18
1540+(or any successor office). 19
1541+(iv) The Director of the Office of 20
1542+Rural Health of the Department (or any 21
1543+successor office). 22
1544+(v) The Director of the Office of Con-23
1545+nected Care of the Department (or any 24
1546+successor office). 25
1547+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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1549+•HR 8371 IH
1550+(vi) The Assistant Secretary for the 1
1551+Office of Information Technology (or any 2
1552+successor office). 3
1553+(vii) The Chief Officer of the Office of 4
1554+Healthcare Innovation and Learning of the 5
1555+Office of Discovery, Education, and Affil-6
1556+iate Networks of the Veterans Health Ad-7
1557+ministration (or any successor office). 8
1558+(viii) An individual designated by the 9
1559+Secretary from the Center for Innovation 10
1560+for Care and Payment of the Department 11
1561+under section 1703E of title 38, United 12
1562+States Code. 13
1563+(ix) An individual designated by the 14
1564+Administrator of the Centers for Medicare 15
1565+& Medicaid Services from the Center for 16
1566+Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. 17
1567+(x) An individual designated by the 18
1568+Secretary of Health and Human Services 19
1569+from the Federal Office of Rural Health 20
1570+Policy of the Health Resources and Serv-21
1571+ices Administration. 22
1572+(xi) The Chief of Human Capital 23
1573+Management for the Veterans Health Ad-24
1574+ministration. 25
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1578+(xii) An individual designated by the 1
1579+Secretary of Defense that is a representa-2
1580+tive of the Defense Health Agency. 3
1581+(xiii) An individual selected by the 4
1582+Secretary of Veterans Affairs from the spe-5
1583+cial medical advisory group established 6
1584+under section 7312 of title 38, United 7
1585+States Code. 8
1586+(B) O
1587+PTIONAL MEMBERS .—The Secretary 9
1588+of Veterans Affairs may appoint any of the fol-10
1589+lowing individuals as members of the working 11
1590+group: 12
1591+(i) An individual representing the 13
1592+Health and Medicine Division of the Na-14
1593+tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, 15
1594+and Medicine. 16
1595+(ii) Three individuals representing a 17
1596+private health care system that has made 18
1597+the transition to value-based care. 19
1598+(iii) Three individuals representing an 20
1599+organization recognized by the Secretary of 21
1600+Veterans Affairs under section 5902 of 22
1601+title 38, United States Code. 23
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1605+(3) EXEMPTION FROM FACA .—Chapter 10 of 1
1606+title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the 2
1607+working group established under paragraph (1). 3
1608+(b) D
1609+EVELOPMENT OF STRATEGICPLAN.—The 4
1610+working group shall develop a strategic plan to implement 5
1611+value-based care into the Veterans Health Administration 6
1612+that includes the following: 7
1613+(1) An identification of the state of the Vet-8
1614+erans Health Administration as of the date of the 9
1615+enactment of this Act, including an assessment of 10
1616+the current model of health care delivery used by the 11
1617+Veterans Health Administration in medical facilities 12
1618+of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 13
1619+(2) An assessment of the capacity needs of the 14
1620+Veterans Health Administration during the five-year 15
1621+period beginning on the date of the enactment of 16
1622+this Act. 17
1623+(3) An analysis of the leadership of the Vet-18
1624+erans Health Administration, including an assess-19
1625+ment of leadership acumen and ability to implement 20
1626+a clear, shared vision and effective change manage-21
1627+ment and care coordination. 22
1628+(4) An identification of goals for the future of 23
1629+the Veterans Health Administration. 24
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1633+(5) An identification and classification of the 1
1634+current capabilities, capacity, and gaps in access and 2
1635+quality of the health care system of the Department 3
6371636 of Veterans Affairs. 4
638-(2) The term ‘‘opioid safety initiative’’ means 5
639-the programs, processes, and guidelines of the Vet-6
640-erans Health Administration of the Department of 7
641-Veterans Affairs relating to the management of 8
642-opioid therapy and chronic pain. 9
643-(3) The term ‘‘Third Party Administrator’’ 10
644-means an entity that manages a network of health 11
645-care providers and performs administrative services 12
646-related to such network under section 1703 of such 13
647-title. 14
648-(4) The term ‘‘VHA TRAIN program’’ means 15
649-the free program of the Veterans Health Adminis-16
650-tration that offers veteran-specific continuing med-17
651-ical education courses. 18
652-SEC. 106. PILOT PROGRAM ON CONSOLIDATING APPROVAL 19
653-PROCESS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-20
654-FAIRS FOR COVERED DENTAL CARE. 21
1637+(6) An analysis of value-based care models, in-5
1638+cluding— 6
1639+(A) a selection of potential models that 7
1640+would best work for the Veterans Health Ad-8
1641+ministration; 9
1642+(B) the capacity and capabilities of each 10
1643+such model; and 11
1644+(C) a thorough justification of the selection 12
1645+of each selected model, including an summary 13
1646+of the ability of such model to improve the 14
1647+metrics described under paragraph (9). 15
1648+(7) A definition of what quality means with re-16
1649+spect to— 17
1650+(A) access to health care under the laws 18
1651+administered by the Secretary of Veterans Af-19
1652+fairs; and 20
1653+(B) delivery of such health care. 21
1654+(8) A definition of what value means with re-22
1655+spect to care furnished by the Veterans Health Ad-23
1656+ministration, 24
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1660+(9) A system for measuring value within the 1
1661+Veterans Health Administration that includes 2
1662+metrics for— 3
1663+(A) outcomes; 4
1664+(B) safety; 5
1665+(C) service; 6
1666+(D) access; 7
1667+(E) productivity; 8
1668+(F) capacity; 9
1669+(G) equity; and 10
1670+(H) total cost of patient care. 11
1671+(10) With respect to the system described in 12
1672+subparagraph (H), an analysis of variable value with 13
1673+respect to patient outcomes across different health 14
1674+care types and specialties. 15
1675+(11) An assessment of— 16
1676+(A) previous or ongoing assessments of the 17
1677+current information technology infrastructure of 18
1678+the Veterans Health Administration, includ-19
1679+ing— 20
1680+(i) such assessments conducted pursu-21
1681+ant to the Electronic Health Record Mod-22
1682+ernization program of the Department of 23
1683+Veterans Affairs; and 24
1684+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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1687+(ii) any other ongoing information 1
1688+technology modernization programs of such 2
1689+Department and any unimplemented rel-3
1690+evant recommendations from such assess-4
1691+ments; 5
1692+(B) the information technology infrastruc-6
1693+ture of the Veterans Health Administration in 7
1694+effect as of the date of the enactment of this 8
1695+Act; 9
1696+(C) the value-driven framework of the De-10
1697+partment, in effect as of the date of the enact-11
1698+ment of this Act, for evaluating health care in-12
1699+novations, and how improvements in such 13
1700+framework could be used to encourage innova-14
1701+tion; and 15
1702+(D) workforce challenges and needs of the 16
1703+Veterans Health Administration based on— 17
1704+(i) reviews of workforce assessment 18
1705+data available as of the date of the enact-19
1706+ment of this Act; and 20
1707+(ii) the findings of— 21
1708+(I) the report required by section 22
1709+301(d) of the Veterans Access, 23
1710+Choice, and Accountability Act of 24
1711+2014 (Public Law 113–146); 25
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1714+•HR 8371 IH
1715+(II) the reports required by sec-1
1716+tion 505 of the John S. McCain III, 2
1717+Daniel K. Akaka and Samuel R. 3
1718+Johnson VA Maintaining Internal 4
1719+Systems and Strengthening Inte-5
1720+grated Outside Networks Act of 2018 6
1721+(Public Law 115–182); 7
1722+(III) the report required by sec-8
1723+tion 301 of the VA Choice and Qual-9
1724+ity Employment Act of 2017 (Public 10
1725+Law 115–46); and 11
1726+(IV) any comprehensive health 12
1727+care inspection conducted by the In-13
1728+spector General of the Department of 14
1729+Veterans Affairs as of the date of the 15
1730+enactment of this Act. 16
1731+(12) Any recommendations of the working 17
1732+group with respect to improving the information 18
1733+technology infrastructure described in clause (i) of 19
1734+subparagraph (J). 20
1735+(13) An analysis of how the value-driven frame-21
1736+work described in clause (iii) of such subparagraph 22
1737+could be used to improve the model of care delivery 23
1738+by the Department. 24
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1741+•HR 8371 IH
1742+(14) A description of how a value-based care 1
1743+system would apply to primary care, inpatient and 2
1744+outpatient mental health care, and inpatient and 3
1745+outpatient substance use treatment, spinal cord in-4
1746+jury disorder care, and polytrauma care furnished by 5
1747+the Veterans Health Administration. 6
1748+(15) With respect to legislative or administra-7
1749+tive action necessary to incorporate value-based care 8
1750+models into the Veterans Health Administration, a 9
1751+description of the estimated timelines, effect on 10
1752+workforce, and costs. 11
1753+(c) P
1754+ILOTPROGRAM.— 12
1755+(1) I
1756+N GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 13
1757+after the submission of the strategic plan pursuant 14
1758+to subsection (b), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 15
1759+shall commence a three-year pilot program to imple-16
1760+ment the elements of such strategic plan relating to 17
1761+the delivery, by the Veterans Health Administration, 18
1762+of primary care, inpatient and outpatient mental 19
1763+health treatment, inpatient and outpatient substance 20
1764+abuse treatment, spinal cord injury disorder care, 21
1765+and polytrauma care. 22
1766+(2) L
1767+OCATIONS.—The Secretary shall carry out 23
1768+such pilot program in four Veterans Integrated 24
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1772+Service Networks that are geographically dispersed 1
1773+and shall include the following: 2
1774+(A) A Veterans Integrated Service Net-3
1775+work that predominately serves veterans in 4
1776+rural and highly rural areas. 5
1777+(B) A Veterans Integrated Service Net-6
1778+work that predominately serves veterans in 7
1779+urban areas. 8
1780+(C) A Veterans Integrated Service Net-9
1781+work that has a high rate of suicide among vet-10
1782+erans. 11
1783+(D) A Veterans Integrated Service Net-12
1784+work that has a high rate of substance use dis-13
1785+order among veterans. 14
1786+(E) A Veterans Integrated Service Net-15
1787+work that has access or productivity challenges. 16
1788+(3) R
1789+EPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 17
1790+(A) A
1791+NNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one 18
1792+year after the commencement of the pilot pro-19
1793+gram, and annually thereafter during the dura-20
1794+tion of the pilot program, the Secretary shall 21
1795+submit to Congress a report on the pilot pro-22
1796+gram. 23
1797+(B) F
1798+INAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 24
1799+days before the conclusion of the pilot program, 25
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1803+the Secretary shall submit to Congress a final 1
1804+report on the pilot program that includes— 2
1805+(i) lessons learned during the adminis-3
1806+tration of such pilot program; and 4
1807+(ii) specific health outcomes in veteran 5
1808+patient care compared to the Veterans 6
1809+Health Administration system of care in 7
1810+effect as of the date of the enactment of 8
1811+this Act. 9
1812+SEC. 110. PLAN ON ADOPTION OF CERTAIN HEALTH INFOR-10
1813+MATION STANDARDS FOR DEPARTMENT OF 11
1814+VETERANS AFFAIRS AND CERTAIN HEALTH 12
1815+CARE PROVIDERS. 13
1816+(a) P
1817+LAN FOR CERTAINHEALTHINFORMATION 14
1818+S
1819+TANDARDS.— 15
1820+(1) I
1821+N GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 16
1822+Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of Health 17
1823+and Human Services, the Administrator of the Cen-18
1824+ters for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Na-19
1825+tional Coordinator for Health Information Tech-20
1826+nology of the Department of Health and Human 21
1827+Services, shall create and implement a plan to adopt, 22
1828+as rapidly and to the most comprehensive extent fea-23
1829+sible, national health information interoperability 24
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1833+standards for the Department of Veterans Affairs 1
1834+and community care providers with respect to— 2
1835+(A) coordination of— 3
1836+(i) care; and 4
1837+(ii) benefits; 5
1838+(B) patient identity matching; 6
1839+(C) measurement and reporting of quality; 7
1840+(D) population health; and 8
1841+(E) public health. 9
1842+(2) C
1843+ONSIDERATION.—In developing the plan 10
1844+under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Veterans Af-11
1845+fairs shall consider challenges faced by— 12
1846+(A) small community care providers; and 13
1847+(B) community care providers located in 14
1848+rural areas. 15
1849+(b) P
1850+LAN ONELECTRONICHEALTHRECORDEX-16
1851+CHANGE.— 17
1852+(1) I
1853+N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 18
1854+after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-19
1855+retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 20
1856+Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representa-21
1857+tives a plan to provide, at no cost, to community 22
1858+care providers of the Department, through Third 23
1859+Party Administrators, a capability to facilitate the 24
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1863+electronic direct exchange, between such providers 1
1864+and the Department, of— 2
1865+(A) the health records of veterans; and 3
1866+(B) documents relating to health care of 4
1867+veterans, clinical notes, and any other informa-5
1868+tion the Secretary determines necessary. 6
1869+(2) P
1870+RIORITIZATION.—In developing the plan 7
1871+required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 8
1872+prioritize providing the capability described in such 9
1873+paragraph to community care providers that— 10
1874+(A) provide care under the laws adminis-11
1875+tered by the Secretary to— 12
1876+(i) a lower volume of veterans; and 13
1877+(ii) veterans who are located in rural 14
1878+areas; and 15
1879+(B) are unable or unwilling to exchange 16
1880+the records and documents described in sub-17
1881+paragraphs (A) and (B) of such paragraph with 18
1882+the Department through standards-based or di-19
1883+rect exchange mechanisms in effect as of the 20
1884+date of the enactment of this Act. 21
1885+(c) R
1886+EPORTS ON PLAN FOR INTEROPERABILITY 22
1887+S
1888+TANDARDS.— 23
1889+(1) I
1890+NITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 24
1891+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-25
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1895+retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com-1
1896+mittees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 2
1897+House of Representatives— 3
1898+(A) the plan required by subsection (a); 4
1899+and 5
1900+(B) a report that includes— 6
1901+(i) an analysis of gaps, if any, be-7
1902+tween the use, by the Department and 8
1903+other agencies, health information ex-9
1904+changes, and technology companies, of na-10
1905+tional health information interoperability 11
1906+standards and the potential, or optimal, 12
1907+use of such national health information 13
1908+interoperability standards; 14
1909+(ii) an analysis and description of the 15
1910+participation by the Department, commu-16
1911+nity care providers, and other relevant en-17
1912+tities in the Trusted Exchange Framework 18
1913+and Common Agreement program of the 19
1914+Department of Health and Human Serv-20
1915+ices as of the date of the enactment of this 21
1916+Act; 22
1917+(iii) recommendations of the Secretary 23
1918+with respect to development of health in-24
1919+formation interoperability standards; 25
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1923+(iv) timelines or schedules to imple-1
1924+ment the plan required by subsection (a); 2
1925+and 3
1926+(v) an identification of any legislative 4
1927+authorities or resources the Secretary re-5
1928+quires to implement such plan. 6
1929+(2) R
1930+ECURRING REPORT REQUIREMENT .— 7
6551931 (A) I
656-NGENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 22
657-date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-23
658-erans Affairs, acting through the Center for Innovation 24
659-for Care and Payment established under section 1703E 25 23
660-•HR 8371 EH
661-of title 38, United States Code, shall carry out a pilot pro-1
662-gram under which the Secretary shall hire— 2
663-(1) general dentists at medical facilities of the 3
664-Department of Veterans Affairs to manage approval 4
665-by the Department of treatment plans requested by 5
666-dental providers in providing covered dental care; 6
667-and 7
668-(2) dental specialists at Veterans Integrated 8
669-Service Networks of the Department to manage ap-9
670-proval by the Department of treatment plans for 10
671-specialty dental care requested by dental providers 11
672-in providing covered dental care. 12
673-(b) L
674-OCATIONS.—The Secretary shall carry out the 13
675-pilot program in not fewer than two Veterans Integrated 14
676-Service Networks of the Department. 15
1932+N GENERAL.—Not later than 18 8
1933+months after the date of the enactment of this 9
1934+Act, and every 180 days thereafter for four 10
1935+years, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 11
1936+submit to Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 12
1937+the Senate and the House of Representatives a 13
1938+report on the status of implementation of the 14
1939+plan required under subsection (a). 15
1940+(B) E
1941+LEMENTS OF SUBSEQUENT RE -16
1942+PORTS.—Each report under subparagraph (A) 17
1943+submitted after the date on which the first re-18
1944+port required by such subparagraph is sub-19
1945+mitted shall include a description of any revi-20
1946+sions to— 21
1947+(i) the plan required by subsection (a) 22
1948+made during the period covered by the re-23
1949+port; and 24
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1953+(ii) the analysis, recommendations, 1
1954+timelines, and legislative authorities re-2
1955+ported pursuant to paragraph (1). 3
1956+(d) D
1957+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 4
1958+(1) The term ‘‘community care provider’’ means 5
1959+a non-Department health care provider providing 6
1960+care (including dental care)— 7
1961+(A) under section 1703 of title 38, United 8
1962+States Code; 9
1963+(B) pursuant to a Veterans Care Agree-10
1964+ment under section 1703A of such title; or 11
1965+(C) under any other law administered by 12
1966+the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 13
1967+(2) The term ‘‘Third Party Administrator’’ 14
1968+means an entity that manages a provider network 15
1969+and performs administrative services related to such 16
1970+network under section 1703 of title 38, United 17
1971+States Code. 18
1972+SEC. 111. REPORT ON USE OF VALUE-BASED REIMBURSE-19
1973+MENT MODELS UNDER VETERANS COMMU-20
1974+NITY CARE PROGRAM. 21
1975+(a) R
1976+EPORT ON VALUE-BASEDREIMBURSEMENT 22
1977+M
1978+ODELS.—Not later than one year after the date of the 23
1979+enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 24
1980+in consultation with the Center for Innovation for Care 25
1981+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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1984+and Payment of the Department of Veterans Affairs under 1
1985+section 1703E of title 38 United States Code, the Office 2
1986+of Integrated Veteran Care of the Department, or suc-3
1987+cessor office, and Third Party Administrators, shall sub-4
1988+mit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 5
1989+of Representatives and the Senate a report containing— 6
1990+(1) an assessment of the efforts of the Depart-7
1991+ment pursuant to section 1703(i)(5) of such title, to 8
1992+incorporate value-based reimbursement models under 9
1993+the Veterans Community Care Program to promote 10
1994+the provision of high-quality care to veterans; and 11
1995+(2) such recommendations for legislative or ad-12
1996+ministrative action as the Secretary considers appro-13
1997+priate regarding the use of value-based reimburse-14
1998+ment models throughout the Veterans Community 15
1999+Care Program under section 1703 of such title. 16
2000+(b) R
2001+ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—This section shall not 17
2002+be construed to be a pilot program subject to the require-18
2003+ments of section 1703E of title 38, United States Code. 19
2004+(c) T
2005+HIRDPARTYADMINISTRATORDEFINED.—In 20
2006+this section, the term ‘‘Third Party Administrator’’ means 21
2007+an entity that manages a provider network and performs 22
2008+administrative services related to such network under sec-23
2009+tion 1703 of title 38, United States Code. 24
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2013+SEC. 112. INSPECTOR GENERAL ASSESSMENT OF IMPLE-1
2014+MENTATION OF VETERANS COMMUNITY 2
2015+CARE PROGRAM. 3
2016+(a) I
2017+NGENERAL.—Not later than two years after the 4
2018+date of the enactment of this Act, and periodically there-5
2019+after, the Inspector General shall assess the performance 6
2020+of a representative sample of medical centers in each Vet-7
2021+erans Integrated Service Network of the Department of 8
2022+Veterans Affairs in— 9
2023+(1) appropriately identifying veterans eligible 10
2024+for care and services under section 1703 of title 38, 11
2025+United States Code; 12
2026+(2) informing veterans of their eligibility for 13
2027+such care and services; and 14
2028+(3) delivering such care and services in a timely 15
2029+manner. 16
2030+(b) B
2031+RIEFING ONASSESSMENTS.—Upon the submis-17
2032+sion of the initial assessment required by subsection (a), 18
2033+the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Af-19
2034+fairs shall provide to the Committees on Veterans Affairs 20
2035+of the House of Representatives and the Senate a briefing 21
2036+on the plans of such Inspector General with respect to the 22
2037+findings, frequency, and methodology relating to such as-23
2038+sessment. 24
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2042+SEC. 113. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON DENTISTRY 1
2043+UNDER VETERANS COMMUNITY CARE PRO-2
2044+GRAM. 3
2045+(a) I
2046+NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 4
2047+date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 5
2048+of the United States shall submit to the Committees on 6
2049+Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Rep-7
2050+resentatives a report on dental care furnished by the Sec-8
2051+retary of Veterans Affairs under the Veterans Community 9
2052+Care Program under section 1703 of title 38, United 10
2053+States Code, that includes a review of— 11
2054+(1) the impact current reimbursement rates 12
2055+provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to 13
2056+dental providers under such program have on— 14
2057+(A) the availability of dental care for vet-15
2058+erans; and 16
2059+(B) the ability of Third Party Administra-17
2060+tors to meet their contractual obligations for 18
2061+network adequacy; 19
2062+(2) the satisfaction of dental providers pro-20
2063+viding dental care under such program with the 21
2064+processes of the Department for approving dental 22
2065+care under such program; and 23
2066+(3) the current processes of the Department for 24
2067+approving emergent dental care under such program. 25
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2071+(b) THIRDPARTYADMINISTRATORDEFINED.—In 1
2072+this section, the term ‘‘Third Party Administrator’’ means 2
2073+an entity that manages a provider network and performs 3
2074+administrative services related to such network under sec-4
2075+tion 1703 of title 38, United States Code. 5
2076+Subtitle B—Matters Relating to 6
2077+Nursing Home and Other Long 7
2078+Term Care and Family Care-8
2079+givers 9
2080+SEC. 120. INCREASE OF EXPENDITURE CAP FOR NON-10
2081+INSTITUTIONAL CARE ALTERNATIVES TO 11
2082+NURSING HOME CARE. 12
2083+(a) I
2084+NCREASE OF EXPENDITURE CAP.—Section 13
2085+1720C(d) of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 14
2086+(1) by striking ‘‘The total cost’’ and inserting 15
2087+‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the total 16
2088+cost’’; 17
2089+(2) by striking ‘‘65 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘100 18
2090+percent’’; and 19
2091+(3) by adding at the end the following new 20
2092+paragraph: 21
2093+‘‘(2)(A) The total cost of providing services or in-kind 22
2094+assistance in the case of any veteran described in subpara-23
2095+graph (B) for any fiscal year under the program may ex-24
2096+ceed 100 percent of the cost that would otherwise have 25
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2100+been incurred as specified in paragraph (1) if the Sec-1
2101+retary determines, based on a consideration of clinical 2
2102+need, geographic market factors, and such other matters 3
2103+as the Secretary may prescribe through regulation, that 4
2104+such higher total cost is in the best interest of the veteran. 5
2105+‘‘(B) A veteran described in this subparagraph is a 6
2106+veteran with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a spinal cord 7
2107+injury, or a condition the Secretary determines to be simi-8
2108+lar to such conditions.’’. 9
2109+(b) A
2110+PPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub-10
2111+section (a) shall apply with respect to fiscal years begin-11
2112+ning on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 12
2113+SEC. 121. COORDINATION WITH PROGRAM OF ALL-INCLU-13
2114+SIVE CARE FOR THE ELDERLY. 14
2115+Section 1720C of title 38, United States Code, as 15
2116+amended by section 120, is further amended by adding 16
2117+at the end the following new subsection: 17
2118+‘‘(f) In furnishing services to a veteran under the pro-18
2119+gram conducted pursuant to subsection (a), if a medical 19
2120+center of the Department through which such program is 20
2121+administered is located in a geographic area in which serv-21
2122+ices are available to the veteran under a PACE program 22
2123+(as such term is defined in sections 1894(a)(2) and 23
2124+1934(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 24
2125+1395eee(a)(2); 1396u–4(a)(2))), the Secretary shall seek 25
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2129+to enter into an agreement with the PACE program oper-1
2130+ating in that area for the furnishing of such services.’’. 2
2131+SEC. 122. AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF-3
2132+FAIRS TO AWARD GRANTS OR CONTRACTS TO 4
2133+ENTITIES TO IMPROVE PROVISION OF MEN-5
2134+TAL HEALTH SUPPORT TO FAMILY CARE-6
2135+GIVERS OF VETERANS. 7
2136+Subchapter II of chapter 17 of title 38, United States 8
2137+Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 9
2138+section (and conforming the table of sections at the begin-10
2139+ning of such chapter accordingly): 11
2140+‘‘§ 1720K. Grants or contracts to provide mental 12
2141+health support to family caregivers of 13
2142+veterans 14
2143+‘‘(a) A
2144+UTHORITY.—The Secretary may award grants 15
2145+to carry out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise enhance 16
2146+mental health counseling, treatment, or support to the 17
2147+family caregivers of veterans participating in the family 18
2148+caregiver program. 19
2149+‘‘(b) A
2150+PPLICATION.—(1) To be eligible for a grant or 20
2151+contract under this section, an entity shall submit to the 21
2152+Secretary an application therefor at such time, in such 22
2153+manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 23
2154+may require. 24
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2158+‘‘(2) Each application submitted under paragraph (1) 1
2159+shall include the following: 2
2160+‘‘(A) A detailed plan for the use of the grant 3
2161+or contract. 4
2162+‘‘(B) A description of the programs or efforts 5
2163+through which the entity will meet the outcome 6
2164+measures developed by the Secretary under sub-7
2165+section (g). 8
2166+‘‘(C) A description of how the entity will dis-9
2167+tribute grant or contract amounts equitably among 10
2168+areas with varying levels of urbanization. 11
2169+‘‘(D) A plan for how the grant or contract will 12
2170+be used to meet the unique needs of veterans resid-13
2171+ing in rural areas, Native American, Native Hawai-14
2172+ian, or Alaska Native veterans, elderly veterans, 15
2173+women veterans, and veterans from other under-16
2174+served communities. 17
2175+‘‘(c) D
2176+ISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall seek to en-18
2177+sure that grants and contracts awarded under this section 19
2178+are equitably distributed among entities located in States 20
2179+with varying levels of urbanization. 21
2180+‘‘(d) P
2181+RIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize 22
2182+awarding grants or contracts under this section that will 23
2183+serve the following areas: 24
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2187+‘‘(1) Areas with high rates of veterans enrolled 1
2188+in the family caregiver program. 2
2189+‘‘(2) Areas with high rates of— 3
2190+‘‘(A) suicide among veterans; or 4
2191+‘‘(B) referrals to the Veterans Crisis Line. 5
2192+‘‘(e) R
2193+EQUIREDACTIVITIES.—Any grant or contract 6
2194+awarded under this section shall be used— 7
2195+‘‘(1) to expand existing programs, activities, 8
2196+and services; 9
2197+‘‘(2) to establish new or additional programs, 10
2198+activities, and services; or 11
2199+‘‘(3) for travel and transportation to facilitate 12
2200+carrying out paragraph (1) or (2). 13
2201+‘‘(f) O
2202+UTCOMEMEASURES.—(1) The Secretary shall 14
2203+develop and provide to each entity that receives a grant 15
2204+or contract under this section written guidance on the fol-16
2205+lowing: 17
2206+‘‘(A) Outcome measures. 18
2207+‘‘(B) Policies of the Department. 19
2208+‘‘(2) In developing outcome measures under para-20
2209+graph (1), the Secretary shall consider the following goals: 21
2210+‘‘(A) Increasing the utilization of mental health 22
2211+services among family caregivers of veterans partici-23
2212+pating in the family caregiver program. 24
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2216+‘‘(B) Reducing barriers to mental health serv-1
2217+ices among family caregivers of veterans partici-2
2218+pating in such program. 3
2219+‘‘(g) T
2220+RACKINGREQUIREMENTS.—(1) The Secretary 4
2221+shall establish appropriate tracking requirements with re-5
2222+spect to the entities receiving a grant or contract under 6
2223+this section. 7
2224+‘‘(2) Not less frequently than annually, the Secretary 8
2225+shall submit to Congress a report on such tracking re-9
2226+quirements. 10
2227+‘‘(h) P
2228+ERFORMANCE REVIEW.—The Secretary 11
2229+shall— 12
2230+‘‘(1) review the performance of each entity that 13
2231+receives a grant or contract under this section; and 14
2232+‘‘(2) make information regarding such perform-15
2233+ance publicly available. 16
2234+‘‘(i) R
2235+EMEDIATIONPLAN.—(1) In the case of an enti-17
2236+ty that receives a grant or contract under this section and 18
2237+does not meet the outcome measures developed by the Sec-19
2238+retary under subsection (g), the Secretary shall require the 20
2239+entity to submit to the Secretary a remediation plan under 21
2240+which the entity shall describe how and when it plans to 22
2241+meet such outcome measures. 23
2242+‘‘(2) The Secretary may not award a subsequent 24
2243+grant or contract under this section to an entity described 25
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2247+in paragraph (1) unless the Secretary approves the reme-1
2248+diation plan submitted by the entity under such para-2
2249+graph. 3
2250+‘‘(j) M
2251+AXIMUMAMOUNT.—The amount of a grant or 4
2252+contract awarded under this section may not exceed 10 5
2253+percent of amounts made available for grants or contracts 6
2254+under this section for the fiscal year in which the grant 7
2255+or contract is awarded. 8
2256+‘‘(k) S
2257+UPPLEMENT, NOTSUPPLANT.—Any grant or 9
2258+contract awarded under this section shall be used to sup-10
2259+plement and not supplant funding that is otherwise avail-11
2260+able through the Department to provide mental health 12
2261+support among family caregivers of veterans participating 13
2262+in the family caregiver program. 14
2263+‘‘(l) O
2264+UTREACH TOFAMILYCAREGIVERS.—The Sec-15
2265+retary shall include, in the outreach materials regularly 16
2266+provided to a family caregiver who participates in the fam-17
2267+ily caregiver program, notice of mental health support pro-18
2268+vided by recipients of grants or contracts under this sec-19
2269+tion that are located in the relevant Veterans Integrated 20
2270+Service Network. 21
2271+‘‘(m) F
2272+UNDING.—(1) Amounts for the activities of 22
2273+the Department under this section shall be budgeted and 23
2274+appropriated through a separate appropriation account. 24
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2278+‘‘(2) In the budget justification materials submitted 1
2279+to Congress in support of the budget of the Department 2
2280+for any fiscal year (as submitted with the budget of the 3
2281+President under section 1105(a) of title 31), the Secretary 4
2282+shall include a separate statement of the amount re-5
2283+quested to be appropriated for that fiscal year for the ac-6
2284+count specified in paragraph (1). 7
2285+‘‘(n) A
2286+UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 8
2287+is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary, for each 9
2288+of fiscal years 2025 and 2026, $10,000,000 to carry out 10
2289+this section. 11
2290+‘‘(o) D
2291+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 12
2292+‘‘(1) The terms ‘caregiver’ and ‘family care-13
2293+giver’ have the meanings given those terms in sec-14
2294+tion 1720G of this title. 15
2295+‘‘(2) The term ‘family caregiver program’ 16
2296+means the program of comprehensive assistance for 17
2297+family caregivers under section 1720G of this title. 18
2298+‘‘(3) The term ‘Veterans Crisis Line’ means the 19
2299+toll-free hotline for veterans established under sec-20
2300+tion 1720F of this title.’’. 21
2301+SEC. 123. HOME- AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES: PRO-22
2302+GRAMS. 23
2303+(a) P
2304+ROGRAMS.—Such subchapter is further amend-24
2305+ed by inserting after section 1720K (as added by section 25
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2309+122) the following new section (and conforming the table 1
2310+of sections at the beginning of such chapter accordingly): 2
2311+‘‘§ 1720L. Home- and community-based services: pro-3
2312+grams 4
2313+‘‘(a) I
2314+NGENERAL.—In furnishing noninstitutional al-5
2315+ternatives to nursing home care pursuant to the authority 6
2316+of section 1720C of this title (or any other authority under 7
2317+this chapter or other provision of law administered by the 8
2318+Secretary of Veterans Affairs), the Secretary shall carry 9
2319+out each of the programs specified in this section in ac-10
2320+cordance with such relevant authorities except as other-11
2321+wise provided in this section. 12
2322+‘‘(b) V
2323+ETERAN-DIRECTEDCAREPROGRAM.—(1) The 13
2324+Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in collaboration with the 14
2325+Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall carry out 15
2326+a program to be known as the ‘Veteran-Directed Care pro-16
2327+gram’. Under such program, the Secretary of Veterans Af-17
2328+fairs may enter into agreements with the providers de-18
2329+scribed in paragraph (2) to provide to eligible veterans 19
2330+funds, to the extent practicable, to obtain such in-home 20
2331+care services and related items that support clinical need 21
2332+and improve quality of life, as may be determined appro-22
2333+priate by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and selected 23
2334+by the veteran, including through the veteran hiring indi-24
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2338+viduals to provide such services and items or directly pur-1
2339+chasing such services and items. 2
2340+‘‘(2) The providers described in this paragraph are 3
2341+the following: 4
2342+‘‘(A) An Aging and Disability Resource Center, 5
2343+an area agency on aging, or a State agency. 6
2344+‘‘(B) A center for independent living. 7
2345+‘‘(C) An Indian tribe or tribal organization re-8
2346+ceiving assistance under title VI of the Older Ameri-9
2347+cans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3057 et seq.). 10
2348+‘‘(D) Any other entity that the Secretary, in 11
2349+consultation with the Secretary of Health and 12
2350+Human Services, determines appropriate. 13
2351+‘‘(3) In carrying out the Veteran-Directed Care pro-14
2352+gram, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 15
2353+‘‘(A) administer such program through each 16
2354+medical center of the Department of Veterans Af-17
2355+fairs; 18
2356+‘‘(B) seek to ensure the availability of such pro-19
2357+gram in American Samoa, Guam, the Common-20
2358+wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Com-21
2359+monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the 22
2360+United States, and any other territory or possession 23
2361+of the United States, to the extent practicable; and 24
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2365+‘‘(C) seek to ensure the availability of such pro-1
2366+gram for eligible veterans who are Native American 2
2367+veterans receiving care and services furnished by the 3
2368+Indian Health Service, a tribal health program, an 4
2369+Urban Indian organization, or (in the case of a Na-5
2370+tive Hawaiian veteran) a Native Hawaiian health 6
2371+care system, to the extent practicable. 7
2372+‘‘(4) If a veteran participating in the Veteran-Di-8
2373+rected Care program is hospitalized, the veteran may con-9
2374+tinue to use funds under the program during a period of 10
2375+hospitalization in the same manner that the veteran would 11
2376+be authorized to use such funds under the program if the 12
2377+veteran were not hospitalized. 13
2378+‘‘(c) H
2379+OMEMAKER AND HOMEHEALTHAIDEPRO-14
2380+GRAM.—(1) The Secretary shall carry out a program to 15
2381+be known as the ‘Homemaker and Home Health Aide pro-16
2382+gram’ under which the Secretary may enter into agree-17
2383+ments with home health agencies to provide to eligible vet-18
2384+erans such home health aide services as may be deter-19
2385+mined appropriate by the Secretary. 20
2386+‘‘(2) In carrying out the Homemaker and Home 21
2387+Health Aide program, the Secretary shall— 22
2388+‘‘(A) administer such program in the locations 23
2389+specified in subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(3); 24
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2393+‘‘(B) seek to ensure the availability of such pro-1
2394+gram in the locations specified in subparagraph (B) 2
2395+of subsection (b)(3); and 3
2396+‘‘(C) seek to ensure the availability of such pro-4
2397+gram for the veteran populations specified in sub-5
2398+paragraph (C) of subsection (b)(3). 6
2399+‘‘(d) H
2400+OME-BASEDPRIMARYCAREPROGRAM.—The 7
2401+Secretary shall carry out a program to be known as the 8
2402+‘Home-Based Primary Care program’ under which the 9
2403+Secretary may furnish to eligible veterans in-home health 10
2404+care, the provision of which is overseen by a provider of 11
2405+the Department. 12
2406+‘‘(e) P
2407+URCHASEDSKILLEDHOMECAREPROGRAM.— 13
2408+The Secretary shall carry out a program to be known as 14
2409+the ‘Purchased Skilled Home Care program’ under which 15
2410+the Secretary may furnish to eligible veterans such in- 16
2411+home care services as may be determined appropriate and 17
2412+selected by the Secretary for the veteran. 18
2413+‘‘(f) C
2414+AREGIVERSUPPORT.—(1) With respect to a 19
2415+resident eligible caregiver of a veteran participating in a 20
2416+program under this section, the Secretary shall— 21
2417+‘‘(A) if the veteran meets the requirements of 22
2418+a covered veteran under section 1720G(b) of this 23
2419+title, provide to such caregiver the option of enroll-24
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2423+ing in the program of general caregiver support serv-1
2424+ices under such section; 2
2425+‘‘(B) provide to such caregiver covered respite 3
2426+care of not less than 30 days annually; and 4
2427+‘‘(C) conduct on an annual basis (and, to the 5
2428+extent practicable, in connection with in-person serv-6
2429+ices provided under the program in which the vet-7
2430+eran is participating), a wellness contact of such 8
2431+caregiver. 9
2432+‘‘(2) Covered respite care provided to a resident eligi-10
2433+ble caregiver of a veteran under paragraph (1) may exceed 11
2434+30 days annually if such extension is requested by the resi-12
2435+dent eligible caregiver or veteran and determined medi-13
2436+cally appropriate by the Secretary. 14
2437+‘‘(g) R
2438+ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-15
2439+tion shall be construed to limit the authority of the Sec-16
2440+retary to carry out programs providing home- and commu-17
2441+nity-based services under any other provision of law. 18
2442+‘‘(h) D
2443+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 19
2444+‘‘(1) The terms ‘Aging and Disability Resource 20
2445+Center’, ‘area agency on aging’, and ‘State agency’ 21
2446+have the meanings given those terms in section 102 22
2447+of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 23
2448+3002). 24
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2452+‘‘(2) The terms ‘caregiver’ and ‘family care-1
2453+giver’, with respect to a veteran, have the meanings 2
2454+given those terms, respectively, under subsection (e) 3
2455+of section 1720G of this title with respect to an eli-4
2456+gible veteran under subsection (a) of such section or 5
2457+a covered veteran under subsection (b) of such sec-6
2458+tion, as the case may be. 7
2459+‘‘(3) The term ‘center for independent living’ 8
2460+has the meaning given that term in section 702 of 9
2461+the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796a). 10
2462+‘‘(4) The term ‘covered respite care’ has the 11
2463+meaning given such term in section 1720G(d) of this 12
2464+title. 13
2465+‘‘(5) The term ‘eligible veteran’ means any vet-14
2466+eran— 15
2467+‘‘(A) for whom the Secretary determines 16
2468+participation in a specific program under this 17
2469+section is medically necessary to promote, pre-18
2470+serve, or restore the health of the veteran; and 19
2471+‘‘(B) who absent such participation would 20
2472+be at increased risk for hospitalization, place-21
2473+ment in a nursing home, or emergency room 22
2474+care. 23
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2478+‘‘(6) The term ‘home health aide’ means an in-1
2479+dividual employed by a home health agency to pro-2
2480+vide in-home care services. 3
2481+‘‘(7) The term ‘in-home care service’ means any 4
2482+service, including a personal care service, provided to 5
2483+enable the recipient of such service to live at home. 6
2484+‘‘(8) The terms ‘Indian tribe’ and ‘tribal organi-7
2485+zation’ have the meanings given those terms in sec-8
2486+tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-9
2487+cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 10
2488+‘‘(9) The terms ‘Native American’ and ‘Native 11
2489+American veteran’ have the meanings given those 12
2490+terms in section 3765 of this title. 13
2491+‘‘(10) The terms ‘Native Hawaiian’ and ‘Native 14
2492+Hawaiian health care system’ have the meanings 15
2493+given those terms in section 12 of the Native Hawai-16
2494+ian Health Care Improvement Act (42 U.S.C. 17
2495+11711). 18
2496+‘‘(11) The terms ‘tribal health programs’ and 19
2497+‘Urban Indian organizations’ have the meanings 20
2498+given those terms in section 4 of the Indian Health 21
2499+Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603). 22
2500+‘‘(12) The term ‘resident eligible caregiver’ 23
2501+means an individual who— 24
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2505+‘‘(A) is a caregiver, or a family caregiver, 1
2506+of a veteran and resides with that veteran; and 2
2507+‘‘(B) has not entered into a contract, 3
2508+agreement, or other arrangement for such indi-4
2509+vidual to act as a caregiver for that veteran un-5
2510+less such individual is a family member of the 6
2511+veteran or is furnishing caregiver services 7
2512+through a medical foster home.’’. 8
2513+(b) D
2514+EADLINE FORIMPROVEDADMINISTRATION.— 9
2515+The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that the 10
2516+Veteran-Directed Care program and the Homemaker and 11
2517+Home Health Aide program are administered through 12
2518+each medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs 13
2519+in accordance with section 1720L of title 38, United 14
2520+States Code (as added by subsection (a)), by not later 15
2521+than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 16
2522+(c) A
2523+DMINISTRATION OF VETERAN-DIRECTEDCARE 17
2524+P
2525+ROGRAM.— 18
2526+(1) P
2527+ROCEDURES.— 19
2528+(A) The Secretary shall establish proce-20
2529+dures to— 21
2530+(i) identify the staffing needs for the 22
2531+Veteran-Directed Care program of the De-23
2532+partment of Veterans Affairs under such 24
2533+section (as added by subsection (a)); and 25
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2537+(ii) define the roles and responsibil-1
2538+ities for personnel of the Department re-2
2539+sponsible for the administration of such 3
2540+program, including such personnel em-4
2541+ployed at the national, Veterans Integrated 5
2542+Service Network, or medical facility level. 6
2543+(B) The responsibilities described in clause 7
2544+(ii) of subparagraph (A) shall include respon-8
2545+sibilities for engagement with— 9
2546+(i) veterans participating in such pro-10
2547+gram; 11
2548+(ii) veterans interested in partici-12
2549+pating in such program; and 13
2550+(iii) providers described in section 14
2551+1720L(b)(2) (as added by subsection (a)). 15
2552+(2) S
2553+TAFFING MODEL ; REPORT.—Not later 16
2554+than two years after enactment of this Act, the Sec-17
2555+retary of Veterans Affairs shall— 18
2556+(A) establish a staffing model for the ad-19
2557+ministration of such program at each medical 20
2558+facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs; 21
2559+and 22
2560+(B) submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 23
2561+Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 24
2562+Senate a report containing the following: 25
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2566+(i) A description of— 1
2567+(I) the staffing model described 2
2568+in subparagraph (A); and 3
2569+(II) the rationale for such staff-4
2570+ing model. 5
2571+(ii) An identification of the ratio of 6
2572+staff required to administer such program 7
2573+to the number of veterans served by such 8
2574+program, disaggregated by each medical 9
2575+facility of the Department of Veterans Af-10
2576+fairs. 11
2577+(iii) A description of budgetary re-12
2578+sources or other support, if any, required 13
2579+to accommodate an increase in staffing at 14
2580+medical facilities of the Department of 15
2581+Veterans Affairs pursuant to the require-16
2582+ments of the staffing model described in 17
2583+subparagraph (A). 18
2584+(iv) Such other matters as the Sec-19
2585+retary of Veterans Affairs determines ap-20
2586+propriate. 21
2587+SEC. 124. COORDINATION WITH ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT 22
2588+SERVICES FOR CAREGIVERS. 23
2589+(a) C
2590+OORDINATIONWITHPROGRAM OFCOMPREHEN-24
2591+SIVEASSISTANCE FORFAMILYCAREGIVERS.— 25
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2595+(1) COORDINATION.—Section 1720G(a) of title 1
2596+38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 2
2597+the end the following new paragraph: 3
2598+‘‘(14)(A) In the case of a veteran or caregiver who 4
2599+seeks services under this subsection and is denied such 5
2600+services, or a veteran or the family caregiver of a veteran 6
2601+who is discharged from the program under this subsection, 7
2602+the Secretary shall— 8
2603+‘‘(i) if the veteran meets the requirements of a 9
2604+covered veteran under subsection (b), provide to 10
2605+such caregiver the option of enrolling in the program 11
2606+of general caregiver support services under such sub-12
2607+section; 13
2608+‘‘(ii) assess the veteran or caregiver for partici-14
2609+pation in any other available program of the Depart-15
2610+ment for home- and community-based services (in-16
2611+cluding the programs specified in section 1720L of 17
2612+this title) for which the veteran or caregiver may be 18
2613+eligible and, with respect to the veteran, store (and 19
2614+make accessible to the veteran) the results of such 20
2615+assessment in the electronic medical record of the 21
2616+veteran; and 22
2617+‘‘(iii) provide to the veteran or caregiver written 23
2618+information on any such program identified pursu-24
2619+ant to the assessment under clause (ii), including in-25
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2623+formation about facilities, eligibility requirements, 1
2624+and relevant contact information for each such pro-2
2625+gram. 3
2626+‘‘(B) The Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, 4
2627+provide to a veteran or family caregiver the option of ob-5
2628+taining clinically appropriate services under any other 6
2629+available program of the Department for home- and com-7
2630+munity-based services (including the programs specified in 8
2631+section 1720L of this title) for which the veteran or family 9
2632+caregiver may be eligible prior to discharging the veteran 10
2633+or family caregiver from the program under this sub-11
2634+section. 12
2635+‘‘(C) For each veteran or family caregiver who is dis-13
2636+charged from the program under this subsection, a care-14
2637+giver support coordinator shall provide for a smooth and 15
2638+personalized transition from such program to an appro-16
2639+priate program of the Department for home- and commu-17
2640+nity-based services (including the programs specified in 18
2641+section 1720L of this title), including by integrating care-19
2642+giver support across programs.’’. 20
2643+(2) A
2644+PPLICABILITY.—The amendments made 21
2645+by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to denials 22
2646+and discharges occurring on or after the date that 23
2647+is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 24
2648+Act. 25
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2652+(3) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND -1
2653+MENTS.—Section 1720G(d) of such title is amend-2
2654+ed— 3
2655+(A) by striking ‘‘or a covered veteran’’ 4
2656+each place it appears and inserting ‘‘, a veteran 5
2657+denied or discharged as specified in paragraph 6
2658+(14) of such subsection, or a covered veteran’’; 7
2659+and 8
2660+(B) by striking ‘‘under subsection (a), 9
2661+means’’ each place it appears and inserting 10
2662+‘‘under subsection (a) or a veteran denied or 11
2663+discharged as specified in paragraph (14) of 12
2664+such subsection, means’’. 13
2665+(b) C
2666+ONFORMITY OF RESPITECAREACROSSPRO-14
2667+GRAMS.—Section 1720G of title 38, United States Code, 15
2668+as amended by subsection (a)(3), is further amended— 16
2669+(1) in subsection (a)(3)— 17
2670+(A) by amending subparagraph (A)(ii)(III) 18
2671+to read as follows: 19
2672+‘‘(III) covered respite care of not less than 20
2673+30 days annually;’’; and 21
2674+(B) by striking subparagraph (B) and re-22
2675+designating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as sub-23
2676+paragraphs (B) through (C), respectively; and 24
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2679+•HR 8371 IH
2680+(2) by amending subsection (b)(3)(A)(iii) to 1
2681+read as follows: 2
2682+‘‘(iii) Covered respite care of not less than 30 3
2683+days annually.’’; and 4
2684+(3) in subsection (d)— 5
2685+(A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 6
2686+through (4) as paragraphs (3) through (5), re-7
2687+spectively; and 8
2688+(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 9
2689+following new paragraph: 10
2690+‘‘(2) The term ‘covered respite care’ means, 11
2691+with respect to a caregiver of a veteran, respite care 12
2692+under section 1720B of this title that— 13
2693+‘‘(A) is medically and age appropriate for 14
2694+the veteran (including 24-hour per day care of 15
2695+the veteran commensurate with the care pro-16
2696+vided by the caregiver); and 17
2697+‘‘(B) includes in-home care.’’. 18
6772698 (c) R
678-EPORTS.— 16
679-(1) I
680-NITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 17
681-after the date of the commencement of such pilot 18
682-program, the Secretary shall submit to the Commit-19
683-tees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 20
684-House of Representatives a report on the pilot pro-21
685-gram, that includes— 22
686-(A) an identification of the Veterans Inte-23
687-grated Service Networks participating in such 24
688-pilot program; 25 24
689-•HR 8371 EH
690-(B) a description of the implementation of 1
691-such pilot program; 2
692-(C) an identification of any barriers or 3
693-challenges to implementing such pilot program; 4
694-(D) an assessment of the efficacy of hiring 5
695-general dentists and dental specialists pursuant 6
696-to such pilot program; 7
697-(E) aggregated feedback with respect to 8
698-such pilot program from dentists of the Depart-9
699-ment in Veterans Integrated Service Networks 10
700-participating in such pilot program; and 11
701-(F) aggregated feedback from dental pro-12
702-viders providing covered dental care within such 13
703-Veterans Integrated Service Networks regard-14
704-ing any changes in the timeliness of treatment 15
705-plan approvals by the Department. 16
706-(2) F
707-INAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 17
708-before the date of the completion of such pilot pro-18
709-gram, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees 19
710-on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of 20
711-Representatives a report on the pilot program that— 21
712-(A) includes, with respect to the period 22
713-covered by the report, each element of the re-23
714-port required under paragraph (1) described in 24 25
715-•HR 8371 EH
716-subparagraphs (A) through (F) of such para-1
717-graph; 2
718-(B) includes recommendations of the Sec-3
719-retary on whether the pilot program should 4
720-be— 5
721-(i) extended; 6
722-(ii) expanded; or 7
723-(iii) adopted throughout the Depart-8
724-ment; and 9
725-(C) indicates whether the Secretary re-10
726-quests action by Congress to make the pilot 11
727-program permanent. 12
728-(d) S
729-UNSET.—The authority to carry out the pilot 13
730-program under this section shall terminate on the date 14
731-that is two years after the date of the enactment of this 15
732-Act. 16
733-(e) C
734-OVEREDDENTALCAREDEFINED.—In this sec-17
735-tion, the term ‘‘covered dental care’’ means dental care 18
736-provided— 19
737-(1) under section 1703 of title 38, United 20
738-States Code; or 21
739-(2) pursuant to a Veterans Care Agreement 22
740-under section 1703A of such title. 23 26
741-•HR 8371 EH
742-SEC. 107. STRATEGIC PLAN ON VALUE-BASED HEALTH 1
743-CARE SYSTEM FOR VETERANS HEALTH AD-2
744-MINISTRATION; PILOT PROGRAM. 3
745-(a) E
746-STABLISHMENT OF WORKINGGROUP.— 4
747-(1) I
748-N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 5
749-after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-6
750-retary of Veterans Affairs shall— 7
751-(A) establish a working group on value- 8
752-based care; and 9
753-(B) submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 10
754-Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 11
755-Senate the strategic plan developed by the 12
756-working group pursuant to subsection (b). 13
757-(2) M
758-EMBERSHIP.— 14
759-(A) R
760-EQUIRED MEMBERS .—The working 15
761-group shall include, at a minimum, the fol-16
762-lowing members: 17
763-(i) The Under Secretary for Health of 18
764-the Department of Veterans Affairs. 19
765-(ii) The Director of the Office of Men-20
766-tal Health and Suicide Prevention of the 21
767-Department of Veterans Affairs (or any 22
768-successor office). 23
769-(iii) The Director of the Office of In-24
770-tegrated Veteran Care of the Department 25
771-(or any successor office). 26 27
772-•HR 8371 EH
773-(iv) The Director of the Office of 1
774-Rural Health of the Department (or any 2
775-successor office). 3
776-(v) The Director of the Office of Con-4
777-nected Care of the Department (or any 5
778-successor office). 6
779-(vi) The Assistant Secretary for the 7
780-Office of Information Technology (or any 8
781-successor office). 9
782-(vii) The Chief Officer of the Office of 10
783-Healthcare Innovation and Learning of the 11
784-Office of Discovery, Education, and Affil-12
785-iate Networks of the Veterans Health Ad-13
786-ministration (or any successor office). 14
787-(viii) An individual designated by the 15
788-Secretary from the Center for Innovation 16
789-for Care and Payment of the Department 17
790-under section 1703E of title 38, United 18
791-States Code. 19
792-(ix) An individual designated by the 20
793-Administrator of the Centers for Medicare 21
794-& Medicaid Services from the Center for 22
795-Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. 23
796-(x) An individual designated by the 24
797-Secretary of Health and Human Services 25 28
798-•HR 8371 EH
799-from the Federal Office of Rural Health 1
800-Policy of the Health Resources and Serv-2
801-ices Administration. 3
802-(xi) The Chief of Human Capital 4
803-Management for the Veterans Health Ad-5
804-ministration. 6
805-(xii) An individual designated by the 7
806-Secretary of Defense that is a representa-8
807-tive of the Defense Health Agency. 9
808-(xiii) An individual selected by the 10
809-Secretary of Veterans Affairs from the spe-11
810-cial medical advisory group established 12
811-under section 7312 of title 38, United 13
812-States Code. 14
813-(B) O
814-PTIONAL MEMBERS .—The Secretary 15
815-of Veterans Affairs may appoint any of the fol-16
816-lowing individuals as members of the working 17
817-group: 18
818-(i) An individual representing the 19
819-Health and Medicine Division of the Na-20
820-tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, 21
821-and Medicine. 22
822-(ii) Three individuals representing a 23
823-private health care system that has made 24
824-the transition to value-based care. 25 29
825-•HR 8371 EH
826-(iii) Three individuals representing an 1
827-organization recognized by the Secretary of 2
828-Veterans Affairs under section 5902 of 3
829-title 38, United States Code. 4
830-(3) P
831-UBLIC AVAILABILITY.—All meetings delib-5
832-erations, and products of the working group shall be 6
833-made publicly available throughout the duration of 7
834-the working group, including to individuals rep-8
835-resenting organizations recognized by the Secretary 9
836-of Veterans Affairs under section 5902 of title 38, 10
837-United States Code. 11
838-(4) E
839-XEMPTION FROM FACA .—Chapter 10 of 12
840-title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the 13
841-working group established under paragraph (1). 14
842-(b) D
843-EVELOPMENT OF STRATEGICPLAN.—The 15
844-working group shall develop a strategic plan to implement 16
845-value-based care into the Veterans Health Administration 17
846-that includes the following: 18
847-(1) An identification of the state of the Vet-19
848-erans Health Administration as of the date of the 20
849-enactment of this Act, including an assessment of 21
850-the current model of health care delivery used by the 22
851-Veterans Health Administration in medical facilities 23
852-of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 24 30
853-•HR 8371 EH
854-(2) An assessment of the capacity needs of the 1
855-Veterans Health Administration during the five-year 2
856-period beginning on the date of the enactment of 3
857-this Act. 4
858-(3) An analysis of the leadership of the Vet-5
859-erans Health Administration, including an assess-6
860-ment of leadership acumen and ability to implement 7
861-a clear, shared vision and effective change manage-8
862-ment and care coordination. 9
863-(4) An identification of goals for the future of 10
864-the Veterans Health Administration. 11
865-(5) An identification and classification of the 12
866-current capabilities, capacity, and gaps in access and 13
867-quality of the health care system of the Department 14
868-of Veterans Affairs. 15
869-(6) An analysis of value-based care models, in-16
870-cluding— 17
871-(A) a selection of potential models that 18
872-would best work for the Veterans Health Ad-19
873-ministration; 20
874-(B) the capacity and capabilities of each 21
875-such model; and 22
876-(C) a thorough justification of the selection 23
877-of each selected model, including an summary 24 31
878-•HR 8371 EH
879-of the ability of such model to improve the 1
880-metrics described under paragraph (9). 2
881-(7) A definition of what quality means with re-3
882-spect to— 4
883-(A) access to health care under the laws 5
884-administered by the Secretary of Veterans Af-6
885-fairs; and 7
886-(B) delivery of such health care. 8
887-(8) A definition of what value means with re-9
888-spect to care furnished by the Veterans Health Ad-10
889-ministration, 11
890-(9) A system for measuring value within the 12
891-Veterans Health Administration that includes 13
892-metrics for— 14
893-(A) outcomes; 15
894-(B) safety; 16
895-(C) service; 17
896-(D) access; 18
897-(E) productivity; 19
898-(F) capacity; and 20
899-(G) total cost of patient care. 21
900-(10) With respect to the system described in 22
901-subparagraph (H), an analysis of variable value with 23
902-respect to patient outcomes across different health 24
903-care types and specialties. 25 32
904-•HR 8371 EH
905-(11) An assessment of— 1
906-(A) previous or ongoing assessments of the 2
907-current information technology infrastructure of 3
908-the Veterans Health Administration, includ-4
909-ing— 5
910-(i) such assessments conducted pursu-6
911-ant to the Electronic Health Record Mod-7
912-ernization program of the Department of 8
913-Veterans Affairs; and 9
914-(ii) any other ongoing information 10
915-technology modernization programs of such 11
916-Department and any unimplemented rel-12
917-evant recommendations from such assess-13
918-ments; 14
919-(B) the information technology infrastruc-15
920-ture of the Veterans Health Administration in 16
921-effect as of the date of the enactment of this 17
922-Act; 18
923-(C) the value-driven framework of the De-19
924-partment, in effect as of the date of the enact-20
925-ment of this Act, for evaluating health care in-21
926-novations, and how improvements in such 22
927-framework could be used to encourage innova-23
928-tion; and 24 33
929-•HR 8371 EH
930-(D) workforce challenges and needs of the 1
931-Veterans Health Administration based on— 2
932-(i) reviews of workforce assessment 3
933-data available as of the date of the enact-4
934-ment of this Act; and 5
935-(ii) the findings of— 6
936-(I) the report required by section 7
937-301(d) of the Veterans Access, 8
938-Choice, and Accountability Act of 9
939-2014 (Public Law 113–146); 10
940-(II) the reports required by sec-11
941-tion 505 of the John S. McCain III, 12
942-Daniel K. Akaka and Samuel R. 13
943-Johnson VA Maintaining Internal 14
944-Systems and Strengthening Inte-15
945-grated Outside Networks Act of 2018 16
946-(Public Law 115–182); 17
947-(III) the report required by sec-18
948-tion 301 of the VA Choice and Qual-19
949-ity Employment Act of 2017 (Public 20
950-Law 115–46); and 21
951-(IV) any comprehensive health 22
952-care inspection conducted by the In-23
953-spector General of the Department of 24 34
954-•HR 8371 EH
955-Veterans Affairs as of the date of the 1
956-enactment of this Act. 2
957-(12) Any recommendations of the working 3
958-group with respect to improving the information 4
959-technology infrastructure described in clause (i) of 5
960-subparagraph (J). 6
961-(13) An analysis of how the value-driven frame-7
962-work described in clause (iii) of such subparagraph 8
963-could be used to improve the model of care delivery 9
964-by the Department. 10
965-(14) A description of how a value-based care 11
966-system would apply to primary care, inpatient and 12
967-outpatient mental health care, and inpatient and 13
968-outpatient substance use treatment, spinal cord in-14
969-jury disorder care, and polytrauma care furnished by 15
970-the Veterans Health Administration. 16
971-(15) With respect to legislative or administra-17
972-tive action necessary to incorporate value-based care 18
973-models into the Veterans Health Administration, a 19
974-description of the estimated timelines, effect on 20
975-workforce, and costs. 21
976-(c) P
977-ILOTPROGRAM.— 22
978-(1) I
979-N GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 23
980-after the submission of the strategic plan pursuant 24
981-to subsection (b), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 25 35
982-•HR 8371 EH
983-acting through the Center for Innovation for Care 1
984-and Payment established under section 1703E of 2
985-title 38, United States Code, shall commence a 3
986-three-year pilot program under which the Secretary 4
987-shall implement the elements of such strategic plan 5
988-relating to the delivery, by the Veterans Health Ad-6
989-ministration, of primary care, inpatient and out-7
990-patient mental health treatment, inpatient and out-8
991-patient substance abuse treatment, spinal cord in-9
992-jury disorder care, and polytrauma care. 10
2699+EVIEWRELATING TOCAREGIVERCONTACT.— 19
2700+The Secretary shall conduct a review of the capacity of 20
2701+the Department to establish a streamlined system for con-21
2702+tacting all caregivers enrolled in the program of general 22
2703+caregiver support services under section 1720G(b) of title 23
2704+38, United States Code, to provide to such caregivers pro-24
2705+gram updates and alerts relating to emerging services for 25
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2708+•HR 8371 IH
2709+which such caregivers or the veterans for which they pro-1
2710+vide care may be eligible. 2
2711+SEC. 125. IMPROVEMENTS TO PROGRAM OF COMPREHEN-3
2712+SIVE ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 4
2713+Section 1720G(a) of title 38, United States Code, as 5
2714+amended by section 124, is further amended— 6
2715+(1) in paragraph (12)— 7
2716+(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, 8
2717+which shall include all criteria used to deter-9
2718+mine eligibility for such assistance and, in the 10
2719+case of a completed evaluation, how such cri-11
2720+teria were used to evaluate information pro-12
2721+vided in assessments to determine such eligi-13
2722+bility’’ before the period at the end; and 14
2723+(B) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking 15
2724+‘‘who submits’’ and all that follows through the 16
2725+end of the clause and inserting the following: 17
2726+‘‘who— 18
2727+‘‘(I) submits an application for the pro-19
2728+gram established under paragraph (1); or 20
2729+‘‘(II) is being reassessed for eligibility to 21
2730+continue in such program.’’; and 22
2731+(2) by adding at the end the following new 23
2732+paragraph: 24
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2735+•HR 8371 IH
2736+‘‘(15)(A) Not less frequently than annually, the Sec-1
2737+retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs 2
2738+of the Senate and the House of Representatives a com-3
2739+prehensive report on the program required by paragraph 4
2740+(1) that includes, with respect to one-year period pre-5
2741+ceding the date of the submission of such report, the fol-6
2742+lowing: 7
2743+‘‘(i) The number of applications received for 8
2744+such program. 9
2745+‘‘(ii) The number, disaggregated by race, sex, 10
2746+and era and branch of service in the Armed Forces 11
2747+of the applicant, of— 12
2748+‘‘(I) approvals of such applications; and 13
2749+‘‘(II) denials of such applications. 14
2750+‘‘(iii) The number of reassessments conducted 15
2751+for such program. 16
2752+‘‘(iv) An identification of each decision made 17
2753+with respect to a reassessment conducted for such 18
2754+program, disaggregated by decisions resulting in— 19
2755+‘‘(I) disenrollment, including removal, dis-20
2756+charge, or voluntary withdrawal; 21
2757+‘‘(II) tier reduction; and 22
2758+‘‘(III) tier continuation. 23
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2762+‘‘(v) The number of appeals of decisions made 1
2763+with respect to such program, disaggregated by type 2
2764+of appeal. 3
2765+‘‘(vi) With respect to each appeal described in 4
2766+clause (v), the decision rendered, if any. 5
2767+‘‘(vii) A description of all tools used in assess-6
2768+ments conducted for such program, including an ex-7
2769+planation of how and by whom such tools are admin-8
2770+istered. 9
2771+‘‘(viii) A description of procedures used under 10
2772+such program for reviewing and integrating clinical 11
2773+records from health care providers that includes an 12
2774+explanation of how such records are used in deter-13
2775+minations of eligibility for such program. 14
2776+‘‘(ix) A description of procedures available 15
2777+under such program for health care providers to 16
2778+communicate medical opinions to the teams con-17
2779+ducting assessments to determine eligibility for such 18
2780+program, including health care providers in the pri-19
2781+vate sector and health care providers specified in 20
2782+subsection (c) of section 1703 of this title. 21
2783+‘‘(x) A description of information technology 22
2784+systems and processes used under such program to 23
2785+upload and integrate all clinical records from all 24
2786+non-Department providers, including providers in 25
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2790+the private sector and providers under the Veterans 1
2791+Community Care Program established under such 2
2792+section. 3
2793+‘‘(B) The Secretary shall ensure that all data in-4
2794+cluded in a report under subparagraph (A)— 5
2795+‘‘(i) relating to a decision made under the pro-6
2796+gram required by paragraph (1), are disaggregated 7
2797+by the specific reason for the decision; 8
2798+‘‘(ii) relating to a veteran, include comprehen-9
2799+sive demographic information of the veteran, includ-10
2800+ing the time period of the injuries, if any, of the vet-11
2801+eran and the Veterans Integrated Service Network 12
2802+in which the veteran is located; and 13
2803+‘‘(iii) with respect to eligibility determinations 14
2804+relating to a serious injury of a veteran, specify— 15
2805+‘‘(I) how many such determinations relate 16
2806+to the ability of the veteran to perform activi-17
2807+ties of daily living; and 18
2808+‘‘(II) how many such determinations relate 19
2809+to the need of a veteran for supervision and 20
2810+protection. 21
2811+‘‘(C) The Secretary shall provide the data under 22
2812+paragraph (B) pursuant to Federal laws and in a manner 23
2813+that is wholly consistent with applicable Federal privacy 24
2814+and confidentiality laws, including but the Privacy Act (5 25
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2818+U.S.C. 552a), the Health Insurance Portability and Ac-1
2819+countability Act (Public Law 104–191; 42 U.S.C. 201 2
2820+note) and regulations (title 45, Code of Federal Regula-3
2821+tions, parts 160 and 164, or successor regulations), and 4
2822+sections 5701, 5705, and 7332 of this title to ensure that 5
2823+the provided data, or some portion of the data, will not 6
2824+undermine the anonymity of a veteran.’’. 7
2825+SEC. 126. IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO HOMEMAKER AND 8
2826+HOME HEALTH AIDE PROGRAM. 9
2827+(a) P
2828+ILOTPROGRAM FOR COMMUNITIES WITH 10
2829+S
2830+HORTAGE OFHOMEHEALTHAIDES.— 11
2831+(1) P
2832+ROGRAM.—Beginning not later than 18 12
2833+months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 13
2834+the Secretary shall carry out a three-year pilot pro-14
2835+gram under which the Secretary shall provide home-15
2836+maker and home health aide services to veterans 16
2837+who reside in communities with a shortage of home 17
2838+health aides. 18
9932839 (2) L
994-OCATIONS.—The Secretary shall carry out 11
995-such pilot program in four Veterans Integrated 12
996-Service Networks that are geographically dispersed 13
997-and shall include the following: 14
998-(A) A Veterans Integrated Service Net-15
999-work that predominately serves veterans in 16
1000-rural and highly rural areas. 17
1001-(B) A Veterans Integrated Service Net-18
1002-work that predominately serves veterans in 19
1003-urban areas. 20
1004-(C) A Veterans Integrated Service Net-21
1005-work that has a high rate of suicide among vet-22
1006-erans. 23 36
1007-•HR 8371 EH
1008-(D) A Veterans Integrated Service Net-1
1009-work that has a high rate of substance use dis-2
1010-order among veterans. 3
1011-(E) A Veterans Integrated Service Net-4
1012-work that has access or productivity challenges. 5
1013-(3) R
1014-EPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 6
1015-(A) A
1016-NNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one 7
1017-year after the commencement of the pilot pro-8
1018-gram, and annually thereafter during the dura-9
1019-tion of the pilot program, the Secretary shall 10
1020-submit to Congress a report on the pilot pro-11
1021-gram. 12
1022-(B) F
1023-INAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 13
1024-days before the conclusion of the pilot program, 14
1025-the Secretary shall submit to Congress a final 15
1026-report on the pilot program that includes— 16
1027-(i) lessons learned during the adminis-17
1028-tration of such pilot program; and 18
1029-(ii) specific health outcomes in veteran 19
1030-patient care compared to the Veterans 20
1031-Health Administration system of care in 21
1032-effect as of the date of the enactment of 22
1033-this Act. 23 37
1034-•HR 8371 EH
1035-SEC. 108. PLAN ON ADOPTION OF CERTAIN HEALTH INFOR-1
1036-MATION STANDARDS FOR DEPARTMENT OF 2
1037-VETERANS AFFAIRS AND CERTAIN HEALTH 3
1038-CARE PROVIDERS. 4
1039-(a) P
1040-LAN FOR CERTAINHEALTHINFORMATION 5
1041-S
1042-TANDARDS.— 6
1043-(1) I
1044-N GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 7
1045-Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of Health 8
1046-and Human Services, the Administrator of the Cen-9
1047-ters for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Na-10
1048-tional Coordinator for Health Information Tech-11
1049-nology of the Department of Health and Human 12
1050-Services, shall create and implement a plan to adopt, 13
1051-as rapidly and to the most comprehensive extent fea-14
1052-sible, national health information interoperability 15
1053-standards for the Department of Veterans Affairs 16
1054-and community care providers with respect to— 17
1055-(A) coordination of— 18
1056-(i) care; and 19
1057-(ii) benefits; 20
1058-(B) patient identity matching; 21
1059-(C) measurement and reporting of quality; 22
1060-(D) population health; and 23
1061-(E) public health. 24 38
1062-•HR 8371 EH
1063-(2) CONSIDERATION.—In developing the plan 1
1064-under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Veterans Af-2
1065-fairs shall consider challenges faced by— 3
1066-(A) small community care providers; and 4
1067-(B) community care providers located in 5
1068-rural areas. 6
1069-(b) P
1070-LAN ONELECTRONICHEALTHRECORDEX-7
1071-CHANGE.— 8
1072-(1) I
1073-N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 9
1074-after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-10
1075-retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 11
1076-Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representa-12
1077-tives a plan to provide, at no cost, to community 13
1078-care providers of the Department, through Third 14
1079-Party Administrators, a capability to facilitate the 15
1080-electronic direct exchange, between such providers 16
1081-and the Department, of— 17
1082-(A) the health records of veterans; and 18
1083-(B) documents relating to health care of 19
1084-veterans, clinical notes, and any other informa-20
1085-tion the Secretary determines necessary. 21
1086-(2) P
1087-RIORITIZATION.—In developing the plan 22
1088-required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 23
1089-prioritize providing the capability described in such 24
1090-paragraph to community care providers that— 25 39
1091-•HR 8371 EH
1092-(A) provide care under the laws adminis-1
1093-tered by the Secretary to— 2
1094-(i) a lower volume of veterans; and 3
1095-(ii) veterans who are located in rural 4
1096-areas; and 5
1097-(B) are unable or unwilling to exchange 6
1098-the records and documents described in sub-7
1099-paragraphs (A) and (B) of such paragraph with 8
1100-the Department through standards-based or di-9
1101-rect exchange mechanisms in effect as of the 10
1102-date of the enactment of this Act. 11
1103-(c) R
1104-EPORTS ON PLAN FOR INTEROPERABILITY 12
1105-S
1106-TANDARDS.— 13
1107-(1) I
1108-NITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 14
1109-after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-15
1110-retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com-16
1111-mittees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 17
1112-House of Representatives— 18
1113-(A) the plan required by subsection (a); 19
1114-and 20
1115-(B) a report that includes— 21
1116-(i) an analysis of gaps, if any, be-22
1117-tween the use, by the Department and 23
1118-other agencies, health information ex-24
1119-changes, and technology companies, of na-25 40
1120-•HR 8371 EH
1121-tional health information interoperability 1
1122-standards and the potential, or optimal, 2
1123-use of such national health information 3
1124-interoperability standards; 4
1125-(ii) an analysis and description of the 5
1126-participation by the Department, commu-6
1127-nity care providers, and other relevant en-7
1128-tities in the Trusted Exchange Framework 8
1129-and Common Agreement program of the 9
1130-Department of Health and Human Serv-10
1131-ices as of the date of the enactment of this 11
1132-Act; 12
1133-(iii) recommendations of the Secretary 13
1134-with respect to development of health in-14
1135-formation interoperability standards; 15
1136-(iv) timelines or schedules to imple-16
1137-ment the plan required by subsection (a); 17
1138-and 18
1139-(v) an identification of any legislative 19
1140-authorities or resources the Secretary re-20
1141-quires to implement such plan. 21
1142-(2) R
1143-ECURRING REPORT REQUIREMENT .— 22
1144-(A) I
1145-N GENERAL.—Not later than 18 23
1146-months after the date of the enactment of this 24
1147-Act, and every 180 days thereafter for four 25 41
1148-•HR 8371 EH
1149-years, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 1
1150-submit to Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 2
1151-the Senate and the House of Representatives a 3
1152-report on the status of implementation of the 4
1153-plan required under subsection (a). 5
1154-(B) E
1155-LEMENTS OF SUBSEQUENT RE -6
1156-PORTS.—Each report under subparagraph (A) 7
1157-submitted after the date on which the first re-8
1158-port required by such subparagraph is sub-9
1159-mitted shall include a description of any revi-10
1160-sions to— 11
1161-(i) the plan required by subsection (a) 12
1162-made during the period covered by the re-13
1163-port; and 14
1164-(ii) the analysis, recommendations, 15
1165-timelines, and legislative authorities re-16
1166-ported pursuant to paragraph (1). 17
1167-(d) D
1168-EFINITIONS.—In this section: 18
1169-(1) The term ‘‘community care provider’’ means 19
1170-a non-Department health care provider providing 20
1171-care (including dental care)— 21
1172-(A) under section 1703 of title 38, United 22
1173-States Code; 23
1174-(B) pursuant to a Veterans Care Agree-24
1175-ment under section 1703A of such title; or 25 42
1176-•HR 8371 EH
1177-(C) under any other law administered by 1
1178-the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 2
1179-(2) The term ‘‘Third Party Administrator’’ 3
1180-means an entity that manages a provider network 4
1181-and performs administrative services related to such 5
1182-network under section 1703 of title 38, United 6
1183-States Code. 7
1184-SEC. 109. REPORT ON USE OF VALUE-BASED REIMBURSE-8
1185-MENT MODELS UNDER VETERANS COMMU-9
1186-NITY CARE PROGRAM. 10
1187-(a) R
1188-EPORT ON VALUE-BASEDREIMBURSEMENT 11
1189-M
1190-ODELS.—Not later than one year after the date of the 12
1191-enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 13
1192-in consultation with the Center for Innovation for Care 14
1193-and Payment of the Department of Veterans Affairs under 15
1194-section 1703E of title 38 United States Code, the Office 16
1195-of Integrated Veteran Care of the Department, or suc-17
1196-cessor office, and Third Party Administrators, shall sub-18
1197-mit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 19
1198-of Representatives and the Senate a report containing— 20
1199-(1) an assessment of the efforts of the Depart-21
1200-ment pursuant to section 1703(i)(5) of such title, to 22
1201-incorporate value-based reimbursement models under 23
1202-the Veterans Community Care Program to promote 24
1203-the provision of high-quality care to veterans; and 25 43
1204-•HR 8371 EH
1205-(2) such recommendations for legislative or ad-1
1206-ministrative action as the Secretary considers appro-2
1207-priate regarding the use of value-based reimburse-3
1208-ment models throughout the Veterans Community 4
1209-Care Program under section 1703 of such title. 5
2840+OCATIONS.—The Secretary shall select not 19
2841+fewer than five geographic locations in which the 20
2842+Secretary determines there is a shortage of home 21
2843+health aides at which to carry out the pilot program 22
2844+under paragraph (1). 23
2845+(3) N
2846+URSING ASSISTANTS.— 24
2847+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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2849+•HR 8371 IH
2850+(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 1
2851+pilot program under paragraph (1), the Sec-2
2852+retary may hire nursing assistants as new em-3
2853+ployees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 4
2854+or reassign nursing assistants who are existing 5
2855+employees of the Department, to provide to vet-6
2856+erans in-home care services (including basic 7
2857+tasks authorized by the State certification of 8
2858+the nursing assistant) under the pilot program, 9
2859+in lieu of or in addition to the provision of such 10
2860+services through non-Department home health 11
2861+aides. 12
12102862 (B) R
1211-ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—This section shall not 6
1212-be construed to be a pilot program subject to the require-7
1213-ments of section 1703E of title 38, United States Code. 8
1214-(c) T
1215-HIRDPARTYADMINISTRATORDEFINED.—In 9
1216-this section, the term ‘‘Third Party Administrator’’ means 10
1217-an entity that manages a provider network and performs 11
1218-administrative services related to such network under sec-12
1219-tion 1703 of title 38, United States Code. 13
1220-SEC. 110. INSPECTOR GENERAL ASSESSMENT OF IMPLE-14
1221-MENTATION OF VETERANS COMMUNITY 15
1222-CARE PROGRAM. 16
1223-(a) I
1224-NGENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 17
1225-the date of the enactment of this Act, and periodically 18
1226-thereafter, the Inspector General shall assess the perform-19
1227-ance of the Department of Veterans Affairs in— 20
1228-(1) appropriately identifying veterans eligible 21
1229-for care and services under section 1703 of title 38, 22
1230-United States Code; 23
1231-(2) informing veterans of their eligibility for 24
1232-such care and services; and 25 44
1233-•HR 8371 EH
1234-(3) delivering such care and services in a timely 1
1235-manner. 2
1236-(b) B
1237-RIEFING ONASSESSMENTS.—Upon the submis-3
1238-sion of the assessment required by subsection (a), the In-4
1239-spector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs 5
1240-shall provide to the Committees on Veterans Affairs of the 6
1241-House of Representatives and the Senate a briefing on the 7
1242-results of such assessment. 8
1243-SEC. 111. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON DENTISTRY 9
1244-UNDER VETERANS COMMUNITY CARE PRO-10
1245-GRAM. 11
1246-(a) I
1247-NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 12
1248-date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 13
1249-of the United States shall submit to the Committees on 14
1250-Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Rep-15
1251-resentatives a report on dental care furnished by the Sec-16
1252-retary of Veterans Affairs under the Veterans Community 17
1253-Care Program under section 1703 of title 38, United 18
1254-States Code, that includes a review of— 19
1255-(1) the impact current reimbursement rates 20
1256-provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to 21
1257-dental providers under such program have on— 22
1258-(A) the availability of dental care for vet-23
1259-erans; and 24 45
1260-•HR 8371 EH
1261-(B) the ability of Third Party Administra-1
1262-tors to meet their contractual obligations for 2
1263-network adequacy; 3
1264-(2) the satisfaction of dental providers pro-4
1265-viding dental care under such program with the 5
1266-processes of the Department for approving dental 6
1267-care under such program; and 7
1268-(3) the current processes of the Department for 8
1269-approving emergent dental care under such program. 9
1270-(b) T
1271-HIRDPARTYADMINISTRATORDEFINED.—In 10
1272-this section, the term ‘‘Third Party Administrator’’ means 11
1273-an entity that manages a provider network and performs 12
1274-administrative services related to such network under sec-13
1275-tion 1703 of title 38, United States Code. 14
1276-Subtitle B—Matters Relating to 15
1277-Nursing Home and Other Long 16
1278-Term Care and Family Care-17
1279-givers 18
1280-SEC. 120. INCREASE OF EXPENDITURE CAP FOR NON-19
1281-INSTITUTIONAL CARE ALTERNATIVES TO 20
1282-NURSING HOME CARE. 21
1283-(a) I
1284-NCREASE OF EXPENDITURE CAP.—Section 22
1285-1720C(d) of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 23 46
1286-•HR 8371 EH
1287-(1) by striking ‘‘The total cost’’ and inserting 1
1288-‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the total 2
1289-cost’’; 3
1290-(2) by striking ‘‘65 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘100 4
1291-percent’’; and 5
1292-(3) by adding at the end the following new 6
1293-paragraph: 7
1294-‘‘(2)(A) The total cost of providing services or in-kind 8
1295-assistance in the case of any veteran described in subpara-9
1296-graph (B) for any fiscal year under the program may ex-10
1297-ceed 100 percent of the cost that would otherwise have 11
1298-been incurred as specified in paragraph (1) if the Sec-12
1299-retary determines, based on a consideration of clinical 13
1300-need, geographic market factors, and such other matters 14
1301-as the Secretary may prescribe through regulation, that 15
1302-such higher total cost is in the best interest of the veteran. 16
1303-‘‘(B) A veteran described in this subparagraph is a 17
1304-veteran with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a spinal cord 18
1305-injury, or a condition the Secretary determines to be simi-19
1306-lar to such conditions.’’. 20
1307-(b) A
1308-PPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub-21
1309-section (a) shall apply with respect to fiscal years begin-22
1310-ning on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 23 47
1311-•HR 8371 EH
1312-SEC. 121. COORDINATION WITH PROGRAM OF ALL-INCLU-1
1313-SIVE CARE FOR THE ELDERLY. 2
1314-Section 1720C of title 38, United States Code, as 3
1315-amended by section 120, is further amended by adding 4
1316-at the end the following new subsection: 5
1317-‘‘(f) In furnishing services to a veteran under the pro-6
1318-gram conducted pursuant to subsection (a), if a medical 7
1319-center of the Department through which such program is 8
1320-administered is located in a geographic area in which serv-9
1321-ices are available to the veteran under a PACE program 10
1322-(as such term is defined in sections 1894(a)(2) and 11
1323-1934(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 12
1324-1395eee(a)(2); 1396u–4(a)(2))), the Secretary shall seek 13
1325-to enter into an agreement with the PACE program oper-14
1326-ating in that area for the furnishing of such services.’’. 15
1327-SEC. 122. AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF-16
1328-FAIRS TO AWARD GRANTS OR CONTRACTS TO 17
1329-ENTITIES TO IMPROVE PROVISION OF MEN-18
1330-TAL HEALTH SUPPORT TO FAMILY CARE-19
1331-GIVERS OF VETERANS. 20
1332-Subchapter II of chapter 17 of title 38, United States 21
1333-Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 22
1334-section (and conforming the table of sections at the begin-23
1335-ning of such chapter accordingly): 24 48
1336-•HR 8371 EH
1337-‘‘§ 1720K. Grants or contracts to provide mental 1
1338-health support to family caregivers of 2
1339-veterans 3
1340-‘‘(a) A
1341-UTHORITY.—The Secretary may award grants 4
1342-to carry out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise enhance 5
1343-mental health counseling, treatment, or support to the 6
1344-family caregivers of veterans participating in the family 7
1345-caregiver program. 8
1346-‘‘(b) A
1347-PPLICATION.—(1) To be eligible for a grant or 9
1348-contract under this section, an entity shall submit to the 10
1349-Secretary an application therefor at such time, in such 11
1350-manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 12
1351-may require. 13
1352-‘‘(2) Each application submitted under paragraph (1) 14
1353-shall include the following: 15
1354-‘‘(A) A detailed plan for the use of the grant 16
1355-or contract. 17
1356-‘‘(B) A description of the programs or efforts 18
1357-through which the entity will meet the outcome 19
1358-measures developed by the Secretary under sub-20
1359-section (g). 21
1360-‘‘(C) A description of how the entity will dis-22
1361-tribute grant or contract amounts equitably among 23
1362-areas with varying levels of urbanization. 24
1363-‘‘(D) A plan for how the grant or contract will 25
1364-be used to meet the unique needs of veterans resid-26 49
1365-•HR 8371 EH
1366-ing in rural areas, Native American, Native Hawai-1
1367-ian, or Alaska Native veterans, elderly veterans, 2
1368-women veterans, and veterans from other under-3
1369-served communities. 4
1370-‘‘(c) D
1371-ISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall seek to en-5
1372-sure that grants and contracts awarded under this section 6
1373-are equitably distributed among entities located in States 7
1374-with varying levels of urbanization. 8
1375-‘‘(d) P
1376-RIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize 9
1377-awarding grants or contracts under this section that will 10
1378-serve the following areas: 11
1379-‘‘(1) Areas with high rates of veterans enrolled 12
1380-in the family caregiver program. 13
1381-‘‘(2) Areas with high rates of— 14
1382-‘‘(A) suicide among veterans; or 15
1383-‘‘(B) referrals to the Veterans Crisis Line. 16
1384-‘‘(e) R
1385-EQUIREDACTIVITIES.—Any grant or contract 17
1386-awarded under this section shall be used— 18
1387-‘‘(1) to expand existing programs, activities, 19
1388-and services; 20
1389-‘‘(2) to establish new or additional programs, 21
1390-activities, and services; or 22
1391-‘‘(3) for travel and transportation to facilitate 23
1392-carrying out paragraph (1) or (2). 24 50
1393-•HR 8371 EH
1394-‘‘(f) OUTCOMEMEASURES.—(1) The Secretary shall 1
1395-develop and provide to each entity that receives a grant 2
1396-or contract under this section written guidance on the fol-3
1397-lowing: 4
1398-‘‘(A) Outcome measures. 5
1399-‘‘(B) Policies of the Department. 6
1400-‘‘(2) In developing outcome measures under para-7
1401-graph (1), the Secretary shall consider the following goals: 8
1402-‘‘(A) Increasing the utilization of mental health 9
1403-services among family caregivers of veterans partici-10
1404-pating in the family caregiver program. 11
1405-‘‘(B) Reducing barriers to mental health serv-12
1406-ices among family caregivers of veterans partici-13
1407-pating in such program. 14
1408-‘‘(g) T
1409-RACKINGREQUIREMENTS.—(1) The Secretary 15
1410-shall establish appropriate tracking requirements with re-16
1411-spect to the entities receiving a grant or contract under 17
1412-this section. 18
1413-‘‘(2) Not less frequently than annually, the Secretary 19
1414-shall submit to Congress a report on such tracking re-20
1415-quirements. 21
1416-‘‘(h) P
1417-ERFORMANCE REVIEW.—The Secretary 22
1418-shall— 23
1419-‘‘(1) review the performance of each entity that 24
1420-receives a grant or contract under this section; and 25 51
1421-•HR 8371 EH
1422-‘‘(2) make information regarding such perform-1
1423-ance publicly available. 2
1424-‘‘(i) R
1425-EMEDIATIONPLAN.—(1) In the case of an enti-3
1426-ty that receives a grant or contract under this section and 4
1427-does not meet the outcome measures developed by the Sec-5
1428-retary under subsection (g), the Secretary shall require the 6
1429-entity to submit to the Secretary a remediation plan under 7
1430-which the entity shall describe how and when it plans to 8
1431-meet such outcome measures. 9
1432-‘‘(2) The Secretary may not award a subsequent 10
1433-grant or contract under this section to an entity described 11
1434-in paragraph (1) unless the Secretary approves the reme-12
1435-diation plan submitted by the entity under such para-13
1436-graph. 14
1437-‘‘(j) M
1438-AXIMUMAMOUNT.—The amount of a grant or 15
1439-contract awarded under this section may not exceed 10 16
1440-percent of amounts made available for grants or contracts 17
1441-under this section for the fiscal year in which the grant 18
1442-or contract is awarded. 19
1443-‘‘(k) S
1444-UPPLEMENT, NOTSUPPLANT.—Any grant or 20
1445-contract awarded under this section shall be used to sup-21
1446-plement and not supplant funding that is otherwise avail-22
1447-able through the Department to provide mental health 23
1448-support among family caregivers of veterans participating 24
1449-in the family caregiver program. 25 52
1450-•HR 8371 EH
1451-‘‘(l) OUTREACH TOFAMILYCAREGIVERS.—The Sec-1
1452-retary shall include, in the outreach materials regularly 2
1453-provided to a family caregiver who participates in the fam-3
1454-ily caregiver program, notice of mental health support pro-4
1455-vided by recipients of grants or contracts under this sec-5
1456-tion that are located in the relevant Veterans Integrated 6
1457-Service Network. 7
1458-‘‘(m) F
1459-UNDING.—(1) Amounts for the activities of 8
1460-the Department under this section shall be budgeted and 9
1461-appropriated through a separate appropriation account. 10
1462-‘‘(2) In the budget justification materials submitted 11
1463-to Congress in support of the budget of the Department 12
1464-for any fiscal year (as submitted with the budget of the 13
1465-President under section 1105(a) of title 31), the Secretary 14
1466-shall include a separate statement of the amount re-15
1467-quested to be appropriated for that fiscal year for the ac-16
1468-count specified in paragraph (1). 17
1469-‘‘(n) A
1470-UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 18
1471-is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary, for each 19
1472-of fiscal years 2025 and 2026, $10,000,000 to carry out 20
1473-this section. 21
1474-‘‘(o) D
1475-EFINITIONS.—In this section: 22
1476-‘‘(1) The terms ‘caregiver’ and ‘family care-23
1477-giver’ have the meanings given those terms in sec-24
1478-tion 1720G of this title. 25 53
1479-•HR 8371 EH
1480-‘‘(2) The term ‘family caregiver program’ 1
1481-means the program of comprehensive assistance for 2
1482-family caregivers under section 1720G of this title. 3
1483-‘‘(3) The term ‘Veterans Crisis Line’ means the 4
1484-toll-free hotline for veterans established under sec-5
1485-tion 1720F of this title.’’. 6
1486-SEC. 123. HOME- AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES: PRO-7
1487-GRAMS. 8
1488-(a) P
1489-ROGRAMS.—Such subchapter is further amend-9
1490-ed by inserting after section 1720K (as added by section 10
1491-122) the following new section (and conforming the table 11
1492-of sections at the beginning of such chapter accordingly): 12
1493-‘‘§ 1720L. Home- and community-based services: pro-13
1494-grams 14
1495-‘‘(a) I
1496-NGENERAL.—In furnishing noninstitutional al-15
1497-ternatives to nursing home care pursuant to the authority 16
1498-of section 1720C of this title (or any other authority under 17
1499-this chapter or other provision of law administered by the 18
1500-Secretary of Veterans Affairs), the Secretary shall carry 19
1501-out each of the programs specified in this section in ac-20
1502-cordance with such relevant authorities except as other-21
1503-wise provided in this section. 22
1504-‘‘(b) V
1505-ETERAN-DIRECTEDCAREPROGRAM.—(1) The 23
1506-Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in collaboration with the 24
1507-Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall carry out 25 54
1508-•HR 8371 EH
1509-a program to be known as the ‘Veteran-Directed Care pro-1
1510-gram’. Under such program, the Secretary of Veterans Af-2
1511-fairs may enter into agreements with the providers de-3
1512-scribed in paragraph (2) to provide to eligible veterans 4
1513-funds, to the extent practicable, to obtain such in-home 5
1514-care services and related items that support clinical need 6
1515-and improve quality of life, as may be determined appro-7
1516-priate by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and selected 8
1517-by the veteran, including through the veteran hiring indi-9
1518-viduals to provide such services and items or directly pur-10
1519-chasing such services and items. 11
1520-‘‘(2) The providers described in this paragraph are 12
1521-the following: 13
1522-‘‘(A) An Aging and Disability Resource Center, 14
1523-an area agency on aging, or a State agency. 15
1524-‘‘(B) A center for independent living. 16
1525-‘‘(C) An Indian tribe or tribal organization re-17
1526-ceiving assistance under title VI of the Older Ameri-18
1527-cans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3057 et seq.). 19
1528-‘‘(D) Any other entity that the Secretary, in 20
1529-consultation with the Secretary of Health and 21
1530-Human Services, determines appropriate. 22
1531-‘‘(3) In carrying out the Veteran-Directed Care pro-23
1532-gram, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 24 55
1533-•HR 8371 EH
1534-‘‘(A) administer such program through each 1
1535-medical center of the Department of Veterans Af-2
1536-fairs; 3
1537-‘‘(B) seek to ensure the availability of such pro-4
1538-gram in American Samoa, Guam, the Common-5
1539-wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Com-6
1540-monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the 7
1541-United States, and any other territory or possession 8
1542-of the United States, to the extent practicable; and 9
1543-‘‘(C) seek to ensure the availability of such pro-10
1544-gram for eligible veterans who are Native American 11
1545-veterans receiving care and services furnished by the 12
1546-Indian Health Service, a tribal health program, an 13
1547-Urban Indian organization, or (in the case of a Na-14
1548-tive Hawaiian veteran) a Native Hawaiian health 15
1549-care system, to the extent practicable. 16
1550-‘‘(4) If a veteran participating in the Veteran-Di-17
1551-rected Care program is hospitalized, the veteran may con-18
1552-tinue to use funds under the program during a period of 19
1553-hospitalization in the same manner that the veteran would 20
1554-be authorized to use such funds under the program if the 21
1555-veteran were not hospitalized. 22
1556-‘‘(c) H
1557-OMEMAKER AND HOMEHEALTHAIDEPRO-23
1558-GRAM.—(1) The Secretary shall carry out a program to 24
1559-be known as the ‘Homemaker and Home Health Aide pro-25 56
1560-•HR 8371 EH
1561-gram’ under which the Secretary may enter into agree-1
1562-ments with home health agencies to provide to eligible vet-2
1563-erans such home health aide services as may be deter-3
1564-mined appropriate by the Secretary. 4
1565-‘‘(2) In carrying out the Homemaker and Home 5
1566-Health Aide program, the Secretary shall— 6
1567-‘‘(A) administer such program in the locations 7
1568-specified in subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(3); 8
1569-‘‘(B) seek to ensure the availability of such pro-9
1570-gram in the locations specified in subparagraph (B) 10
1571-of subsection (b)(3); and 11
1572-‘‘(C) seek to ensure the availability of such pro-12
1573-gram for the veteran populations specified in sub-13
1574-paragraph (C) of subsection (b)(3). 14
1575-‘‘(d) H
1576-OME-BASEDPRIMARYCAREPROGRAM.—The 15
1577-Secretary shall carry out a program to be known as the 16
1578-‘Home-Based Primary Care program’ under which the 17
1579-Secretary may furnish to eligible veterans in-home health 18
1580-care, the provision of which is overseen by a provider of 19
1581-the Department. 20
1582-‘‘(e) P
1583-URCHASEDSKILLEDHOMECAREPROGRAM.— 21
1584-The Secretary shall carry out a program to be known as 22
1585-the ‘Purchased Skilled Home Care program’ under which 23
1586-the Secretary may furnish to eligible veterans such in- 24 57
1587-•HR 8371 EH
1588-home care services as may be determined appropriate and 1
1589-selected by the Secretary for the veteran. 2
1590-‘‘(f) C
1591-AREGIVERSUPPORT.—(1) With respect to a 3
1592-resident eligible caregiver of a veteran participating in a 4
1593-program under this section, the Secretary shall— 5
1594-‘‘(A) if the veteran meets the requirements of 6
1595-a covered veteran under section 1720G(b) of this 7
1596-title, provide to such caregiver the option of enroll-8
1597-ing in the program of general caregiver support serv-9
1598-ices under such section; 10
1599-‘‘(B) provide to such caregiver covered respite 11
1600-care of not less than 30 days annually; and 12
1601-‘‘(C) conduct on an annual basis (and, to the 13
1602-extent practicable, in connection with in-person serv-14
1603-ices provided under the program in which the vet-15
1604-eran is participating), a wellness contact of such 16
1605-caregiver. 17
1606-‘‘(2) Covered respite care provided to a resident eligi-18
1607-ble caregiver of a veteran under paragraph (1) may exceed 19
1608-30 days annually if such extension is requested by the resi-20
1609-dent eligible caregiver or veteran and determined medi-21
1610-cally appropriate by the Secretary. 22
1611-‘‘(g) R
1612-ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-23
1613-tion shall be construed to limit the authority of the Sec-24 58
1614-•HR 8371 EH
1615-retary to carry out programs providing home- and commu-1
1616-nity-based services under any other provision of law. 2
1617-‘‘(h) D
1618-EFINITIONS.—In this section: 3
1619-‘‘(1) The terms ‘Aging and Disability Resource 4
1620-Center’, ‘area agency on aging’, and ‘State agency’ 5
1621-have the meanings given those terms in section 102 6
1622-of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 7
1623-3002). 8
1624-‘‘(2) The terms ‘caregiver’ and ‘family care-9
1625-giver’, with respect to a veteran, have the meanings 10
1626-given those terms, respectively, under subsection (e) 11
1627-of section 1720G of this title with respect to an eli-12
1628-gible veteran under subsection (a) of such section or 13
1629-a covered veteran under subsection (b) of such sec-14
1630-tion, as the case may be. 15
1631-‘‘(3) The term ‘center for independent living’ 16
1632-has the meaning given that term in section 702 of 17
1633-the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796a). 18
1634-‘‘(4) The term ‘covered respite care’ has the 19
1635-meaning given such term in section 1720G(d) of this 20
1636-title. 21
1637-‘‘(5) The term ‘eligible veteran’ means any vet-22
1638-eran— 23
1639-‘‘(A) for whom the Secretary determines 24
1640-participation in a specific program under this 25 59
1641-•HR 8371 EH
1642-section is medically necessary to promote, pre-1
1643-serve, or restore the health of the veteran; and 2
1644-‘‘(B) who absent such participation would 3
1645-be at increased risk for hospitalization, place-4
1646-ment in a nursing home, or emergency room 5
1647-care. 6
1648-‘‘(6) The term ‘home health aide’ means an in-7
1649-dividual employed by a home health agency to pro-8
1650-vide in-home care services. 9
1651-‘‘(7) The term ‘in-home care service’ means any 10
1652-service, including a personal care service, provided to 11
1653-enable the recipient of such service to live at home. 12
1654-‘‘(8) The terms ‘Indian tribe’ and ‘tribal organi-13
1655-zation’ have the meanings given those terms in sec-14
1656-tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-15
1657-cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 16
1658-‘‘(9) The terms ‘Native American’ and ‘Native 17
1659-American veteran’ have the meanings given those 18
1660-terms in section 3765 of this title. 19
1661-‘‘(10) The terms ‘Native Hawaiian’ and ‘Native 20
1662-Hawaiian health care system’ have the meanings 21
1663-given those terms in section 12 of the Native Hawai-22
1664-ian Health Care Improvement Act (42 U.S.C. 23
1665-11711). 24 60
1666-•HR 8371 EH
1667-‘‘(11) The terms ‘tribal health programs’ and 1
1668-‘Urban Indian organizations’ have the meanings 2
1669-given those terms in section 4 of the Indian Health 3
1670-Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603). 4
1671-‘‘(12) The term ‘resident eligible caregiver’ 5
1672-means an individual who— 6
1673-‘‘(A) is a caregiver, or a family caregiver, 7
1674-of a veteran and resides with that veteran; and 8
1675-‘‘(B) has not entered into a contract, 9
1676-agreement, or other arrangement for such indi-10
1677-vidual to act as a caregiver for that veteran un-11
1678-less such individual is a family member of the 12
1679-veteran or is furnishing caregiver services 13
1680-through a medical foster home.’’. 14
1681-(b) D
1682-EADLINE FORIMPROVEDADMINISTRATION.— 15
1683-The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that the 16
1684-Veteran-Directed Care program and the Homemaker and 17
1685-Home Health Aide program are administered through 18
1686-each medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs 19
1687-in accordance with section 1720L of title 38, United 20
1688-States Code (as added by subsection (a)), by not later 21
1689-than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 22
1690-(c) A
1691-DMINISTRATION OF VETERAN-DIRECTEDCARE 23
1692-P
1693-ROGRAM.— 24
1694-(1) P
1695-ROCEDURES.— 25 61
1696-•HR 8371 EH
1697-(A) The Secretary shall establish proce-1
1698-dures to— 2
1699-(i) identify the staffing needs for the 3
1700-Veteran-Directed Care program of the De-4
1701-partment of Veterans Affairs under such 5
1702-section (as added by subsection (a)); and 6
1703-(ii) define the roles and responsibil-7
1704-ities for personnel of the Department re-8
1705-sponsible for the administration of such 9
1706-program, including such personnel em-10
1707-ployed at the national, Veterans Integrated 11
1708-Service Network, or medical facility level. 12
1709-(B) The responsibilities described in clause 13
1710-(ii) of subparagraph (A) shall include respon-14
1711-sibilities for engagement with— 15
1712-(i) veterans participating in such pro-16
1713-gram; 17
1714-(ii) veterans interested in partici-18
1715-pating in such program; and 19
1716-(iii) providers described in section 20
1717-1720L(b)(2) (as added by subsection (a)). 21
1718-(2) S
1719-TAFFING MODEL ; REPORT.—Not later 22
1720-than two years after enactment of this Act, the Sec-23
1721-retary of Veterans Affairs shall— 24 62
1722-•HR 8371 EH
1723-(A) establish a staffing model for the ad-1
1724-ministration of such program at each medical 2
1725-facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs; 3
1726-and 4
1727-(B) submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 5
1728-Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 6
1729-Senate a report containing the following: 7
1730-(i) A description of— 8
1731-(I) the staffing model described 9
1732-in subparagraph (A); and 10
1733-(II) the rationale for such staff-11
1734-ing model. 12
1735-(ii) An identification of the ratio of 13
1736-staff required to administer such program 14
1737-to the number of veterans served by such 15
1738-program, disaggregated by each medical 16
1739-facility of the Department of Veterans Af-17
1740-fairs. 18
1741-(iii) A description of budgetary re-19
1742-sources or other support, if any, required 20
1743-to accommodate an increase in staffing at 21
1744-medical facilities of the Department of 22
1745-Veterans Affairs pursuant to the require-23
1746-ments of the staffing model described in 24
1747-subparagraph (A). 25 63
1748-•HR 8371 EH
1749-(iv) Such other matters as the Sec-1
1750-retary of Veterans Affairs determines ap-2
1751-propriate. 3
1752-SEC. 124. COORDINATION WITH ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT 4
1753-SERVICES FOR CAREGIVERS. 5
1754-(a) C
1755-OORDINATIONWITHPROGRAM OFCOMPREHEN-6
1756-SIVEASSISTANCE FORFAMILYCAREGIVERS.— 7
1757-(1) C
1758-OORDINATION.—Section 1720G(a) of title 8
1759-38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 9
1760-the end the following new paragraph: 10
1761-‘‘(14)(A) In the case of a veteran or caregiver who 11
1762-seeks services under this subsection and is denied such 12
1763-services, or a veteran or the family caregiver of a veteran 13
1764-who is discharged from the program under this subsection, 14
1765-the Secretary shall— 15
1766-‘‘(i) if the veteran meets the requirements of a 16
1767-covered veteran under subsection (b), provide to 17
1768-such caregiver the option of enrolling in the program 18
1769-of general caregiver support services under such sub-19
1770-section; 20
1771-‘‘(ii) assess the veteran or caregiver for partici-21
1772-pation in any other available program of the Depart-22
1773-ment for home- and community-based services (in-23
1774-cluding the programs specified in section 1720L of 24
1775-this title) for which the veteran or caregiver may be 25 64
1776-•HR 8371 EH
1777-eligible and, with respect to the veteran, store (and 1
1778-make accessible to the veteran) the results of such 2
1779-assessment in the electronic medical record of the 3
1780-veteran; and 4
1781-‘‘(iii) provide to the veteran or caregiver written 5
1782-information on any such program identified pursu-6
1783-ant to the assessment under clause (ii), including in-7
1784-formation about facilities, eligibility requirements, 8
1785-and relevant contact information for each such pro-9
1786-gram. 10
1787-‘‘(B) The Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, 11
1788-provide to a veteran or family caregiver the option of ob-12
1789-taining clinically appropriate services under any other 13
1790-available program of the Department for home- and com-14
1791-munity-based services (including the programs specified in 15
1792-section 1720L of this title) for which the veteran or family 16
1793-caregiver may be eligible prior to discharging the veteran 17
1794-or family caregiver from the program under this sub-18
1795-section. 19
1796-‘‘(C) For each veteran or family caregiver who is dis-20
1797-charged from the program under this subsection, a care-21
1798-giver support coordinator shall provide for a smooth and 22
1799-personalized transition from such program to an appro-23
1800-priate program of the Department for home- and commu-24
1801-nity-based services (including the programs specified in 25 65
1802-•HR 8371 EH
1803-section 1720L of this title), including by integrating care-1
1804-giver support across programs.’’. 2
1805-(2) A
1806-PPLICABILITY.—The amendments made 3
1807-by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to denials 4
1808-and discharges occurring on or after the date that 5
1809-is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 6
1810-Act. 7
1811-(3) T
1812-ECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND -8
1813-MENTS.—Section 1720G(d) of such title is amend-9
1814-ed— 10
1815-(A) by striking ‘‘or a covered veteran’’ 11
1816-each place it appears and inserting ‘‘, a veteran 12
1817-denied or discharged as specified in paragraph 13
1818-(14) of such subsection, or a covered veteran’’; 14
1819-and 15
1820-(B) by striking ‘‘under subsection (a), 16
1821-means’’ each place it appears and inserting 17
1822-‘‘under subsection (a) or a veteran denied or 18
1823-discharged as specified in paragraph (14) of 19
1824-such subsection, means’’. 20
1825-(b) C
1826-ONFORMITY OF RESPITECAREACROSSPRO-21
1827-GRAMS.—Section 1720G of title 38, United States Code, 22
1828-as amended by subsection (a)(3), is further amended— 23
1829-(1) in subsection (a)(3)— 24 66
1830-•HR 8371 EH
1831-(A) by amending subparagraph (A)(ii)(III) 1
1832-to read as follows: 2
1833-‘‘(III) covered respite care of not less than 3
1834-30 days annually;’’; and 4
1835-(B) by striking subparagraph (B) and re-5
1836-designating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as sub-6
1837-paragraphs (B) through (C), respectively; and 7
1838-(2) by amending subsection (b)(3)(A)(iii) to 8
1839-read as follows: 9
1840-‘‘(iii) Covered respite care of not less than 30 10
1841-days annually.’’; and 11
1842-(3) in subsection (d)— 12
1843-(A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 13
1844-through (4) as paragraphs (3) through (5), re-14
1845-spectively; and 15
1846-(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 16
1847-following new paragraph: 17
1848-‘‘(2) The term ‘covered respite care’ means, 18
1849-with respect to a caregiver of a veteran, respite care 19
1850-under section 1720B of this title that— 20
1851-‘‘(A) is medically and age appropriate for 21
1852-the veteran (including 24-hour per day care of 22
1853-the veteran commensurate with the care pro-23
1854-vided by the caregiver); and 24
1855-‘‘(B) includes in-home care.’’. 25 67
1856-•HR 8371 EH
1857-(c) REVIEWRELATING TOCAREGIVERCONTACT.— 1
1858-The Secretary shall conduct a review of the capacity of 2
1859-the Department to establish a streamlined system for con-3
1860-tacting all caregivers enrolled in the program of general 4
1861-caregiver support services under section 1720G(b) of title 5
1862-38, United States Code, to provide to such caregivers pro-6
1863-gram updates and alerts relating to emerging services for 7
1864-which such caregivers or the veterans for which they pro-8
1865-vide care may be eligible. 9
1866-SEC. 125. IMPROVEMENTS TO PROGRAM OF COMPREHEN-10
1867-SIVE ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 11
1868-Section 1720G(a) of title 38, United States Code, as 12
1869-amended by section 124, is further amended— 13
1870-(1) in paragraph (12)— 14
1871-(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, 15
1872-which shall include all criteria used to deter-16
1873-mine eligibility for such assistance and, in the 17
1874-case of a completed evaluation, how such cri-18
1875-teria were used to evaluate information pro-19
1876-vided in assessments to determine such eligi-20
1877-bility’’ before the period at the end; and 21
1878-(B) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking 22
1879-‘‘who submits’’ and all that follows through the 23
1880-end of the clause and inserting the following: 24
1881-‘‘who— 25 68
1882-•HR 8371 EH
1883-‘‘(I) submits an application for the pro-1
1884-gram established under paragraph (1); or 2
1885-‘‘(II) is being reassessed for eligibility to 3
1886-continue in such program.’’; and 4
1887-(2) by adding at the end the following new 5
1888-paragraph: 6
1889-‘‘(15)(A) Not less frequently than annually, the Sec-7
1890-retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs 8
1891-of the Senate and the House of Representatives a com-9
1892-prehensive report on the program required by paragraph 10
1893-(1) that includes, with respect to one-year period pre-11
1894-ceding the date of the submission of such report, the fol-12
1895-lowing: 13
1896-‘‘(i) The number of applications received for 14
1897-such program. 15
1898-‘‘(ii) The number, disaggregated by race, sex, 16
1899-and era and branch of service in the Armed Forces 17
1900-of the applicant, of— 18
1901-‘‘(I) approvals of such applications; and 19
1902-‘‘(II) denials of such applications. 20
1903-‘‘(iii) The number of reassessments conducted 21
1904-for such program. 22
1905-‘‘(iv) An identification of each decision made 23
1906-with respect to a reassessment conducted for such 24
1907-program, disaggregated by decisions resulting in— 25 69
1908-•HR 8371 EH
1909-‘‘(I) disenrollment, including removal, dis-1
1910-charge, or voluntary withdrawal; 2
1911-‘‘(II) tier reduction; and 3
1912-‘‘(III) tier continuation. 4
1913-‘‘(v) The number of appeals of decisions made 5
1914-with respect to such program, disaggregated by type 6
1915-of appeal. 7
1916-‘‘(vi) With respect to each appeal described in 8
1917-clause (v), the decision rendered, if any. 9
1918-‘‘(vii) A description of all tools used in assess-10
1919-ments conducted for such program, including an ex-11
1920-planation of how and by whom such tools are admin-12
1921-istered. 13
1922-‘‘(viii) A description of procedures used under 14
1923-such program for reviewing and integrating clinical 15
1924-records from health care providers that includes an 16
1925-explanation of how such records are used in deter-17
1926-minations of eligibility for such program. 18
1927-‘‘(ix) A description of procedures available 19
1928-under such program for health care providers to 20
1929-communicate medical opinions to the teams con-21
1930-ducting assessments to determine eligibility for such 22
1931-program, including health care providers in the pri-23
1932-vate sector and health care providers specified in 24
1933-subsection (c) of section 1703 of this title. 25 70
1934-•HR 8371 EH
1935-‘‘(x) A description of information technology 1
1936-systems and processes used under such program to 2
1937-upload and integrate all clinical records from all 3
1938-non-Department providers, including providers in 4
1939-the private sector and providers under the Veterans 5
1940-Community Care Program established under such 6
1941-section. 7
1942-‘‘(B) The Secretary shall ensure that all data in-8
1943-cluded in a report under subparagraph (A)— 9
1944-‘‘(i) relating to a decision made under the pro-10
1945-gram required by paragraph (1), are disaggregated 11
1946-by the specific reason for the decision; 12
1947-‘‘(ii) relating to a veteran, include comprehen-13
1948-sive demographic information of the veteran, includ-14
1949-ing the time period of the injuries, if any, of the vet-15
1950-eran and the Veterans Integrated Service Network 16
1951-in which the veteran is located; and 17
1952-‘‘(iii) with respect to eligibility determinations 18
1953-relating to a serious injury of a veteran, specify— 19
1954-‘‘(I) how many such determinations relate 20
1955-to the ability of the veteran to perform activi-21
1956-ties of daily living; and 22
1957-‘‘(II) how many such determinations relate 23
1958-to the need of a veteran for supervision and 24
1959-protection. 25 71
1960-•HR 8371 EH
1961-‘‘(C) The Secretary shall provide the data under 1
1962-paragraph (B) pursuant to Federal laws and in a manner 2
1963-that is wholly consistent with applicable Federal privacy 3
1964-and confidentiality laws, including but the Privacy Act (5 4
1965-U.S.C. 552a), the Health Insurance Portability and Ac-5
1966-countability Act (Public Law 104–191; 42 U.S.C. 201 6
1967-note) and regulations (title 45, Code of Federal Regula-7
1968-tions, parts 160 and 164, or successor regulations), and 8
1969-sections 5701, 5705, and 7332 of this title to ensure that 9
1970-the provided data, or some portion of the data, will not 10
1971-undermine the anonymity of a veteran.’’. 11
1972-SEC. 126. IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO HOMEMAKER AND 12
1973-HOME HEALTH AIDE PROGRAM. 13
1974-(a) P
1975-ILOTPROGRAM FOR COMMUNITIES WITH 14
1976-S
1977-HORTAGE OFHOMEHEALTHAIDES.— 15
1978-(1) P
1979-ROGRAM.—Beginning not later than 18 16
1980-months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 17
1981-the Secretary shall carry out a three-year pilot pro-18
1982-gram under which the Secretary shall provide home-19
1983-maker and home health aide services to veterans 20
1984-who reside in communities with a shortage of home 21
1985-health aides. 22
1986-(2) L
1987-OCATIONS.—The Secretary shall select not 23
1988-fewer than five geographic locations in which the 24
1989-Secretary determines there is a shortage of home 25 72
1990-•HR 8371 EH
1991-health aides at which to carry out the pilot program 1
1992-under paragraph (1). 2
1993-(3) N
1994-URSING ASSISTANTS.— 3
1995-(A) I
1996-N GENERAL.—In carrying out the 4
1997-pilot program under paragraph (1), the Sec-5
1998-retary may hire nursing assistants as new em-6
1999-ployees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 7
2000-or reassign nursing assistants who are existing 8
2001-employees of the Department, to provide to vet-9
2002-erans in-home care services (including basic 10
2003-tasks authorized by the State certification of 11
2004-the nursing assistant) under the pilot program, 12
2005-in lieu of or in addition to the provision of such 13
2006-services through non-Department home health 14
2007-aides. 15
2863+ELATIONSHIP TO HOME -BASED PRI-13
2864+MARY CARE PROGRAM .—Nursing assistants 14
2865+hired or reassigned under subparagraph (A) 15
2866+may provide services to a veteran under the 16
2867+pilot program under paragraph (1) while serv-17
2868+ing as part of a health care team for the vet-18
2869+eran under the Home-Based Primary Care pro-19
2870+gram. 20
2871+(4) R
2872+EPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one 21
2873+year before the date of the termination of the pilot 22
2874+program under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 23
2875+submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 24
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2879+the House of Representatives and the Senate a re-1
2880+port that includes— 2
2881+(A) a statement of the results of such pilot 3
2882+program; and 4
2883+(B) an assessment of the feasibility and 5
2884+advisability of— 6
2885+(i) extending such pilot program; or 7
2886+(ii) making such pilot program a per-8
2887+manent program of the Department of 9
2888+Veterans Affairs. 10
20082889 (b) R
2009-ELATIONSHIP TO HOME -BASED PRI-16
2010-MARY CARE PROGRAM .—Nursing assistants 17
2011-hired or reassigned under subparagraph (A) 18
2012-may provide services to a veteran under the 19
2013-pilot program under paragraph (1) while serv-20
2014-ing as part of a health care team for the vet-21
2015-eran under the Home-Based Primary Care pro-22
2016-gram. 23
2017-(4) R
2018-EPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one 24
2019-year before the date of the termination of the pilot 25 73
2020-•HR 8371 EH
2021-program under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 1
2022-submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 2
2023-the House of Representatives and the Senate a re-3
2024-port that includes— 4
2025-(A) a statement of the results of such pilot 5
2026-program; and 6
2027-(B) an assessment of the feasibility and 7
2028-advisability of— 8
2029-(i) extending such pilot program; or 9
2030-(ii) making such pilot program a per-10
2031-manent program of the Department of 11
2032-Veterans Affairs. 12
2033-(b) R
2034-EPORT ONUSE OFFUNDS.—Not later than one 13
2035-year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-14
2036-retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees 15
2037-on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and 16
2038-the Senate a report containing, with respect to the period 17
2039-beginning in fiscal year 2012 and ending in fiscal year 18
2040-2024, the following: 19
2041-(1) An identification of the amount of funds 20
2042-that were included in a budget of the Department of 21
2043-Veterans Affairs during such period for the provision 22
2044-of in-home care to veterans under the Homemaker 23
2045-and Home Health Aide program but were not ex-24
2046-pended for such provision, disaggregated by medical 25 74
2047-•HR 8371 EH
2048-center of the Department for which such unex-1
2049-pended funds were budgeted (if such disaggregation 2
2050-is possible). 3
2051-(2) To the extent practicable, an identification 4
2052-of the number of veterans for whom, during such pe-5
2053-riod, the hours during which a home health aide was 6
2054-authorized to provide services to the veteran under 7
2055-the Homemaker and Home Health Aide program 8
2056-were reduced for a reason other than a change in 9
2057-the health care needs of the veteran, and a detailed 10
2058-description of the reasons why any such reductions 11
2059-may have occurred. 12
2890+EPORT ONUSE OFFUNDS.—Not later than one 11
2891+year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-12
2892+retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees 13
2893+on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and 14
2894+the Senate a report containing, with respect to the period 15
2895+beginning in fiscal year 2012 and ending in fiscal year 16
2896+2023, the following: 17
2897+(1) An identification of the amount of funds 18
2898+that were included in a budget of the Department of 19
2899+Veterans Affairs during such period for the provision 20
2900+of in-home care to veterans under the Homemaker 21
2901+and Home Health Aide program but were not ex-22
2902+pended for such provision, disaggregated by medical 23
2903+center of the Department for which such unex-24
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2907+pended funds were budgeted (if such disaggregation 1
2908+is possible). 2
2909+(2) To the extent practicable, an identification 3
2910+of the number of veterans for whom, during such pe-4
2911+riod, the hours during which a home health aide was 5
2912+authorized to provide services to the veteran under 6
2913+the Homemaker and Home Health Aide program 7
2914+were reduced for a reason other than a change in 8
2915+the health care needs of the veteran, and a detailed 9
2916+description of the reasons why any such reductions 10
2917+may have occurred. 11
20602918 (c) U
2061-PDATEDGUIDANCE ONPROGRAM.—Not later 13
2062-than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 14
2063-the Secretary shall issue updated guidance for the Home-15
2064-maker and Home Health Aide program. Such updated 16
2065-guidance shall include the following: 17
2066-(1) A process for the transition of veterans 18
2067-from the Homemaker and Home Health Aide pro-19
2068-gram to other covered programs. 20
2069-(2) A requirement for the directors of the med-21
2070-ical facilities of the Department to complete such 22
2071-process whenever a veteran with care needs has been 23
2072-denied services from home health agencies under the 24
2073-Homemaker and Home Health Aide program as a 25 75
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2919+PDATEDGUIDANCE ONPROGRAM.—Not later 12
2920+than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 13
2921+the Secretary shall issue updated guidance for the Home-14
2922+maker and Home Health Aide program. Such updated 15
2923+guidance shall include the following: 16
2924+(1) A process for the transition of veterans 17
2925+from the Homemaker and Home Health Aide pro-18
2926+gram to other covered programs. 19
2927+(2) A requirement for the directors of the med-20
2928+ical facilities of the Department to complete such 21
2929+process whenever a veteran with care needs has been 22
2930+denied services from home health agencies under the 23
2931+Homemaker and Home Health Aide program as a 24
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20752935 result of the clinical needs or behavioral issues of the 1
20762936 veteran. 2
20772937 SEC. 127. PILOT PROGRAM TO FURNISH ASSISTED LIVING 3
20782938 SERVICES TO CERTAIN VETERANS. 4
20792939 (a) E
20802940 STABLISHMENT.—Beginning not later than two 5
20812941 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-6
20822942 retary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out a pilot program 7
20832943 to assess— 8
20842944 (1) the effectiveness of providing assisted living 9
20852945 services to eligible veterans, at the election of such 10
20862946 veterans; and 11
20872947 (2) the satisfaction with the pilot program of 12
20882948 veterans participating in such pilot program. 13
20892949 (b) P
20902950 ROGRAMLOCATIONS.— 14
20912951 (1) V
20922952 ETERANS INTEGRATED SERVICE NET -15
20932953 WORKS.—The Secretary shall select two Veterans 16
20942954 Integrated Service Networks of the Department of 17
20952955 Veterans Affairs at which to carry out the pilot pro-18
20962956 gram under subsection (a). 19
20972957 (2) F
20982958 ACILITIES.— 20
20992959 (A) I
21002960 N GENERAL.—Within the Veterans 21
21012961 Integrated Service Networks selected under 22
21022962 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall select facili-23
21032963 ties at which to carry out the pilot program 24
2104-under subsection (a)(1). 25 76
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2964+under subsection (a)(1). 25
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21062968 (B) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting 1
21072969 facilities under subparagraph (A) at which to 2
21082970 carry out the pilot program under subsection 3
21092971 (a)(1), the Secretary shall ensure that— 4
21102972 (i) the locations of such facilities are 5
21112973 in geographically diverse areas; 6
21122974 (ii) not fewer than one such facility 7
21132975 serves veterans in rural or highly rural 8
21142976 areas (as determined through the use of 9
21152977 the Rural-Urban Commuting Areas coding 10
21162978 system of the Department of Agriculture); 11
21172979 (iii) not fewer than one such facility is 12
21182980 located in each Veterans Integrated Service 13
21192981 Network selected under paragraph (1); and 14
21202982 (iv) not fewer than one such facility is 15
21212983 a State home. 16
21222984 (c) P
21232985 ROGRAMPARTICIPANTS.—Not more than 60 eli-17
21242986 gible veterans may participate in the pilot program under 18
21252987 subsection (a)(1) in each Veterans Integrated Service Net-19
21262988 work selected under subsection (b)(1). 20
21272989 (d) P
21282990 ROVISION OFASSISTEDLIVINGSERVICES.— 21
21292991 (1) A
21302992 GREEMENTS.—In carrying out the pilot 22
21312993 program under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary may 23
21322994 enter into agreements for the provision of assisted 24
2133-living services on behalf of eligible veterans with— 25 77
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2995+living services on behalf of eligible veterans with— 25
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21352999 (A) a provider participating under a State 1
21363000 plan or waiver under title XIX of the Social Se-2
21373001 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); or 3
21383002 (B) a State home recognized and certified 4
21393003 under subpart B of part 51 of title 38, Code of 5
21403004 Federal Regulations, or successor regulations. 6
21413005 (2) S
21423006 TANDARDS.—The Secretary may not place, 7
21433007 transfer, or admit a veteran to any facility for as-8
21443008 sisted living services under the pilot program under 9
21453009 subsection (a)(1) unless the Secretary determines 10
21463010 that— 11
21473011 (A) the facility meets the standards for 12
21483012 community residential care established under 13
21493013 sections 17.61 through 17.72 of title 38, Code 14
21503014 of Federal Regulations, or successor regula-15
21513015 tions, and any additional standards of care as 16
21523016 the Secretary may specify; or 17
21533017 (B) in the case of a facility that is a State 18
21543018 home, the State home meets such standards of 19
21553019 care as the Secretary may specify. 20
21563020 (3) I
21573021 NSPECTION.—The Secretary shall inspect 21
21583022 facilities at which veterans are placed under the pilot 22
21593023 program under subsection (a)(1)— 23
21603024 (A) with respect to a facility that is a 24
2161-State home, not less frequently than annually 25 78
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3025+State home, not less frequently than annually 25
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21633029 and in the same manner as the Secretary con-1
21643030 ducts inspection of State homes under section 2
21653031 1742 of title 38, United States Code; and 3
21663032 (B) with respect to any other facility, not 4
21673033 less frequently than annually and in the same 5
21683034 manner as the Secretary conducts inspection of 6
21693035 facilities under section 1730 of such title. 7
21703036 (4) P
21713037 AYMENT TO CERTAIN FACILITIES .— 8
21723038 (A) S
21733039 TATE HOMES.—In the case of a facil-9
21743040 ity participating in the pilot program under 10
21753041 subsection (a)(1) that is a State home, the Sec-11
21763042 retary shall pay to the State home a per diem 12
21773043 for each veteran participating in the pilot pro-13
21783044 gram at a rate agreed to by the Secretary and 14
21793045 the State home. 15
21803046 (B) C
21813047 OMMUNITY ASSISTED LIVING FACILI -16
21823048 TIES.—In the case of a facility participating in 17
21833049 the pilot program under subsection (a)(1) that 18
21843050 is a community assisted living facility, the Sec-19
21853051 retary shall— 20
21863052 (i) pay to the facility an amount that 21
21873053 is less than the average rate paid by the 22
21883054 Department for placement in a community 23
21893055 nursing home in the same Veterans Inte-24
2190-grated Service Network; and 25 79
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3056+grated Service Network; and 25
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21923060 (ii) re-evaluate payment rates annu-1
21933061 ally to account for current economic condi-2
21943062 tions and current costs of assisted living 3
21953063 services. 4
21963064 (e) C
21973065 ONTINUITY OFCARE.—Upon the termination of 5
21983066 the pilot program under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary 6
21993067 shall— 7
22003068 (1) provide to all veterans participating in the 8
22013069 pilot program at the time of such termination the 9
22023070 option to continue to receive assisted living services 10
22033071 at the site they were assigned to under the pilot pro-11
22043072 gram, at the expense of the Department; and 12
22053073 (2) for such veterans who do not opt to con-13
22063074 tinue to receive such services— 14
22073075 (A) ensure such veterans do not experience 15
22083076 lapses in care; and 16
22093077 (B) provide such veterans with information 17
22103078 on, and furnish such veterans with, other ex-18
22113079 tended care services based on their preferences 19
22123080 and best medical interest. 20
22133081 (f) D
22143082 ETERMINATION OF QUALITY.—The Secretary 21
22153083 shall determine a method for assessment of quality of care 22
22163084 provided to veterans participating in the pilot program 23
22173085 under subsection (a)(1) and shall communicate that meth-24
2218-od to providers of services under the pilot program. 25 80
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3086+od to providers of services under the pilot program. 25
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22203090 (g) ANNUALREPORT.—Not later than one year after 1
22213091 the initiation of the pilot program under subsection (a)(1), 2
22223092 and annually thereafter for the duration of such pilot pro-3
22233093 gram, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 4
22243094 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 5
22253095 Senate a report on the pilot program that includes— 6
22263096 (1) an identification of Veterans Integrated 7
22273097 Services Networks and facilities of the Department 8
22283098 participating in the pilot program and assisted living 9
22293099 facilities and State homes at which veterans are 10
22303100 placed under the pilot program; 11
22313101 (2) the number of participants in the pilot pro-12
22323102 gram, disaggregated by facility; 13
22333103 (3) general demographic information of partici-14
22343104 pants in the pilot program, including average age, 15
22353105 sex, and race or ethnicity; 16
22363106 (4) disability status of participants in the pilot 17
22373107 program; 18
22383108 (5) an identification of any barriers or chal-19
22393109 lenges to furnishing care to veterans under the pilot 20
22403110 program, conducting oversight of the pilot program, 21
22413111 or any other barriers or challenges; 22
22423112 (6) the cost of care at each assisted living facil-23
22433113 ity and State home participating in the pilot pro-24
2244-gram, including an analysis of any cost savings by 25 81
2245-•HR 8371 EH
3114+gram, including an analysis of any cost savings by 25
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22463118 the Department when comparing that cost to the 1
22473119 cost of nursing home care; 2
22483120 (7) aggregated feedback from participants in 3
22493121 the pilot program, including from veteran resident 4
22503122 surveys and interviews; and 5
22513123 (8) such other matters the Secretary considers 6
22523124 appropriate. 7
22533125 (h) F
22543126 INALREPORT.—Not later than one year after 8
22553127 the pilot program terminates under subsection (j), the 9
22563128 Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-10
22573129 fairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 11
22583130 report on the pilot program that— 12
22593131 (1) includes the matters required under para-13
22603132 graphs (1) through (8) of subsection (g); 14
22613133 (2) includes recommendations on whether the 15
22623134 model studied in the pilot program should be contin-16
22633135 ued or adopted throughout the Department; and 17
22643136 (3) indicates whether the Secretary requests ac-18
22653137 tion by Congress to make the pilot program perma-19
22663138 nent. 20
22673139 (i) I
22683140 NSPECTORGENERALREPORT.— 21
22693141 (1) I
22703142 N GENERAL.—Not later than three years 22
22713143 after the initiation of the pilot program under sub-23
22723144 section (a)(1), the Inspector General of the Depart-24
2273-ment of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Sec-25 82
2274-•HR 8371 EH
3145+ment of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Sec-25
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22753149 retary of Veterans Affairs and the Committees on 1
2276-Veterans’ Affairs of House of Representatives and 2
2277-the Senate a report on the pilot program. 3
3150+Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 2
3151+and the Senate a report on the pilot program. 3
22783152 (2) E
22793153 LEMENTS.—The report required by para-4
22803154 graph (1) shall include an assessment of— 5
22813155 (A) the quality of care provided to veterans 6
22823156 at facilities participating in the pilot program, 7
22833157 measured pursuant to the method determined 8
22843158 under subsection (f); 9
22853159 (B) the oversight of such facilities, as con-10
22863160 ducted by the Department, the Centers for 11
22873161 Medicare & Medicaid Services, State agencies, 12
22883162 and other relevant entities; and 13
22893163 (C) such other matters as the Inspector 14
22903164 General considers appropriate. 15
22913165 (3) P
22923166 LAN REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days 16
22933167 after the submission of the report under paragraph 17
22943168 (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 18
22953169 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 19
22963170 and the Senate a plan to address the deficiencies 20
22973171 identified in the report, if any. 21
22983172 (j) T
22993173 ERMINATION.— 22
23003174 (1) I
23013175 N GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 23
23023176 the pilot program under subsection (a)(1) shall ter-24
2303-minate on September 30, 2026. 25 83
2304-•HR 8371 EH
3177+minate on September 30, 2026. 25
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23053181 (2) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may extend 1
23063182 the duration of the pilot program for an additional 2
23073183 two-year period if the Secretary, based on the results 3
23083184 of the reports submitted under subsection (g), deter-4
23093185 mines such an extension is appropriate. 5
23103186 (k) D
23113187 EFINITIONS.—In this section: 6
23123188 (1) The term ‘‘assisted living services’’ means 7
23133189 services of a facility in providing room, board, and 8
23143190 personal care for and supervision of residents for 9
23153191 their health, safety, and welfare. 10
23163192 (2) The term ‘‘eligible veteran’’ means a vet-11
23173193 eran who is— 12
23183194 (A) receiving nursing home care paid for 13
23193195 by the Department of Veterans Affairs, eligible 14
23203196 to receive such care pursuant to section 1710A 15
23213197 of title 38, United States Code, or requires a 16
23223198 higher level of care than the domiciliary care 17
23233199 provided by the Department of Veterans Af-18
23243200 fairs, but does not meet the requirements for 19
23253201 nursing home level care provided by the Depart-20
23263202 ment pursuant to such section; and 21
23273203 (B) eligible for assisted living services, as 22
23283204 determined by the Secretary or meets such ad-23
2329-ditional criteria for eligibility for the pilot pro-24 84
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3205+ditional criteria for eligibility for the pilot pro-24
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23313209 gram under subsection (a)(1) as the Secretary 1
23323210 may establish. 2
23333211 (3) The term ‘‘State home’’ has the meaning 3
23343212 given that term in section 101 of title 38, United 4
23353213 States Code. 5
23363214 SEC. 128. PROVISION OF MEDICINE, EQUIPMENT, AND SUP-6
23373215 PLIES AVAILABLE TO DEPARTMENT OF VET-7
23383216 ERANS AFFAIRS TO STATE HOMES. 8
23393217 (a) P
23403218 ROVISIONAUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Vet-9
23413219 erans Affairs may provide to State homes medicine, per-10
23423220 sonal protective equipment, medical supplies, and any 11
23433221 other equipment, supplies, and assistance available to the 12
23443222 Department of Veterans Affairs. 13
23453223 (b) D
23463224 EFINITION.—In this section: 14
23473225 (1) The term ‘‘personal protective equipment’’ 15
23483226 means any protective equipment required to prevent 16
23493227 the wearer from contracting an infectious disease, 17
23503228 including gloves, N–95 respirator masks, gowns, 18
23513229 goggles, face shields, or other equipment required 19
23523230 for safety. 20
23533231 (2) The term ‘‘State home’’ has the meaning 21
23543232 given such term in section 101 of title 38, United 22
2355-States Code. 23 85
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3233+States Code. 23
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23573237 SEC. 129. RECOGNITION OF ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVID-1
23583238 UALS TO ASSIST VETERANS, FAMILY MEM-2
23593239 BERS, AND CAREGIVERS NAVIGATING PRO-3
23603240 GRAMS AND SERVICES OF VETERANS 4
23613241 HEALTH ADMINISTRATION. 5
23623242 (a) I
23633243 NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 6
23643244 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-7
23653245 erans Affairs shall establish a process through which the 8
23663246 Department of Veterans Affairs may recognize organiza-9
23673247 tions and individuals to assist a veteran, a family member 10
23683248 of a veteran, or a caregiver of a veteran (as defined in 11
23693249 section 1720G(d) of title 38, United States Code) in navi-12
23703250 gating the programs and services of the Veterans Health 13
23713251 Administration. 14
23723252 (b) S
23733253 OLICITATION OF FEEDBACK.—The Secretary 15
23743254 shall solicit feedback and recommendations in the creation 16
23753255 of the process under subsection (a) from such organiza-17
23763256 tions as the Secretary may consider relevant. 18
23773257 (c) L
23783258 IMITATION.—The Secretary may not recognize 19
23793259 an organization or individual pursuant to the process es-20
23803260 tablished under subsection (a) unless the organization or 21
23813261 individual has certified to the Secretary that no fee or 22
23823262 compensation of any nature will be charged to any indi-23
23833263 vidual for services rendered in providing assistance pursu-24
2384-ant to such subsection. 25 86
2385-•HR 8371 EH
3264+ant to such subsection. 25
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23863268 SEC. 130. REVIEWS AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS RELATING 1
23873269 TO HOME- AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERV-2
23883270 ICES. 3
23893271 (a) O
23903272 FFICE OFGERIATRIC ANDEXTENDEDCARE.— 4
23913273 (1) R
23923274 EVIEW OF PROGRAMS .—The Under Sec-5
23933275 retary for Health of the Department of Veterans Af-6
23943276 fairs shall conduct a review of each program admin-7
23953277 istered through the Office of Geriatric and Extended 8
23963278 Care of the Department and the Caregiver Support 9
23973279 Program Office of the Department, or any successor 10
23983280 offices, to— 11
23993281 (A) eliminate service gaps at the medical 12
24003282 center level; and 13
24013283 (B) ensure— 14
24023284 (i) the clinical needs of veterans are 15
24033285 met; 16
24043286 (ii) consistency in program manage-17
24053287 ment; 18
24063288 (iii) the availability of, and the access 19
24073289 by veterans to, home- and community- 20
24083290 based services, including for veterans living 21
24093291 in rural areas; and 22
24103292 (iv) proper coordination between cov-23
24113293 ered programs. 24
24123294 (2) A
24133295 SSESSMENT OF STAFFING NEEDS .—The 25
2414-Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct an as-26 87
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3296+Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct an as-26
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24163300 sessment of the staffing needs of the Office of Geri-1
24173301 atric and Extended Care of the Department and the 2
24183302 Caregiver Support Program Office of the Depart-3
24193303 ment, or any successor offices. 4
24203304 (3) G
24213305 OALS FOR GEOGRAPHIC ALIGNMENT OF 5
24223306 CARE.— 6
24233307 (A) E
24243308 STABLISHMENT OF GOALS .—The Di-7
24253309 rector of the Office of Geriatric and Extended 8
24263310 Care, or successor office, shall establish quan-9
24273311 titative goals to enable aging or disabled vet-10
24283312 erans who are not located near medical centers 11
24293313 of the Department to access extended care serv-12
24303314 ices (including by improving access to home- 13
24313315 and community-based services for such vet-14
24323316 erans). 15
24333317 (B) I
24343318 MPLEMENTATION TIMELINE .—Each 16
24353319 goal established under subparagraph (A) shall 17
24363320 include a timeline for the implementation of the 18
24373321 goal at each medical center of the Department. 19
24383322 (4) G
24393323 OALS FOR IN-HOME SPECIALTY CARE .— 20
24403324 The Director of the Office of Geriatric and Extended 21
24413325 Care, or successor office, shall establish quantitative 22
24423326 goals to address the specialty care needs of veterans 23
2443-through in-home care, including by ensuring the 24 88
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3327+through in-home care, including by ensuring the 24
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24453331 education of home health aides and caregivers of vet-1
24463332 erans in the following areas: 2
24473333 (A) Dementia care. 3
24483334 (B) Care for spinal cord injuries and dis-4
24493335 eases. 5
24503336 (C) Ventilator care. 6
24513337 (D) Other speciality care areas as deter-7
24523338 mined by the Secretary. 8
24533339 (5) I
24543340 NPUT ON GOALS .—To the extent prac-9
24553341 ticable, the head of the Caregiver Support Program 10
24563342 Office, or successor office, shall provide to the Direc-11
24573343 tor of the Office of Geriatric and Extended Care, or 12
24583344 successor office, input with respect to the establish-13
24593345 ment of the goals under paragraphs (3) and (4). 14
24603346 (6) R
24613347 EPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one 15
24623348 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 16
24633349 Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Vet-17
24643350 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and 18
24653351 the Senate a report containing the findings of the 19
24663352 review under paragraph (1), the results of the as-20
24673353 sessment under paragraph (2), and the goals estab-21
24683354 lished under paragraphs (3) and (4). 22
24693355 (b) R
24703356 EVIEW OFINCENTIVES AND EFFORTSRELAT-23
2471-ING TOHOME- ANDCOMMUNITY-BASEDSERVICES.— 24 89
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3357+ING TOHOME- ANDCOMMUNITY-BASEDSERVICES.— 24
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24733361 (1) REVIEW.—The Secretary of Veterans Af-1
24743362 fairs shall conduct a review of the following: 2
24753363 (A) The financial and organizational incen-3
24763364 tives or disincentives for the directors of med-4
24773365 ical centers of the Department to establish or 5
24783366 expand covered programs at such medical cen-6
24793367 ters. 7
24803368 (B) Any incentives or disincentives for 8
24813369 such directors to provide to veterans home- and 9
24823370 community-based services in lieu of institutional 10
24833371 care. 11
24843372 (C) The efforts taken by the Secretary to 12
24853373 enhance spending of the Department for ex-13
24863374 tended care by balancing spending between in-14
24873375 stitutional care and home- and community- 15
24883376 based services consistent with the demand for 16
24893377 such services. 17
24903378 (D) The plan of the Under Secretary for 18
24913379 Health of the Department to accelerate efforts 19
24923380 to enhance spending as specified in subpara-20
24933381 graph (C), to match the progress of similar ef-21
24943382 forts taken by the Administrator of the Centers 22
24953383 for Medicare & Medicaid Services with respect 23
24963384 to spending of the Centers for Medicare & Med-24
2497-icaid Services for extended care. 25 90
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3385+icaid Services for extended care. 25
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24993389 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one 1
25003390 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 2
25013391 Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Vet-3
25023392 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and 4
25033393 the Senate a report on the findings of the review 5
25043394 under paragraph (1). 6
25053395 (c) R
25063396 EVIEW OFRESPITECARESERVICES.—Not later 7
25073397 than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 8
25083398 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a review 9
25093399 of the use, availability, cost, and effectiveness, of the res-10
25103400 pite care services furnished by the Secretary under chapter 11
25113401 17 of title 38, United States Code, including— 12
25123402 (1) the frequency at which the Department of 13
25133403 Veterans Affairs is unable to meet demand for such 14
25143404 services; 15
25153405 (2) a detailed description of— 16
25163406 (A) the reasons the Department of Vet-17
25173407 erans Affairs is unable to meet the demand for 18
25183408 such services; and 19
25193409 (B) any actions, or planned actions, of the 20
25203410 Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure such 21
25213411 demand is met. 22
25223412 (d) C
25233413 OLLABORATIONTOIMPROVEHOME- ANDCOM-23
25243414 MUNITY-BASEDSERVICES.— 24
25253415 (1) R
2526-ECOMMENDATIONS .— 25 91
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3416+ECOMMENDATIONS .— 25
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25283420 (A) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary of 1
25293421 Veterans Affairs shall develop recommendations 2
25303422 as follows: 3
25313423 (i) With respect to home- and commu-4
25323424 nity-based services for veterans, the Sec-5
25333425 retary of Veterans Affairs shall develop 6
25343426 recommendations regarding new services 7
25353427 (in addition to those furnished as of the 8
25363428 date of enactment of this Act) in collabora-9
25373429 tion with the Secretary of Health and 10
25383430 Human Services. 11
25393431 (ii) With respect to the national short-12
25403432 age of home health aides, the Secretary of 13
25413433 Veterans Affairs shall develop rec-14
25423434 ommendations regarding methods to ad-15
25433435 dress such shortage in collaboration with 16
25443436 the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-17
25453437 ices and the Secretary of Labor. 18
25463438 (B) S
25473439 UBMISSION TO CONGRESS .—The Sec-19
25483440 retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the 20
25493441 Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 21
25503442 of Representatives and the Senate a report con-22
25513443 taining the recommendations developed under 23
25523444 subparagraph (A) and an identification of any 24
2553-changes in existing law or new statutory au-25 92
2554-•HR 8371 EH
3445+changes in existing law or new statutory au-25
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25553449 thority necessary to implement the rec-1
25563450 ommendations, as determined by the Secretary. 2
25573451 (C) C
25583452 ONSULTATION WITH SECRETARY OF 3
25593453 LABOR.—In carrying out this paragraph, the 4
25603454 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall consult with 5
25613455 the Secretary of Labor. 6
25623456 (2) F
25633457 EEDBACK AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON 7
25643458 CAREGIVER SUPPORT.— 8
25653459 (A) F
25663460 EEDBACK AND RECOMMENDA -9
25673461 TIONS.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 10
25683462 solicit from the entities described in subpara-11
25693463 graph (B) feedback and recommendations re-12
25703464 garding opportunities for the Secretary to en-13
25713465 hance home- and community-based services for 14
25723466 veterans and the caregivers of veterans, includ-15
25733467 ing through the potential provision by the entity 16
25743468 of care and respite services to veterans and 17
25753469 caregivers who may not be eligible for any pro-18
25763470 gram under section 1720G of title 38, United 19
25773471 States Code, or section 1720L of such title (as 20
25783472 added by section 124), but have a need for as-21
25793473 sistance. 22
25803474 (B) C
25813475 OVERED ENTITIES.—The entities de-23
25823476 scribed in this subparagraph are veterans serv-24
2583-ice organizations and nonprofit organizations 25 93
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3477+ice organizations and nonprofit organizations 25
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25853481 with a focus on caregiver support or long term 1
25863482 care (as determined by the Secretary). 2
25873483 (3) C
25883484 OLLABORATION FOR CERTAIN VET -3
25893485 ERANS.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall col-4
25903486 laborate with the Director of the Indian Health 5
25913487 Service and representatives from tribal health pro-6
25923488 grams and Urban Indian organizations to ensure the 7
25933489 availability of home- and community-based services 8
25943490 for— 9
25953491 (A) Native American veterans, including 10
25963492 Native American veterans receiving health care 11
25973493 and medical services under multiple health care 12
25983494 systems; and 13
25993495 (B) Native Hawaiian veterans, including 14
26003496 Native Hawaiian veterans receiving health care 15
26013497 and medical services under the Native Hawaiian 16
26023498 health care system. 17
26033499 SEC. 131. GAO REPORT ON MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT FOR 18
26043500 CAREGIVERS. 19
26053501 (a) R
26063502 EPORTREQUIRED.—Not later than one year 20
26073503 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp-21
26083504 troller General of the United States shall submit to the 22
26093505 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 23
2610-Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-24 94
2611-•HR 8371 EH
3506+Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-24
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26123510 resentatives a report on the provision of mental health 1
26133511 support to caregivers of veterans. 2
26143512 (b) C
26153513 ONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub-3
26163514 section (a) shall include the following: 4
26173515 (1) An assessment of the need for mental 5
26183516 health support among caregivers participating in the 6
26193517 caregiver programs. 7
26203518 (2) An assessment of options for mental health 8
26213519 support in facilities of the Department of Veterans 9
26223520 Affairs and in the community for caregivers partici-10
26233521 pating in the caregiver programs. 11
26243522 (3) An assessment of the availability and acces-12
26253523 sibility of mental health support in facilities of the 13
26263524 Department and in the community for caregivers 14
26273525 participating in the caregiver programs. 15
26283526 (4) An assessment of the awareness among 16
26293527 caregivers of the availability of mental health sup-17
26303528 port in facilities of the Department and in the com-18
26313529 munity for caregivers participating in the caregiver 19
26323530 programs. 20
26333531 (5) An assessment of barriers to mental health 21
26343532 support in facilities of the Department and in the 22
26353533 community for caregivers participating in the care-23
26363534 giver programs. 24
26373535 (c) D
2638-EFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 95
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3536+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 25
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26403540 (1) The term ‘‘caregiver’’ has the meaning 1
26413541 given that term in section 1720G of title 38, United 2
26423542 States Code. 3
26433543 (2) The term ‘‘caregiver programs’’ means— 4
26443544 (A) the program of comprehensive assist-5
26453545 ance for family caregivers under subsection (a) 6
26463546 of section 1720G of title 38, United States 7
26473547 Code; and 8
26483548 (B) the program of support services for 9
26493549 caregivers under subsection (b) of such section. 10
26503550 SEC. 132. DEVELOPMENT OF CENTRALIZED WEBSITE FOR 11
26513551 PROGRAM INFORMATION. 12
26523552 (a) C
26533553 ENTRALIZEDWEBSITE.—The Secretary shall 13
2654-develop and maintain a centralized and publically acces-14
3554+develop and maintain a centralized and publicaly acces-14
26553555 sible internet website of the Department as a clearing-15
26563556 house for information and resources relating to covered 16
26573557 programs. 17
26583558 (b) C
26593559 ONTENTS.—The website under subsection (a) 18
26603560 shall contain the following: 19
26613561 (1) A description of each covered program. 20
26623562 (2) An informational assessment tool that— 21
26633563 (A) explains the administrative eligibility, 22
26643564 if applicable, of a veteran, or a caregiver of a 23
2665-veteran, for any covered program; and 24 96
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3565+veteran, for any covered program; and 24
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26673569 (B) provides information, as a result of 1
26683570 such explanation, on any covered program for 2
26693571 which the veteran or caregiver (as the case may 3
26703572 be) may be eligible. 4
26713573 (3) A list of required procedures for the direc-5
26723574 tors of the medical facilities of the Department to 6
26733575 follow in determining the eligibility and suitability of 7
26743576 veterans for participation in a covered program, in-8
26753577 cluding procedures applicable to instances in which 9
26763578 the resource constraints of a facility (or of a commu-10
26773579 nity in which a facility is located) may result in the 11
26783580 inability to address the health needs of a veteran 12
26793581 under a covered program in a timely manner. 13
26803582 (c) U
26813583 PDATES.—The Secretary shall ensure the 14
26823584 website under subsection (a) is updated on a periodic 15
26833585 basis. 16
26843586 SEC. 133. DEFINITIONS. 17
26853587 In this title: 18
26863588 (1) The terms ‘‘caregiver’’ and ‘‘family care-19
26873589 giver’’ have the meanings given those terms under 20
26883590 section 1720L(h) of title 38, United States Code (as 21
26893591 added by section 123). 22
2690-(2) The term ‘‘covered program’’— 23 97
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3592+(2) The term ‘‘covered program’’— 23
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26923596 (A) means any program of the Department 1
26933597 of Veterans Affairs for home- and community- 2
26943598 based services; and 3
26953599 (B) includes the programs specified in sec-4
26963600 tion 1720L of title 38, United States Code (as 5
26973601 added by section 123). 6
26983602 (3) The term ‘‘home- and community-based 7
26993603 services’’— 8
27003604 (A) means the services referred to in sec-9
27013605 tion 1701(6)(E) of title 38, United States Code; 10
27023606 and 11
27033607 (B) includes services furnished under a 12
27043608 program specified in section 1720L of such title 13
27053609 (as added by section 123). 14
27063610 (4) The terms ‘‘Home-Based Primary Care pro-15
27073611 gram’’, ‘‘Homemaker and Home Health Aide pro-16
27083612 gram’’, and ‘‘Veteran-Directed Care program’’ mean 17
27093613 the programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs 18
27103614 specified in subsection (d), (c), and (b) of such sec-19
27113615 tion 1720L, respectively. 20
27123616 (5) The terms ‘‘home health aide’’, ‘‘Native 21
27133617 American’’, ‘‘Native American veteran’’, ‘‘tribal 22
27143618 health programs’’, and ‘‘Urban Indian organiza-23
27153619 tions’’ have the meanings given those terms in sub-24
2716-section (h) of such section 1720L. 25 98
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3620+section (h) of such section 1720L. 25
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27183624 (6) The term ‘‘Vet Center’’ has the meaning 1
27193625 given that term in section 1712A(h) of title 38, 2
27203626 United States Code. 3
27213627 (7) The term ‘‘veterans service organization’’ 4
27223628 means any organization recognized by the Secretary 5
27233629 under section 5902 of such title. 6
27243630 Subtitle C—Medical Treatment and 7
27253631 Other Matters 8
27263632 SEC. 140. QUARTERLY REPORT ON REFERRALS FOR NON- 9
27273633 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 10
27283634 HEALTH CARE. 11
27293635 Subchapter I of chapter 5 of title 38, United States 12
27303636 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 13
27313637 section (and amending the table of sections at the begin-14
27323638 ning of such chapter accordingly): 15
27333639 ‘‘§ 534. Quarterly report on referrals for non-Depart-16
27343640 ment health care 17
27353641 ‘‘Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-18
27363642 ment of this section, and not less frequently than quarterly 19
27373643 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees 20
27383644 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Rep-21
27393645 resentatives a report containing, with respect to referrals 22
27403646 for non-Department health care originating from a med-23
2741-ical facility of the Department during the quarter pre-24 99
2742-•HR 8371 EH
3647+ical facility of the Department during the quarter pre-24
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27433651 ceding the date of the submission of the report, a measure-1
27443652 ment of, for each such medical facility— 2
27453653 ‘‘(1) the period of time between— 3
27463654 ‘‘(A) the date on which a clinician em-4
27473655 ployed by the Department determines that a 5
27483656 veteran requires care, or a veteran presents to 6
27493657 the Department requesting care, and the date 7
27503658 on which the referral for care is sent to a non- 8
27513659 Department health care provider; 9
27523660 ‘‘(B) the date on which such referral is 10
27533661 sent to a non-Department health care provider 11
27543662 and the date on which such non-Department 12
27553663 health care provider accepts such referral; 13
27563664 ‘‘(C) the date on which such non-Depart-14
27573665 ment health care provider accepts such referral 15
27583666 and the date on which such referral is com-16
27593667 pleted; 17
27603668 ‘‘(D) the date on which such referral is 18
27613669 completed and the date on which an appoint-19
27623670 ment with a non-Department health care pro-20
27633671 vider is made; and 21
27643672 ‘‘(E) the date on which such an appoint-22
27653673 ment is made and the date on which such ap-23
2766-pointment occurs; and 24 100
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3674+pointment occurs; and 24
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27683678 ‘‘(2) any other period of time that the Secretary 1
27693679 determines necessary.’’. 2
27703680 SEC. 141. ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR 3
27713681 CERTAIN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-4
27723682 FAIRS ASSISTANT UNDER SECRETARIES. 5
27733683 Section 7306 of title 38, United States Code, is 6
27743684 amended— 7
27753685 (1) by striking subsection (b); 8
27763686 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) through (g) 9
27773687 as subsections (b) through (f), respectively; and 10
27783688 (3) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated), by 11
27793689 striking ‘‘subsection (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 12
27803690 (f)’’. 13
27813691 SEC. 142. MODIFICATION OF PAY LIMITATION FOR PHYSI-14
27823692 CIANS, PODIATRISTS, OPTOMETRISTS, AND 15
27833693 DENTISTS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 16
27843694 AFFAIRS. 17
27853695 (a) P
27863696 AY.— 18
27873697 (1) I
27883698 N GENERAL.—Section 7431 of title 38, 19
27893699 United States Code, is amended— 20
27903700 (A) by inserting ‘‘optometrists,’’ after ‘‘po-21
27913701 diatrists,’’ each place it appears; 22
27923702 (B) by inserting ‘‘optometrist’’ after ‘‘podi-23
27933703 atrist,’’ each place it appears; 24
2794-(C) in subsection (c)— 25 101
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3704+(C) in subsection (c)— 25
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27963708 (i) in paragraph (5), by adding at the 1
27973709 end the following new sentence: ‘‘Such a 2
27983710 notice shall include a statement of whether 3
27993711 the market pay will increase, decrease, or 4
28003712 remain unchanged following such evalua-5
28013713 tion.’’; and 6
28023714 (ii) by adding at the end the following 7
28033715 new paragraphs: 8
28043716 ‘‘(7) The Secretary shall ensure that each phy-9
28053717 sician, podiatrist, optometrist, and dentist in the 10
28063718 Veterans Health Administration is— 11
28073719 ‘‘(A) advised, on an annual basis, of the 12
28083720 criteria described in subparagraph (F) of para-13
28093721 graph (4); 14
28103722 ‘‘(B) evaluated in accordance with such 15
28113723 criteria; and 16
28123724 ‘‘(C) compensated in accordance with— 17
28133725 ‘‘(i) applicable assignment and pay 18
28143726 levels, subject to relevant pay limitations; 19
28153727 and 20
28163728 ‘‘(ii) the extent to which such criteria 21
28173729 is met. 22
28183730 ‘‘(8) Not later than 120 days after the end of 23
28193731 each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the 24
2820-Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 25 102
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3732+Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 25
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28223736 the House of Representatives a report that includes 1
28233737 the following: 2
28243738 ‘‘(A) A list of each facility and specialty 3
28253739 that conducted an evaluation of pay during the 4
28263740 period covered by the report. 5
28273741 ‘‘(B) For each evaluation described in sub-6
28283742 paragraph (A)— 7
28293743 ‘‘(i) a list of occupations for which 8
28303744 pay was evaluated, disaggregated by med-9
28313745 ical specialty, number of authorized full- 10
28323746 time employees, and onsite full-time em-11
28333747 ployees as of the date of the evaluation; 12
28343748 ‘‘(ii) the date such evaluation was 13
28353749 completed; 14
28363750 ‘‘(iii) whether a market pay adjust-15
28373751 ment was made following the evaluation 16
28383752 per each occupation and specialty evalu-17
28393753 ated; 18
28403754 ‘‘(iv) whether applicable employees 19
28413755 were notified of such evaluation; 20
28423756 ‘‘(v) whether local labor partners were 21
28433757 notified of such evaluation; and 22
28443758 ‘‘(vi) in the case of an evaluation that 23
28453759 resulted in an adjustment of pay— 24
2846-‘‘(I) the date such adjustment— 25 103
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3760+‘‘(I) the date such adjustment— 25
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28483764 ‘‘(aa) was implemented; and 1
28493765 ‘‘(bb) became effective; and 2
28503766 ‘‘(II) the percentage of employees 3
28513767 of each occupation and specialty for 4
28523768 which pay was adjusted pursuant to 5
28533769 such evaluation. 6
28543770 ‘‘(C) A list of facilities of the Department 7
28553771 that have not conducted an evaluation of mar-8
28563772 ket pay, pursuant to paragraph (5), during the 9
2857-18-month-period that precedes the date of the 10
3773+18-month period that precedes the date of the 10
28583774 submission of such report.’’; 11
28593775 (D) in subsection (e)— 12
28603776 (i) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting 13
28613777 ‘‘optometrists,’’ after ‘‘podiatrists,’’; and 14
28623778 (ii) by adding at the end the following 15
28633779 new paragraphs: 16
28643780 ‘‘(5) Notwithstanding any compensation or pay 17
28653781 limitations under this title or title 5, the Secretary 18
28663782 may authorize the Under Secretary for Health to 19
28673783 pay physicians, podiatrists, optometrists and den-20
28683784 tists— 21
28693785 ‘‘(A) awards authorized under this title; 22
28703786 ‘‘(B) advance payments, recruitment or re-23
2871-location bonuses, and retention allowances au-24 104
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3787+location bonuses, and retention allowances au-24
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28733791 thorized under section 7410(a) of this title or 1
28743792 as otherwise provided by law; 2
28753793 ‘‘(C) incentives or bonuses under section 3
28763794 706 of this title or as otherwise provided by 4
28773795 law; and 5
28783796 ‘‘(D) earnings from fee-basis appointments 6
28793797 under section 7405(a)(2) of this title. 7
28803798 ‘‘(6)(A) The Secretary may waive any pay limi-8
28813799 tation described in this section (including tier limita-9
28823800 tions) that the Secretary determines necessary for 10
28833801 the recruitment or retention of critical health care 11
28843802 personnel whom the Secretary determines would pro-12
28853803 vide direct patient care. 13
28863804 ‘‘(B) Priority for such waivers shall be given for 14
28873805 positions, locations, and care provided through con-15
28883806 tracts at a high cost to the Department. 16
28893807 ‘‘(C) The Chief Human Capital Officer of the 17
28903808 Department, the Chief Financial Officer of the De-18
28913809 partment, and the Office of the General Counsel of 19
28923810 the Department shall review any waiver issued under 20
28933811 subparagraph (A). 21
28943812 ‘‘(D) During the period the authority under 22
28953813 subparagraph (A) is effective, the Secretary may not 23
28963814 issue more than 300 waivers under such subpara-24
2897-graph. 25 105
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3815+graph. 25
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28993819 ‘‘(E) The Secretary may prescribe require-1
29003820 ments, limitations, and other considerations for 2
29013821 waivers under such subparagraph. 3
29023822 ‘‘(F) Not later than 180 days after the date of 4
29033823 the enactment of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st 5
29043824 Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improve-6
29053825 ment Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 7
29063826 shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs 8
29073827 of the Senate and the House of Representatives a 9
29083828 report that includes— 10
29093829 ‘‘(i) any updates to the requirements, limi-11
29103830 tations, and considerations prescribed under 12
29113831 subparagraph (B) during the period covered by 13
29123832 the report; 14
29133833 ‘‘(ii) a description of the findings of each 15
29143834 review, if any, conducted pursuant to subpara-16
29153835 graph (C); 17
29163836 ‘‘(iii) a description of each waiver under 18
29173837 subparagraph (A) in effect as of the date of the 19
29183838 submission of the report, including the— 20
29193839 ‘‘(I) duty location, position, specialty, 21
29203840 market and performance considerations for 22
2921-the waiver; and 23 106
2922-•HR 8371 EH
3841+the waiver; and 23
3842+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00128 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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3844+•HR 8371 IH
29233845 ‘‘(II) impact, if any, of the waiver on 1
29243846 contracted care purchased by the Depart-2
29253847 ment for the region; and 3
29263848 ‘‘(iv) a list of any separation actions dur-4
29273849 ing the period covered by the report with re-5
29283850 spect to a position for which a waiver under 6
29293851 subparagraph (A) is in effect. 7
29303852 ‘‘(G) The authority of the Secretary under sub-8
29313853 paragraph (A) shall terminate on the last day of the 9
29323854 third full fiscal year following the date of the enact-10
29333855 ment of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century 11
29343856 Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement 12
29353857 Act.’’. 13
29363858 (2) R
29373859 EPORT ON WAIVER AUTHORITY .—Not 14
29383860 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 15
29393861 of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 16
29403862 submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 17
29413863 the Senate and the House of Representatives a re-18
29423864 port that includes a description of the requirements, 19
29433865 limitations, and other considerations prescribed 20
29443866 under section 7431(b)(6)(D) of title 38, United 21
29453867 States Code, as added by paragraph (1). 22
29463868 (3) C
29473869 ONFORMING AMENDMENTS .— 23
29483870 (A) P
29493871 AY OF UNDER SECRETARY FOR 24
2950-HEALTH.—Section 7432(b)(1) of such title is 25 107
2951-•HR 8371 EH
3872+HEALTH.—Section 7432(b)(1) of such title is 25
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29523876 amended by inserting ‘‘, podiatrist, optom-1
29533877 etrist,’’ after ‘‘physician’’. 2
29543878 (B) A
29553879 DMINISTRATIVE MATTERS .—Section 3
29563880 7433 of such title is amended by inserting ‘‘op-4
29573881 tometrists,’’ after ‘‘physicians,’’ each place it 5
29583882 appears. 6
29593883 (C) C
29603884 OMPETITIVE PAY .—Section 7
29613885 7451(a)(2)(C) of such title is amended by in-8
29623886 serting ‘‘optometrist,’’ after ‘‘physician,’’. 9
29633887 (4) C
29643888 LERICAL AMENDMENTS .— 10
29653889 (A) S
29663890 UBCHAPTER HEADING .—Subchapter 11
29673891 III of chapter 74 of such title is amended in the 12
29683892 heading by inserting ‘‘Optometrists,’’ after 13
29693893 ‘‘PODIATRISTS,’’. 14
29703894 (B) T
29713895 ABLE OF SECTIONS .—The table of 15
29723896 sections for such chapter is amended by strik-16
29733897 ing the item relating to subchapter III and in-17
29743898 serting the following: 18
29753899 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—PAY FOR PHYSICIANS AND OTHER HEALTH -CARE
29763900 PERSONNEL’’.
29773901 (5) APPLICABILITY DATES.—The amendments 19
29783902 made by this subsection shall apply to any pay pe-20
29793903 riod of the Department of Veterans Affairs begin-21
29803904 ning on or after the date that is 180 days after the 22
2981-date of the enactment of this Act. 23 108
2982-•HR 8371 EH
3905+date of the enactment of this Act. 23
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3908+•HR 8371 IH
29833909 (b) MODIFICATION AND CLARIFICATION OF PAY 1
29843910 G
29853911 RADE FOROPTOMETRISTS.—Section 7404 of title 38, 2
29863912 United States Code, is amended— 3
29873913 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘podia-4
29883914 trists, and dentists’’ and inserting ‘‘podiatrists, op-5
29893915 tometrists, and dentists’’; and 6
29903916 (2) in subsection (b)— 7
29913917 (A) by striking ‘‘podiatrist (dpm), and den-8
29923918 tist’’ and inserting ‘‘podiatrist (dpm), optom-9
29933919 etrist (od), and dentist’’; 10
29943920 (B) by striking ‘‘clinical chiropractor and 11
29953921 optometrist schedule,’’ and inserting ‘‘clinical 12
29963922 chiropractor schedule’’; and 13
29973923 (C) by inserting ‘‘optometrist grade’’ after 14
29983924 ‘‘Podiatrist grade’’. 15
29993925 (c) R
30003926 ETROACTIVE AUTHORITY FOR COMPENSA-16
30013927 TION.— 17
30023928 (1) I
30033929 N GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 18
30043930 Affairs may pay retroactive compensation to a cov-19
30053931 ered employee in an amount that equals the amount 20
30063932 of compensation that was authorized to be paid to 21
30073933 such covered employee during the period specified in 22
30083934 paragraph (2), but was deferred and paid to such 23
30093935 employee in the calendar year following the calender 24
3010-year in which such compensation was authorized be-25 109
3011-•HR 8371 EH
3012-cause the payment such compensation would have 1
3013-exceeded an applicable cap on annual compensation. 2
3936+year in which such compensation was authorized be-25
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3939+•HR 8371 IH
3940+cause the payment for such compensation would 1
3941+have exceeded an applicable cap on annual com-2
3942+pensation. 3
30143943 (2) P
3015-ERIOD SPECIFIED.—The period specified 3
3016-in this paragraph is the period beginning on Janu-4
3017-ary 8, 2006, and ending on December 31, 2017. 5
3944+ERIOD SPECIFIED.—The period specified 4
3945+in this paragraph is the period beginning on Janu-5
3946+ary 8, 2006, and ending on December 31, 2017. 6
30183947 (3) E
3019-XCLUSION.—Compensation authorized 6
3020-under this subsection shall not be included in the 7
3021-calculation of any aggregate limit on compensation 8
3022-for a covered employee for the year in which it is 9
3023-paid. 10
3948+XCLUSION.—Compensation authorized 7
3949+under this subsection shall not be included in the 8
3950+calculation of any aggregate limit on compensation 9
3951+for a covered employee for the year in which it is 10
3952+paid. 11
30243953 (4) C
3025-HARGING OF COMPENSATION .—Compensa-11
3026-tion authorized under this subsection shall be 12
3027-charged to the appropriate medical care appropria-13
3028-tion account of the Department of Veterans Affairs 14
3029-for the fiscal year in which the work was performed 15
3030-except as follows: 16
3031-(A) In the case of an account that has 17
3032-closed pursuant to section 1552 of title 31, 18
3033-United States Code, the compensation shall be 19
3034-charged to a current appropriation account in 20
3035-accordance with section 1553 of such title. 21
3036-(B) In the case of an expired account that 22
3037-has not closed, if charging the compensation to 23
3038-the expired account would cause such account 24
3039-to have a negative unliquidated or unexpended 25 110
3040-•HR 8371 EH
3041-balance, the compensation may be charged to a 1
3042-current appropriation account available for the 2
3043-same purpose. 3
3954+HARGING OF COMPENSATION .—Compensa-12
3955+tion authorized under this subsection shall be 13
3956+charged to the appropriate medical care appropria-14
3957+tion account of the Department of Veterans Affairs 15
3958+for the fiscal year in which the work was performed 16
3959+except as follows: 17
3960+(A) In the case of an account that has 18
3961+closed pursuant to section 1552 of title 31, 19
3962+United States Code, the compensation shall be 20
3963+charged to a current appropriation account in 21
3964+accordance with section 1553 of such title. 22
3965+(B) In the case of an expired account that 23
3966+has not closed, if charging the compensation to 24
3967+the expired account would cause such account 25
3968+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00132 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
3969+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 133
3970+•HR 8371 IH
3971+to have a negative unliquidated or unexpended 1
3972+balance, the compensation may be charged to a 2
3973+current appropriation account available for the 3
3974+same purpose. 4
30443975 (5) D
3045-EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 4
3046-(A) The term ‘‘compensation’’ means any 5
3047-pay, including salary, awards, and incentives. 6
3048-(B) The term ‘‘covered employee’’ means a 7
3049-physician, podiatrist, or dentist subject to mar-8
3050-ket pay under section 7431 of title 38, United 9
3051-States Code. 10
3052-SEC. 143. REIMBURSEMENT OF AMBULANCE COST FOR 11
3053-CARE FOR CERTAIN RURAL VETERANS. 12
3976+EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 5
3977+(A) The term ‘‘compensation’’ means any 6
3978+pay, including salary, awards, and incentives. 7
3979+(B) The term ‘‘covered employee’’ means a 8
3980+physician, podiatrist, or dentist subject to mar-9
3981+ket pay under section 7431 of title 38, United 10
3982+States Code. 11
3983+SEC. 143. REIMBURSEMENT OF AMBULANCE COST FOR 12
3984+CARE FOR CERTAIN RURAL VETERANS. 13
30543985 (a) I
3055-NGENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 13
3056-shall pay, or reimburse a covered veteran for, the cost of 14
3057-transporting the veteran by ambulance, including air am-15
3058-bulance, from a covered location to a provider of the De-16
3059-partment of Veterans Affairs, a non-Department provider, 17
3060-or the nearest hospital that can meet the needs of the vet-18
3061-eran (including a hospital that compacts with the Indian 19
3062-Health Service) for covered care. 20
3986+NGENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 14
3987+shall pay, or reimburse a covered veteran for, the cost of 15
3988+transporting the veteran by ambulance, including air am-16
3989+bulance, from a covered location to a provider of the De-17
3990+partment of Veterans Affairs, a non-Department provider, 18
3991+or the nearest hospital that can meet the needs of the vet-19
3992+eran (including a hospital that compacts with the Indian 20
3993+Health Service) for covered care. 21
30633994 (b) A
3064-MOUNTCOVERED.—The maximum cumulative 21
3065-amount covered under this section for a covered veteran 22
3066-is $46,000. 23
3995+MOUNTCOVERED.—The maximum cumulative 22
3996+amount covered under this section for a covered veteran 23
3997+is $46,000. 24
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3999+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 134
4000+•HR 8371 IH
4001+(c) SUNSET.—This section shall cease to be effective 1
4002+on September 30, 2026. 2
4003+(d) D
4004+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 3
4005+(1) The term ‘‘covered care’’ means care for a 4
4006+veteran eligible for care provided by the Department 5
4007+of Veterans Affairs under title 38, United States 6
4008+Code, or any other law administered by the Sec-7
4009+retary of Veterans Affairs, even if the care associ-8
4010+ated with the transport described in subsection (a) 9
4011+is not authorized by the Department. 10
4012+(2) The term ‘‘covered location’’ means a loca-11
4013+tion that is— 12
4014+(A) in a State that is 100 miles or more 13
4015+from the nearest medical center of the Depart-14
4016+ment of Veterans Affairs; and 15
4017+(B) in an area rated as a 10 or higher 16
4018+under the rural-urban commuting areas coding 17
4019+system of the Department of Agriculture. 18
4020+(3) The term ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a vet-19
4021+eran who— 20
4022+(A) has a service-connected disability rated 21
4023+by the Secretary as between 0 and 30 percent 22
4024+disabling; 23
4025+(B) is not eligible for payments or reim-24
4026+bursements for beneficiary travel or other 25
4027+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00134 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4028+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 135
4029+•HR 8371 IH
4030+transportation under the laws administered by 1
4031+the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, other than 2
4032+under this section; and 3
4033+(C) is not entitled to care or services under 4
4034+a non-Department of Veterans Affairs health- 5
4035+plan contract. 6
4036+(4) The term ‘‘health-plan contract’’ has the 7
4037+meaning given that term in section 1725 of title 38, 8
4038+United States Code. 9
4039+(5) The term ‘‘service-connected’’ has the 10
4040+meaning given that term in section 101 of such title. 11
4041+SEC. 144. PILOT PROGRAM TO FURNISH DENTAL CARE 12
4042+FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-13
4043+FAIRS TO CERTAIN VETERANS DIAGNOSED 14
4044+WITH ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE. 15
4045+(a) I
4046+NGENERAL.—Beginning not later than one year 16
4047+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 17
4048+of Veterans Affairs shall carry out a two-year pilot pro-18
4049+gram (in this section referred to as the ‘‘pilot program’’) 19
4050+under which the Secretary shall furnish covered care to 20
4051+covered veterans through means that include the use of 21
4052+community care. 22
4053+(b) L
4054+OCATIONS.— 23
4055+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00135 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4056+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 136
4057+•HR 8371 IH
4058+(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall select 1
4059+not more than four States in which to carry out the 2
4060+pilot program. 3
4061+(2) S
4062+ELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting States 4
4063+under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall prioritize 5
4064+States in which— 6
4065+(A) the Department of Veterans Affairs 7
4066+serves a high proportion, as determined by the 8
4067+Secretary, of veterans residing in rural or high-9
4068+ly rural areas (as determined through the use 10
4069+of the Rural-Urban Commuting Areas coding 11
4070+system of the Department of Agriculture); 12
4071+(B) dental clinics operated by the Depart-13
4072+ment of Veterans Affairs currently utilize tele-14
4073+dentistry; 15
4074+(C) the Department of Veterans Affairs 16
4075+does not currently operate a dental clinic; or 17
4076+(D) the Secretary determines a large per-18
4077+centage of veterans enrolled in the system of 19
4078+annual patient enrollment of the Department of 20
4079+Veterans Affairs established and operated under 21
4080+paragraphs (1) or (2) of section 1705(a) of title 22
4081+38, United States Code, visit emergency rooms 23
4082+for dental emergencies at high rates. 24
4083+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00136 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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4085+•HR 8371 IH
4086+(c) PARTICIPATIONLIMITATION.—Participation in a 1
4087+pilot program established pursuant to this section shall be 2
4088+limited to a covered veteran who receives health care in 3
4089+a facility of the Department located in a State selected 4
4090+under subsection (b). 5
4091+(d) U
4092+SE OFCERTAINMETHODSTOPROVIDE 6
4093+C
4094+ARE.— 7
4095+(1) M
4096+OBILE DENTAL CLINICS.—In carrying out 8
4097+the pilot program, the Secretary shall test the effi-9
4098+cacy of mobile dental clinics to service rural areas 10
4099+that do not have a population base to warrant a full- 11
4100+time clinic but where there are covered veterans in 12
4101+need of dental care. 13
4102+(2) H
4103+OME-BASED DENTAL CARE .—In carrying 14
4104+out the pilot program, the Secretary shall test the 15
4105+efficacy of portable dental care units to service rural 16
4106+veterans in their homes, as the Secretary considers 17
4107+medically appropriate. 18
4108+(e) A
4109+DMINISTRATION.— 19
4110+(1) C
4111+OMMUNITY CARE NETWORK REVIEW .— 20
4112+(A) I
4113+N GENERAL.—Before commencing the 21
4114+pilot program, the Secretary shall work with 22
4115+third party administrators to conduct a review 23
4116+of dental providers who are part of the commu-24
4117+nity care network of the Department in each 25
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4119+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 138
4120+•HR 8371 IH
4121+State selected under subsection (b)(1) to en-1
4122+sure— 2
4123+(i) dental providers who are no longer 3
4124+accepting patients from the Department— 4
4125+(I) are not still listed as pro-5
4126+viders accepting referrals from the 6
4127+Department; and 7
4128+(II) are not sent referrals from 8
4129+the Department; and 9
4130+(ii) dental providers participating in 10
4131+each such network are capable of receiving 11
4132+an influx of patients from the Department 12
4133+under the pilot program. 13
4134+(B) E
4135+XPANSION OF NETWORK .—If, pursu-14
4136+ant to a review under subparagraph (A), the 15
4137+Secretary determines the community care net-16
4138+work in a State selected under subsection (b)(1) 17
4139+is not capable of receiving an influx of patients 18
4140+under the pilot program, the Secretary shall co-19
4141+ordinate with the Third Party Administrator 20
4142+for such State to ensure the dental provider 21
4143+network of such community care network is suf-22
4144+ficiently expanded before the initiation of the 23
4145+pilot program. 24
4146+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00138 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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4148+•HR 8371 IH
4149+(2) NOTICE TO COVERED VETERANS .—In car-1
4150+rying out the pilot program, the Secretary shall in-2
4151+form all covered veterans in States selected under 3
4152+subsection (b)(1) of the covered care available under 4
4153+the pilot program. 5
4154+(3) L
4155+OSS OF ELIGIBILITY.—Any veteran par-6
4156+ticipating in the pilot program who ceases to be a 7
4157+covered veteran shall be removed from the pilot pro-8
4158+gram on the date that is 90 days after the Secretary 9
4159+determines the participant is no longer a covered 10
4160+veteran. 11
4161+(4) C
4162+ONTINUITY OF CARE.— 12
4163+(A) I
4164+N GENERAL.—Upon the termination 13
4165+of the pilot program, the Secretary shall provide 14
4166+to all veterans participating in the pilot pro-15
4167+gram at the time of such termination— 16
4168+(i) information on how to enroll in the 17
4169+dental insurance plan of the Department of 18
4170+Veterans Affairs under section 1712C of 19
4171+title 38, United States Code; 20
4172+(ii) if appropriate, information on the 21
4173+VETSmile program of the Department of 22
4174+Veterans Affairs, or any successor pro-23
4175+gram; or 24
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4178+•HR 8371 IH
4179+(iii) contact information for dental 1
4180+providers in the surrounding community 2
4181+who provide low- or no-cost dental care 3
4182+and whom the Secretary has confirmed are 4
4183+available to take on new patients. 5
4184+(B) C
4185+ONTINUATION OF TREATMENT 6
4186+PLAN.—Any veteran participating in the pilot 7
4187+program may continue to receive services under 8
4188+the pilot program after the termination of the 9
4189+pilot program to complete a treatment plan 10
4190+commenced under the pilot program, as deter-11
4191+mined necessary by the Secretary. 12
4192+(f) R
4193+EPORTS.— 13
4194+(1) A
4195+NNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 14
4196+after the commencement of the pilot program, and 15
4197+annually thereafter for the duration of the pilot pro-16
4198+gram, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 17
4199+to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 18
4200+of Representatives and the Senate a report on the 19
4201+pilot program that includes— 20
4202+(A) an identification of the States partici-21
4203+pating in the pilot program; 22
4204+(B) a description of the implementation 23
4205+and operation of the pilot program; 24
4206+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00140 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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4208+•HR 8371 IH
4209+(C) the number of participants in the pilot 1
4210+program, disaggregated by— 2
4211+(i) State; and 3
4212+(ii) disability rating; 4
4213+(D) an identification of any barriers or 5
4214+challenges to implementing the pilot program; 6
4215+(E) aggregated feedback from participants 7
4216+in the pilot program, including from interviews 8
4217+and surveys; 9
4218+(F) the average annual cost of providing 10
4219+covered care to a participant in the pilot pro-11
4220+gram, disaggregated by— 12
4221+(i) State; 13
4222+(ii) disability rating; and 14
4223+(iii) whether the care was provided 15
4224+through the community care network or 16
4225+through a provider of the Department; 17
4226+(G) an analysis of the communication and 18
4227+collaboration of the Department with Third 19
4228+Party Administrators and community care den-20
4229+tal providers, disaggregated by State; 21
4230+(H) an analysis of any cost savings by the 22
4231+Department with respect to the treatment of 23
4232+ischemic heart disease; 24
4233+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00141 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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4235+•HR 8371 IH
4236+(I) an assessment of the impact of the 1
4237+pilot program on appointments for care, pre-2
4238+scriptions, hospitalizations, emergency room vis-3
4239+its, wellness, employability, satisfaction, and 4
4240+perceived quality of life of covered veterans re-5
4241+lated to their diagnosis of ischemic heart dis-6
4242+ease; 7
4243+(J) an analysis and assessment of the effi-8
4244+cacy of mobile clinics and portable dental care 9
4245+units, to the extent such modalities are used, to 10
4246+service the needs of covered veterans under the 11
4247+pilot program; 12
4248+(K) an analysis and assessment of the 13
4249+usage of teledentistry to service the needs of 14
4250+covered veterans under the pilot program, to in-15
4251+clude a cost benefit analysis of such services; 16
4252+and 17
4253+(L) such other matters as the Secretary 18
4254+considers appropriate. 19
4255+(2) F
4256+INAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 20
4257+before the completion of the pilot program, the Sec-21
4258+retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 22
4259+Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Sen-23
4260+ate a report on the pilot program that— 24
4261+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00142 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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4263+•HR 8371 IH
4264+(A) includes the matters required under 1
4265+paragraph (1); 2
4266+(B) includes recommendations on whether 3
4267+the pilot program should be continued, ex-4
4268+panded, or adopted throughout the Department; 5
4269+and 6
4270+(C) indicates whether the Secretary re-7
4271+quests action by Congress to make the pilot 8
4272+program permanent. 9
4273+(g) I
4274+MPACT ONCOMMUNITYCARE.—Participants in 10
4275+the pilot program shall be able to access covered care in 11
4276+the community under section 1703 of title 38, United 12
4277+States Code. 13
4278+(h) D
4279+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 14
4280+(1) The term ‘‘covered care’’ means dental care 15
4281+that is consistent with the dental services and treat-16
4282+ment furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 17
4283+to veterans pursuant to section 1712(a)(1)(G) of 18
4284+title 38, United States Code. 19
4285+(2) The term ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a vet-20
4286+eran who— 21
4287+(A) is enrolled in the system of annual pa-22
4288+tient enrollment of the Department established 23
4289+and operated under paragraphs (1) or (2) of 24
4290+section 1705(a) of title 38, United States Code; 25
4291+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00143 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4292+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 144
4293+•HR 8371 IH
4294+(B) is not eligible for dental services and 1
4295+treatment and related dental appliances under 2
4296+the laws administered by the Secretary as of 3
4297+the date of the enactment of this Act; and 4
4298+(C) has a diagnosis of ischemic heart dis-5
4299+ease. 6
4300+(3) The term ‘‘Third Party Administrator’’ has 7
4301+the meaning given such term in section 1703F of 8
4302+such title. 9
4303+SEC. 145. DOCUMENTATION OF PREFERENCES OF VET-10
4304+ERANS FOR SCHEDULING OF APPOINTMENTS 11
4305+FOR HEALTH CARE UNDER LAWS ADMINIS-12
4306+TERED BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF-13
4307+FAIRS. 14
4308+(a) I
4309+NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 15
4310+date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-16
4311+erans Affairs shall develop a mechanism to solicit informa-17
4312+tion regarding the preference of veterans enrolled in the 18
4313+system of annual patient enrollment of the Department 19
4314+of Veterans Affairs established and operated under section 20
4315+1705(a) of title 38, United States Code, for scheduling 21
4316+of appointments for health care and related services under 22
4317+the laws administered by the Secretary, including through 23
4318+non-Department providers. 24
4319+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00144 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4320+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 145
4321+•HR 8371 IH
4322+(b) DOCUMENTATION OF PREFERENCE.—Pref-1
4323+erences provided voluntarily by a veteran pursuant to sub-2
4324+section (a) shall be documented on My HealtheVet or an-3
4325+other system designated by the Secretary that allows the 4
4326+veteran to view and change such preferences at any time. 5
4327+(c) I
4328+NCLUSION INPREFERENCE.—Preferences solic-6
4329+ited under subsection (a) shall include the following: 7
4330+(1) How and when the veteran prefers to be 8
4331+contacted about an appointment for health care. 9
4332+(2) Whether the veteran prefers to schedule ap-10
4333+pointments without the assistance of the Depart-11
4334+ment, if able. 12
4335+(3) Whether the veteran prefers to select a pro-13
4336+vider without the assistance of the Department, if 14
4337+able. 15
4338+(4) Whether the veteran prefers appointments 16
4339+to be scheduled during certain days or times. 17
4340+(d) U
4341+SE OFPREFERENCE.—The Secretary shall 18
4342+make the preferences provided under subsection (a) easily 19
4343+accessible to medical support assistants and other staff of 20
4344+the Department, or non-Department staff, as the Sec-21
4345+retary determines appropriate, who assist in the appoint-22
4346+ment scheduling process. 23
4347+(e) D
4348+EPLOYMENT OFMECHANISM.— 24
4349+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00145 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4350+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 146
4351+•HR 8371 IH
4352+(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning after the date on 1
4353+which the Secretary develops the mechanism re-2
4354+quired under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 3
4355+(A) test the mechanism in not fewer than 4
4356+three geographically diverse Veterans Inte-5
4357+grated Service Networks; and 6
4358+(B) gather feedback about the effectiveness 7
4359+of such mechanism from veterans, medical sup-8
4360+port assistants, staff and other stakeholders as 9
4361+the Secretary determines appropriate. 10
4362+(2) L
4363+IMITATION.—The Secretary may not im-11
4364+plement such mechanism across the Veterans Health 12
4365+Administration of the Department before the Sec-13
4366+retary addresses the feedback described in para-14
4367+graph (1)(B). 15
4368+SEC. 146. STAFFING MODEL AND PERFORMANCE METRICS 16
4369+FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPART-17
4370+MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 18
4371+(a) S
4372+TAFFINGMODEL.— 19
4373+(1) I
4374+N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 20
4375+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-21
4376+retary of Veterans Affairs shall— 22
4377+(A) develop, validate, and implement a 23
4378+staffing model for the Office of Integrated Vet-24
4379+eran Care of the Department of Veterans Af-25
4380+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00146 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4381+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 147
4382+•HR 8371 IH
4383+fairs, or successor office, Veterans Integrated 1
4384+Services Networks, and medical centers of the 2
4385+Department that includes appropriate target 3
4386+staffing levels nationally, regionally, and locally 4
4387+to ensure timely access to care and effectively 5
4388+oversee the provision of care by the Depart-6
4389+ment, whether at a facility of the Department 7
4390+or through a non-Department provider; and 8
4391+(B) provide to Congress a briefing on such 9
4392+staffing model, which shall include— 10
4393+(i) the metrics and measures used by 11
4394+the Secretary in developing such staffing 12
4395+model; 13
4396+(ii) an analysis of how such staffing 14
4397+model compares to the staffing models of 15
4398+other relevant Government-owned and pri-16
4399+vate sector health care systems; and 17
4400+(iii) an estimate of the portion of the 18
4401+roles in such staffing model that will be 19
4402+filled by contracted staff at any given time. 20
4403+(2) R
4404+EPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF STAFF -21
4405+ING MODEL.—Not later than one year after the date 22
4406+on which the Secretary implements the staffing 23
4407+model required under paragraph (1), the Secretary 24
4408+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00147 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4409+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 148
4410+•HR 8371 IH
4411+shall submit to Congress and the Comptroller Gen-1
4412+eral of the United States a report containing— 2
4413+(A) an update on such implementation; 3
4414+and 4
4415+(B) information on the outcomes yielded 5
4416+by such staffing model in terms of improved ac-6
4417+cess to care for veterans and improved compli-7
4418+ance with relevant laws, regulations, policy di-8
4419+rectives, and guidance governing access to care. 9
4420+(b) P
4421+ERFORMANCEMETRICS.— 10
4422+(1) I
4423+N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 11
4424+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-12
4425+retary shall develop and implement a plan, with an 13
4426+appropriate tracking system, to incorporate appro-14
4427+priate standardized performance metrics and over-15
4428+sight measures within the performance appraisal 16
4429+systems for employees of the Department specified 17
4430+in paragraph (2). 18
4431+(2) E
4432+MPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT SPECI -19
4433+FIED.—Employees of the Department specified in 20
4434+this paragraph are employees who are responsible 21
4435+for ensuring timely access to care from the Depart-22
4436+ment, compliance with relevant statutes and regula-23
4437+tions relating to the provision of care, including sec-24
4438+tion 1703 of title 38, United States Code, and over-25
4439+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00148 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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4441+•HR 8371 IH
4442+seeing the provision of care, whether at a facility of 1
4443+the Department or through a non-Department pro-2
4444+vider, including employees within the Office of Inte-3
4445+grated Veteran Care of the Department, or suc-4
4446+cessor office, employees of a Veterans Integrated 5
4447+Service Network, and employees of a medical center 6
4448+of the Department. 7
4449+(3) R
4450+EPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF PER -8
4451+FORMANCE METRICS .—Not later than one year after 9
4452+implementing the performance metrics required 10
4453+under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to 11
4454+Congress and the Comptroller General of the United 12
4455+States a report containing— 13
4456+(A) an update on such implementation; 14
4457+and 15
4458+(B) information on the outcomes yielded 16
4459+by such performance metrics in terms of im-17
4460+proved access to care for veterans and improved 18
4461+compliance with relevant laws, policy directives, 19
4462+and guidance governing access to care. 20
4463+(c) GAO R
4464+EPORT.—Not later than two years after 21
4465+the later of the date on which the Comptroller General 22
4466+receives the report under subsection (a)(2) or the report 23
4467+under subsection (b)(3), the Comptroller General shall 24
4468+submit to Congress a report that includes— 25
4469+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00149 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4470+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 150
4471+•HR 8371 IH
4472+(1) an assessment of the performance of the Of-1
4473+fice of Integrated Veteran Care of the Department, 2
4474+or successor office, in improving access to care for 3
4475+veterans in facilities of the Department and pursu-4
4476+ant to section 1703 of title 38, United States Code; 5
4477+and 6
4478+(2) such recommendations as the Comptroller 7
4479+General considers appropriate with respect to im-8
4480+proving access to the care described in paragraph 9
4481+(1) for veterans. 10
4482+SEC. 147. ONLINE HEALTH EDUCATION PORTAL FOR VET-11
4483+ERANS ENROLLED IN PATIENT ENROLLMENT 12
4484+SYSTEM OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-13
4485+FAIRS. 14
4486+Not later than one year after the date of the enact-15
4487+ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 16
4488+establish, on an Internet website of the Department, a 17
4489+health education portal that includes interactive edu-18
4490+cational modules to ensure veterans enrolled in the patient 19
4491+enrollment system of the Department of Veterans Affairs 20
4492+established and operated under section 1705(a) of title 38, 21
4493+United States Code, understand the basic health care eli-22
4494+gibilities and entitlements of veterans under the laws ad-23
4495+ministered by the Secretary, including under the Veterans 24
4496+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00150 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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4498+•HR 8371 IH
4499+Community Care Program under section 1703 of such 1
4500+title. 2
4501+SEC. 148. LIMITATION ON DETAIL OF DIRECTORS OF MED-3
4502+ICAL CENTERS OF DEPARTMENT OF VET-4
4503+ERANS AFFAIRS TO DIFFERENT POSITIONS. 5
4504+(a) N
4505+OTIFICATION.— 6
4506+(1) I
4507+N GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 7
4508+detailing a director of a medical center of the De-8
4509+partment of Veterans Affairs to a different position 9
4510+within the Department, the Secretary of Veterans 10
4511+Affairs shall notify the Committee on Veterans’ Af-11
4512+fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ 12
4513+Affairs of the House of Representatives of such de-13
4514+tail. 14
4515+(2) M
4516+ATTERS TO BE INCLUDED .—The notifica-15
4517+tion required by paragraph (1) shall include, with re-16
4518+spect to a director of a medical center who is de-17
4519+tailed to a different position within the Department, 18
4520+the following information: 19
4521+(A) The location at which the director is 20
4522+detailed. 21
4523+(B) The position title of the detail. 22
4524+(C) The estimated time the director is ex-23
4525+pected to be absent from their duties at the 24
4526+medical center. 25
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4529+•HR 8371 IH
4530+(D) Such other information as the Sec-1
4531+retary may determine appropriate. 2
4532+(b) A
4533+PPOINTMENT OFACTINGDIRECTOR.—Not later 3
4534+than 120 days after detailing a director of a medical cen-4
4535+ter of the Department to a different position within the 5
4536+Department, the Secretary shall appoint an individual as 6
4537+acting director of such medical center with all of the au-7
4538+thority and responsibilities of the detailed director. 8
4539+(c) U
4540+PDATE ONDETAIL.—Not later than 120 days 9
4541+after detailing a director of a medical center of the De-10
4542+partment to a different position within the Department, 11
4543+and not less frequently than every 30 days thereafter while 12
4544+the detail is in effect or while the director position at the 13
4545+medical center is vacant, the Secretary shall submit to the 14
4546+Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 15
4547+Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-16
4548+resentatives an update regarding the status of the detail. 17
4549+(d) R
4550+ETURN TOPOSITION ORREASSIGNMENT.— 18
4551+(1) I
4552+N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-19
4553+graph (2), not later than 180 days after detailing a 20
4554+director of a medical center of the Department to a 21
4555+different position within the Department, for a rea-22
4556+son other than an ongoing investigation or adminis-23
4557+trative action with respect to the director, the Sec-24
4558+retary shall— 25
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4561+•HR 8371 IH
4562+(A) return the individual to the position as 1
4563+director of the medical center; or 2
4564+(B) reassign the individual from the posi-3
4565+tion as director of the medical center and begin 4
4566+the process of hiring a new director for such po-5
4567+sition. 6
4568+(2) W
4569+AIVER.— 7
4570+(A) I
4571+N GENERAL.—The Secretary may 8
4572+waive the requirement under paragraph (1) 9
4573+with respect to an individual for successive 90- 10
4574+day increments for a total period of not more 11
4575+than 540 days from the original date the indi-12
4576+vidual was detailed away from their position as 13
4577+director of a medical center. 14
4578+(B) N
4579+OTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 15
4580+days after exercising a waiver under subpara-16
4581+graph (A), the Secretary shall notify Congress 17
4582+of the waiver and provide to Congress informa-18
4583+tion as to why the waiver is necessary. 19
4584+SEC. 149. NATIONAL VETERAN SUICIDE PREVENTION AN-20
4585+NUAL REPORT. 21
4586+(a) N
4587+ATIONALVETERANSUICIDEPREVENTIONAN-22
4588+NUALREPORT.— 23
4589+(1) I
4590+N GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 24
4591+after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not 25
4592+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00153 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4593+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 154
4594+•HR 8371 IH
4595+later than September 30 of each year thereafter, the 1
4596+Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the ap-2
4597+propriate congressional committees and publish on a 3
4598+publicly available website of the Department of Vet-4
4599+erans Affairs a report to be known as the ‘‘National 5
4600+Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report’’. 6
4601+(2) E
4602+XTENSION.— 7
4603+(A) I
4604+N GENERAL.—If the Secretary re-8
4605+quires an extension of the deadline for a report 9
4606+under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit 10
4607+to the appropriate congressional committees a 11
4608+written request for such an extension. 12
4609+(B) E
4610+LEMENTS.—Each written request 13
4611+under paragraph (1) for an extension for a re-14
4612+port shall include the following: 15
4613+(i) The rationale for the delay in the 16
4614+submission of the report. 17
4615+(ii) An explanation of the need for an 18
4616+extension. 19
4617+(iii) A proposed amended date for the 20
4618+submission and publication of the report. 21
4619+(3) B
4620+RIEFING.—With respect to each report re-22
4621+quired under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, be-23
4622+fore the date on which the Secretary submits such 24
4623+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00154 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4624+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 155
4625+•HR 8371 IH
4626+report, provide to the appropriate congressional com-1
4627+mittees a briefing on such report. 2
4628+(4) E
4629+LEMENTS.— 3
4630+(A) I
4631+N GENERAL.—Each report required 4
4632+under paragraph (1) shall include— 5
4633+(i) the findings of the national anal-6
4634+ysis of veteran suicide rates for the latest 7
4635+year for which data is available; 8
4636+(ii) an identification of trends, if any, 9
4637+demonstrated by such data; and 10
4638+(iii) a comparison of such data to data 11
4639+on veteran suicide rates during preceding 12
4640+years. 13
4641+(B) A
4642+DDITIONAL ELEMENTS .—Each report 14
4643+under paragraph (1) shall include, for the year 15
4644+covered by the report, the following: 16
4645+(i) Suicide rates of veterans 17
4646+disaggregated by age, gender, and race or 18
4647+ethnicity. 19
4648+(ii) Trends in suicide rates of veterans 20
4649+compared to engagement of those veterans 21
4650+with health care from the Veterans Health 22
4651+Administration, including an examination 23
4652+of trends in suicide rates or deaths 24
4653+among— 25
4654+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00155 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4655+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 156
4656+•HR 8371 IH
4657+(I) veterans who have recently re-1
4658+ceived health care from the Veterans 2
4659+Health Administration as compared to 3
4660+veterans who have never received 4
4661+health care from the Veterans Health 5
4662+Administration; 6
4663+(II) veterans who are enrolled in 7
4664+the patient enrollment system of the 8
4665+Department of Veterans Affairs under 9
4666+section 1705(a) of title 38, United 10
4667+States Code, as compared to veterans 11
4668+who have never enrolled in such sys-12
4669+tem; 13
4670+(III) veterans who have recently 14
4671+used services from a Vet Center as 15
4672+compared to veterans who have never 16
4673+used such services; 17
4674+(IV) to the extent practicable, 18
4675+veterans who have a diagnosis of sub-19
4676+stance use disorder; and 20
4677+(V) other groups of veterans re-21
4678+lating to engagement with health care 22
4679+from the Veterans Health Administra-23
4680+tion, as the Secretary considers prac-24
4681+ticable. 25
4682+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00156 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4683+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 157
4684+•HR 8371 IH
4685+(iii) To the extent practicable, trends 1
4686+in suicide rates of veterans compared to 2
4687+engagement of those veterans with benefits 3
4688+from the Veterans Benefits Administra-4
4689+tion, including an examination of trends in 5
4690+suicide rates or deaths among— 6
4691+(I) veterans who are currently 7
4692+using, have previously used, or have 8
4693+never used educational assistance 9
4694+under the laws administered by the 10
4695+Secretary; 11
4696+(II) veterans who are currently 12
4697+receiving, have previously received, or 13
4698+have never received services or assist-14
4699+ance under chapter 31 of title 38, 15
4700+United States Code; 16
4701+(III) with respect to compensa-17
4702+tion under chapter 11 of such title— 18
4703+(aa) veterans who were re-19
4704+cipients of such compensation as 20
4705+compared to veterans who never 21
4706+applied for such compensation 22
4707+prior to death; 23
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4709+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 158
4710+•HR 8371 IH
4711+(bb) veterans who had a 1
4712+claim denied for such compensa-2
4713+tion prior to death; 3
4714+(cc) veterans who had a 4
4715+pending claim for such com-5
4716+pensation at time of death; and 6
4717+(dd) veterans who had an 7
4718+entitlement for such compensa-8
4719+tion reduced prior to death; 9
4720+(IV) veterans who are currently 10
4721+receiving or have never received pen-11
4722+sion under chapter 15 of title 38, 12
4723+United States Code; 13
4724+(V) veterans who are currently 14
4725+using, have recently used, or have 15
4726+never used programs or services pro-16
4727+vided by the Homeless Programs Of-17
4728+fice of the Department, including an 18
4729+examination of trends in suicide rates 19
4730+or deaths among veterans who made 20
4731+contact with such office but were de-21
4732+nied or deemed ineligible for any such 22
4733+program or service; 23
4734+(VI) with respect to housing 24
4735+loans guaranteed by the Secretary 25
4736+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00158 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4737+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 159
4738+•HR 8371 IH
4739+under chapter 37 of title 38, United 1
4740+States Code, veterans who are current 2
4741+recipients of, were recent recipients of, 3
4742+or have never received such a loan; 4
4743+(VII) veterans owing debts to the 5
4744+Department; 6
4745+(VIII) veterans who were in-7
4746+volved in a veterans treatment court 8
4747+program, whether they graduated suc-9
4748+cessfully or not; and 10
4749+(IX) veterans who were success-11
4750+fully contacted, unsuccessfully con-12
4751+tacted, or never contacted by the De-13
4752+partment through the Solid Start pro-14
4753+gram under section 6320 of title 38, 15
4754+United States Code. 16
30674755 (C) S
3068-UNSET.—This section shall cease to be effective 24
3069-on September 30, 2026. 25 111
3070-•HR 8371 EH
3071-(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 1
3072-(1) The term ‘‘covered care’’ means care for a 2
3073-veteran eligible for care provided by the Department 3
3074-of Veterans Affairs under title 38, United States 4
3075-Code, or any other law administered by the Sec-5
3076-retary of Veterans Affairs, even if the care associ-6
3077-ated with the transport described in subsection (a) 7
3078-is not authorized by the Department. 8
3079-(2) The term ‘‘covered location’’ means a loca-9
3080-tion that is— 10
3081-(A) in a State that is 100 miles or more 11
3082-from the nearest medical center of the Depart-12
3083-ment of Veterans Affairs; and 13
3084-(B) in an area rated as a 10 or higher 14
3085-under the rural-urban commuting areas coding 15
3086-system of the Department of Agriculture. 16
3087-(3) The term ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a vet-17
3088-eran who— 18
3089-(A) has a service-connected disability rated 19
3090-by the Secretary as between 0 and 30 percent 20
3091-disabling; 21
3092-(B) is not eligible for payments or reim-22
3093-bursements for beneficiary travel or other 23
3094-transportation under the laws administered by 24 112
3095-•HR 8371 EH
3096-the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, other than 1
3097-under this section; and 2
3098-(C) is not entitled to care or services under 3
3099-a non-Department of Veterans Affairs health- 4
3100-plan contract. 5
3101-(4) The term ‘‘health-plan contract’’ has the 6
3102-meaning given that term in section 1725 of title 38, 7
3103-United States Code. 8
3104-(5) The term ‘‘service-connected’’ has the 9
3105-meaning given that term in section 101 of such title. 10
3106-SEC. 144. PILOT PROGRAM TO FURNISH DENTAL CARE 11
3107-FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-12
3108-FAIRS TO CERTAIN VETERANS DIAGNOSED 13
3109-WITH ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE. 14
4756+TRATEGY AND RECOMMENDATIONS .— 17
4757+(i) I
4758+NITIAL REPORT.—The initial re-18
4759+port under paragraph (1) shall include a 19
4760+strategy and recommendations developed 20
4761+by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in 21
4762+collaboration with the Director of the Cen-22
4763+ters for Disease Control and Prevention 23
4764+and the Secretary of Defense, for— 24
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4767+•HR 8371 IH
4768+(I) improving data collection at 1
4769+the State and local levels to accurately 2
4770+capture suicide deaths of veterans; 3
4771+(II) improving the timeliness, ef-4
4772+ficacy, and standardization of data re-5
4773+porting on suicide deaths of veterans 6
4774+at the Federal level, including by the 7
4775+Centers for Disease Control and Pre-8
4776+vention, the Department of Defense, 9
4777+and the Department of Veterans Af-10
4778+fairs; 11
4779+(III) improving the timeliness of 12
4780+identification and analysis of suicide 13
4781+deaths of veterans by Federal agen-14
4782+cies, including the Centers for Disease 15
4783+Control and Prevention, the Depart-16
4784+ment of Defense, and the Department 17
4785+of Veterans Affairs; and 18
4786+(IV) any other necessary process 19
4787+improvements for improving the time-20
4788+liness, efficacy, and standardization of 21
4789+reporting of data relating to suicide 22
4790+deaths of veterans, particularly with 23
4791+respect to the annual report under 24
4792+this section. 25
4793+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00160 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4794+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 161
4795+•HR 8371 IH
4796+(ii) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS .—Each 1
4797+report after the initial report under para-2
4798+graph (1) shall include updates on actions 3
4799+taken to meet the strategy and rec-4
4800+ommendations developed under subpara-5
4801+graph (A). 6
4802+(5) D
4803+EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 7
4804+(A) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional 8
4805+committees’’ means the Committees on Vet-9
4806+erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of 10
4807+Representatives. 11
4808+(B) The term ‘‘Vet Center’’ means a cen-12
4809+ter for readjustment counseling and related 13
4810+mental health services for veterans under sec-14
4811+tion 1712A of title 38, United States Code. 15
4812+(b) I
4813+NDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT OFNATIONALVET-16
4814+ERANSUICIDEPREVENTIONANNUALREPORT.— 17
4815+(1) I
4816+N GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 18
4817+the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 19
4818+of Veterans Affairs shall enter into one or more con-20
4819+tracts with a private sector entity described in para-21
4820+graph (5) to conduct an independent assessment of 22
4821+the National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Re-23
4822+port required under subsection (a). 24
4823+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00161 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4824+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 162
4825+•HR 8371 IH
4826+(2) FREQUENCY.—The private sector entity or 1
4827+entities carrying out the assessment required under 2
4828+paragraph (1) shall complete such assessment not 3
4829+later than 240 days after entering into the contract 4
4830+described in such subsection and not less frequently 5
4831+than every five years thereafter. 6
4832+(3) E
4833+LEMENTS.—Each assessment required 7
4834+under paragraph (1) shall analyze the following: 8
4835+(A) The methodology used by the Depart-9
4836+ment to track, analyze, categorize, and report 10
4837+suicide deaths and suicide rates among vet-11
4838+erans. 12
4839+(B) Whether data sources used by the De-13
4840+partment to compile data on suicide deaths and 14
4841+suicide rates among veterans are accurately re-15
4842+flecting such data. 16
4843+(C) Vulnerabilities in the methodology used 17
4844+by the Department that could lead to inac-18
4845+curate counting of suicide deaths and suicide 19
4846+rates among veterans. 20
4847+(D) The ability of the Department to 21
4848+cross-reference suicide deaths and suicide rates 22
4849+among veterans with trends in usage of pro-23
4850+grams of the Veterans Health Administration 24
4851+or the Veterans Benefits Administration or 25
4852+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00162 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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4854+•HR 8371 IH
4855+other programs that could serve as widespread 1
4856+protective factors against suicide. 2
4857+(E) Improvements that could be made to 3
4858+ensure the National Veteran Suicide Prevention 4
4859+Annual Report required under subsection (a) is 5
4860+accurate and comprehensive and provides in-6
4861+sights for making improvements to the suicide 7
4862+prevention efforts of the Department. 8
4863+(4) R
4864+EPORT ON ASSESSMENT .— 9
4865+(A) R
4866+EPORT ON FINDINGS AND REC -10
4867+OMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 60 days after 11
4868+completing an assessment required by para-12
4869+graph (1), the private sector entity or entities 13
4870+carrying out the assessment shall submit to the 14
4871+Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Commit-15
4872+tees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 16
4873+House of Representatives a report on the find-17
4874+ings and recommendations of the private sector 18
4875+entity or entities with respect to such assess-19
4876+ment. 20
4877+(B) R
4878+EPORT ON PLANNED IMPROVE -21
4879+MENTS.—Not later than 60 days after receiving 22
4880+a report under paragraph (1) with respect to an 23
4881+assessment required by paragraph (1), the Sec-24
4882+retary shall submit to the Committees on Vet-25
4883+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00163 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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4885+•HR 8371 IH
4886+erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of 1
4887+Representatives a report on how the Depart-2
4888+ment plans to improve the National Veteran 3
4889+Suicide Prevention Annual Report required 4
4890+under subsection (a) based on such assessment. 5
4891+(5) P
4892+RIVATE SECTOR ENTITY DESCRIBED .—A 6
4893+private sector entity described in this paragraph is 7
4894+a private entity that— 8
4895+(A) specializes in analyzing large-scale or-9
4896+ganizational data collection and analysis efforts, 10
4897+especially with respect to the health care sector; 11
4898+and 12
4899+(B) has experience and proven outcomes in 13
4900+optimizing the accuracy and comprehensiveness 14
4901+of data collection and analysis related to sui-15
4902+cide. 16
4903+(c) R
4904+EPORT ONADDITIONALBENEFITS ANDSERV-17
4905+ICESFROMDEPARTMENT OF VETERANSAFFAIRSTO 18
4906+P
4907+REVENTVETERANSUICIDE.— 19
4908+(1) I
4909+N GENERAL.—Not later than three years 20
4910+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-21
4911+retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com-22
4912+mittees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 23
4913+House of Representatives and publish on a publicly 24
4914+available website of the Department of Veterans Af-25
4915+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00164 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4916+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 165
4917+•HR 8371 IH
4918+fairs a report that analyzes which benefits and serv-1
4919+ices under the laws administered by such Secretary, 2
4920+including such benefits and services furnished by the 3
4921+Veterans Benefits Administration, have the greatest 4
4922+impact on the prevention of suicide among veterans, 5
4923+including recommendations for potential expansion 6
4924+of services and benefits to reduce the number of vet-7
4925+eran suicides. 8
4926+(2) A
4927+SSESSMENT OF SOLID START PROGRAM .— 9
4928+The report required by paragraph (1) shall include 10
4929+an analysis of the effectiveness of the Solid Start 11
4930+program under section 6320 of title 38, United 12
4931+States Code, on prevention of suicide among vet-13
4932+erans. 14
4933+(d) T
4934+OOLKIT FORSTATE ANDLOCALCORONERS AND 15
4935+M
4936+EDICALEXAMINERS ONBESTPRACTICES FORIDENTI-16
4937+FYING ANDREPORTING ONSUICIDEDEATHS OFVET-17
4938+ERANS.— 18
4939+(1) I
4940+N GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 19
4941+Affairs, in collaboration with the Director of the 20
4942+Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall 21
4943+develop a toolkit for State and local coroners and 22
4944+medical examiners that contains best practices for— 23
4945+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00165 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4946+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 166
4947+•HR 8371 IH
4948+(A) accurately identifying and reporting 1
4949+suicide deaths of veterans, including how to 2
4950+identify veteran status; and 3
4951+(B) reporting such deaths to the Centers 4
4952+for Disease Control and Prevention and other 5
4953+applicable entities. 6
4954+(2) A
4955+VAILABILITY.—Not later than two years 7
4956+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-8
4957+retary shall make the toolkit developed under para-9
4958+graph (1) available on a publicly available website of 10
4959+the Department of Veterans Affairs. 11
4960+(3) O
4961+UTREACH.—The Secretary, in collabora-12
4962+tion with the Director of the Centers for Disease 13
4963+Control and Prevention, shall conduct outreach to 14
4964+appropriate State and local agencies to promote the 15
4965+availability and use of the toolkit developed under 16
4966+paragraph (1). 17
4967+SEC. 150. REPORT ON PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE RE-18
4968+QUIRED BY MEDICAL FACILITIES OF DEPART-19
4969+MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO PROVIDE 20
4970+DENTAL CARE SERVICES. 21
4971+Not later than one year after the date of the enact-22
4972+ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 23
4973+submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen-24
4974+ate and the House of Representatives a report, for each 25
4975+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00166 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
4976+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 167
4977+•HR 8371 IH
4978+medical center or other relevant health care facility of the 1
4979+Department of Veterans Affairs, that includes— 2
4980+(1) an identification of the physical infrastruc-3
4981+ture, including new facilities, renovations, remodels, 4
4982+leases, or other infrastructure, such medical center 5
4983+or health care facility requires to provide dental care 6
4984+services to veterans eligible for such services under 7
4985+the laws administered by the Secretary; and 8
4986+(2) an analysis of the physical infrastructure 9
4987+such medical center or health care facility would re-10
4988+quire if a greater number of veterans became eligible 11
4989+for such dental care services pursuant to a modifica-12
4990+tion of the laws administered by the Secretary. 13
4991+SEC. 151. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON CERTAIN 14
4992+ORAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS UNDER 15
4993+LAWS ADMINISTERED BY SECRETARY OF 16
4994+VETERANS AFFAIRS. 17
31104995 (a) I
3111-NGENERAL.—Beginning not later than one year 15
3112-after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 16
3113-of Veterans Affairs shall carry out a two-year pilot pro-17
3114-gram (in this section referred to as the ‘‘pilot program’’) 18
3115-under which the Secretary shall furnish covered care to 19
3116-covered veterans through means that include the use of 20
3117-community care. 21
3118-(b) L
3119-OCATIONS.— 22
4996+NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 18
4997+date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 19
4998+of the United States shall submit to the Committees on 20
4999+Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Rep-21
5000+resentatives a report on the status of the oral health care 22
5001+programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs, that in-23
5002+cludes an assessment of— 24
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5005+•HR 8371 IH
5006+(1) any issues with information technology pro-1
5007+grams, including Dental Record Manager Plus, that 2
5008+affect dental care staff of the Department; 3
5009+(2) the implementation of the dental insurance 4
5010+plan of the Department under section 1712C of title 5
5011+38, United States Code; 6
5012+(3) the implementation and expansion of the 7
5013+VETSmile program of the Department; 8
5014+(4) barriers preventing the Department from 9
5015+expanding dental care eligibility to all veterans with 10
5016+ischemic heart disease, including such barriers relat-11
5017+ing to physical infrastructure, workforce, and cost of 12
5018+such dental care; 13
5019+(5) barriers preventing dental clinics of the De-14
5020+partment, if any, from adopting teledentistry; 15
5021+(6) the demographic makeup of veterans eligible 16
5022+for dental care paid for by the Department as of the 17
5023+commencement of the pilot program under section 18
5024+145 of this Act, including information on— 19
5025+(A) age; 20
5026+(B) gender; 21
5027+(C) race or ethnicity, disaggregated by— 22
5028+(i) membership in an Indian Tribe; 23
5029+and 24
5030+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00168 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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5032+•HR 8371 IH
5033+(ii) the major race groups used in the 1
5034+decennial census; 2
5035+(D) employment status; and 3
5036+(E) location of residence, disaggregated by 4
5037+rural, highly rural, and urban locations; and 5
5038+(7) changes to such demographic makeup if 6
5039+any, that would result from an expansion of eligi-7
5040+bility for dental care under the laws administered by 8
5041+the Secretary to all veterans with ischemic heart dis-9
5042+ease including changes to demographics specified in 10
5043+paragraph (6). 11
5044+(b) T
5045+HIRDPARTYADMINISTRATORDEFINED.—In 12
5046+this section, the term ‘‘Third Party Administrator’’ means 13
5047+an entity that manages a provider network and performs 14
5048+administrative services related to such network under sec-15
5049+tion 1703 of title 38, United States Code. 16
5050+SEC. 152. REVIEW OF WORKFLOWS ASSOCIATED WITH 17
5051+PROCESSING REFERRALS BETWEEN FACILI-18
5052+TIES OF THE VETERANS HEALTH ADMINIS-19
5053+TRATION. 20
5054+(a) I
5055+NGENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 21
5056+shall conduct a review of the workflows directly associated 22
5057+with processing referrals of patients between facilities of 23
5058+the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of 24
5059+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00169 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
5060+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 170
5061+•HR 8371 IH
5062+Veterans Affairs to identify specific delays or bottlenecks 1
5063+in such referrals. 2
5064+(b) E
5065+LEMENTS OF REVIEW.—The review required 3
5066+under subsection (a) shall include a review of— 4
5067+(1) the interfacility consult management guid-5
5068+ance of the Veterans Health Administration that as-6
5069+sists facilities described in subsection (a) in con-7
5070+structing a workflow for consults between such fa-8
5071+cilities; and 9
5072+(2) the roles and responsibilities of the individ-10
5073+uals involved in the consult management process in 11
5074+managing such consults, including the role of the re-12
5075+ferral coordination team. 13
5076+(c) R
5077+EPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 14
5078+of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 15
5079+to Congress a report on the results of the review required 16
5080+under subsection (a). 17
5081+SEC. 153. PLAN FOR TIMELY SCHEDULING OF APPOINT-18
5082+MENTS AT MEDICAL FACILITIES OF DEPART-19
5083+MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 20
5084+(a) P
5085+LANREQUIRED.—To improve responsiveness in 21
5086+the provision of hospital care and medical services at med-22
5087+ical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the 23
5088+Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop a plan to— 24
5089+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00170 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
5090+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 171
5091+•HR 8371 IH
5092+(1) ensure that whenever a covered veteran con-1
5093+tacts the Department by telephone to request the 2
5094+scheduling of an appointment for care or services for 3
5095+the covered veteran at such a facility, the scheduling 4
5096+for the appointment occurs during that telephone 5
5097+call (regardless of the prospective date of the ap-6
5098+pointment being scheduled); and 7
5099+(2) provide timely and, where applicable, same- 8
5100+day scheduling for an appointment described in 9
5101+paragraph (1). 10
5102+(b) R
5103+EPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 11
5104+of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 12
5105+to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 13
5106+Representatives and the Senate a report on the plan under 14
5107+subsection (a). 15
5108+(c) C
5109+OVEREDVETERANDEFINED.—In this section, 16
5110+the term ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a veteran who is en-17
5111+rolled in the system of patient enrollment of the Depart-18
5112+ment under section 1705(a) of title 38, United States 19
5113+Code. 20
5114+SEC. 154. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS TO SUP-21
5115+PORT INITIATIVES FOR MOBILE MAMMOG-22
5116+RAPHY SERVICES FOR VETERANS. 23
5117+There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-24
5118+retary of Veterans Affairs $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 25
5119+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00171 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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5121+•HR 8371 IH
5122+for the Office of Women’s Health of the Department of 1
5123+Veterans Affairs under section 7310 of title 38, United 2
5124+States Code, to be used by the Secretary to expand access 3
5125+of women veterans to— 4
5126+(1) mobile mammography initiatives; 5
5127+(2) advanced mammography equipment; and 6
5128+(3) outreach activities to publicize those initia-7
5129+tives and equipment. 8
5130+TITLE II—ECONOMIC 9
5131+OPPORTUNITY MATTERS 10
5132+Subtitle A—Educational Assistance 11
5133+SEC. 201. TEMPORARY EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR MA-12
5134+RINE GUNNERY SERGEANT JOHN DAVID FRY 13
5135+SCHOLARSHIP. 14
5136+(a) I
5137+NGENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 15
5138+shall treat an individual described in subsection (b) as a 16
5139+covered individual described in section 3311(b) of title 38, 17
5140+United States Code. 18
5141+(b) C
5142+OVEREDINDIVIDUALDESCRIBED.—An indi-19
5143+vidual described in this subsection is an individual who 20
5144+is the child or spouse of a person— 21
5145+(1) who dies from a service-connected disability 22
5146+during the 120-day period immediately following the 23
5147+day on which the person was discharged or released 24
5148+from duty as a member of the Armed Forces (with-25
5149+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00172 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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5151+•HR 8371 IH
5152+out regard to whether such duty was active duty); 1
5153+and 2
5154+(2)(A) who received an honorable discharge; or 3
5155+(B) whose service in the Armed Forces is char-4
5156+acterized by the Secretary concerned as honorable 5
5157+service. 6
5158+(c) A
5159+PPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply with re-7
5160+spect to— 8
5161+(1) deaths that occur before, on, or after the 9
5162+date of the enactment of this Act; and 10
5163+(2) a quarter, semester, or term, as applicable, 11
5164+commencing— 12
5165+(A) on or after August 1, 2024; and 13
5166+(B) before October 1, 2026. 14
5167+SEC. 202. REMOVAL OF EXPIRATION ON ENTITLEMENT TO 15
5168+MARINE GUNNERY SERGEANT JOHN DAVID 16
5169+FRY SCHOLARSHIP FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES. 17
5170+Section 3311(f) of title 38, United States Code, is 18
5171+amended— 19
5172+(1) by striking paragraph (2); 20
5173+(2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 21
5174+(5) as paragraphs (2) through (4), respectively; 22
5175+(3) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by para-23
5176+graph (2) of this section, by striking ‘‘in paragraph 24
5177+(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘in paragraph (3)’’; and 25
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5181+(4) in paragraph (3)(A), as redesignated by 1
5182+paragraph (2) of this section, by striking ‘‘under 2
5183+paragraph (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘under paragraph 3
5184+(2)’’. 4
5185+SEC. 203. SOLE LIABILITY FOR TRANSFERRED EDU-5
5186+CATIONAL ASSISTANCE BY AN INDIVIDUAL 6
5187+WHO FAILS TO COMPLETE A SERVICE AGREE-7
5188+MENT. 8
5189+Subsection (i) of section 3319 of title 38, United 9
5190+States Code, is amended— 10
5191+(1) in paragraph (1)— 11
5192+(A) by striking ‘‘In the event’’ and insert-12
5193+ing ‘‘Subject to paragraph (2), in the event’’; 13
5194+and 14
5195+(B) by inserting ‘‘of this title’’ after ‘‘sec-15
5196+tion 3685’’; 16
5197+(2) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2)— 17
5198+(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘I
5199+N GEN-18
5200+ERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘SOLE LIABILITY’’; and 19
5201+(B) by striking ‘‘under paragraph (1)’’ and 20
5202+inserting ‘‘for which the individual shall be sole-21
5203+ly liable to the United States for the amount of 22
5204+the overpayment for purposes of section 3685 23
5205+of this title’’; and 24
5206+(3) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2)— 25
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5210+(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 1
5211+striking ‘‘Subparagraph (A) shall not apply’’ 2
5212+and inserting ‘‘Neither the individual nor the 3
5213+dependent shall be liable to the United States 4
5214+for the amount of the overpayment for purposes 5
5215+of section 3685 of this title’’; and 6
5216+(B) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘of this 7
5217+title’’ after ‘‘section 3311(c)(4)’’. 8
5218+SEC. 204. NOTICE TO EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF 9
5219+RISK-BASED SURVEYS. 10
5220+Section 3673A(d) of title 38, United States Code, is 11
5221+amended by striking ‘‘one business day’’ and inserting 12
5222+‘‘two business days’’. 13
5223+SEC. 205. RELATIONSHIP OF PARTICIPATION BY AN EDU-14
5224+CATIONAL INSTITUTION IN CERTAIN FED-15
5225+ERAL STUDENT FINANCIAL AID PROGRAMS 16
5226+TO APPROVAL OF SUCH INSTITUTION FOR 17
5227+PURPOSES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 18
5228+AFFAIRS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PRO-19
5229+GRAMS. 20
5230+Paragraph (4) of section 3675(b) of title 38, United 21
5231+States Code, is amended to read as follows: 22
5232+‘‘(4) The educational institution— 23
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5235+•HR 8371 IH
5236+‘‘(A) is approved and participates in a pro-1
5237+gram under title IV of the Higher Education 2
5238+Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.); or 3
5239+‘‘(B) does not participate in such a pro-4
5240+gram and the Secretary has waived the require-5
5241+ment under this paragraph with respect to the 6
5242+educational institution, and submits to the 7
5243+Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate 8
5244+and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 9
5245+House of Representatives notice of such waiver, 10
5246+because the Secretary determines that the edu-11
5247+cational institution— 12
5248+‘‘(i) elects not to participate in such a 13
5249+program; 14
5250+‘‘(ii) cannot participate in such a pro-15
5251+gram; or 16
5252+‘‘(iii) is in the process of making a 17
5253+good-faith effort to submit an initial appli-18
5254+cation for approval to participate in such a 19
5255+program, except that a waiver under this 20
5256+clause may not be provided for a period of 21
5257+longer than 36 months.’’. 22
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5260+•HR 8371 IH
5261+SEC. 206. EXPANSION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-1
5262+FAIRS OVERSIGHT OF CERTAIN EDU-2
5263+CATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 3
5264+(a) A
5265+DDITIONALREQUIREMENT FOR APPROVAL.— 4
5266+Section 3675(b) of title 38, United States Code, as amend-5
5267+ed by section 205, is further amended by adding at the 6
5268+end the following new paragraph: 7
5269+‘‘(5) The educational institution agrees to, not 8
5270+later than 30 days after any date on which such 9
5271+educational institution becomes subject to an action 10
5272+or event described in section 3673(e)(3) of this title, 11
5273+submit to the State approving agency, or the Sec-12
5274+retary when acting in the role of a State approving 13
5275+agency, a notification of such action or event in such 14
5276+form and containing such information as the Sec-15
5277+retary determines appropriate.’’. 16
5278+(b) A
5279+DDITIONALREQUIREMENT FOR APPROVAL OF 17
5280+N
5281+ONACCREDITEDCOURSES.— 18
31205282 (1) I
3121-N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall select 23
3122-not more than four States in which to carry out the 24
3123-pilot program. 25 113
3124-•HR 8371 EH
3125-(2) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting States 1
3126-under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall prioritize 2
3127-States in which— 3
3128-(A) the Department of Veterans Affairs 4
3129-serves a high proportion, as determined by the 5
3130-Secretary, of veterans residing in rural or high-6
3131-ly rural areas (as determined through the use 7
3132-of the Rural-Urban Commuting Areas coding 8
3133-system of the Department of Agriculture); 9
3134-(B) dental clinics operated by the Depart-10
3135-ment of Veterans Affairs currently utilize tele-11
3136-dentistry; 12
3137-(C) the Department of Veterans Affairs 13
3138-does not currently operate a dental clinic; or 14
3139-(D) the Secretary determines a large per-15
3140-centage of veterans enrolled in the system of 16
3141-annual patient enrollment of the Department of 17
3142-Veterans Affairs established and operated under 18
3143-paragraphs (1) or (2) of section 1705(a) of title 19
3144-38, United States Code, visit emergency rooms 20
3145-for dental emergencies at high rates. 21
3146-(c) P
3147-ARTICIPATIONLIMITATION.—Participation in a 22
3148-pilot program established pursuant to this section shall be 23
3149-limited to a covered veteran who receives health care in 24 114
3150-•HR 8371 EH
3151-a facility of the Department located in a State selected 1
3152-under subsection (b). 2
3153-(d) U
3154-SE OFCERTAINMETHODS TO PROVIDE 3
3155-C
3156-ARE.— 4
3157-(1) M
3158-OBILE DENTAL CLINICS.—In carrying out 5
3159-the pilot program, the Secretary shall test the effi-6
3160-cacy of mobile dental clinics to service rural areas 7
3161-that do not have a population base to warrant a full- 8
3162-time clinic but where there are covered veterans in 9
3163-need of dental care. 10
3164-(2) H
3165-OME-BASED DENTAL CARE .—In carrying 11
3166-out the pilot program, the Secretary shall test the 12
3167-efficacy of portable dental care units to service rural 13
3168-veterans in their homes, as the Secretary considers 14
3169-medically appropriate. 15
3170-(e) A
3171-DMINISTRATION.— 16
3172-(1) C
3173-OMMUNITY CARE NETWORK REVIEW .— 17
5283+N GENERAL.—Section 3676(c) of such title 19
5284+is amended— 20
5285+(A) by redesignating paragraphs (14) 21
5286+through (16) as paragraphs (15) through (17), 22
5287+respectively; and 23
5288+(B) by inserting after paragraph (13) the 24
5289+following new paragraph: 25
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5292+•HR 8371 IH
5293+‘‘(14) The institution agrees to, not later than 1
5294+30 days after any date on which such institution be-2
5295+comes subject to an action or event described in sec-3
5296+tion 3673(e)(3) of this title, submit to the State ap-4
5297+proving agency, or the Secretary when acting in the 5
5298+role of a State approving agency, a notification of 6
5299+such action or event in such form and containing 7
5300+such information as the Secretary determines appro-8
5301+priate.’’. 9
5302+(2) C
5303+ONFORMING AMENDMENTS .—Such title is 10
5304+further amended— 11
5305+(A) in section 3672(b)(2)(C), by striking 12
5306+‘‘paragraph (14) or (15)’’ and inserting ‘‘para-13
5307+graph (15) or (16)’’; 14
5308+(B) in section 3675(b)(3), by striking 15
5309+‘‘(14), (15), and (16)’’ and inserting ‘‘(15), 16
5310+(16), and (17)’’; 17
5311+(C) in section 3679(d), by striking ‘‘de-18
5312+scribed in paragraph (14) or (15)’’ and insert-19
5313+ing ‘‘described in paragraph (15) or (16)’’; and 20
5314+(D) in section 3680A(a)(4)(C)(iii), by 21
5315+striking ‘‘section 3676(c)(14) and (15)’’ and in-22
5316+serting ‘‘section 3676(c)(15) and (16)’’. 23
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5319+•HR 8371 IH
5320+(c) ADDITIONALGROUNDS FORSUSPENSION OFAP-1
5321+PROVAL.—Section 3679(f)(1) of such title is amended by 2
5322+adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 3
5323+‘‘(I) Comply with the notification requirements 4
5324+under sections 3675(b)(5) and 3676(c)(14) of this 5
5325+title, when applicable.’’. 6
5326+(d) D
5327+EADLINE FOR RISK-BASEDSURVEYSDATA-7
5328+BASE.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish 8
5329+the database required under section 3673A(c) of title 38, 9
5330+United States Code, by not later than 180 days after the 10
5331+date of the enactment of this Act. 11
5332+SEC. 207. REQUIREMENT THAT EDUCATIONAL INSTITU-12
5333+TIONS APPROVED FOR PURPOSES OF DE-13
5334+PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EDU-14
5335+CATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS PROVIDE 15
5336+DIGITAL OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS. 16
5337+(a) R
5338+EQUIREMENT.—Section 3675(b) of title 38, 17
5339+United States Code, as amended by sections 205 and 206, 18
5340+is further amended by adding at the end the following new 19
5341+paragraph: 20
5342+‘‘(6) The educational institution makes avail-21
5343+able to each eligible person or veteran a copy of the 22
5344+person or veteran’s official transcript in a digital 23
5345+format.’’. 24
5346+(b) C
5347+ONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.— 25
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5351+(1) APPROVAL OF COURSES .—Section 1
5352+3672(b)(2)(A) of such title is amended by striking 2
5353+‘‘(b)(1) and (b)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1), 3
5354+(2), and (6) of section 3675(b)’’. 4
5355+(2) A
5356+PPROVAL OF NONACCREDITED COURSES .— 5
5357+Section 3676(c) of such title is amended— 6
5358+(A) by redesignating paragraph (17) as 7
5359+paragraph (18); and 8
5360+(B) by inserting after paragraph (16) the 9
5361+following new paragraph (17): 10
5362+‘‘(17) In the case of a course that leads to a 11
5363+standard college degree, the educational institution 12
5364+satisfies the requirements of section 3675(b)(6) of 13
5365+this title.’’. 14
5366+(3) C
5367+ONFORMING AMENDMENTS .—Section 15
5368+3675(b)(3) of such title is amended by striking 16
5369+‘‘(15), (16), and (17)’’ and inserting ‘‘(15), (16), 17
5370+and (18)’’. 18
5371+(c) E
5372+FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 19
5373+this section shall take effect on August 1, 2025, and apply 20
5374+with respect to a quarter, semester, or term, as applicable, 21
5375+commencing on or after such date. 22
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5379+SEC. 208. PAYMENT OF FULL MONTHLY HOUSING STIPEND 1
5380+FOR VETERANS ENROLLED IN FINAL SEMES-2
5381+TER USING EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 3
5382+UNDER POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 4
5383+PROGRAM. 5
5384+(a) H
5385+OUSINGALLOWANCE.—Section 3680(a)(3) of 6
5386+title 38, United States Code, is amended— 7
5387+(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 8
5388+(B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively (and by re-9
5389+designating each subordinate provision and the mar-10
5390+gins thereof accordingly); 11
5391+(2) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding paragraph 12
5392+(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) Notwithstanding paragraph 13
5393+(1)’’; 14
5394+(3) by striking ‘‘, including a monthly housing 15
5395+stipend described in section 3313(c) of this title,’’; 16
5396+and 17
5397+(4) by adding at the end the following new sub-18
5398+paragraph (B): 19
5399+‘‘(B) For purposes of providing a monthly housing 20
5400+stipend described in section 3313(c) to an eligible veteran 21
5401+or eligible person for whom the Secretary is providing edu-22
5402+cational assistance under chapter 33 of this title during 23
5403+a period that is the last semester, term, or academic period 24
5404+pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall treat 25
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5407+•HR 8371 IH
5408+the veteran or person as pursuing a program of education 1
5409+on a full-time basis.’’. 2
5410+(b) A
5411+PPLICATION.—The amendments made by sub-3
5412+section (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment 4
5413+of this Act and apply with respect to a quarter, semester, 5
5414+or term, as applicable, commencing on or after August 1, 6
5415+2024. 7
5416+SEC. 209. MODIFICATION OF RULES FOR APPROVAL OF 8
5417+COMMERCIAL DRIVER EDUCATION PRO-9
5418+GRAMS FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATIONAL AS-10
5419+SISTANCE PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT 11
5420+OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 12
31745421 (a) I
3175-N GENERAL.—Before commencing the 18
3176-pilot program, the Secretary shall work with 19
3177-third party administrators to conduct a review 20
3178-of dental providers who are part of the commu-21
3179-nity care network of the Department in each 22
3180-State selected under subsection (b)(1) to en-23
3181-sure— 24 115
3182-•HR 8371 EH
3183-(i) dental providers who are no longer 1
3184-accepting patients from the Department— 2
3185-(I) are not still listed as pro-3
3186-viders accepting referrals from the 4
3187-Department; and 5
3188-(II) are not sent referrals from 6
3189-the Department; and 7
3190-(ii) dental providers participating in 8
3191-each such network are capable of receiving 9
3192-an influx of patients from the Department 10
3193-under the pilot program. 11
3194-(B) E
3195-XPANSION OF NETWORK .—If, pursu-12
3196-ant to a review under subparagraph (A), the 13
3197-Secretary determines the community care net-14
3198-work in a State selected under subsection (b)(1) 15
3199-is not capable of receiving an influx of patients 16
3200-under the pilot program, the Secretary shall co-17
3201-ordinate with the Third Party Administrator 18
3202-for such State to ensure the dental provider 19
3203-network of such community care network is suf-20
3204-ficiently expanded before the initiation of the 21
3205-pilot program. 22
3206-(2) N
3207-OTICE TO COVERED VETERANS .—In car-23
3208-rying out the pilot program, the Secretary shall in-24
3209-form all covered veterans in States selected under 25 116
3210-•HR 8371 EH
3211-subsection (b)(1) of the covered care available under 1
3212-the pilot program. 2
3213-(3) L
3214-OSS OF ELIGIBILITY.—Any veteran par-3
3215-ticipating in the pilot program who ceases to be a 4
3216-covered veteran shall be removed from the pilot pro-5
3217-gram on the date that is 90 days after the Secretary 6
3218-determines the participant is no longer a covered 7
3219-veteran. 8
3220-(4) C
3221-ONTINUITY OF CARE.— 9
5422+NGENERAL.—Section 3680A(e) of title 38, 13
5423+United States Code, is amended— 14
5424+(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 15
5425+(3) as subparagraphs (A) though (C), respectively; 16
5426+(2) in the matter before subparagraph (A), as 17
5427+redesignated by paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ 18
5428+before ‘‘The Secretary’’; 19
5429+(3) in paragraph (1)(B), as redesignated by 20
5430+paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘except as provided in 21
5431+paragraph (2),’’ before ‘‘the course’’; and 22
5432+(4) by adding at the end the following new 23
5433+paragraph (2): 24
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5437+‘‘(2)(A) Subject to this paragraph, a commercial driv-1
5438+er education program is exempt from paragraph (1)(B) 2
5439+for a branch of an educational institution if the commer-3
5440+cial driver education program offered at the branch by the 4
5441+educational institution— 5
5442+‘‘(i) is appropriately licensed; and 6
5443+‘‘(ii)(I) the branch is located in a State in 7
5444+which the same commercial driver education pro-8
5445+gram is offered by the same educational institution 9
5446+at another branch of that educational institution in 10
5447+the same State that is approved for purposes of this 11
5448+chapter by a State approving agency or the Sec-12
5449+retary when acting in the role of a State approving 13
5450+agency; or 14
5451+‘‘(II)(aa) the branch is located in a State in 15
5452+which the same commercial driver education pro-16
5453+gram is not offered at another branch of the same 17
5454+educational institution in the same State; and 18
5455+‘‘(bb) the branch has been operating for a pe-19
5456+riod of at least one year using the same curriculum 20
5457+as a commercial driver education program offered by 21
5458+the educational institution at another location that is 22
5459+approved for purposes of this chapter by a State ap-23
5460+proving agency or the Secretary when acting in the 24
5461+role of a State approving agency. 25
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5465+‘‘(B)(i) In order for a commercial driver education 1
5466+program of an educational institution offered at a branch 2
5467+described in paragraph (1)(B) to be exempt under sub-3
5468+paragraph (A) of this paragraph, the educational institu-4
5469+tion shall submit to the Secretary each year that para-5
5470+graph (1)(B) would otherwise apply a report that dem-6
5471+onstrates that the curriculum at the new branch is the 7
5472+same as the curriculum at the primary location. 8
5473+‘‘(ii) Reporting under clause (i) shall be submitted 9
5474+in accordance with such requirements as the Secretary 10
5475+shall establish in consultation with the State approving 11
5476+agencies. 12
5477+‘‘(C)(i) The Secretary may withhold an exemption 13
5478+under subparagraph (A) for any educational institution or 14
5479+branch of an educational institution as the Secretary con-15
5480+siders appropriate. 16
5481+‘‘(ii) In making any determination under clause (i), 17
5482+the Secretary may consult with the Secretary of Transpor-18
5483+tation on the performance of a provider of a commercial 19
5484+driver program, including the status of the provider within 20
5485+the Training Provider Registry of the Federal Motor Car-21
5486+rier Safety Administration when appropriate. 22
5487+‘‘(D) The Secretary shall submit to the Committees 23
5488+on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Rep-24
5489+resentatives a notification not later than 30 days after the 25
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5492+•HR 8371 IH
5493+Secretary grants an exemption under this paragraph. 1
5494+Such notification shall identify the educational institution 2
5495+and branch of such educational institution granted such 3
5496+exemption.’’. 4
5497+(b) I
5498+MPLEMENTATION.— 5
5499+(1) E
5500+STABLISHMENT OF REQUIREMENTS .—Not 6
5501+later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 7
5502+of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 8
5503+establish requirements under section 9
5504+3680A(e)(2)(B)(ii) of such title, as added by sub-10
5505+section (a). 11
5506+(2) R
5507+ULEMAKING.—In promulgating any rules 12
5508+to carry out paragraph (2) of section 3680A(e) of 13
5509+title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 14
5510+(a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall consult 15
5511+with State approving agencies. 16
5512+(3) A
5513+PPLICABILITY.—The amendments made 17
5514+by subsection (a) shall apply to commercial driver 18
5515+education programs on and after the day that is 365 19
5516+days after the date on which the Secretary estab-20
5517+lishes the requirements under paragraph (1) of this 21
5518+subsection. 22
5519+(c) C
5520+OMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED 23
5521+S
5522+TATESSTUDY.—Not later than 365 days after the date 24
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5525+•HR 8371 IH
5526+of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 1
5527+the United States shall— 2
5528+(1) conduct a study to— 3
5529+(A) ascertain the effects of the amend-4
5530+ments made by subsection (a); and 5
5531+(B) the feasibility and advisability of simi-6
5532+larly amending the rules for approval of pro-7
5533+grams of education for other vocational pro-8
5534+grams of education; and 9
5535+(2) submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-10
5536+fairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives 11
5537+a report on the findings of the Comptroller General 12
5538+with respect to such study. 13
5539+SEC. 210. PROVISION OF CERTIFICATES OF ELIGIBILITY 14
5540+AND AWARD LETTERS USING ELECTRONIC 15
5541+MEANS. 16
32225542 (a) I
3223-N GENERAL.—Upon the termination 10
3224-of the pilot program, the Secretary shall provide 11
3225-to all veterans participating in the pilot pro-12
3226-gram at the time of such termination— 13
3227-(i) information on how to enroll in the 14
3228-dental insurance plan of the Department of 15
3229-Veterans Affairs under section 1712C of 16
3230-title 38, United States Code; 17
3231-(ii) if appropriate, information on the 18
3232-VETSmile program of the Department of 19
3233-Veterans Affairs, or any successor pro-20
3234-gram; or 21
3235-(iii) contact information for dental 22
3236-providers in the surrounding community 23
3237-who provide low- or no-cost dental care 24 117
3238-•HR 8371 EH
3239-and whom the Secretary has confirmed are 1
3240-available to take on new patients. 2
5543+NGENERAL.—Chapter 36 of title 38, United 17
5544+States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3698 18
5545+the following new section (and conforming the table of sec-19
5546+tions at the beginning of such chapter accordingly): 20
5547+‘‘§ 3698A. Provision of certificates of eligibility and 21
5548+award letters using electronic means 22
5549+‘‘(a) R
5550+EQUIREMENT.—Except as provided by sub-23
5551+section (b), the Secretary shall provide to an individual 24
5552+the following documents using electronic means: 25
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5556+‘‘(1) A certificate of eligibility for the entitle-1
5557+ment of the individual to covered educational assist-2
5558+ance. 3
5559+‘‘(2) An award letter regarding the authoriza-4
5560+tion of the individual to receive covered educational 5
5561+assistance. 6
5562+‘‘(b) E
5563+LECTIONTOOPTOUT.—An individual may 7
5564+elect to receive the documents specified in subsection (a) 8
5565+by mail rather than through electronic means under sub-9
5566+section (a). An individual may revoke such an election at 10
5567+any time, by means prescribed by the Secretary. 11
5568+‘‘(c) C
5569+OVEREDEDUCATIONALASSISTANCE.—In this 12
5570+section, the term ‘covered educational assistance’ means 13
5571+educational assistance under chapter 30, 33, or 35 of this 14
5572+title, or section 3699C of this title.’’. 15
32415573 (b) C
3242-ONTINUATION OF TREATMENT 3
3243-PLAN.—Any veteran participating in the pilot 4
3244-program may continue to receive services under 5
3245-the pilot program after the termination of the 6
3246-pilot program to complete a treatment plan 7
3247-commenced under the pilot program, as deter-8
3248-mined necessary by the Secretary. 9
3249-(f) R
3250-EPORTS.— 10
3251-(1) A
3252-NNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 11
3253-after the commencement of the pilot program, and 12
3254-annually thereafter for the duration of the pilot pro-13
3255-gram, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 14
3256-to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 15
3257-of Representatives and the Senate a report on the 16
3258-pilot program that includes— 17
3259-(A) an identification of the States partici-18
3260-pating in the pilot program; 19
3261-(B) a description of the implementation 20
3262-and operation of the pilot program; 21
3263-(C) the number of participants in the pilot 22
3264-program, disaggregated by— 23
3265-(i) State; and 24
3266-(ii) disability rating; 25 118
3267-•HR 8371 EH
3268-(D) an identification of any barriers or 1
3269-challenges to implementing the pilot program; 2
3270-(E) aggregated feedback from participants 3
3271-in the pilot program, including from interviews 4
3272-and surveys; 5
3273-(F) the average annual cost of providing 6
3274-covered care to a participant in the pilot pro-7
3275-gram, disaggregated by— 8
3276-(i) State; 9
3277-(ii) disability rating; and 10
3278-(iii) whether the care was provided 11
3279-through the community care network or 12
3280-through a provider of the Department; 13
3281-(G) an analysis of the communication and 14
3282-collaboration of the Department with Third 15
3283-Party Administrators and community care den-16
3284-tal providers, disaggregated by State; 17
3285-(H) an analysis of any cost savings by the 18
3286-Department with respect to the treatment of 19
3287-ischemic heart disease; 20
3288-(I) an assessment of the impact of the 21
3289-pilot program on appointments for care, pre-22
3290-scriptions, hospitalizations, emergency room vis-23
3291-its, wellness, employability, satisfaction, and 24
3292-perceived quality of life of covered veterans re-25 119
3293-•HR 8371 EH
3294-lated to their diagnosis of ischemic heart dis-1
3295-ease; 2
3296-(J) an analysis and assessment of the effi-3
3297-cacy of mobile clinics and portable dental care 4
3298-units, to the extent such modalities are used, to 5
3299-service the needs of covered veterans under the 6
3300-pilot program; 7
3301-(K) an analysis and assessment of the 8
3302-usage of teledentistry to service the needs of 9
3303-covered veterans under the pilot program, to in-10
3304-clude a cost benefit analysis of such services; 11
3305-and 12
3306-(L) such other matters as the Secretary 13
3307-considers appropriate. 14
3308-(2) F
3309-INAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 15
3310-before the completion of the pilot program, the Sec-16
3311-retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 17
3312-Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Sen-18
3313-ate a report on the pilot program that— 19
3314-(A) includes the matters required under 20
3315-paragraph (1); 21
3316-(B) includes recommendations on whether 22
3317-the pilot program should be continued, ex-23
3318-panded, or adopted throughout the Department; 24
3319-and 25 120
3320-•HR 8371 EH
3321-(C) indicates whether the Secretary re-1
3322-quests action by Congress to make the pilot 2
3323-program permanent. 3
3324-(g) I
3325-MPACT ONCOMMUNITYCARE.—Participants in 4
3326-the pilot program shall be able to access covered care in 5
3327-the community under section 1703 of title 38, United 6
3328-States Code. 7
3329-(h) D
3330-EFINITIONS.—In this section: 8
3331-(1) The term ‘‘covered care’’ means dental care 9
3332-that is consistent with the dental services and treat-10
3333-ment furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 11
3334-to veterans pursuant to section 1712(a)(1)(G) of 12
3335-title 38, United States Code. 13
3336-(2) The term ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a vet-14
3337-eran who— 15
3338-(A) is enrolled in the system of annual pa-16
3339-tient enrollment of the Department established 17
3340-and operated under paragraphs (1) or (2) of 18
3341-section 1705(a) of title 38, United States Code; 19
3342-(B) is not eligible for dental services and 20
3343-treatment and related dental appliances under 21
3344-the laws administered by the Secretary as of 22
3345-the date of the enactment of this Act; and 23
3346-(C) has a diagnosis of ischemic heart dis-24
3347-ease. 25 121
3348-•HR 8371 EH
3349-(3) The term ‘‘Third Party Administrator’’ has 1
3350-the meaning given such term in section 1703F of 2
3351-such title. 3
3352-SEC. 145. DOCUMENTATION OF PREFERENCES OF VET-4
3353-ERANS FOR SCHEDULING OF APPOINTMENTS 5
3354-FOR HEALTH CARE UNDER LAWS ADMINIS-6
3355-TERED BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF-7
3356-FAIRS. 8
3357-(a) I
3358-NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 9
3359-date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-10
3360-erans Affairs shall develop a mechanism to solicit informa-11
3361-tion regarding the preference of veterans enrolled in the 12
3362-system of annual patient enrollment of the Department 13
3363-of Veterans Affairs established and operated under section 14
3364-1705(a) of title 38, United States Code, for scheduling 15
3365-of appointments for health care and related services under 16
3366-the laws administered by the Secretary, including through 17
3367-non-Department providers. 18
3368-(b) D
3369-OCUMENTATION OF PREFERENCE.—Pref-19
3370-erences provided voluntarily by a veteran pursuant to sub-20
3371-section (a) shall be documented on My HealtheVet or an-21
3372-other system designated by the Secretary that allows the 22
3373-veteran to view and change such preferences at any time. 23
3374-(c) I
3375-NCLUSION INPREFERENCE.—Preferences solic-24
3376-ited under subsection (a) shall include the following: 25 122
3377-•HR 8371 EH
3378-(1) How and when the veteran prefers to be 1
3379-contacted about an appointment for health care. 2
3380-(2) Whether the veteran prefers to schedule ap-3
3381-pointments without the assistance of the Depart-4
3382-ment, if able. 5
3383-(3) Whether the veteran prefers to select a pro-6
3384-vider without the assistance of the Department, if 7
3385-able. 8
3386-(4) Whether the veteran prefers appointments 9
3387-to be scheduled during certain days or times. 10
3388-(d) U
3389-SE OFPREFERENCE.—The Secretary shall 11
3390-make the preferences provided under subsection (a) easily 12
3391-accessible to medical support assistants and other staff of 13
3392-the Department, or non-Department staff, as the Sec-14
3393-retary determines appropriate, who assist in the appoint-15
3394-ment scheduling process. 16
3395-(e) D
3396-EPLOYMENT OFMECHANISM.— 17
3397-(1) I
3398-N GENERAL.—Beginning after the date on 18
3399-which the Secretary develops the mechanism re-19
3400-quired under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 20
3401-(A) test the mechanism in not fewer than 21
3402-three geographically diverse Veterans Inte-22
3403-grated Service Networks; and 23
3404-(B) gather feedback about the effectiveness 24
3405-of such mechanism from veterans, medical sup-25 123
3406-•HR 8371 EH
3407-port assistants, staff and other stakeholders as 1
3408-the Secretary determines appropriate. 2
3409-(2) L
3410-IMITATION.—The Secretary may not im-3
3411-plement such mechanism across the Veterans Health 4
3412-Administration of the Department before the Sec-5
3413-retary addresses the feedback described in para-6
3414-graph (1)(B). 7
3415-SEC. 146. STAFFING MODEL AND PERFORMANCE METRICS 8
3416-FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPART-9
3417-MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 10
3418-(a) S
3419-TAFFINGMODEL.— 11
3420-(1) I
3421-N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 12
3422-after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-13
3423-retary of Veterans Affairs shall— 14
3424-(A) develop, validate, and implement a 15
3425-staffing model for the Office of Integrated Vet-16
3426-eran Care of the Department of Veterans Af-17
3427-fairs, or successor office, Veterans Integrated 18
3428-Services Networks, and medical centers of the 19
3429-Department that includes appropriate target 20
3430-staffing levels nationally, regionally, and locally 21
3431-to ensure timely access to care and effectively 22
3432-oversee the provision of care by the Depart-23
3433-ment, whether at a facility of the Department 24
3434-or through a non-Department provider; and 25 124
3435-•HR 8371 EH
3436-(B) provide to Congress a briefing on such 1
3437-staffing model, which shall include— 2
3438-(i) the metrics and measures used by 3
3439-the Secretary in developing such staffing 4
3440-model; 5
3441-(ii) an analysis of how such staffing 6
3442-model compares to the staffing models of 7
3443-other relevant Government-owned and pri-8
3444-vate sector health care systems; and 9
3445-(iii) an estimate of the portion of the 10
3446-roles in such staffing model that will be 11
3447-filled by contracted staff at any given time. 12
3448-(2) R
3449-EPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF STAFF -13
3450-ING MODEL.—Not later than one year after the date 14
3451-on which the Secretary implements the staffing 15
3452-model required under paragraph (1), the Secretary 16
3453-shall submit to Congress and the Comptroller Gen-17
3454-eral of the United States a report containing— 18
3455-(A) an update on such implementation; 19
3456-and 20
3457-(B) information on the outcomes yielded 21
3458-by such staffing model in terms of improved ac-22
3459-cess to care for veterans and improved compli-23
3460-ance with relevant laws, regulations, policy di-24
3461-rectives, and guidance governing access to care. 25 125
3462-•HR 8371 EH
3463-(b) PERFORMANCEMETRICS.— 1
3464-(1) I
3465-N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 2
3466-after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-3
3467-retary shall develop and implement a plan, with an 4
3468-appropriate tracking system, to incorporate appro-5
3469-priate standardized performance metrics and over-6
3470-sight measures within the performance appraisal 7
3471-systems for employees of the Department specified 8
3472-in paragraph (2). 9
3473-(2) E
3474-MPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT SPECI -10
3475-FIED.—Employees of the Department specified in 11
3476-this paragraph are employees who are responsible 12
3477-for ensuring timely access to care from the Depart-13
3478-ment, compliance with relevant statutes and regula-14
3479-tions relating to the provision of care, including sec-15
3480-tion 1703 of title 38, United States Code, and over-16
3481-seeing the provision of care, whether at a facility of 17
3482-the Department or through a non-Department pro-18
3483-vider, including employees within the Office of Inte-19
3484-grated Veteran Care of the Department, or suc-20
3485-cessor office, employees of a Veterans Integrated 21
3486-Service Network, and employees of a medical center 22
3487-of the Department. 23
3488-(3) R
3489-EPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF PER -24
3490-FORMANCE METRICS .—Not later than one year after 25 126
3491-•HR 8371 EH
3492-implementing the performance metrics required 1
3493-under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to 2
3494-Congress and the Comptroller General of the United 3
3495-States a report containing— 4
3496-(A) an update on such implementation; 5
3497-and 6
3498-(B) information on the outcomes yielded 7
3499-by such performance metrics in terms of im-8
3500-proved access to care for veterans and improved 9
3501-compliance with relevant laws, policy directives, 10
3502-and guidance governing access to care. 11
3503-(c) GAO R
3504-EPORT.—Not later than two years after 12
3505-the later of the date on which the Comptroller General 13
3506-receives the report under subsection (a)(2) or the report 14
3507-under subsection (b)(3), the Comptroller General shall 15
3508-submit to Congress a report that includes— 16
3509-(1) an assessment of the performance of the Of-17
3510-fice of Integrated Veteran Care of the Department, 18
3511-or successor office, in improving access to care for 19
3512-veterans in facilities of the Department and pursu-20
3513-ant to section 1703 of title 38, United States Code; 21
3514-and 22
3515-(2) such recommendations as the Comptroller 23
3516-General considers appropriate with respect to im-24 127
3517-•HR 8371 EH
3518-proving access to the care described in paragraph 1
3519-(1) for veterans. 2
3520-SEC. 147. ONLINE HEALTH EDUCATION PORTAL FOR VET-3
3521-ERANS ENROLLED IN PATIENT ENROLLMENT 4
3522-SYSTEM OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-5
3523-FAIRS. 6
3524-Not later than one year after the date of the enact-7
3525-ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 8
3526-establish, on an Internet website of the Department, a 9
3527-health education portal that includes interactive edu-10
3528-cational modules to ensure veterans enrolled in the patient 11
3529-enrollment system of the Department of Veterans Affairs 12
3530-established and operated under section 1705(a) of title 38, 13
3531-United States Code, understand the basic health care eli-14
3532-gibilities and entitlements of veterans under the laws ad-15
3533-ministered by the Secretary, including under the Veterans 16
3534-Community Care Program under section 1703 of such 17
3535-title. 18
3536-SEC. 148. LIMITATION ON DETAIL OF DIRECTORS OF MED-19
3537-ICAL CENTERS OF DEPARTMENT OF VET-20
3538-ERANS AFFAIRS TO DIFFERENT POSITIONS. 21
3539-(a) N
3540-OTIFICATION.— 22
3541-(1) I
3542-N GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 23
3543-detailing a director of a medical center of the De-24
3544-partment of Veterans Affairs to a different position 25 128
3545-•HR 8371 EH
3546-within the Department, the Secretary of Veterans 1
3547-Affairs shall notify the Committee on Veterans’ Af-2
3548-fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ 3
3549-Affairs of the House of Representatives of such de-4
3550-tail. 5
3551-(2) M
3552-ATTERS TO BE INCLUDED .—The notifica-6
3553-tion required by paragraph (1) shall include, with re-7
3554-spect to a director of a medical center who is de-8
3555-tailed to a different position within the Department, 9
3556-the following information: 10
3557-(A) The location at which the director is 11
3558-detailed. 12
3559-(B) The position title of the detail. 13
3560-(C) The estimated time the director is ex-14
3561-pected to be absent from their duties at the 15
3562-medical center. 16
3563-(D) Such other information as the Sec-17
3564-retary may determine appropriate. 18
3565-(b) A
3566-PPOINTMENT OFACTINGDIRECTOR.—Not later 19
3567-than 120 days after detailing a director of a medical cen-20
3568-ter of the Department to a different position within the 21
3569-Department, the Secretary shall appoint an individual as 22
3570-acting director of such medical center with all of the au-23
3571-thority and responsibilities of the detailed director. 24 129
3572-•HR 8371 EH
3573-(c) UPDATE ONDETAIL.—Not later than 120 days 1
3574-after detailing a director of a medical center of the De-2
3575-partment to a different position within the Department, 3
3576-and not less frequently than every 30 days thereafter while 4
3577-the detail is in effect or while the director position at the 5
3578-medical center is vacant, the Secretary shall submit to the 6
3579-Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 7
3580-Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-8
3581-resentatives an update regarding the status of the detail. 9
3582-(d) R
3583-ETURN TOPOSITION ORREASSIGNMENT.— 10
3584-(1) I
3585-N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-11
3586-graph (2), not later than 180 days after detailing a 12
3587-director of a medical center of the Department to a 13
3588-different position within the Department, for a rea-14
3589-son other than an ongoing investigation or adminis-15
3590-trative action with respect to the director, the Sec-16
3591-retary shall— 17
3592-(A) return the individual to the position as 18
3593-director of the medical center; or 19
3594-(B) reassign the individual from the posi-20
3595-tion as director of the medical center and begin 21
3596-the process of hiring a new director for such po-22
3597-sition. 23
3598-(2) W
3599-AIVER.— 24 130
3600-•HR 8371 EH
3601-(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 1
3602-waive the requirement under paragraph (1) 2
3603-with respect to an individual for successive 90- 3
3604-day increments for a total period of not more 4
3605-than 540 days from the original date the indi-5
3606-vidual was detailed away from their position as 6
3607-director of a medical center. 7
3608-(B) N
3609-OTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 8
3610-days after exercising a waiver under subpara-9
3611-graph (A), the Secretary shall notify Congress 10
3612-of the waiver and provide to Congress informa-11
3613-tion as to why the waiver is necessary. 12
3614-SEC. 149. NATIONAL VETERAN SUICIDE PREVENTION AN-13
3615-NUAL REPORT. 14
3616-(a) N
3617-ATIONALVETERANSUICIDEPREVENTIONAN-15
3618-NUALREPORT.— 16
3619-(1) I
3620-N GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 17
3621-after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not 18
3622-later than September 30 of each year thereafter, the 19
3623-Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the ap-20
3624-propriate congressional committees and publish on a 21
3625-publicly available website of the Department of Vet-22
3626-erans Affairs a report to be known as the ‘‘National 23
3627-Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report’’. 24
3628-(2) E
3629-XTENSION.— 25 131
3630-•HR 8371 EH
3631-(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary re-1
3632-quires an extension of the deadline for a report 2
3633-under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit 3
3634-to the appropriate congressional committees a 4
3635-written request for such an extension. 5
3636-(B) E
3637-LEMENTS.—Each written request 6
3638-under paragraph (1) for an extension for a re-7
3639-port shall include the following: 8
3640-(i) The rationale for the delay in the 9
3641-submission of the report. 10
3642-(ii) An explanation of the need for an 11
3643-extension. 12
3644-(iii) A proposed amended date for the 13
3645-submission and publication of the report. 14
3646-(3) B
3647-RIEFING.—With respect to each report re-15
3648-quired under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, be-16
3649-fore the date on which the Secretary submits such 17
3650-report, provide to the appropriate congressional com-18
3651-mittees a briefing on such report. 19
3652-(4) E
3653-LEMENTS.— 20
3654-(A) I
3655-N GENERAL.—Each report required 21
3656-under paragraph (1) shall include— 22
3657-(i) the findings of the national anal-23
3658-ysis of veteran suicide rates for the latest 24
3659-year for which data is available; 25 132
3660-•HR 8371 EH
3661-(ii) an identification of trends, if any, 1
3662-demonstrated by such data; and 2
3663-(iii) a comparison of such data to data 3
3664-on veteran suicide rates during preceding 4
3665-years. 5
3666-(B) A
3667-DDITIONAL ELEMENTS .—Each report 6
3668-under paragraph (1) shall include, for the year 7
3669-covered by the report, the following: 8
3670-(i) Suicide rates of veterans 9
3671-disaggregated by age, gender, and race or 10
3672-ethnicity. 11
3673-(ii) Trends in suicide rates of veterans 12
3674-compared to engagement of those veterans 13
3675-with health care from the Veterans Health 14
3676-Administration, including an examination 15
3677-of trends in suicide rates or deaths 16
3678-among— 17
3679-(I) veterans who have recently re-18
3680-ceived health care from the Veterans 19
3681-Health Administration as compared to 20
3682-veterans who have never received 21
3683-health care from the Veterans Health 22
3684-Administration; 23
3685-(II) veterans who are enrolled in 24
3686-the patient enrollment system of the 25 133
3687-•HR 8371 EH
3688-Department of Veterans Affairs under 1
3689-section 1705(a) of title 38, United 2
3690-States Code, as compared to veterans 3
3691-who have never enrolled in such sys-4
3692-tem; 5
3693-(III) veterans who have recently 6
3694-used services from a Vet Center as 7
3695-compared to veterans who have never 8
3696-used such services; 9
3697-(IV) to the extent practicable, 10
3698-veterans who have a diagnosis of sub-11
3699-stance use disorder; and 12
3700-(V) other groups of veterans re-13
3701-lating to engagement with health care 14
3702-from the Veterans Health Administra-15
3703-tion, as the Secretary considers prac-16
3704-ticable. 17
3705-(iii) To the extent practicable, trends 18
3706-in suicide rates of veterans compared to 19
3707-engagement of those veterans with benefits 20
3708-from the Veterans Benefits Administra-21
3709-tion, including an examination of trends in 22
3710-suicide rates or deaths among— 23
3711-(I) veterans who are currently 24
3712-using, have previously used, or have 25 134
3713-•HR 8371 EH
3714-never used educational assistance 1
3715-under the laws administered by the 2
3716-Secretary; 3
3717-(II) veterans who are currently 4
3718-receiving, have previously received, or 5
3719-have never received services or assist-6
3720-ance under chapter 31 of title 38, 7
3721-United States Code; 8
3722-(III) with respect to compensa-9
3723-tion under chapter 11 of such title— 10
3724-(aa) veterans who were re-11
3725-cipients of such compensation as 12
3726-compared to veterans who never 13
3727-applied for such compensation 14
3728-prior to death; 15
3729-(bb) veterans who had a 16
3730-claim denied for such compensa-17
3731-tion prior to death; 18
3732-(cc) veterans who had a 19
3733-pending claim for such com-20
3734-pensation at time of death; and 21
3735-(dd) veterans who had an 22
3736-entitlement for such compensa-23
3737-tion reduced prior to death; 24 135
3738-•HR 8371 EH
3739-(IV) veterans who are currently 1
3740-receiving or have never received pen-2
3741-sion under chapter 15 of title 38, 3
3742-United States Code; 4
3743-(V) veterans who are currently 5
3744-using, have recently used, or have 6
3745-never used programs or services pro-7
3746-vided by the Homeless Programs Of-8
3747-fice of the Department, including an 9
3748-examination of trends in suicide rates 10
3749-or deaths among veterans who made 11
3750-contact with such office but were de-12
3751-nied or deemed ineligible for any such 13
3752-program or service; 14
3753-(VI) with respect to housing 15
3754-loans guaranteed by the Secretary 16
3755-under chapter 37 of title 38, United 17
3756-States Code, veterans who are current 18
3757-recipients of, were recent recipients of, 19
3758-or have never received such a loan; 20
3759-(VII) veterans owing debts to the 21
3760-Department; 22
3761-(VIII) veterans who were in-23
3762-volved in a veterans treatment court 24 136
3763-•HR 8371 EH
3764-program, whether they graduated suc-1
3765-cessfully or not; and 2
3766-(IX) veterans who were success-3
3767-fully contacted, unsuccessfully con-4
3768-tacted, or never contacted by the De-5
3769-partment through the Solid Start pro-6
3770-gram under section 6320 of title 38, 7
3771-United States Code. 8
3772-(C) S
3773-TRATEGY AND RECOMMENDATIONS .— 9
3774-(i) I
3775-NITIAL REPORT.—The initial re-10
3776-port under paragraph (1) shall include a 11
3777-strategy and recommendations developed 12
3778-by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in 13
3779-collaboration with the Director of the Cen-14
3780-ters for Disease Control and Prevention, 15
3781-for— 16
3782-(I) improving data collection at 17
3783-the State and local levels to accurately 18
3784-capture suicide deaths of veterans; 19
3785-(II) improving the timeliness, ef-20
3786-ficacy, and standardization of data re-21
3787-porting on suicide deaths of veterans 22
3788-at the Federal level, including by the 23
3789-Centers for Disease Control and Pre-24 137
3790-•HR 8371 EH
3791-vention and the Department of Vet-1
3792-erans Affairs; 2
3793-(III) improving the timeliness of 3
3794-identification and analysis of suicide 4
3795-deaths of veterans by Federal agen-5
3796-cies, including the Centers for Disease 6
3797-Control and Prevention, and the De-7
3798-partment of Veterans Affairs; and 8
3799-(IV) any other necessary process 9
3800-improvements for improving the time-10
3801-liness, efficacy, and standardization of 11
3802-reporting of data relating to suicide 12
3803-deaths of veterans, particularly with 13
3804-respect to the annual report under 14
3805-this section. 15
3806-(ii) S
3807-UBSEQUENT REPORTS .—Each 16
3808-report after the initial report under para-17
3809-graph (1) shall include updates on actions 18
3810-taken to meet the strategy and rec-19
3811-ommendations developed under subpara-20
3812-graph (A). 21
3813-(5) D
3814-EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 22
3815-(A) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional 23
3816-committees’’ means the Committees on Vet-24 138
3817-•HR 8371 EH
3818-erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of 1
3819-Representatives. 2
3820-(B) The term ‘‘Vet Center’’ means a cen-3
3821-ter for readjustment counseling and related 4
3822-mental health services for veterans under sec-5
3823-tion 1712A of title 38, United States Code. 6
3824-(b) I
3825-NDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT OFNATIONALVET-7
3826-ERANSUICIDEPREVENTIONANNUALREPORT.— 8
3827-(1) I
3828-N GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 9
3829-the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 10
3830-of Veterans Affairs shall enter into one or more con-11
3831-tracts with a private sector entity described in para-12
3832-graph (5) to conduct an independent assessment of 13
3833-the National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Re-14
3834-port required under subsection (a). 15
3835-(2) F
3836-REQUENCY.—The private sector entity or 16
3837-entities carrying out the assessment required under 17
3838-paragraph (1) shall complete such assessment not 18
3839-later than 240 days after entering into the contract 19
3840-described in such subsection and not less frequently 20
3841-than every five years thereafter. 21
3842-(3) E
3843-LEMENTS.—Each assessment required 22
3844-under paragraph (1) shall analyze the following: 23
3845-(A) The methodology used by the Depart-24
3846-ment to track, analyze, categorize, and report 25 139
3847-•HR 8371 EH
3848-suicide deaths and suicide rates among vet-1
3849-erans. 2
3850-(B) Whether data sources used by the De-3
3851-partment to compile data on suicide deaths and 4
3852-suicide rates among veterans are accurately re-5
3853-flecting such data. 6
3854-(C) Vulnerabilities in the methodology used 7
3855-by the Department that could lead to inac-8
3856-curate counting of suicide deaths and suicide 9
3857-rates among veterans. 10
3858-(D) The ability of the Department to cross 11
3859-reference suicide deaths and suicide rates 12
3860-among veterans with trends in usage of pro-13
3861-grams of the Veterans Health Administration 14
3862-or the Veterans Benefits Administration or 15
3863-other programs that could serve as widespread 16
3864-protective factors against suicide. 17
3865-(E) Improvements that could be made to 18
3866-ensure the National Veteran Suicide Prevention 19
3867-Annual Report required under subsection (a) is 20
3868-accurate and comprehensive and provides in-21
3869-sights for making improvements to the suicide 22
3870-prevention efforts of the Department. 23
3871-(4) R
3872-EPORT ON ASSESSMENT .— 24 140
3873-•HR 8371 EH
3874-(A) REPORT ON FINDINGS AND REC -1
3875-OMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 60 days after 2
3876-completing an assessment required by para-3
3877-graph (1), the private sector entity or entities 4
3878-carrying out the assessment shall submit to the 5
3879-Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Commit-6
3880-tees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 7
3881-House of Representatives a report on the find-8
3882-ings and recommendations of the private sector 9
3883-entity or entities with respect to such assess-10
3884-ment. 11
3885-(B) R
3886-EPORT ON PLANNED IMPROVE -12
3887-MENTS.—Not later than 60 days after receiving 13
3888-a report under paragraph (1) with respect to an 14
3889-assessment required by paragraph (1), the Sec-15
3890-retary shall submit to the Committees on Vet-16
3891-erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of 17
3892-Representatives a report on how the Depart-18
3893-ment plans to improve the National Veteran 19
3894-Suicide Prevention Annual Report required 20
3895-under subsection (a) based on such assessment. 21
3896-(5) P
3897-RIVATE SECTOR ENTITY DESCRIBED .—A 22
3898-private sector entity described in this paragraph is 23
3899-a private entity that— 24 141
3900-•HR 8371 EH
3901-(A) specializes in analyzing large-scale or-1
3902-ganizational data collection and analysis efforts, 2
3903-especially with respect to the health care sector; 3
3904-and 4
3905-(B) has experience and proven outcomes in 5
3906-optimizing the accuracy and comprehensiveness 6
3907-of data collection and analysis related to sui-7
3908-cide. 8
3909-(c) R
3910-EPORT ONADDITIONALBENEFITS ANDSERV-9
3911-ICESFROMDEPARTMENT OF VETERANSAFFAIRS TO 10
3912-P
3913-REVENTVETERANSUICIDE.— 11
3914-(1) I
3915-N GENERAL.—Not later than three years 12
3916-after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-13
3917-retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com-14
3918-mittees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 15
3919-House of Representatives and publish on a publicly 16
3920-available website of the Department of Veterans Af-17
3921-fairs a report that analyzes which benefits and serv-18
3922-ices under the laws administered by such Secretary, 19
3923-including such benefits and services furnished by the 20
3924-Veterans Benefits Administration, have the greatest 21
3925-impact on the prevention of suicide among veterans, 22
3926-including recommendations for potential expansion 23
3927-of services and benefits to reduce the number of vet-24
3928-eran suicides. 25 142
3929-•HR 8371 EH
3930-(2) ASSESSMENT OF SOLID START PROGRAM .— 1
3931-The report required by paragraph (1) shall include 2
3932-an analysis of the effectiveness of the Solid Start 3
3933-program under section 6320 of title 38, United 4
3934-States Code, on prevention of suicide among vet-5
3935-erans. 6
3936-(d) T
3937-OOLKIT FORSTATE ANDLOCALCORONERS AND 7
3938-M
3939-EDICALEXAMINERS ONBESTPRACTICES FORIDENTI-8
3940-FYING ANDREPORTING ONSUICIDEDEATHS OFVET-9
3941-ERANS.— 10
3942-(1) I
3943-N GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 11
3944-Affairs, in collaboration with the Director of the 12
3945-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall 13
3946-develop a toolkit for State and local coroners and 14
3947-medical examiners that contains best practices for— 15
3948-(A) accurately identifying and reporting 16
3949-suicide deaths of veterans, including how to 17
3950-identify veteran status; and 18
3951-(B) reporting such deaths to the Centers 19
3952-for Disease Control and Prevention and other 20
3953-applicable entities. 21
3954-(2) A
3955-VAILABILITY.—Not later than two years 22
3956-after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-23
3957-retary shall make the toolkit developed under para-24 143
3958-•HR 8371 EH
3959-graph (1) available on a publicly available website of 1
3960-the Department of Veterans Affairs. 2
3961-(3) O
3962-UTREACH.—The Secretary, in collabora-3
3963-tion with the Director of the Centers for Disease 4
3964-Control and Prevention, shall conduct outreach to 5
3965-appropriate State and local agencies to promote the 6
3966-availability and use of the toolkit developed under 7
3967-paragraph (1). 8
3968-SEC. 150. REPORT ON PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE RE-9
3969-QUIRED BY MEDICAL FACILITIES OF DEPART-10
3970-MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO PROVIDE 11
3971-DENTAL CARE SERVICES. 12
3972-Not later than one year after the date of the enact-13
3973-ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 14
3974-submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen-15
3975-ate and the House of Representatives a report, for each 16
3976-medical center or other relevant health care facility of the 17
3977-Department of Veterans Affairs, that includes— 18
3978-(1) an identification of the physical infrastruc-19
3979-ture, including new facilities, renovations, remodels, 20
3980-leases, or other infrastructure, such medical center 21
3981-or health care facility requires to provide dental care 22
3982-services to veterans eligible for such services under 23
3983-the laws administered by the Secretary; and 24 144
3984-•HR 8371 EH
3985-(2) an analysis of the physical infrastructure 1
3986-such medical center or health care facility would re-2
3987-quire if a greater number of veterans became eligible 3
3988-for such dental care services pursuant to a modifica-4
3989-tion of the laws administered by the Secretary. 5
3990-SEC. 151. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON CERTAIN 6
3991-ORAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS UNDER 7
3992-LAWS ADMINISTERED BY SECRETARY OF 8
3993-VETERANS AFFAIRS. 9
3994-(a) I
3995-NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 10
3996-date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 11
3997-of the United States shall submit to the Committees on 12
3998-Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Rep-13
3999-resentatives a report on the status of the oral health care 14
4000-programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs, that in-15
4001-cludes an assessment of— 16
4002-(1) any issues with information technology pro-17
4003-grams, including Dental Record Manager Plus, that 18
4004-affect dental care staff of the Department; 19
4005-(2) the implementation of the dental insurance 20
4006-plan of the Department under section 1712C of title 21
4007-38, United States Code; 22
4008-(3) the implementation and expansion of the 23
4009-VETSmile program of the Department; 24 145
4010-•HR 8371 EH
4011-(4) barriers preventing the Department from 1
4012-expanding dental care eligibility to all veterans with 2
4013-ischemic heart disease, including such barriers relat-3
4014-ing to physical infrastructure, workforce, and cost of 4
4015-such dental care; 5
4016-(5) barriers preventing dental clinics of the De-6
4017-partment, if any, from adopting teledentistry; 7
4018-(6) the demographic makeup of veterans eligible 8
4019-for dental care paid for by the Department as of the 9
4020-commencement of the pilot program under section 10
4021-145 of this Act, including information on— 11
4022-(A) age; 12
4023-(B) gender; 13
4024-(C) race or ethnicity, disaggregated by— 14
4025-(i) membership in an Indian Tribe; 15
4026-and 16
4027-(ii) the major race groups used in the 17
4028-decennial census; 18
4029-(D) employment status; and 19
4030-(E) location of residence, disaggregated by 20
4031-rural, highly rural, and urban locations; and 21
4032-(7) changes to such demographic makeup if 22
4033-any, that would result from an expansion of eligi-23
4034-bility for dental care under the laws administered by 24
4035-the Secretary to all veterans with ischemic heart dis-25 146
4036-•HR 8371 EH
4037-ease including changes to demographics specified in 1
4038-paragraph (6). 2
4039-(b) T
4040-HIRDPARTYADMINISTRATORDEFINED.—In 3
4041-this section, the term ‘‘Third Party Administrator’’ means 4
4042-an entity that manages a provider network and performs 5
4043-administrative services related to such network under sec-6
4044-tion 1703 of title 38, United States Code. 7
4045-SEC. 152. REVIEW OF WORKFLOWS ASSOCIATED WITH 8
4046-PROCESSING REFERRALS BETWEEN FACILI-9
4047-TIES OF THE VETERANS HEALTH ADMINIS-10
4048-TRATION. 11
4049-(a) I
4050-NGENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 12
4051-shall conduct a review of the workflows directly associated 13
4052-with processing referrals of patients between facilities of 14
4053-the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of 15
4054-Veterans Affairs to identify specific delays or bottlenecks 16
4055-in such referrals. 17
4056-(b) E
4057-LEMENTS OF REVIEW.—The review required 18
4058-under subsection (a) shall include a review of— 19
4059-(1) the interfacility consult management guid-20
4060-ance of the Veterans Health Administration that as-21
4061-sists facilities described in subsection (a) in con-22
4062-structing a workflow for consults between such fa-23
4063-cilities; and 24 147
4064-•HR 8371 EH
4065-(2) the roles and responsibilities of the individ-1
4066-uals involved in the consult management process in 2
4067-managing such consults, including the role of the re-3
4068-ferral coordination team. 4
4069-(c) R
4070-EPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 5
4071-of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 6
4072-to Congress a report on the results of the review required 7
4073-under subsection (a). 8
4074-SEC. 153. PLAN FOR TIMELY SCHEDULING OF APPOINT-9
4075-MENTS AT MEDICAL FACILITIES OF DEPART-10
4076-MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 11
4077-(a) P
4078-LANREQUIRED.—To improve responsiveness in 12
4079-the provision of hospital care and medical services at med-13
4080-ical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the 14
4081-Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop a plan to— 15
4082-(1) ensure that whenever a covered veteran con-16
4083-tacts the Department by telephone to request the 17
4084-scheduling of an appointment for care or services for 18
4085-the covered veteran at such a facility, the scheduling 19
4086-for the appointment occurs during that telephone 20
4087-call (regardless of the prospective date of the ap-21
4088-pointment being scheduled); and 22
4089-(2) provide timely and, where applicable, same- 23
4090-day scheduling for an appointment described in 24
4091-paragraph (1). 25 148
4092-•HR 8371 EH
4093-(b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 1
4094-of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 2
4095-to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 3
4096-Representatives and the Senate a report on the plan under 4
4097-subsection (a). 5
4098-(c) C
4099-OVEREDVETERANDEFINED.—In this section, 6
4100-the term ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a veteran who is en-7
4101-rolled in the system of patient enrollment of the Depart-8
4102-ment under section 1705(a) of title 38, United States 9
4103-Code. 10
4104-SEC. 154. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS TO SUP-11
4105-PORT INITIATIVES FOR MOBILE MAMMOG-12
4106-RAPHY SERVICES FOR VETERANS. 13
4107-There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-14
4108-retary of Veterans Affairs $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 15
4109-for the Office of Women’s Health of the Department of 16
4110-Veterans Affairs under section 7310 of title 38, United 17
4111-States Code, to be used by the Secretary to expand access 18
4112-of women veterans to— 19
4113-(1) mobile mammography initiatives; 20
4114-(2) advanced mammography equipment; and 21
4115-(3) outreach activities to publicize those initia-22
4116-tives and equipment. 23 149
4117-•HR 8371 EH
4118-TITLE II—ECONOMIC 1
4119-OPPORTUNITY MATTERS 2
4120-Subtitle A—Educational Assistance 3
4121-SEC. 201. TEMPORARY EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR MA-4
4122-RINE GUNNERY SERGEANT JOHN DAVID FRY 5
4123-SCHOLARSHIP. 6
4124-(a) I
4125-NGENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 7
4126-shall treat an individual described in subsection (b) as a 8
4127-covered individual described in section 3311(b) of title 38, 9
4128-United States Code. 10
4129-(b) C
4130-OVEREDINDIVIDUALDESCRIBED.—An indi-11
4131-vidual described in this subsection is an individual who 12
4132-is the child or spouse of a person— 13
4133-(1) who dies from a service-connected disability 14
4134-during the 120-day period immediately following the 15
4135-day on which the person was discharged or released 16
4136-from duty as a member of the Armed Forces (with-17
4137-out regard to whether such duty was active duty); 18
4138-and 19
4139-(2)(A) who received an honorable discharge; or 20
4140-(B) whose service in the Armed Forces is char-21
4141-acterized by the Secretary concerned as honorable 22
4142-service. 23
4143-(c) A
4144-PPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply with re-24
4145-spect to— 25 150
4146-•HR 8371 EH
4147-(1) deaths that occur before, on, or after the 1
4148-date of the enactment of this Act; and 2
4149-(2) a quarter, semester, or term, as applicable, 3
4150-commencing— 4
4151-(A) on or after August 1, 2025; and 5
4152-(B) before October 1, 2027. 6
4153-SEC. 202. REMOVAL OF EXPIRATION ON ENTITLEMENT TO 7
4154-MARINE GUNNERY SERGEANT JOHN DAVID 8
4155-FRY SCHOLARSHIP FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES. 9
4156-Section 3311(f) of title 38, United States Code, is 10
4157-amended— 11
4158-(1) by striking paragraph (2); 12
4159-(2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 13
4160-(5) as paragraphs (2) through (4), respectively; 14
4161-(3) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by para-15
4162-graph (2) of this section, by striking ‘‘in paragraph 16
4163-(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘in paragraph (3)’’; and 17
4164-(4) in paragraph (3)(A), as redesignated by 18
4165-paragraph (2) of this section, by striking ‘‘under 19
4166-paragraph (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘under paragraph 20
4167-(2)’’. 21 151
4168-•HR 8371 EH
4169-SEC. 203. SOLE LIABILITY FOR TRANSFERRED EDU-1
4170-CATIONAL ASSISTANCE BY AN INDIVIDUAL 2
4171-WHO FAILS TO COMPLETE A SERVICE AGREE-3
4172-MENT. 4
4173-Subsection (i) of section 3319 of title 38, United 5
4174-States Code, is amended— 6
4175-(1) in paragraph (1)— 7
4176-(A) by striking ‘‘In the event’’ and insert-8
4177-ing ‘‘Subject to paragraph (2), in the event’’; 9
4178-and 10
4179-(B) by inserting ‘‘of this title’’ after ‘‘sec-11
4180-tion 3685’’; 12
4181-(2) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2)— 13
4182-(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘I
4183-N GEN-14
4184-ERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘SOLE LIABILITY’’; and 15
4185-(B) by striking ‘‘under paragraph (1)’’ and 16
4186-inserting ‘‘for which the individual shall be sole-17
4187-ly liable to the United States for the amount of 18
4188-the overpayment for purposes of section 3685 19
4189-of this title’’; and 20
4190-(3) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2)— 21
4191-(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 22
4192-striking ‘‘Subparagraph (A) shall not apply’’ 23
4193-and inserting ‘‘Neither the individual nor the 24
4194-dependent shall be liable to the United States 25 152
4195-•HR 8371 EH
4196-for the amount of the overpayment for purposes 1
4197-of section 3685 of this title’’; and 2
4198-(B) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘of this 3
4199-title’’ after ‘‘section 3311(c)(4)’’. 4
4200-SEC. 204. NOTICE TO EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF 5
4201-RISK-BASED SURVEYS. 6
4202-Section 3673A(d) of title 38, United States Code, is 7
4203-amended by striking ‘‘one business day’’ and inserting 8
4204-‘‘two business days’’. 9
4205-SEC. 205. RELATIONSHIP OF PARTICIPATION BY AN EDU-10
4206-CATIONAL INSTITUTION IN CERTAIN FED-11
4207-ERAL STUDENT FINANCIAL AID PROGRAMS 12
4208-TO APPROVAL OF SUCH INSTITUTION FOR 13
4209-PURPOSES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 14
4210-AFFAIRS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PRO-15
4211-GRAMS. 16
4212-Paragraph (4) of section 3675(b) of title 38, United 17
4213-States Code, is amended to read as follows: 18
4214-‘‘(4) The educational institution— 19
4215-‘‘(A) is approved and participates in a pro-20
4216-gram under title IV of the Higher Education 21
4217-Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.); or 22
4218-‘‘(B) does not participate in such a pro-23
4219-gram and the Secretary has waived the require-24
4220-ment under this paragraph with respect to the 25 153
4221-•HR 8371 EH
4222-educational institution, and submits to the 1
4223-Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate 2
4224-and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 3
4225-House of Representatives notice of such waiver, 4
4226-because the Secretary determines that the edu-5
4227-cational institution— 6
4228-‘‘(i) elects not to participate in such a 7
4229-program; 8
4230-‘‘(ii) cannot participate in such a pro-9
4231-gram; or 10
4232-‘‘(iii) is in the process of making a 11
4233-good-faith effort to submit an initial appli-12
4234-cation for approval to participate in such a 13
4235-program, except that a waiver under this 14
4236-clause may not be provided for a period of 15
4237-longer than 36 months.’’. 16
4238-SEC. 206. EXPANSION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-17
4239-FAIRS OVERSIGHT OF CERTAIN EDU-18
4240-CATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 19
4241-(a) A
4242-DDITIONALREQUIREMENT FOR APPROVAL.— 20
4243-Section 3675(b) of title 38, United States Code, as amend-21
4244-ed by section 205, is further amended by adding at the 22
4245-end the following new paragraph: 23
4246-‘‘(5) The educational institution agrees to, not 24
4247-later than 30 days after any date on which such 25 154
4248-•HR 8371 EH
4249-educational institution becomes subject to an action 1
4250-or event described in section 3673(e)(3) of this title, 2
4251-submit to the State approving agency, or the Sec-3
4252-retary when acting in the role of a State approving 4
4253-agency, a notification of such action or event in such 5
4254-form and containing such information as the Sec-6
4255-retary determines appropriate.’’. 7
4256-(b) A
4257-DDITIONALREQUIREMENT FOR APPROVAL OF 8
4258-N
4259-ONACCREDITEDCOURSES.— 9
4260-(1) I
4261-N GENERAL.—Section 3676(c) of such title 10
4262-is amended— 11
4263-(A) by redesignating paragraphs (14) 12
4264-through (16) as paragraphs (15) through (17), 13
4265-respectively; and 14
4266-(B) by inserting after paragraph (13) the 15
4267-following new paragraph: 16
4268-‘‘(14) The institution agrees to, not later than 17
4269-30 days after any date on which such institution be-18
4270-comes subject to an action or event described in sec-19
4271-tion 3673(e)(3) of this title, submit to the State ap-20
4272-proving agency, or the Secretary when acting in the 21
4273-role of a State approving agency, a notification of 22
4274-such action or event in such form and containing 23
4275-such information as the Secretary determines appro-24
4276-priate.’’. 25 155
4277-•HR 8371 EH
4278-(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS .—Such title is 1
4279-further amended— 2
4280-(A) in section 3672(b)(2)(C), by striking 3
4281-‘‘paragraph (14) or (15)’’ and inserting ‘‘para-4
4282-graph (15) or (16)’’; 5
4283-(B) in section 3675(b)(3), by striking 6
4284-‘‘(14), (15), and (16)’’ and inserting ‘‘(15), 7
4285-(16), and (17)’’; 8
4286-(C) in section 3679(d), by striking ‘‘de-9
4287-scribed in paragraph (14) or (15)’’ and insert-10
4288-ing ‘‘described in paragraph (15) or (16)’’; and 11
4289-(D) in section 3680A(a)(4)(C)(iii), by 12
4290-striking ‘‘section 3676(c)(14) and (15)’’ and in-13
4291-serting ‘‘section 3676(c)(15) and (16)’’. 14
4292-(c) A
4293-DDITIONALGROUNDS FORSUSPENSION OFAP-15
4294-PROVAL.—Section 3679(f)(1) of such title is amended by 16
4295-adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 17
4296-‘‘(I) Comply with the notification requirements 18
4297-under sections 3675(b)(5) and 3676(c)(14) of this 19
4298-title, when applicable.’’. 20
4299-(d) D
4300-EADLINE FOR RISK-BASEDSURVEYSDATA-21
4301-BASE.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish 22
4302-the database required under section 3673A(c) of title 38, 23
4303-United States Code, by not later than 180 days after the 24
4304-date of the enactment of this Act. 25 156
4305-•HR 8371 EH
4306-SEC. 207. REQUIREMENT THAT EDUCATIONAL INSTITU-1
4307-TIONS APPROVED FOR PURPOSES OF DE-2
4308-PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EDU-3
4309-CATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS PROVIDE 4
4310-DIGITAL OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS. 5
4311-(a) R
4312-EQUIREMENT.—Section 3675(b) of title 38, 6
4313-United States Code, as amended by sections 205 and 206, 7
4314-is further amended by adding at the end the following new 8
4315-paragraph: 9
4316-‘‘(6) The educational institution makes avail-10
4317-able to each eligible person or veteran a copy of the 11
4318-person or veteran’s official transcript in a digital 12
4319-format.’’. 13
4320-(b) C
4321-ONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.— 14
4322-(1) A
4323-PPROVAL OF COURSES .—Section 15
4324-3672(b)(2)(A) of such title is amended by striking 16
4325-‘‘(b)(1) and (b)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1), 17
4326-(2), and (6) of section 3675(b)’’. 18
4327-(2) A
4328-PPROVAL OF NONACCREDITED COURSES .— 19
4329-Section 3676(c) of such title is amended— 20
4330-(A) by redesignating paragraph (17) as 21
4331-paragraph (18); and 22
4332-(B) by inserting after paragraph (16) the 23
4333-following new paragraph (17): 24
4334-‘‘(17) In the case of a course that leads to a 25
4335-standard college degree, the educational institution 26 157
4336-•HR 8371 EH
4337-satisfies the requirements of section 3675(b)(6) of 1
4338-this title.’’. 2
4339-(3) C
4340-ONFORMING AMENDMENTS .—Section 3
4341-3675(b)(3) of such title is amended by striking 4
4342-‘‘(15), (16), and (17)’’ and inserting ‘‘(15), (16), 5
4343-and (18)’’. 6
4344-(c) E
4345-FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 7
4346-this section shall take effect on August 1, 2025, and apply 8
4347-with respect to a quarter, semester, or term, as applicable, 9
4348-commencing on or after such date. 10
4349-SEC. 208. PAYMENT OF FULL MONTHLY HOUSING STIPEND 11
4350-FOR VETERANS ENROLLED IN FINAL SEMES-12
4351-TER USING EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 13
4352-UNDER POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 14
4353-PROGRAM. 15
4354-(a) H
4355-OUSINGALLOWANCE.—Section 3680(a)(3) of 16
4356-title 38, United States Code, is amended— 17
4357-(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 18
4358-(B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively (and by re-19
4359-designating each subordinate provision and the mar-20
4360-gins thereof accordingly); 21
4361-(2) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding paragraph 22
4362-(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) Notwithstanding paragraph 23
4363-(1)’’; 24 158
4364-•HR 8371 EH
4365-(3) by striking ‘‘, including a monthly housing 1
4366-stipend described in section 3313(c) of this title,’’; 2
4367-and 3
4368-(4) by adding at the end the following new sub-4
4369-paragraph (B): 5
4370-‘‘(B) For purposes of providing a monthly housing 6
4371-stipend described in section 3313(c) to an eligible veteran 7
4372-or eligible person for whom the Secretary is providing edu-8
4373-cational assistance under chapter 33 of this title during 9
4374-a period that is the last semester, term, or academic period 10
4375-pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall treat 11
4376-the veteran or person as pursuing a program of education 12
4377-on a full-time basis.’’. 13
4378-(b) A
4379-PPLICATION.—The amendments made by sub-14
4380-section (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment 15
4381-of this Act and apply with respect to a quarter, semester, 16
4382-or term, as applicable, commencing on or after January 17
4383-1, 2025. 18
4384-SEC. 209. MODIFICATION OF RULES FOR APPROVAL OF 19
4385-COMMERCIAL DRIVER EDUCATION PRO-20
4386-GRAMS FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATIONAL AS-21
4387-SISTANCE PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT 22
4388-OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 23
4389-(a) I
4390-NGENERAL.—Section 3680A(e) of title 38, 24
4391-United States Code, is amended— 25 159
4392-•HR 8371 EH
4393-(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 1
4394-(3) as subparagraphs (A) though (C), respectively; 2
4395-(2) in the matter before subparagraph (A), as 3
4396-redesignated by paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ 4
4397-before ‘‘The Secretary’’; 5
4398-(3) in paragraph (1)(B), as redesignated by 6
4399-paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘except as provided in 7
4400-paragraph (2),’’ before ‘‘the course’’; and 8
4401-(4) by adding at the end the following new 9
4402-paragraph (2): 10
4403-‘‘(2)(A) Subject to this paragraph, a commercial driv-11
4404-er education program is exempt from paragraph (1)(B) 12
4405-for a branch of an educational institution if the commer-13
4406-cial driver education program offered at the branch by the 14
4407-educational institution— 15
4408-‘‘(i) is appropriately licensed; and 16
4409-‘‘(ii)(I) the branch is located in a State in 17
4410-which the same commercial driver education pro-18
4411-gram is offered by the same educational institution 19
4412-at another branch of that educational institution in 20
4413-the same State that is approved for purposes of this 21
4414-chapter by a State approving agency or the Sec-22
4415-retary when acting in the role of a State approving 23
4416-agency; or 24 160
4417-•HR 8371 EH
4418-‘‘(II)(aa) the branch is located in a State in 1
4419-which the same commercial driver education pro-2
4420-gram is not offered at another branch of the same 3
4421-educational institution in the same State; and 4
4422-‘‘(bb) the branch has been operating for a pe-5
4423-riod of at least one year using the same curriculum 6
4424-as a commercial driver education program offered by 7
4425-the educational institution at another location that is 8
4426-approved for purposes of this chapter by a State ap-9
4427-proving agency or the Secretary when acting in the 10
4428-role of a State approving agency. 11
4429-‘‘(B)(i) In order for a commercial driver education 12
4430-program of an educational institution offered at a branch 13
4431-described in paragraph (1)(B) to be exempt under sub-14
4432-paragraph (A) of this paragraph, the educational institu-15
4433-tion shall submit to the Secretary each year that para-16
4434-graph (1)(B) would otherwise apply a report that dem-17
4435-onstrates that the curriculum at the new branch is the 18
4436-same as the curriculum at the primary location. 19
4437-‘‘(ii) Reporting under clause (i) shall be submitted 20
4438-in accordance with such requirements as the Secretary 21
4439-shall establish in consultation with the State approving 22
4440-agencies. 23
4441-‘‘(C)(i) The Secretary may withhold an exemption 24
4442-under subparagraph (A) for any educational institution or 25 161
4443-•HR 8371 EH
4444-branch of an educational institution as the Secretary con-1
4445-siders appropriate. 2
4446-‘‘(ii) In making any determination under clause (i), 3
4447-the Secretary may consult with the Secretary of Transpor-4
4448-tation on the performance of a provider of a commercial 5
4449-driver program, including the status of the provider within 6
4450-the Training Provider Registry of the Federal Motor Car-7
4451-rier Safety Administration when appropriate. 8
4452-‘‘(D) The Secretary shall submit to the Committees 9
4453-on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep-10
4454-resentatives a notification not later than 30 days after the 11
4455-Secretary grants an exemption under this paragraph. 12
4456-Such notification shall identify the educational institution 13
4457-and branch of such educational institution granted such 14
4458-exemption.’’. 15
4459-(b) I
4460-MPLEMENTATION.— 16
4461-(1) E
4462-STABLISHMENT OF REQUIREMENTS .—Not 17
4463-later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 18
4464-of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 19
4465-establish requirements under section 20
4466-3680A(e)(2)(B)(ii) of such title, as added by sub-21
4467-section (a). 22
4468-(2) R
4469-ULEMAKING.—In promulgating any rules 23
4470-to carry out paragraph (2) of section 3680A(e) of 24
4471-title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 25 162
4472-•HR 8371 EH
4473-(a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall consult 1
4474-with State approving agencies. 2
4475-(3) A
4476-PPLICABILITY.—The amendments made 3
4477-by subsection (a) shall apply to commercial driver 4
4478-education programs on and after the day that is 365 5
4479-days after the date on which the Secretary estab-6
4480-lishes the requirements under paragraph (1) of this 7
4481-subsection. 8
4482-(c) C
4483-OMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED 9
4484-S
4485-TATESSTUDY.—Not later than 365 days after the date 10
4486-of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 11
4487-the United States shall— 12
4488-(1) conduct a study to— 13
4489-(A) ascertain the effects of the amend-14
4490-ments made by subsection (a); and 15
4491-(B) the feasibility and advisability of simi-16
4492-larly amending the rules for approval of pro-17
4493-grams of education for other vocational pro-18
4494-grams of education; and 19
4495-(2) submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-20
4496-fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a 21
4497-report on the findings of the Comptroller General 22
4498-with respect to such study. 23 163
4499-•HR 8371 EH
4500-SEC. 210. PROVISION OF CERTIFICATES OF ELIGIBILITY 1
4501-AND AWARD LETTERS USING ELECTRONIC 2
4502-MEANS. 3
4503-(a) I
4504-NGENERAL.—Chapter 36 of title 38, United 4
4505-States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3698 5
4506-the following new section (and conforming the table of sec-6
4507-tions at the beginning of such chapter accordingly): 7
4508-‘‘§ 3698A. Provision of certificates of eligibility and 8
4509-award letters using electronic means 9
4510-‘‘(a) R
4511-EQUIREMENT.—Except as provided by sub-10
4512-section (b), the Secretary shall provide to an individual 11
4513-the following documents using electronic means: 12
4514-‘‘(1) A certificate of eligibility for the entitle-13
4515-ment of the individual to covered educational assist-14
4516-ance. 15
4517-‘‘(2) An award letter regarding the authoriza-16
4518-tion of the individual to receive covered educational 17
4519-assistance. 18
4520-‘‘(b) E
4521-LECTION TOOPTOUT.—An individual may 19
4522-elect to receive the documents specified in subsection (a) 20
4523-by mail rather than through electronic means under sub-21
4524-section (a). An individual may revoke such an election at 22
4525-any time, by means prescribed by the Secretary. 23
4526-‘‘(c) C
4527-OVEREDEDUCATIONALASSISTANCE.—In this 24
4528-section, the term ‘covered educational assistance’ means 25 164
4529-•HR 8371 EH
4530-educational assistance under chapter 30, 33, or 35 of this 1
4531-title, or section 3699C of this title.’’. 2
4532-(b) C
4533-LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 3
4534-at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 4
4535-after the item relating to section 3698 the following new 5
4536-item: 6
5574+LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 16
5575+at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 17
5576+after the item relating to section 3698 the following new 18
5577+item: 19
45375578 ‘‘3698A. Provision of certificates of eligibility and award letters using electronic
45385579 means.’’.
4539-SEC. 211. RETROACTIVE EFFECTIVE DATE OF LAW RE-
4540-7
4541-GARDING CHARGE TO ENTITLEMENT TO EDU-8
4542-CATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR INDIVIDUALS 9
4543-WHO DO NOT TRANSFER CREDITS FROM CER-10
4544-TAIN CLOSED OR DISAPPROVED PROGRAMS 11
4545-OF EDUCATION. 12
4546-Section 3699(c)(2) of title 38, United States Code, 13
4547-is amended by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 14
4548-the following new subparagraph (C): 15
4549-‘‘(C) This paragraph, including clauses (ii) and (iii) 16
4550-of subparagraph (A), shall apply with respect to the clo-17
4551-sure or discontinuation of a course or program of edu-18
4552-cation, as described in subsection (b)(1), that occurs dur-19
4553-ing the period beginning on August 1, 2021, and ending 20
4554-on September 30, 2025.’’. 21
4555-SEC. 212. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HIGH 22
4556-TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 23
5580+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00187 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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5582+•HR 8371 IH
5583+SEC. 211. RETROACTIVE EFFECTIVE DATE OF LAW RE-1
5584+GARDING CHARGE TO ENTITLEMENT TO EDU-2
5585+CATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR INDIVIDUALS 3
5586+WHO DO NOT TRANSFER CREDITS FROM CER-4
5587+TAIN CLOSED OR DISAPPROVED PROGRAMS 5
5588+OF EDUCATION. 6
5589+Section 3699(c)(2) of title 38, United States Code, 7
5590+is amended by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 8
5591+the following new subparagraph (C): 9
5592+‘‘(C) This paragraph, including clauses (ii) and (iii) 10
5593+of subparagraph (A), shall apply with respect to the clo-11
5594+sure or discontinuation of a course or program of edu-12
5595+cation, as described in subsection (b)(1), that occurs dur-13
5596+ing the period beginning on August 1, 2021, and ending 14
5597+on September 30, 2025.’’. 15
5598+SEC. 212. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HIGH 16
5599+TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 17
45575600 (a) H
4558-IGHTECHNOLOGYPROGRAM.— 24 165
4559-•HR 8371 EH
4560-(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 36 of title 38, 1
4561-United States Code, as amended by section 210, is 2
4562-amended by adding at the end the following new sec-3
4563-tion: 4
4564-‘‘§ 3699C. High technology program 5
5601+IGHTECHNOLOGYPROGRAM.— 18
5602+(1) I
5603+N GENERAL.—Chapter 36 of title 38, 19
5604+United States Code, as amended by section 210, is 20
5605+amended by adding at the end the following new sec-21
5606+tion: 22
5607+‘‘§ 3699C. High technology program 23
45655608 ‘‘(a) E
4566-STABLISHMENT.—(1) The Secretary shall 6
4567-carry out a program under which the Secretary provides 7
4568-covered individuals with the opportunity to enroll in high 8
4569-technology programs of education that the Secretary de-9
4570-termines provide training or skills sought by employers in 10
4571-a relevant field or industry. 11
4572-‘‘(2) Not more than 4,000 covered individuals may 12
4573-participate in the program under this section in any fiscal 13
4574-year. 14
5609+STABLISHMENT.—(1) The Secretary shall 24
5610+carry out a program under which the Secretary provides 25
5611+covered individuals with the opportunity to enroll in high 26
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5613+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 189
5614+•HR 8371 IH
5615+technology programs of education that the Secretary de-1
5616+termines provide training or skills sought by employers in 2
5617+a relevant field or industry. 3
5618+‘‘(2) Not more than 4,000 covered individuals may 4
5619+participate in the program under this section in any fiscal 5
5620+year. 6
45755621 ‘‘(b) A
4576-MOUNT OFASSISTANCE.—(1) The Secretary 15
4577-shall provide, to each covered individual who pursues a 16
4578-high technology program of education under this section, 17
4579-educational assistance in amounts equal to the amounts 18
4580-provided under section 3313(c)(1) of this title, including, 19
4581-except as provided in paragraph (3), with respect to the 20
4582-housing stipend described in that section and in accord-21
4583-ance with the treatment of programs that are distance 22
4584-learning and programs that are less than half-time. 23 166
4585-•HR 8371 EH
4586-‘‘(2) Under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall pro-1
4587-vide such amounts of educational assistance to a covered 2
4588-individual for each of the following: 3
4589-‘‘(A) A high technology program of education. 4
4590-‘‘(B) A second such program if— 5
4591-‘‘(i) the second such program begins at 6
4592-least 18 months after the covered individual 7
4593-graduates from the first such program; and 8
4594-‘‘(ii) the covered individual uses edu-9
4595-cational assistance under chapter 33 of this 10
4596-title to pursue the second such program. 11
4597-‘‘(3) No covered individual may receive a housing sti-12
4598-pend under this subsection for any month if such indi-13
4599-vidual is in receipt of a housing stipend under chapter 33 14
4600-of this title for that month. 15
5622+MOUNT OFASSISTANCE.—(1) The Secretary 7
5623+shall provide, to each covered individual who pursues a 8
5624+high technology program of education under this section, 9
5625+educational assistance in amounts equal to the amounts 10
5626+provided under section 3313(c)(1) of this title, including, 11
5627+except as provided in paragraph (3), with respect to the 12
5628+housing stipend described in that section and in accord-13
5629+ance with the treatment of programs that are distance 14
5630+learning and programs that are less than half-time. 15
5631+‘‘(2) Under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall pro-16
5632+vide such amounts of educational assistance to a covered 17
5633+individual for each of the following: 18
5634+‘‘(A) A high technology program of education. 19
5635+‘‘(B) A second such program if— 20
5636+‘‘(i) the second such program begins at 21
5637+least 18 months after the covered individual 22
5638+graduates from the first such program; and 23
5639+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00189 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
5640+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 190
5641+•HR 8371 IH
5642+‘‘(ii) the covered individual uses edu-1
5643+cational assistance under chapter 33 of this 2
5644+title to pursue the second such program. 3
5645+‘‘(3) No covered individual may receive a housing sti-4
5646+pend under this subsection for any month if such indi-5
5647+vidual is in receipt of a housing stipend under chapter 33 6
5648+of this title for that month. 7
46015649 ‘‘(c) C
4602-ONTRACTS.—(1) For purposes of carrying out 16
4603-subsection (a), the Secretary shall seek to enter into con-17
4604-tracts with any number of qualified providers of high tech-18
4605-nology programs of education for the provision of such 19
4606-programs to covered individuals. Each such contract shall 20
4607-provide for the conditions under which the Secretary may 21
4608-terminate the contract with the provider and the proce-22
4609-dures for providing for the graduation of students who 23
4610-were enrolled in a program provided by such provider in 24
4611-the case of such a termination. 25 167
4612-•HR 8371 EH
4613-‘‘(2) A contract under this subsection shall provide 1
4614-that the Secretary shall pay to a provider— 2
4615-‘‘(A) upon the enrollment of a covered indi-3
4616-vidual in the program, 25 percent of the cost of the 4
4617-tuition and other fees for the program of education 5
4618-for the individual; 6
4619-‘‘(B) upon graduation of the individual from 7
4620-the program, 25 percent of such cost; and 8
4621-‘‘(C) 50 percent of such cost upon— 9
4622-‘‘(i) the successful employment of the cov-10
4623-ered individual for a period— 11
4624-‘‘(I) of 180 days in the field of study 12
4625-of the program; and 13
4626-‘‘(II) that begins not later than 180 14
4627-days following graduation of the covered 15
4628-individual from the program; 16
4629-‘‘(ii) the employment of the individual by 17
4630-the provider for a period of one year; or 18
4631-‘‘(iii) the enrollment of the individual in a 19
4632-program of education to continue education in 20
4633-such field of study. 21
4634-‘‘(3) For purposes of this section, a provider of a high 22
4635-technology program of education is qualified if— 23 168
4636-•HR 8371 EH
4637-‘‘(A) the provider employs instructors whom the 1
4638-Secretary determines are experts in their respective 2
4639-fields in accordance with paragraph (5); 3
4640-‘‘(B) the provider has successfully provided the 4
4641-high technology program for at least one year; 5
4642-‘‘(C) the provider does not charge tuition and 6
4643-fees to a covered individual who receives assistance 7
4644-under this section to pursue such program that are 8
4645-higher than the tuition and fees charged by such 9
4646-provider to another individual; and 10
4647-‘‘(D) the provider meets the approval criteria 11
4648-developed by the Secretary under paragraph (4). 12
4649-‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall prescribe criteria for ap-13
4650-proving providers of a high technology program of edu-14
4651-cation under this section. 15
4652-‘‘(B) In developing such criteria, the Secretary may 16
4653-consult with State approving agencies. 17
4654-‘‘(C) Such criteria are not required to meet the re-18
4655-quirements of section 3672 of this title. 19
4656-‘‘(D) Such criteria shall include the job placement 20
4657-rate, in the field of study of a program of education, of 21
4658-covered individuals who complete such program of edu-22
4659-cation. 23
4660-‘‘(5) The Secretary shall determine whether instruc-24
4661-tors are experts under paragraph (3)(A) based on evidence 25 169
4662-•HR 8371 EH
4663-furnished to the Secretary by the provider regarding the 1
4664-ability of the instructors to— 2
4665-‘‘(A) identify professions in need of new em-3
4666-ployees to hire, tailor the programs to meet market 4
4667-needs, and identify the employers likely to hire grad-5
4668-uates; 6
4669-‘‘(B) effectively teach the skills offered to cov-7
4670-ered individuals; 8
4671-‘‘(C) provide relevant industry experience in the 9
4672-fields of programs offered to incoming covered indi-10
4673-viduals; and 11
4674-‘‘(D) demonstrate relevant industry experience 12
4675-in such fields of programs. 13
4676-‘‘(6) In entering into contracts under this subsection, 14
4677-the Secretary shall give preference to a provider of a high 15
4678-technology program of education— 16
4679-‘‘(A) from which at least 70 percent of grad-17
4680-uates find full-time employment in the field of study 18
4681-of the program during the 180-day period beginning 19
4682-on the date the student graduates from the program; 20
4683-or 21
4684-‘‘(B) that offers tuition reimbursement for any 22
4685-student who graduates from such a program and 23
4686-does not find employment described in subparagraph 24
4687-(A). 25 170
4688-•HR 8371 EH
4689-‘‘(d) EFFECT ONOTHERENTITLEMENT.—(1) If a 1
4690-covered individual enrolled in a high technology program 2
4691-of education under this section has remaining entitlement 3
4692-to educational assistance under chapter 30, 32, 33, 34, 4
4693-or 35 of this title, such entitlement shall be charged at 5
4694-the rate of one month of such entitlement for each month 6
4695-of educational assistance provided under this section. 7
4696-‘‘(2) If a covered individual enrolled in a high tech-8
4697-nology program of education under this section does not 9
4698-have remaining entitlement to educational assistance 10
4699-under chapter 30, 32, 33, 34, or 35 of this title, any edu-11
4700-cational assistance provided to such individual under this 12
4701-section shall be provided in addition to the entitlement 13
4702-that the individual has used. 14
4703-‘‘(3) The Secretary may not consider enrollment in 15
4704-a high technology program of education under this section 16
4705-to be assistance under a provision of law referred to in 17
4706-section 3695 of this title. 18
4707-‘‘(4)(A) An application for enrollment in a high tech-19
4708-nology program of education under this section shall in-20
4709-clude notice of the requirements relating to use of entitle-21
4710-ment under paragraphs (1) and (2), including— 22
4711-‘‘(i) in the case of the enrollment of an indi-23
4712-vidual referred to under paragraph (1), the amount 24 171
4713-•HR 8371 EH
4714-of entitlement that is typically charged for such en-1
4715-rollment; 2
4716-‘‘(ii) an identification of any methods that may 3
4717-be available for minimizing the amount of entitle-4
4718-ment required for such enrollment; and 5
4719-‘‘(iii) an element requiring applicants to ac-6
4720-knowledge receipt of the notice under this subpara-7
4721-graph. 8
4722-‘‘(B) If the Secretary approves the enrollment of a 9
4723-covered individual in a high technology program of edu-10
4724-cation under this section, the Secretary shall deliver elec-11
4725-tronically to the individual an award letter that provides 12
4726-notice of such approval and includes specific information 13
4727-describing how paragraphs (1) and (2) will be applied to 14
4728-the individual if the individual chooses to enroll in the pro-15
4729-gram. 16
5650+ONTRACTS.—(1) For purposes of carrying out 8
5651+subsection (a), the Secretary shall seek to enter into con-9
5652+tracts with any number of qualified providers of high tech-10
5653+nology programs of education for the provision of such 11
5654+programs to covered individuals. Each such contract shall 12
5655+provide for the conditions under which the Secretary may 13
5656+terminate the contract with the provider and the proce-14
5657+dures for providing for the graduation of students who 15
5658+were enrolled in a program provided by such provider in 16
5659+the case of such a termination. 17
5660+‘‘(2) A contract under this subsection shall provide 18
5661+that the Secretary shall pay to a provider— 19
5662+‘‘(A) upon the enrollment of a covered indi-20
5663+vidual in the program, 25 percent of the cost of the 21
5664+tuition and other fees for the program of education 22
5665+for the individual; 23
5666+‘‘(B) upon graduation of the individual from 24
5667+the program, 25 percent of such cost; and 25
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5670+•HR 8371 IH
5671+‘‘(C) 50 percent of such cost upon— 1
5672+‘‘(i) the successful employment of the cov-2
5673+ered individual for a period— 3
5674+‘‘(I) of 180 days in the field of study 4
5675+of the program; and 5
5676+‘‘(II) that begins not later than 180 6
5677+days following graduation of the covered 7
5678+individual from the program; 8
5679+‘‘(ii) the employment of the individual by 9
5680+the provider for a period of one year; or 10
5681+‘‘(iii) the enrollment of the individual in a 11
5682+program of education to continue education in 12
5683+such field of study. 13
5684+‘‘(3) For purposes of this section, a provider of a high 14
5685+technology program of education is qualified if— 15
5686+‘‘(A) the provider employs instructors whom the 16
5687+Secretary determines are experts in their respective 17
5688+fields in accordance with paragraph (5); 18
5689+‘‘(B) the provider has successfully provided the 19
5690+high technology program for at least one year; 20
5691+‘‘(C) the provider does not charge tuition and 21
5692+fees to a covered individual who receives assistance 22
5693+under this section to pursue such program that are 23
5694+higher than the tuition and fees charged by such 24
5695+provider to another individual; and 25
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5697+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 192
5698+•HR 8371 IH
5699+‘‘(D) the provider meets the approval criteria 1
5700+developed by the Secretary under paragraph (4). 2
5701+‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall prescribe criteria for ap-3
5702+proving providers of a high technology program of edu-4
5703+cation under this section. 5
5704+‘‘(B) In developing such criteria, the Secretary may 6
5705+consult with State approving agencies. 7
5706+‘‘(C) Such criteria are not required to meet the re-8
5707+quirements of section 3672 of this title. 9
5708+‘‘(D) Such criteria shall include the job placement 10
5709+rate, in the field of study of a program of education, of 11
5710+covered individuals who complete such program of edu-12
5711+cation. 13
5712+‘‘(5) The Secretary shall determine whether instruc-14
5713+tors are experts under paragraph (3)(A) based on evidence 15
5714+furnished to the Secretary by the provider regarding the 16
5715+ability of the instructors to— 17
5716+‘‘(A) identify professions in need of new em-18
5717+ployees to hire, tailor the programs to meet market 19
5718+needs, and identify the employers likely to hire grad-20
5719+uates; 21
5720+‘‘(B) effectively teach the skills offered to cov-22
5721+ered individuals; 23
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5724+•HR 8371 IH
5725+‘‘(C) provide relevant industry experience in the 1
5726+fields of programs offered to incoming covered indi-2
5727+viduals; and 3
5728+‘‘(D) demonstrate relevant industry experience 4
5729+in such fields of programs. 5
5730+‘‘(6) In entering into contracts under this subsection, 6
5731+the Secretary shall give preference to a provider of a high 7
5732+technology program of education— 8
5733+‘‘(A) from which at least 70 percent of grad-9
5734+uates find full-time employment in the field of study 10
5735+of the program during the 180-day period beginning 11
5736+on the date the student graduates from the program; 12
5737+or 13
5738+‘‘(B) that offers tuition reimbursement for any 14
5739+student who graduates from such a program and 15
5740+does not find employment described in subparagraph 16
5741+(A). 17
5742+‘‘(d) E
5743+FFECT ONOTHERENTITLEMENT.—(1) If a 18
5744+covered individual enrolled in a high technology program 19
5745+of education under this section has remaining entitlement 20
5746+to educational assistance under chapter 30, 32, 33, 34, 21
5747+or 35 of this title, such entitlement shall be charged at 22
5748+the rate of one month of such entitlement for each month 23
5749+of educational assistance provided under this section. 24
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5752+•HR 8371 IH
5753+‘‘(2) If a covered individual enrolled in a high tech-1
5754+nology program of education under this section does not 2
5755+have remaining entitlement to educational assistance 3
5756+under chapter 30, 32, 33, 34, or 35 of this title, any edu-4
5757+cational assistance provided to such individual under this 5
5758+section shall be provided in addition to the entitlement 6
5759+that the individual has used. 7
5760+‘‘(3) The Secretary may not consider enrollment in 8
5761+a high technology program of education under this section 9
5762+to be assistance under a provision of law referred to in 10
5763+section 3695 of this title. 11
5764+‘‘(4)(A) An application for enrollment in a high tech-12
5765+nology program of education under this section shall in-13
5766+clude notice of the requirements relating to use of entitle-14
5767+ment under paragraphs (1) and (2), including— 15
5768+‘‘(i) in the case of the enrollment of an indi-16
5769+vidual referred to under paragraph (1), the amount 17
5770+of entitlement that is typically charged for such en-18
5771+rollment; 19
5772+‘‘(ii) an identification of any methods that may 20
5773+be available for minimizing the amount of entitle-21
5774+ment required for such enrollment; and 22
5775+‘‘(iii) an element requiring applicants to ac-23
5776+knowledge receipt of the notice under this subpara-24
5777+graph. 25
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5780+•HR 8371 IH
5781+‘‘(B) If the Secretary approves the enrollment of a 1
5782+covered individual in a high technology program of edu-2
5783+cation under this section, the Secretary shall deliver elec-3
5784+tronically to the individual an award letter that provides 4
5785+notice of such approval and includes specific information 5
5786+describing how paragraphs (1) and (2) will be applied to 6
5787+the individual if the individual chooses to enroll in the pro-7
5788+gram. 8
47305789 ‘‘(e) R
4731-EQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATIONALINSTITU-17
4732-TIONS.—(1) The Secretary shall not approve the enroll-18
4733-ment of any covered individual, not already enrolled, in 19
4734-any high technology programs of education under this sec-20
4735-tion for any period during which the Secretary finds that 21
4736-more than 85 percent of the students enrolled in the pro-22
4737-gram are having all or part of their tuition, fees, or other 23
4738-charges paid to or for them by the educational institution 24
4739-or by the Department of Veterans Affairs under this title 25 172
4740-•HR 8371 EH
4741-or under chapter 1606 or 1607 of title 10, except with 1
4742-respect to tuition, fees, or other charges that are paid 2
4743-under a payment plan at an educational institution that 3
4744-the Secretary determines has a history of offering pay-4
4745-ment plans that are completed not later than 180 days 5
4746-after the end of the applicable term, quarter, or semester. 6
4747-‘‘(2) The Secretary may waive a requirement of para-7
4748-graph (1) if the Secretary determines, pursuant to regula-8
4749-tions which the Secretary shall prescribe, such waiver to 9
4750-be in the interest of the covered individual and the Federal 10
4751-Government. Not later than 30 days after the Secretary 11
4752-waives such a requirement, the Secretary shall submit to 12
4753-the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 13
4754-House of Representatives a report regarding such waiver. 14
4755-‘‘(3)(A)(i) The Secretary shall establish and maintain 15
4756-a process by which an educational institution may request 16
4757-a review of a determination that the educational institu-17
4758-tion does not meet the requirements of paragraph (1). 18
4759-‘‘(ii) The Secretary may consult with a State approv-19
4760-ing agency regarding such process or such a review. 20
4761-‘‘(iii) Not later than 180 days after the Secretary es-21
4762-tablishes or revises a process under this subparagraph, the 22
4763-Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-23
4764-fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report 24
4765-regarding such process. 25 173
4766-•HR 8371 EH
4767-‘‘(B) An educational institution that requests a re-1
4768-view under subparagraph (A)— 2
4769-‘‘(i) shall request the review not later than 30 3
4770-days after the start of the term, quarter, or semester 4
4771-for which the determination described in subpara-5
4772-graph (A) applies; and 6
4773-‘‘(ii) may include any information that the edu-7
4774-cational institution believes the Department should 8
4775-have taken into account when making the deter-9
4776-mination, including with respect to any mitigating 10
4777-circumstances. 11
5790+EQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATIONALINSTITU-9
5791+TIONS.—(1) The Secretary shall not approve the enroll-10
5792+ment of any covered individual, not already enrolled, in 11
5793+any high technology programs of education under this sec-12
5794+tion for any period during which the Secretary finds that 13
5795+more than 85 percent of the students enrolled in the pro-14
5796+gram are having all or part of their tuition, fees, or other 15
5797+charges paid to or for them by the educational institution 16
5798+or by the Department of Veterans Affairs under this title 17
5799+or under chapter 1606 or 1607 of title 10, except with 18
5800+respect to tuition, fees, or other charges that are paid 19
5801+under a payment plan at an educational institution that 20
5802+the Secretary determines has a history of offering pay-21
5803+ment plans that are completed not later than 180 days 22
5804+after the end of the applicable term, quarter, or semester. 23
5805+‘‘(2) The Secretary may waive a requirement of para-24
5806+graph (1) if the Secretary determines, pursuant to regula-25
5807+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00195 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
5808+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 196
5809+•HR 8371 IH
5810+tions which the Secretary shall prescribe, such waiver to 1
5811+be in the interest of the covered individual and the Federal 2
5812+Government. Not later than 30 days after the Secretary 3
5813+waives such a requirement, the Secretary shall submit to 4
5814+the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 5
5815+the House of Representatives a report regarding such 6
5816+waiver. 7
5817+‘‘(3)(A)(i) The Secretary shall establish and maintain 8
5818+a process by which an educational institution may request 9
5819+a review of a determination that the educational institu-10
5820+tion does not meet the requirements of paragraph (1). 11
5821+‘‘(ii) The Secretary may consult with a State approv-12
5822+ing agency regarding such process or such a review. 13
5823+‘‘(iii) Not later than 180 days after the Secretary es-14
5824+tablishes or revises a process under this subparagraph, the 15
5825+Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-16
5826+fairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a 17
5827+report regarding such process. 18
5828+‘‘(B) An educational institution that requests a re-19
5829+view under subparagraph (A)— 20
5830+‘‘(i) shall request the review not later than 30 21
5831+days after the start of the term, quarter, or semester 22
5832+for which the determination described in subpara-23
5833+graph (A) applies; and 24
5834+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00196 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
5835+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 197
5836+•HR 8371 IH
5837+‘‘(ii) may include any information that the edu-1
5838+cational institution believes the Department should 2
5839+have taken into account when making the deter-3
5840+mination, including with respect to any mitigating 4
5841+circumstances. 5
47785842 ‘‘(f) A
4779-NNUALREPORTS.—Not later than one year 12
4780-after the date of the enactment of this section, and annu-13
4781-ally thereafter until the termination date specified in sub-14
4782-section (i), the Secretary shall submit to the Committees 15
4783-on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep-16
4784-resentatives a report on the operation of program under 17
4785-this section during the year covered by the report. Each 18
4786-such report shall include each of the following: 19
4787-‘‘(1) The number of covered individuals enrolled 20
4788-in the program, disaggregated by type of educational 21
4789-institution, during the year covered by the report. 22
4790-‘‘(2) The number of covered individuals who 23
4791-completed a high technology program of education 24 174
4792-•HR 8371 EH
4793-under the program during the year covered by the 1
4794-report. 2
4795-‘‘(3) The average employment rate of covered 3
4796-individuals who completed such a program of edu-4
4797-cation during such year, as of 180 days after the 5
4798-date of completion. 6
4799-‘‘(4) The average length of time between the 7
4800-completion of such a program of education and em-8
4801-ployment. 9
4802-‘‘(5) The total number of covered individuals 10
4803-who completed a program of education under the 11
4804-program and who, as of the date of the submission 12
4805-of the report, are employed in a position related to 13
4806-technology. 14
4807-‘‘(6) The average salary of a covered individual 15
4808-who completed a program of education under the 16
4809-program and who is employed in a position related 17
4810-to technology, in various geographic areas deter-18
4811-mined by the Secretary. 19
4812-‘‘(7) The average salary of all individuals em-20
4813-ployed in positions related to technology in the geo-21
4814-graphic areas determined under subparagraph (F), 22
4815-and the difference, if any, between such average sal-23
4816-ary and the average salary of a covered individual 24
4817-who completed a program of education under the 25 175
4818-•HR 8371 EH
4819-program and who is employed in a position related 1
4820-to technology. 2
4821-‘‘(8) The number of covered individuals who 3
4822-completed a program of education under the pro-4
4823-gram and who subsequently enrolled in a second 5
4824-program of education under the program. 6
4825-‘‘(g) C
4826-OLLECTION OF INFORMATION; CONSULTA-7
4827-TION.—(1) The Secretary shall develop practices to use 8
4828-to collect information about covered individuals and pro-9
4829-viders of high technology programs of education. 10
4830-‘‘(2) For the purpose of carrying out program under 11
4831-this section, the Secretary may consult with providers of 12
4832-high technology programs of education and may establish 13
4833-an advisory group made up of representatives of such pro-14
4834-viders, private employers in the technology field, and other 15
4835-relevant groups or entities, as the Secretary determines 16
4836-necessary. 17
5843+NNUALREPORTS.—Not later than one year 6
5844+after the date of the enactment of this section, and annu-7
5845+ally thereafter until the termination date specified in sub-8
5846+section (i), the Secretary shall submit to the Committees 9
5847+on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Rep-10
5848+resentatives a report on the operation of program under 11
5849+this section during the year covered by the report. Each 12
5850+such report shall include each of the following: 13
5851+‘‘(1) The number of covered individuals enrolled 14
5852+in the program, disaggregated by type of educational 15
5853+institution, during the year covered by the report. 16
5854+‘‘(2) The number of covered individuals who 17
5855+completed a high technology program of education 18
5856+under the program during the year covered by the 19
5857+report. 20
5858+‘‘(3) The average employment rate of covered 21
5859+individuals who completed such a program of edu-22
5860+cation during such year, as of 180 days after the 23
5861+date of completion. 24
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5863+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 198
5864+•HR 8371 IH
5865+‘‘(4) The average length of time between the 1
5866+completion of such a program of education and em-2
5867+ployment. 3
5868+‘‘(5) The total number of covered individuals 4
5869+who completed a program of education under the 5
5870+program and who, as of the date of the submission 6
5871+of the report, are employed in a position related to 7
5872+technology. 8
5873+‘‘(6) The average salary of a covered individual 9
5874+who completed a program of education under the 10
5875+program and who is employed in a position related 11
5876+to technology, in various geographic areas deter-12
5877+mined by the Secretary. 13
5878+‘‘(7) The average salary of all individuals em-14
5879+ployed in positions related to technology in the geo-15
5880+graphic areas determined under subparagraph (F), 16
5881+and the difference, if any, between such average sal-17
5882+ary and the average salary of a covered individual 18
5883+who completed a program of education under the 19
5884+program and who is employed in a position related 20
5885+to technology. 21
5886+‘‘(8) The number of covered individuals who 22
5887+completed a program of education under the pro-23
5888+gram and who subsequently enrolled in a second 24
5889+program of education under the program. 25
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5891+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 199
5892+•HR 8371 IH
5893+‘‘(g) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION; CONSULTA-1
5894+TION.—(1) The Secretary shall develop practices to use 2
5895+to collect information about covered individuals and pro-3
5896+viders of high technology programs of education. 4
5897+‘‘(2) For the purpose of carrying out program under 5
5898+this section, the Secretary may consult with providers of 6
5899+high technology programs of education and may establish 7
5900+an advisory group made up of representatives of such pro-8
5901+viders, private employers in the technology field, and other 9
5902+relevant groups or entities, as the Secretary determines 10
5903+necessary. 11
48375904 ‘‘(h) D
4838-EFINITIONS.—In this section: 18
4839-‘‘(1) The term ‘covered individual’ means any of 19
4840-the following: 20
4841-‘‘(A) A veteran whom the Secretary deter-21
4842-mines— 22
4843-‘‘(i) served an aggregate of at least 36 23
4844-months on active duty in the Armed 24
4845-Forces (including service on active duty in 25 176
4846-•HR 8371 EH
4847-entry level and skill training) and was dis-1
4848-charged or released therefrom under condi-2
4849-tions other than dishonorable; and 3
4850-‘‘(ii) has not attained the age of 62. 4
4851-‘‘(B) A member of the Armed Forces that 5
4852-the Secretary determines will become a veteran 6
4853-described in subparagraph (A) fewer than 180 7
4854-days after the date of such determination. 8
4855-‘‘(2) The term ‘high technology program of edu-9
4856-cation’ means a program of education— 10
4857-‘‘(A) offered by a public or private edu-11
4858-cational institution; 12
4859-‘‘(B) if offered by an institution of higher 13
4860-learning, that is provided directly by such insti-14
4861-tution rather than by an entity other than such 15
4862-institution under a contract or other agreement; 16
4863-‘‘(C) that does not lead to a degree; 17
4864-‘‘(D) that has a term of not less than six 18
4865-and not more than 28 weeks; and 19
4866-‘‘(E) that provides instruction in computer 20
4867-programming, computer software, media appli-21
4868-cation, data processing, or information sciences. 22
5905+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 12
5906+‘‘(1) The term ‘covered individual’ means any of 13
5907+the following: 14
5908+‘‘(A) A veteran whom the Secretary deter-15
5909+mines— 16
5910+‘‘(i) served an aggregate of at least 36 17
5911+months on active duty in the Armed 18
5912+Forces (including service on active duty in 19
5913+entry level and skill training) and was dis-20
5914+charged or released therefrom under condi-21
5915+tions other than dishonorable; and 22
5916+‘‘(ii) has not attained the age of 62. 23
5917+‘‘(B) A member of the Armed Forces that 24
5918+the Secretary determines will become a veteran 25
5919+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00199 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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5921+•HR 8371 IH
5922+described in subparagraph (A) fewer than 180 1
5923+days after the date of such determination. 2
5924+‘‘(2) The term ‘high technology program of edu-3
5925+cation’ means a program of education— 4
5926+‘‘(A) offered by a public or private edu-5
5927+cational institution; 6
5928+‘‘(B) if offered by an institution of higher 7
5929+learning, that is provided directly by such insti-8
5930+tution rather than by an entity other than such 9
5931+institution under a contract or other agreement; 10
5932+‘‘(C) that does not lead to a degree; 11
5933+‘‘(D) that has a term of not less than six 12
5934+and not more than 28 weeks; and 13
5935+‘‘(E) that provides instruction in computer 14
5936+programming, computer software, media appli-15
5937+cation, data processing, or information sciences. 16
48695938 ‘‘(i) T
4870-ERMINATION.—The Secretary may not provide 23
4871-educational assistance under this section for a high tech-24 177
4872-•HR 8371 EH
4873-nology program of education that begins after September 1
4874-30, 2027.’’. 2
5939+ERMINATION.—The Secretary may not provide 17
5940+educational assistance under this section for a high tech-18
5941+nology program of education that begins after September 19
5942+30, 2026.’’. 20
48755943 (2) C
4876-LERICAL AMENDMENT .—The table of sec-3
4877-tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 4
4878-by inserting after the item relating to section 3699B 5
4879-the following new item: 6
5944+LERICAL AMENDMENT .—The table of sec-21
5945+tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 22
5946+by inserting after the item relating to section 3699B 23
5947+the following new item: 24
48805948 ‘‘3699C. High technology program.’’.
4881-(b) EFFECT ONHIGHTECHNOLOGY PILOTPRO-7
4882-GRAM.—Section 116 of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans 8
4883-Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–48; 9
4884-38 U.S.C. 3001 note) is amended— 10
4885-(1) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol-11
4886-lows: 12
5949+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00200 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
5950+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 201
5951+•HR 8371 IH
5952+(b) EFFECT ONHIGHTECHNOLOGY PILOTPRO-1
5953+GRAM.—Section 116 of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans 2
5954+Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–48; 3
5955+38 U.S.C. 3001 note) is amended— 4
5956+(1) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol-5
5957+lows: 6
48875958 ‘‘(d) H
4888-OUSINGSTIPEND.— 13
5959+OUSINGSTIPEND.— 7
48895960 ‘‘(1) I
4890-N GENERAL.—Except as provided under 14
4891-paragraph (2), the Secretary shall pay to each eligi-15
4892-ble veteran (not including an individual described in 16
4893-the second sentence of subsection (b)) who is en-17
4894-rolled in a high technology program of education 18
4895-under the pilot program on a full-time or part-time 19
4896-basis a monthly housing stipend equal to the prod-20
4897-uct— 21
4898-‘‘(A) of— 22
4899-‘‘(i) in the case of a veteran pursuing 23
4900-resident training, the monthly amount of 24
4901-the basic allowance for housing payable 25 178
4902-•HR 8371 EH
4903-under section 403 of title 37, United 1
4904-States Code, for a member with depend-2
4905-ents in pay grade E–5 residing in the mili-3
4906-tary housing area that encompasses all or 4
4907-the majority portion of the ZIP code area 5
4908-in which is located the campus of the insti-6
4909-tution where the individual physically par-7
4910-ticipates in a majority of classes; or 8
4911-‘‘(ii) in the case of a veteran pursuing 9
4912-a program of education through distance 10
4913-learning, a monthly amount equal to 50 11
4914-percent of the national average of the 12
4915-monthly amount of the basic allowance for 13
4916-housing payable under section 403 of title 14
4917-37, United States Code, for a member with 15
4918-dependents in pay grade E–5, multiplied 16
4919-by 17
4920-‘‘(B) the lesser of— 18
4921-‘‘(i) 1.0; or 19
4922-‘‘(ii) the number of course hours 20
4923-borne by the individual in pursuit of the 21
4924-program of education involved, divided by 22
4925-the minimum number of course hours re-23
4926-quired for full-time pursuit of such pro-24 179
4927-•HR 8371 EH
4928-gram of education, rounded to the nearest 1
4929-multiple of 10. 2
5961+N GENERAL.—Except as provided under 8
5962+paragraph (2), the Secretary shall pay to each eligi-9
5963+ble veteran (not including an individual described in 10
5964+the second sentence of subsection (b)) who is en-11
5965+rolled in a high technology program of education 12
5966+under the pilot program on a full-time or part-time 13
5967+basis a monthly housing stipend equal to the prod-14
5968+uct— 15
5969+‘‘(A) of— 16
5970+‘‘(i) in the case of a veteran pursuing 17
5971+resident training, the monthly amount of 18
5972+the basic allowance for housing payable 19
5973+under section 403 of title 37, United 20
5974+States Code, for a member with depend-21
5975+ents in pay grade E–5 residing in the mili-22
5976+tary housing area that encompasses all or 23
5977+the majority portion of the ZIP code area 24
5978+in which is located the campus of the insti-25
5979+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00201 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
5980+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 202
5981+•HR 8371 IH
5982+tution where the individual physically par-1
5983+ticipates in a majority of classes; or 2
5984+‘‘(ii) in the case of a veteran pursuing 3
5985+a program of education through distance 4
5986+learning, a monthly amount equal to 50 5
5987+percent of the national average of the 6
5988+monthly amount of the basic allowance for 7
5989+housing payable under section 403 of title 8
5990+37, United States Code, for a member with 9
5991+dependents in pay grade E–5, multiplied 10
5992+by 11
5993+‘‘(B) the lesser of— 12
5994+‘‘(i) 1.0; or 13
5995+‘‘(ii) the number of course hours 14
5996+borne by the individual in pursuit of the 15
5997+program of education involved, divided by 16
5998+the minimum number of course hours re-17
5999+quired for full-time pursuit of such pro-18
6000+gram of education, rounded to the nearest 19
6001+multiple of 10. 20
49306002 ‘‘(2) B
4931-AR TO DUAL ELIGIBILITY .—No covered 3
4932-individual may receive a housing stipend under this 4
4933-subsection for any month if such individual is in re-5
4934-ceipt of a housing stipend under chapter 33 ot title 6
4935-38, United States Code, for that month.’’; 7
4936-(2) in subsection (g), by striking paragraph (6); 8
4937-and 9
4938-(3) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 10
4939-following new subsection (h): 11
6003+AR TO DUAL ELIGIBILITY .—No covered 21
6004+individual may receive a housing stipend under this 22
6005+subsection for any month if such individual is in re-23
6006+ceipt of a housing stipend under chapter 33 ot title 24
6007+38, United States Code, for that month.’’; 25
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6009+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 203
6010+•HR 8371 IH
6011+(2) in subsection (g), by striking paragraph (6); 1
6012+and 2
6013+(3) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 3
6014+following new subsection (h): 4
49406015 ‘‘(h) T
4941-ERMINATION.—The Secretary may not, under 12
4942-this section, pay a provider for a high technology program 13
4943-of education that begins after September 30, 2024.’’. 14
6016+ERMINATION.—The Secretary may not, under 5
6017+this section, pay a provider for a high technology program 6
6018+of education that begins after September 30, 2024.’’. 7
49446019 (c) A
4945-PPROVAL OFCERTAINHIGHTECHNOLOGYPRO-15
4946-GRAMS.—Section 3680A of title 38, United States Code, 16
4947-is amended— 17
4948-(1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (4) 18
4949-and inserting the following: 19
4950-‘‘(4) Any independent study program except— 20
4951-‘‘(A) an independent study program (in-21
4952-cluding such a program taken over open circuit 22
4953-television) that— 23
4954-‘‘(i) is accredited by an accrediting 24
4955-agency or association recognized by the 25 180
4956-•HR 8371 EH
4957-Secretary of Education under subpart 2 of 1
4958-part H of title IV of the Higher Education 2
4959-Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b); 3
4960-‘‘(ii) leads to— 4
4961-‘‘(I) a standard college degree; 5
4962-‘‘(II) a certificate that reflects 6
4963-educational attainment offered by an 7
4964-institution of higher learning; or 8
4965-‘‘(III) a certificate that reflects 9
4966-graduation from a course of study of-10
4967-fered by— 11
4968-‘‘(aa) an area career and 12
4969-technical education school (as de-13
4970-fined in subparagraphs (C) and 14
4971-(D) of section 3(3) of the Carl D. 15
4972-Perkins Career and Technical 16
4973-Education Act of 2006 (20 17
4974-U.S.C. 2302(3))) that provides 18
4975-education at the postsecondary 19
4976-level; or 20
4977-‘‘(bb) a postsecondary voca-21
4978-tional institution (as defined in 22
4979-section 102(c) of the Higher 23
4980-Education Act of 1965 (20 24
4981-U.S.C. 1002(c))) that provides 25 181
4982-•HR 8371 EH
4983-education at the postsecondary 1
4984-level; and 2
4985-‘‘(iii) in the case of a program de-3
4986-scribed in clause (ii)(III)— 4
4987-‘‘(I) provides training aligned 5
4988-with the requirements of employers in 6
4989-the State or local area where the pro-7
4990-gram is located, which may include in- 8
4991-demand industry sectors or occupa-9
4992-tions; 10
4993-‘‘(II) provides a student, upon 11
4994-graduation from the program, with a 12
4995-recognized postsecondary credential 13
4996-that is recognized by employers in the 14
4997-relevant industry, which may include 15
4998-a credential recognized by industry or 16
4999-sector partnerships in the State or 17
5000-local area where the industry is lo-18
5001-cated; and 19
5002-‘‘(III) meets such content and in-20
5003-structional standards as may be re-21
5004-quired to comply with the criteria 22
5005-under section 3676(c)(14) and (15) of 23
5006-this title; or 24 182
5007-•HR 8371 EH
5008-‘‘(B) an online high technology program of 1
5009-education (as defined in subsection (h)(2) of 2
5010-section 3699C of this title)— 3
5011-‘‘(i) the provider of which has entered 4
5012-into a contract with the Secretary under 5
5013-subsection (c) of such section; 6
5014-‘‘(ii) that has been provided to covered 7
5015-individuals (as defined in subsection (h)(1) 8
5016-of such section) under such contract for a 9
5017-period of at least five years; 10
5018-‘‘(iii) regarding which the Secretary 11
5019-has determined that the average employ-12
5020-ment rate of covered individuals who grad-13
5021-uated from such program of education is 14
5022-65 percent or higher for the year preceding 15
5023-such determination; and 16
5024-‘‘(iv) that satisfies the requirements of 17
5025-subsection (e) of such section.’’; and 18
5026-(2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 19
5027-following: 20
5028-‘‘(8) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the enrollment 21
5029-of a veteran in an online high technology program de-22
5030-scribed in subsection (a)(4)(B).’’. 23 183
5031-•HR 8371 EH
6020+PPROVAL OFCERTAINHIGHTECHNOLOGYPRO-8
6021+GRAMS.—Section 3680A of title 38, United States Code, 9
6022+is amended— 10
6023+(1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (4) 11
6024+and inserting the following: 12
6025+‘‘(4) Any independent study program except— 13
6026+‘‘(A) an independent study program (in-14
6027+cluding such a program taken over open circuit 15
6028+television) that— 16
6029+‘‘(i) is accredited by an accrediting 17
6030+agency or association recognized by the 18
6031+Secretary of Education under subpart 2 of 19
6032+part H of title IV of the Higher Education 20
6033+Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b); 21
6034+‘‘(ii) leads to— 22
6035+‘‘(I) a standard college degree; 23
6036+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00203 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6037+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 204
6038+•HR 8371 IH
6039+‘‘(II) a certificate that reflects 1
6040+educational attainment offered by an 2
6041+institution of higher learning; or 3
6042+‘‘(III) a certificate that reflects 4
6043+graduation from a course of study of-5
6044+fered by— 6
6045+‘‘(aa) an area career and 7
6046+technical education school (as de-8
6047+fined in subparagraphs (C) and 9
6048+(D) of section 3(3) of the Carl D. 10
6049+Perkins Career and Technical 11
6050+Education Act of 2006 (20 12
6051+U.S.C. 2302(3))) that provides 13
6052+education at the postsecondary 14
6053+level; or 15
6054+‘‘(bb) a postsecondary voca-16
6055+tional institution (as defined in 17
6056+section 102(c) of the Higher 18
6057+Education Act of 1965 (20 19
6058+U.S.C. 1002(c))) that provides 20
6059+education at the postsecondary 21
6060+level; and 22
6061+‘‘(iii) in the case of a program de-23
6062+scribed in clause (ii)(III)— 24
6063+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00204 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6064+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 205
6065+•HR 8371 IH
6066+‘‘(I) provides training aligned 1
6067+with the requirements of employers in 2
6068+the State or local area where the pro-3
6069+gram is located, which may include in- 4
6070+demand industry sectors or occupa-5
6071+tions; 6
6072+‘‘(II) provides a student, upon 7
6073+graduation from the program, with a 8
6074+recognized postsecondary credential 9
6075+that is recognized by employers in the 10
6076+relevant industry, which may include 11
6077+a credential recognized by industry or 12
6078+sector partnerships in the State or 13
6079+local area where the industry is lo-14
6080+cated; and 15
6081+‘‘(III) meets such content and in-16
6082+structional standards as may be re-17
6083+quired to comply with the criteria 18
6084+under section 3676(c)(14) and (15) of 19
6085+this title; or 20
6086+‘‘(B) an online high technology program of 21
6087+education (as defined in subsection (h)(2) of 22
6088+section 3699C of this title)— 23
6089+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00205 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6090+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 206
6091+•HR 8371 IH
6092+‘‘(i) the provider of which has entered 1
6093+into a contract with the Secretary under 2
6094+subsection (c) of such section; 3
6095+‘‘(ii) that has been provided to covered 4
6096+individuals (as defined in subsection (h)(1) 5
6097+of such section) under such contract for a 6
6098+period of at least five years; 7
6099+‘‘(iii) regarding which the Secretary 8
6100+has determined that the average employ-9
6101+ment rate of covered individuals who grad-10
6102+uated from such program of education is 11
6103+65 percent or higher for the year preceding 12
6104+such determination; and 13
6105+‘‘(iv) that satisfies the requirements of 14
6106+subsection (e) of such section.’’; and 15
6107+(2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 16
6108+following: 17
6109+‘‘(8) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the enrollment 18
6110+of a veteran in an online high technology program de-19
6111+scribed in subsection (a)(4)(B).’’. 20
6112+(d) E
6113+FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 21
6114+subsections (a) and (c) shall take effect on October 1, 22
6115+2024. 23
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6117+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 207
6118+•HR 8371 IH
50326119 SEC. 213. NOTICE OF CHANGES TO DEPARTMENT OF VET-1
50336120 ERANS AFFAIRS POLICIES AND GUIDANCE 2
50346121 AFFECTING THE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 3
50356122 PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT. 4
50366123 (a) I
50376124 NGENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 36 of 5
50386125 title 38, United States Code, as amended by sections 210 6
50396126 and 212, is further amended by adding at the end the 7
50406127 following new section: 8
50416128 ‘‘§ 3699D. Notice of changes to policies and guidance 9
50426129 relating to educational assistance pro-10
50436130 grams 11
50446131 ‘‘In the case of any change to any policy or guidance 12
50456132 provided by the Secretary that relates to any educational 13
50466133 assistance program of the Department, the Secretary may 14
50476134 not implement the change before the date that is 90 days 15
50486135 after the date on which the Secretary makes available to 16
50496136 students, educational institutions, and the Committees on 17
50506137 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representa-18
50516138 tives notice of, and justification for, the change.’’. 19
50526139 (b) C
50536140 LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 20
50546141 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 21
50556142 after the item relating to section 3699B the following new 22
50566143 item: 23
50576144 ‘‘3699D. Notice of changes to policies and guidance relating to educational as-
5058-sistance programs.’’. 184
5059-•HR 8371 EH
5060-SEC. 214. PAYMENT OF VA EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE VIA 1
5061-ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER TO A FOREIGN 2
5062-INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 3
5063-Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact-4
5064-ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 5
5065-update the payment system of the Department of Veterans 6
5066-Affairs to allow for electronic fund transfer of educational 7
5067-assistance, administered by the Secretary, to a foreign in-8
5068-stitution of higher education that— 9
5069-(1) provides an approved course of education to 10
5070-an eligible recipient of such assistance; and 11
5071-(2) does not have— 12
5072-(A) an employer identification number; or 13
5073-(B) an account with a domestic bank. 14
5074-SEC. 215. IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNT-15
5075-ABILITY OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 16
5076-FOR PURPOSES OF VETERANS EDUCATIONAL 17
5077-ASSISTANCE. 18
6145+sistance programs.’’.
6146+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00207 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6147+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 208
6148+•HR 8371 IH
6149+(c) EFFECTIVEDATE.—Section 3699D of title 38, 1
6150+United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take 2
6151+effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and apply 3
6152+with respect to a rule making on or after August 1, 2024. 4
6153+SEC. 214. PAYMENT OF VA EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE VIA 5
6154+ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER TO A FOREIGN 6
6155+INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 7
6156+Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact-8
6157+ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 9
6158+update the payment system of the Department of Veterans 10
6159+Affairs to allow for electronic fund transfer of educational 11
6160+assistance, administered by the Secretary, to a foreign in-12
6161+stitution of higher education that— 13
6162+(1) provides an approved course of education to 14
6163+an eligible recipient of such assistance; and 15
6164+(2) does not have— 16
6165+(A) an employer identification number; or 17
6166+(B) an account with a domestic bank. 18
6167+SEC. 215. IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNT-19
6168+ABILITY OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 20
6169+FOR PURPOSES OF VETERANS EDUCATIONAL 21
6170+ASSISTANCE. 22
50786171 (a) R
5079-EQUIREMENT RELATING TOG.I. BILLCOM-19
5080-PARISONTOOL.— 20
6172+EQUIREMENT RELATING TOG.I. BILLCOM-23
6173+PARISONTOOL.— 24
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6175+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 209
6176+•HR 8371 IH
6177+(1) REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN TOOL .—The 1
6178+Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall maintain the G.I. 2
6179+Bill Comparison Tool that was established pursuant 3
6180+to Executive Order 13607 (77 Fed. Reg. 25861; re-4
6181+lating to establishing principles of excellence for edu-5
6182+cational institutions serving service members, vet-6
6183+erans, spouses, and other family members) and in 7
6184+effect on the day before the date of enactment of 8
6185+this Act, or a successor tool, to provide relevant and 9
6186+timely information about programs of education ap-10
6187+proved under chapter 36 of title 38, United States 11
6188+Code, and the educational institutions that offer 12
6189+such programs. 13
6190+(2) D
6191+ATA RETENTION.—The Secretary shall en-14
6192+sure that historical data that is reported via the tool 15
6193+maintained under paragraph (1) remains easily and 16
6194+prominently accessible on the benefits.va.gov website, 17
6195+or a successor website, for a period of not less than 18
6196+six years from the date of initial publication. 19
6197+(b) P
6198+ROVIDINGTIMELY ANDRELEVANTEDUCATION 20
6199+I
6200+NFORMATION TO VETERANS, MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 21
6201+F
6202+ORCES, ANDOTHERINDIVIDUALS.— 22
6203+(1) I
6204+N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 23
6205+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-24
6206+retary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the 25
6207+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00209 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6208+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 210
6209+•HR 8371 IH
6210+Secretary of Education, the Secretary of the Treas-1
6211+ury, and the heads of other relevant Federal agen-2
6212+cies, shall make such changes to the tool maintained 3
6213+under subsection (a) as the Secretary of Veterans 4
6214+Affairs determines appropriate to ensure that such 5
6215+tool is an effective and efficient method for providing 6
6216+information pursuant to section 3698(b)(5) of title 7
6217+38, United States Code. 8
6218+(2) M
6219+EMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING RE -9
6220+QUIRED.—Not later than two years after the date of 10
6221+the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 11
6222+Affairs shall seek to enter into a memorandum of 12
6223+understanding with the Secretary of Education and 13
6224+the heads other relevant Federal agencies, as the 14
6225+Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines appro-15
6226+priate, to obtain information on outcomes with re-16
6227+spect to individuals who are entitled to educational 17
6228+assistance under the laws administered by the Sec-18
6229+retary of Veterans Affairs and who are attending 19
6230+educational institutions. Such memorandum of un-20
6231+derstanding may include data sharing or computer 21
6232+matching agreements. 22
6233+(3) M
6234+ODIFICATION OF SCOPE OF COMPREHEN -23
6235+SIVE POLICY ON PROVIDING EDUCATION INFORMA -24
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6238+•HR 8371 IH
6239+TION.—Section 3698 of title 38, United States Code, 1
6240+is amended— 2
6241+(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘veterans 3
6242+and members of the Armed Forces’’ and insert-4
6243+ing ‘‘individuals entitled to educational assist-5
6244+ance under laws administered by the Secretary 6
6245+of Veterans Affairs’’; and 7
6246+(B) in subsection (b)(5)— 8
6247+(i) by striking ‘‘veterans and members 9
6248+of the Armed Forces’’ and inserting ‘‘indi-10
6249+viduals described in subsection (a)’’; and 11
6250+(ii) by striking ‘‘the veteran or mem-12
6251+ber’’ and inserting ‘‘the individual’’. 13
6252+(4) G.I.
6253+BILL COMPARISON TOOL REQUIRED 14
6254+DISCLOSURES.—Paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of 15
6255+such section is amended— 16
6256+(A) by striking subparagraph (B) and in-17
6257+serting the following: 18
6258+‘‘(B) for each individual described in subsection 19
6259+(a) seeking information provided under subsection 20
6260+(b)(5), the name of each Federal student aid pro-21
6261+gram, and a description of each such program, from 22
6262+which the individual may receive educational assist-23
6263+ance;’’; 24
6264+(B) in subparagraph (C)— 25
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6267+•HR 8371 IH
6268+(i) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and a 1
6269+definition of each type of institution’’ be-2
6270+fore the semicolon; 3
6271+(ii) in clause (iv), by inserting ‘‘and if 4
6272+so, which programs’’ before the semicolon; 5
6273+(iii) by striking clause (v) and insert-6
6274+ing the following: 7
6275+‘‘(v) the average annual cost and the total 8
6276+cost to earn an associate’s degree and a bach-9
6277+elor’s degree, with available cost information on 10
6278+any other degree or credential the institution 11
6279+awards;’’; 12
6280+(iv) in clause (vi), by inserting before 13
6281+the semicolon the following: ‘‘disaggregated 14
6282+by— 15
6283+‘‘(I) the type of beneficiary of edu-16
6284+cational assistance; 17
6285+‘‘(II) individuals who received a cre-18
6286+dential and individuals who did not; and 19
6287+‘‘(II) individuals using educational as-20
6288+sistance under laws administered by the 21
6289+Secretary and individuals who are not’’; 22
6290+(v) in clause (xiv), by striking ‘‘and’’ 23
6291+at the end; 24
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6293+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 213
6294+•HR 8371 IH
6295+(vi) in clause (xv), by striking the pe-1
6296+riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 2
6297+and 3
6298+(vii) by adding at the end the fol-4
6299+lowing new clauses: 5
6300+‘‘(xvi) the number of veterans or members 6
6301+who completed covered education at the institu-7
6302+tion leading to— 8
6303+‘‘(I) a degree, disaggregated by type 9
6304+of program, including— 10
6305+‘‘(aa) an associate degree; 11
6306+‘‘(bb) a bachelor’s degree; and 12
6307+‘‘(cc) a postbaccalaureate degree; 13
6308+and 14
6309+‘‘(II) a certificate or professional li-15
6310+cense, disaggregated by type of certificate 16
6311+or professional license; 17
6312+‘‘(xvii) programs available and the average 18
6313+time for completion of each program; 19
6314+‘‘(xviii) employment rate and median in-20
6315+come of graduates of the institution in general 21
6316+two and five years after graduation, 22
6317+disaggregated by— 23
6318+‘‘(I) specific program; and 24
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6320+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 214
6321+•HR 8371 IH
6322+‘‘(II) individuals using educational as-1
6323+sistance under laws administered by the 2
6324+Secretary and individuals who are not; and 3
6325+‘‘(xix) the number of individuals using edu-4
6326+cational assistance under laws administered by 5
6327+the Secretary who are enrolled in the both the 6
6328+institution and specific program per year.’’. 7
6329+(5) C
6330+LARITY AND ANONYMITY OF INFORMATION 8
6331+PROVIDED.—Paragraph (2) of such subsection is 9
6332+amended— 10
6333+(A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘To the ex-11
6334+tent’’; and 12
6335+(B) by adding at the end the following new 13
6336+subparagraph: 14
6337+‘‘(B) The Secretary shall ensure that information 15
6338+provided pursuant to subsection (b)(5) is provided in a 16
6339+manner that is easy for, and accessible to, individuals de-17
6340+scribed in subsection (a). 18
6341+‘‘(C) In providing information pursuant to subsection 19
6342+(b)(5), the Secretary shall maintain the anonymity of indi-20
6343+viduals described in subsection (a) and, to the extent that 21
6344+a portion of any data would undermine such anonymity, 22
6345+ensure that such data is not made available pursuant to 23
6346+such subsection.’’. 24
6347+(c) I
6348+MPROVEMENTS FOR STUDENTFEEDBACK.— 25
6349+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00214 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6350+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 215
6351+•HR 8371 IH
6352+(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b)(2) of such 1
6353+section is amended— 2
6354+(A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 3
6355+as follows: 4
6356+‘‘(A) provides institutions of higher learn-5
6357+ing— 6
6358+‘‘(i) up to 30 days to review and re-7
6359+spond to feedback from individuals de-8
6360+scribed in subsection (a) and address 9
6361+issues regarding the feedback before the 10
6362+feedback is published; and 11
6363+‘‘(I) if an institution of higher learn-12
6364+ing contests the accuracy of the feedback, 13
6365+the opportunity to challenge the inclusion 14
6366+of such data with an official appointed by 15
6367+the Secretary;’’; 16
6368+(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 17
6369+‘‘and’’ at the end; 18
6370+(C) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘that 19
6371+conforms with criteria for relevancy that the 20
6372+Secretary shall determine.’’ and inserting ‘‘, 21
6373+and responses from institutions of higher learn-22
6374+ing to such feedback, that conform with criteria 23
6375+for relevancy that the Secretary shall deter-24
6376+mine;’’; and 25
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6378+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 216
6379+•HR 8371 IH
6380+(D) by adding at the end the following new 1
6381+subparagraphs: 2
6382+‘‘(D) for each institution of higher learning 3
6383+that is approved under this chapter, retains, 4
6384+maintains, and publishes all of such feedback 5
6385+for not less than six years; and 6
6386+‘‘(E) is easily accessible to individuals de-7
6387+scribed in subsection (a) and to the general 8
6388+public.’’. 9
6389+(2) A
6390+CCESSIBILITY FROM G.I. BILL COMPARISON 10
6391+TOOL.—The Secretary shall ensure that— 11
6392+(A) the feedback tracked and published 12
6393+under subsection (b)(2) of such section, as 13
6394+amended by paragraph (1), is prominently dis-14
6395+played in the tool maintained under subsection 15
6396+(a) of this section; and 16
6397+(B) when such tool displays information 17
6398+for an institution of higher learning, the appli-18
6399+cable feedback is also displayed for such institu-19
6400+tion of higher learning. 20
6401+(d) T
6402+RAINING FORPROVISION OFEDUCATIONCOUN-21
6403+SELINGSERVICES.— 22
6404+(1) I
6405+N GENERAL.—Not less than one year after 23
6406+the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 24
6407+shall ensure that personnel employed by the Depart-25
6408+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00216 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6409+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 217
6410+•HR 8371 IH
6411+ment of Veteran Affairs, or a contractor of the De-1
6412+partment, to provide education benefits counseling, 2
6413+vocational or transition assistance, or similar func-3
6414+tions, including employees or contractors of the De-4
6415+partment who provide such counseling or assistance 5
6416+as part of the Transition Assistance Program, are 6
6417+trained on how— 7
6418+(A) to use properly the tool maintained 8
6419+under subsection (a); and 9
6420+(B) to provide appropriate educational 10
6421+counseling services to individuals described in 11
6422+section 3698(a) of such title, as amended by 12
6423+subsection (b)(3)(A). 13
6424+(2) T
6425+RANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM DE -14
6426+FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘Transition 15
6427+Assistance Program’’ means the program of coun-16
6428+seling, information, and services under section 1142 17
6429+of title 10, United States Code. 18
6430+Subtitle B—Employment and 19
6431+Training 20
6432+SEC. 221. IMPROVEMENTS TO REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF 21
6433+MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES. 22
6434+(a) USERRA P
6435+URPOSES.—Section 4301(a)(1) of 23
6436+title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘en-24
6437+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00217 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6438+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 218
6439+•HR 8371 IH
6440+courage noncareer service in the uniformed services’’ and 1
6441+inserting ‘‘encourage service in the uniformed services’’. 2
6442+(b) P
6443+ROHIBITION OFRETALIATION.—Subsection (b) 3
6444+of section 4311 of title 38, United States Code, is amend-4
6445+ed by inserting ‘‘or other retaliatory action’’ after ‘‘em-5
6446+ployment action’’. 6
6447+(c) E
6448+XPANSION OF INJUNCTIVERELIEF.—Sub-7
6449+section (e) of section 4323 of such title is amended— 8
6450+(1) by striking ‘‘The court shall use’’ and in-9
6451+serting ‘‘(1) The court shall use’’; and 10
6452+(2) by adding at the end the following new 11
6453+paragraphs: 12
6454+‘‘(2) A person bringing an action to enforce a provi-13
6455+sion of this chapter pursuant to subsection (a) shall be 14
6456+entitled to an injunction under paragraph (1) if such per-15
6457+son demonstrates— 16
6458+‘‘(A) a violation— 17
6459+‘‘(i) of the provisions of this chapter; or 18
6460+‘‘(ii) of the provisions of this chapter is 19
6461+threatened or is imminent; 20
6462+‘‘(B) the harm to the person outweighs the in-21
6463+jury to the employer; 22
6464+‘‘(C) a likelihood of success on the merits of 23
6465+such action; and 24
6466+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00218 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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6468+•HR 8371 IH
6469+‘‘(D) awarding such relief is in the public inter-1
6470+est. 2
6471+‘‘(3) The court may not deny a motion for injunctive 3
6472+relief on the basis that a party bringing an action to en-4
6473+force a provision of this chapter may be awarded wages 5
6474+unearned due to an unlawful termination or denial of em-6
6475+ployment at the conclusion of such action.’’. 7
6476+(d) D
6477+AMAGESAGAINST ASTATE ORPRIVATEEM-8
6478+PLOYER.—Section 4323 of such title is further amended, 9
6479+in paragraph (1) of subsection (d), by striking subpara-10
6480+graph (C) and inserting the following new subparagraphs: 11
6481+‘‘(C) The court may require the employer to 12
6482+pay the person the amount referred to in subpara-13
6483+graph (B) and interest on such amount, calculated 14
6484+at a rate of 3 percent per year. 15
6485+‘‘(D) The court may require the employer to 16
6486+pay the person the greater of $50,000 or the amount 17
6487+equal to the amounts referred to in subparagraphs 18
6488+(B) and (C) as liquidated damages, if the court de-19
6489+termines that the employer knowingly failed to com-20
6490+ply with the provisions of this chapter.’’. 21
6491+(e) M
6492+ANDATORYATTORNEYFEESAWARD INSUC-22
6493+CESSFULACTIONS FORREEMPLOYMENT.— 23
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6496+•HR 8371 IH
6497+(1) MSPB ACTIONS.—Paragraph (4) of sub-1
6498+section (c) of section 4324 of such title is amend-2
6499+ed— 3
6500+(A) by striking ‘‘may, in its discretion,’’ 4
6501+and inserting ‘‘shall’’; and 5
6502+(B) by adding at the end the following new 6
6503+sentence: ‘‘The Board may, in its discretion, 7
6504+award reasonable attorney fees in a case settled 8
6505+before the issuance of an order if the person 9
6506+can demonstrate that significant attorney fees 10
6507+were incurred and that justice requires such an 11
6508+award.’’. 12
6509+(2) F
6510+EDERAL CIRCUIT ACTIONS .—Subsection 13
6511+(d) of such section is amended by adding at the end 14
6512+the following new paragraph: 15
6513+‘‘(3) In such Federal Circuit proceeding, the court 16
6514+shall award such person reasonable attorney fees, expert 17
6515+witness fees, and other litigation expenses if such person— 18
6516+‘‘(A) prevails in such Federal Circuit pro-19
6517+ceeding; and 20
6518+‘‘(B) is not represented by the Special Counsel 21
6519+in such Federal Circuit proceeding.’’. 22
6520+(3) A
6521+CTIONS AGAINST A STATE OR PRIVATE EM -23
6522+PLOYER.—Paragraph (2) of section 4323(h) of such 24
6523+title is amended— 25
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6526+•HR 8371 IH
6527+(A) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)(2)’’ and in-1
6528+serting ‘‘subsection (a)(3)’’; and 2
6529+(B) by striking ‘‘the court may award any 3
6530+such person who prevails in such action or pro-4
6531+ceeding reasonable attorney fees’’ and inserting 5
6532+‘‘the court shall award any such person who 6
6533+prevails in such action or proceeding reasonable 7
6534+attorney fees’’. 8
6535+(f) GAO R
6536+EVIEW ANDREPORT ONUSERRA.— 9
50816537 (1) R
5082-EQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN TOOL .—The 21
5083-Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall maintain the G.I. 22
5084-Bill Comparison Tool that was established pursuant 23
5085-to Executive Order 13607 (77 Fed. Reg. 25861; re-24
5086-lating to establishing principles of excellence for edu-25
5087-cational institutions serving service members, vet-26 185
5088-•HR 8371 EH
5089-erans, spouses, and other family members) and in 1
5090-effect on the day before the date of enactment of 2
5091-this Act, or a successor tool, to provide relevant and 3
5092-timely information about programs of education ap-4
5093-proved under chapter 36 of title 38, United States 5
5094-Code, and the educational institutions that offer 6
5095-such programs. 7
6538+EVIEW.—The Comptroller General of the 10
6539+United States shall review the methods through 11
6540+which the Secretary of Labor, acting through the 12
6541+Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, proc-13
6542+esses actions for relief under chapter 43 of title 38, 14
6543+United States Code. 15
6544+(2) E
6545+LEMENTS.—Not later than one year after 16
6546+the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp-17
6547+troller General shall submit to the Committees on 18
6548+Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 19
6549+and the Senate a report that includes— 20
6550+(A) the findings of the review required 21
6551+under paragraph (1); 22
6552+(B) an identification of the number of ac-23
6553+tions for relief under chapter 43 of title 38, 24
6554+United States Code, initiated during the period 25
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6557+•HR 8371 IH
6558+covered by the report, disaggregated by size of 1
6559+employer and geographic region; 2
6560+(C) an identification of the number of such 3
6561+actions for relief that were erroneously dis-4
6562+missed, as determined by the Comptroller Gen-5
6563+eral; 6
6564+(D) an identification of the number of such 7
6565+actions for relief that were referred to the De-8
6566+partment of Justice; and 9
6567+(E) an assessment of trends, if any, in 10
6568+such actions for relief initiated during such pe-11
6569+riod. 12
6570+(g) GAO R
6571+EVIEW OFPROTECTIONS FOR MEMBERS 13
6572+OF THEUNIFORMEDSERVICES BYFEDERALINTEL-14
6573+LIGENCEAGENCIES.— 15
6574+(1) I
6575+N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 16
6576+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 17
6577+Comptroller General of the United States shall sub-18
6578+mit to the appropriate congressional committees a 19
6579+report on the processes and procedures adopted and 20
6580+used by the intelligence community to provide the 21
6581+protections for members of the uniformed services 22
6582+otherwise established under chapter 43 of title 38, 23
6583+United States Code. 24
50966584 (2) D
5097-ATA RETENTION.—The Secretary shall en-8
5098-sure that historical data that is reported via the tool 9
5099-maintained under paragraph (1) remains easily and 10
5100-prominently accessible on the benefits.va.gov website, 11
5101-or a successor website, for a period of not less than 12
5102-six years from the date of initial publication. 13
6585+EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 25
6586+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00222 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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6588+•HR 8371 IH
6589+(A) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional 1
6590+committees’’ means the Committees on Vet-2
6591+erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 3
6592+and Senate, the Permanent Select Committee 4
6593+on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, 5
6594+and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 6
6595+Senate. 7
6596+(B) The term ‘‘intelligence community’’ 8
6597+has the meaning given such term in section 9
6598+3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 10
6599+U.S.C. 3003(4)). 11
6600+SEC. 222. REVIEW OF INVESTIGATIONS MANUAL OF VET-12
6601+ERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING SERV-13
6602+ICE. 14
6603+(a) I
6604+NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 15
6605+date of the enactment of this Act, and once every two 16
6606+years thereafter for the period of five years beginning on 17
6607+such date, the Secretary of Labor, shall review the manual 18
6608+of the Department of Labor titled ‘‘Veterans’ Employment 19
6609+and Training Service Investigations Manual: USERRA, 20
6610+VEOA, and VP’’ (or a successor manual) and make such 21
6611+revisions to such manual as the Secretary determines ap-22
6612+propriate. 23
6613+(b) R
6614+EPORT.—Not later than 90 days after any date 24
6615+on which the Secretary completes a review required under 25
6616+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00223 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6617+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 224
6618+•HR 8371 IH
6619+subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Commit-1
6620+tees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 2
6621+and the Senate— 3
6622+(1) a report that includes a description of any 4
6623+revision to such manual made pursuant to such re-5
6624+view; and 6
6625+(2) a copy of the entire such manual which— 7
6626+(A) shall be provided to the Chairman and 8
6627+Ranking Member of each such committee; and 9
6628+(B) may contain a separate addendum for 10
6629+portions of the manual that contain law en-11
6630+forcement sensitive materials. 12
6631+SEC. 223. WARRIOR TRAINING ADVANCEMENT COURSE. 13
6632+(a) R
6633+EPORTING ON THE WARRIORTRAININGAD-14
6634+VANCEMENTCOURSE.— 15
6635+(1) R
6636+EPORTS REQUIRED.— 16
6637+(A) I
6638+NITIAL REPORT.—Not later than six 17
6639+months after the date of the enactment of this 18
6640+Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 19
6641+submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs 20
6642+of the Senate and the House of Representatives 21
6643+a report on WARTAC. 22
6644+(B) A
6645+NNUAL REPORT.—One year after the 23
6646+submission of the report required under para-24
6647+graph subparagraph (A) and annually there-25
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6650+•HR 8371 IH
6651+after, the Secretary shall submit to such Com-1
6652+mittees a report that contains the elements 2
6653+under subparagraphs (A) and (C) of paragraph 3
6654+(2) with regards to the preceding year. 4
6655+(2) E
6656+LEMENTS.—Except as provided in para-5
6657+graph (1)(B), the reports under this subsection shall 6
6658+include the following elements: 7
6659+(A) B
6660+EST PRACTICES.—With regards to 8
6661+best practices of WARTAC— 9
6662+(i) how many covered members have 10
6663+applied to participate in WARTAC; 11
6664+(ii) how many covered members have 12
6665+participated in WARTAC; 13
6666+(iii) how the Secretary provides train-14
6667+ing to covered members during TAP; 15
6668+(iv) how many covered members have 16
6669+completed WARTAC; and 17
6670+(v) any other information the Sec-18
6671+retary determines appropriate. 19
6672+(B) C
6673+OST SAVINGS.—With regards to cost 20
6674+savings of WARTAC— 21
6675+(i) how much money the Secretary de-22
6676+termines WARTAC saves the United 23
6677+States each fiscal year; 24
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6680+•HR 8371 IH
6681+(ii) how much money the Secretary 1
6682+determines WARTAC has saved the 2
6683+United States since its establishment; and 3
6684+(iii) the determination of the Sec-4
6685+retary whether other Federal agencies may 5
6686+save money by establishing a program 6
6687+similar to WARTAC. 7
6688+(C) H
6689+IRING.—With regards to hiring cov-8
6690+ered members who complete WARTAC— 9
6691+(i) how the Secretary identifies posi-10
6692+tions in the Department of Veterans Af-11
6693+fairs for which such covered members may 12
6694+qualify; 13
6695+(ii) the grades of such positions on 14
6696+the General Schedule under section 5332 15
6697+of title 5, United States Code; and 16
6698+(iii) how many such covered members 17
6699+the Secretary has hired to such positions. 18
6700+(3) D
6701+ISTRIBUTION.—Not later than 30 days 19
6702+after submitting the report under paragraph (1)(A), 20
6703+the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall transmit a 21
6704+copy of the report under this section to the head of 22
6705+each Federal agency. 23
6706+(4) D
6707+EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 24
6708+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00226 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6709+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 227
6710+•HR 8371 IH
6711+(A) The term ‘‘covered member’’ means 1
6712+members of the Armed Forces participating in 2
6713+TAP. 3
6714+(B) The term ‘‘TAP’’ means the Transi-4
6715+tion Assistance Program under sections 1142 5
6716+and 1144 of title 10, United States Code. 6
6717+(C) The term ‘‘WARTAC’’ means the 7
6718+Warrior Training Advancement Course of the 8
6719+Veterans Benefit Administration, in which the 9
6720+Secretary provides training to covered members 10
6721+so such covered members may qualify for cer-11
6722+tain employment in the Veterans Benefit Ad-12
6723+ministration. 13
51036724 (b) P
5104-ROVIDINGTIMELY ANDRELEVANTEDUCATION 14
5105-I
5106-NFORMATION TO VETERANS, MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 15
5107-F
5108-ORCES, ANDOTHERINDIVIDUALS.— 16
5109-(1) I
5110-N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 17
5111-after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-18
5112-retary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the 19
5113-Secretary of Education, the Secretary of the Treas-20
5114-ury, and the heads of other relevant Federal agen-21
5115-cies, shall make such changes to the tool maintained 22
5116-under subsection (a) as the Secretary of Veterans 23
5117-Affairs determines appropriate to ensure that such 24
5118-tool is an effective and efficient method for providing 25 186
5119-•HR 8371 EH
5120-information pursuant to section 3698(b)(5) of title 1
5121-38, United States Code. 2
5122-(2) M
5123-EMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING RE -3
5124-QUIRED.—Not later than two years after the date of 4
5125-the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 5
5126-Affairs shall seek to enter into a memorandum of 6
5127-understanding with the Secretary of Education and 7
5128-the heads other relevant Federal agencies, as the 8
5129-Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines appro-9
5130-priate, to obtain information on outcomes with re-10
5131-spect to individuals who are entitled to educational 11
5132-assistance under the laws administered by the Sec-12
5133-retary of Veterans Affairs and who are attending 13
5134-educational institutions. Such memorandum of un-14
5135-derstanding may include data sharing or computer 15
5136-matching agreements. 16
5137-(3) M
5138-ODIFICATION OF SCOPE OF COMPREHEN -17
5139-SIVE POLICY ON PROVIDING EDUCATION INFORMA -18
5140-TION.—Section 3698 of title 38, United States Code, 19
5141-is amended— 20
5142-(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘veterans 21
5143-and members of the Armed Forces’’ and insert-22
5144-ing ‘‘individuals entitled to educational assist-23
5145-ance under laws administered by the Secretary 24
5146-of Veterans Affairs’’; and 25 187
5147-•HR 8371 EH
5148-(B) in subsection (b)(5)— 1
5149-(i) by striking ‘‘veterans and members 2
5150-of the Armed Forces’’ and inserting ‘‘indi-3
5151-viduals described in subsection (a)’’; and 4
5152-(ii) by striking ‘‘the veteran or mem-5
5153-ber’’ and inserting ‘‘the individual’’. 6
5154-(4) G.I.
5155-BILL COMPARISON TOOL REQUIRED 7
5156-DISCLOSURES.—Paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of 8
5157-such section is amended— 9
5158-(A) by striking subparagraph (B) and in-10
5159-serting the following: 11
5160-‘‘(B) for each individual described in subsection 12
5161-(a) seeking information provided under subsection 13
5162-(b)(5), the name of each Federal student aid pro-14
5163-gram, and a description of each such program, from 15
5164-which the individual may receive educational assist-16
5165-ance; and’’; 17
5166-(B) in subparagraph (C)— 18
5167-(i) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and a 19
5168-definition of each type of institution’’ be-20
5169-fore the semicolon; 21
5170-(ii) in clause (iv), by inserting ‘‘and if 22
5171-so, which programs’’ before the semicolon; 23
5172-(iii) by striking clause (v) and insert-24
5173-ing the following: 25 188
5174-•HR 8371 EH
5175-‘‘(v) the average annual cost and the total 1
5176-cost to earn an associate’s degree and a bach-2
5177-elor’s degree, with available cost information on 3
5178-any other degree or credential the institution 4
5179-awards;’’; 5
5180-(iv) in clause (vi), by inserting before 6
5181-the semicolon the following: ‘‘disaggregated 7
5182-by— 8
5183-‘‘(I) the type of beneficiary of edu-9
5184-cational assistance; 10
5185-‘‘(II) individuals who received a cre-11
5186-dential and individuals who did not; and 12
5187-‘‘(II) individuals using educational as-13
5188-sistance under laws administered by the 14
5189-Secretary and individuals who are not;’’; 15
5190-(v) in clause (xiv), by striking ‘‘and’’ 16
5191-at the end; 17
5192-(vi) in clause (xv), by striking the pe-18
5193-riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 19
5194-and 20
5195-(vii) by adding at the end the fol-21
5196-lowing new clauses: 22
5197-‘‘(xvi) the number of veterans or members 23
5198-who completed covered education at the institu-24
5199-tion leading to— 25 189
5200-•HR 8371 EH
5201-‘‘(I) a degree, disaggregated by type 1
5202-of program, including— 2
5203-‘‘(aa) an associate degree; 3
5204-‘‘(bb) a bachelor’s degree; and 4
5205-‘‘(cc) a postbaccalaureate degree; 5
5206-and 6
5207-‘‘(II) a certificate or professional li-7
5208-cense, disaggregated by type of certificate 8
5209-or professional license; 9
5210-‘‘(xvii) programs available and the average 10
5211-time for completion of each program; 11
5212-‘‘(xviii) employment rate and median in-12
5213-come of graduates of the institution in general 13
5214-two and five years after graduation, 14
5215-disaggregated by— 15
5216-‘‘(I) specific program; and 16
5217-‘‘(II) individuals using educational as-17
5218-sistance under laws administered by the 18
5219-Secretary and individuals who are not; and 19
5220-‘‘(xix) the number of individuals using edu-20
5221-cational assistance under laws administered by 21
5222-the Secretary who are enrolled in the both the 22
5223-institution and specific program per year.’’. 23 190
5224-•HR 8371 EH
5225-(5) CLARITY AND ANONYMITY OF INFORMATION 1
5226-PROVIDED.—Paragraph (2) of such subsection is 2
5227-amended— 3
5228-(A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘To the ex-4
5229-tent’’; and 5
5230-(B) by adding at the end the following new 6
5231-subparagraph: 7
5232-‘‘(B) The Secretary shall ensure that information 8
5233-provided pursuant to subsection (b)(5) is provided in a 9
5234-manner that is easy for, and accessible to, individuals de-10
5235-scribed in subsection (a). 11
5236-‘‘(C) In providing information pursuant to subsection 12
5237-(b)(5), the Secretary shall maintain the anonymity of indi-13
5238-viduals described in subsection (a) and, to the extent that 14
5239-a portion of any data would undermine such anonymity, 15
5240-ensure that such data is not made available pursuant to 16
5241-such subsection.’’. 17
5242-(c) I
5243-MPROVEMENTS FOR STUDENTFEEDBACK.— 18
5244-(1) I
5245-N GENERAL.—Subsection (b)(2) of such 19
5246-section is amended— 20
5247-(A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 21
5248-as follows: 22
5249-‘‘(A) provides institutions of higher learn-23
5250-ing— 24 191
5251-•HR 8371 EH
5252-‘‘(i) up to 30 days to review and re-1
5253-spond to feedback from individuals de-2
5254-scribed in subsection (a) and address 3
5255-issues regarding the feedback before the 4
5256-feedback is published; and 5
5257-‘‘(ii) if an institution of higher learn-6
5258-ing contests the accuracy of the feedback, 7
5259-the opportunity to challenge the inclusion 8
5260-of such data with an official appointed by 9
5261-the Secretary;’’; 10
5262-(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 11
5263-‘‘and’’ at the end; 12
5264-(C) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘that 13
5265-conforms with criteria for relevancy that the 14
5266-Secretary shall determine.’’ and inserting ‘‘, 15
5267-and responses from institutions of higher learn-16
5268-ing to such feedback, that conform with criteria 17
5269-for relevancy that the Secretary shall deter-18
5270-mine;’’; and 19
5271-(D) by adding at the end the following new 20
5272-subparagraphs: 21
5273-‘‘(D) for each institution of higher learning 22
5274-that is approved under this chapter, retains, 23
5275-maintains, and publishes all of such feedback 24
5276-for not less than six years; and 25 192
5277-•HR 8371 EH
5278-‘‘(E) is easily accessible to individuals de-1
5279-scribed in subsection (a) and to the general 2
5280-public.’’. 3
5281-(2) A
5282-CCESSIBILITY FROM G.I. BILL COMPARISON 4
5283-TOOL.—The Secretary shall ensure that— 5
5284-(A) the feedback tracked and published 6
5285-under subsection (b)(2) of such section, as 7
5286-amended by paragraph (1), is prominently dis-8
5287-played in the tool maintained under subsection 9
5288-(a) of this section; and 10
5289-(B) when such tool displays information 11
5290-for an institution of higher learning, the appli-12
5291-cable feedback is also displayed for such institu-13
5292-tion of higher learning. 14
5293-(d) T
5294-RAINING FORPROVISION OFEDUCATIONCOUN-15
5295-SELINGSERVICES.— 16
5296-(1) I
5297-N GENERAL.—Not less than one year after 17
5298-the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 18
5299-shall ensure that personnel employed by the Depart-19
5300-ment of Veteran Affairs, or a contractor of the De-20
5301-partment, to provide education benefits counseling, 21
5302-vocational or transition assistance, or similar func-22
5303-tions, including employees or contractors of the De-23
5304-partment who provide such counseling or assistance 24 193
5305-•HR 8371 EH
5306-as part of the Transition Assistance Program, are 1
5307-trained on how— 2
5308-(A) to use properly the tool maintained 3
5309-under subsection (a); and 4
5310-(B) to provide appropriate educational 5
5311-counseling services to individuals described in 6
5312-section 3698(a) of such title, as amended by 7
5313-subsection (b)(3)(A). 8
5314-(2) T
5315-RANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM DE -9
5316-FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘Transition 10
5317-Assistance Program’’ means the program of coun-11
5318-seling, information, and services under section 1142 12
5319-of title 10, United States Code. 13
5320-Subtitle B—Employment and 14
5321-Training 15
5322-SEC. 221. IMPROVEMENTS TO REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF 16
5323-MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES. 17
5324-(a) USERRA P
5325-URPOSES.—Section 4301(a)(1) of 18
5326-title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘en-19
5327-courage noncareer service in the uniformed services’’ and 20
5328-inserting ‘‘encourage service in the uniformed services’’. 21
5329-(b) P
5330-ROHIBITION OFRETALIATION.—Subsection (b) 22
5331-of section 4311 of title 38, United States Code, is amend-23
5332-ed by inserting ‘‘or other retaliatory action’’ after ‘‘em-24
5333-ployment action’’. 25 194
5334-•HR 8371 EH
5335-(c) EXPANSION OF INJUNCTIVERELIEF.—Sub-1
5336-section (e) of section 4323 of such title is amended— 2
5337-(1) by striking ‘‘The court shall use’’ and in-3
5338-serting ‘‘(1) The court shall use’’; and 4
5339-(2) by adding at the end the following new 5
5340-paragraphs: 6
5341-‘‘(2) A person bringing an action to enforce a provi-7
5342-sion of this chapter pursuant to subsection (a) shall be 8
5343-entitled to an injunction under paragraph (1) if such per-9
5344-son demonstrates— 10
5345-‘‘(A) a violation— 11
5346-‘‘(i) of the provisions of this chapter; or 12
5347-‘‘(ii) of the provisions of this chapter is 13
5348-threatened or is imminent; 14
5349-‘‘(B) the harm to the person outweighs the in-15
5350-jury to the employer; 16
5351-‘‘(C) a likelihood of success on the merits of 17
5352-such action; and 18
5353-‘‘(D) awarding such relief is in the public inter-19
5354-est. 20
5355-‘‘(3) The court may not deny a motion for injunctive 21
5356-relief on the basis that a party bringing an action to en-22
5357-force a provision of this chapter may be awarded wages 23
5358-unearned due to an unlawful termination or denial of em-24
5359-ployment at the conclusion of such action.’’. 25 195
5360-•HR 8371 EH
5361-(d) DAMAGESAGAINST ASTATE ORPRIVATEEM-1
5362-PLOYER.—Section 4323 of such title is further amended, 2
5363-in paragraph (1) of subsection (d), by striking subpara-3
5364-graph (C) and inserting the following new subparagraphs: 4
5365-‘‘(C) The court may require the employer to 5
5366-pay the person the amount referred to in subpara-6
5367-graph (B) and interest on such amount, calculated 7
5368-at a rate of 3 percent per year. 8
5369-‘‘(D) The court may require the employer to 9
5370-pay the person the greater of $50,000 or the amount 10
5371-equal to the amounts referred to in subparagraphs 11
5372-(B) and (C) as liquidated damages, if the court de-12
5373-termines that the employer knowingly failed to com-13
5374-ply with the provisions of this chapter.’’. 14
5375-(e) M
5376-ANDATORYATTORNEYFEESAWARD INSUC-15
5377-CESSFULACTIONS FORREEMPLOYMENT.— 16
5378-(1) MSPB
5379-ACTIONS.—Paragraph (4) of sub-17
5380-section (c) of section 4324 of such title is amend-18
5381-ed— 19
5382-(A) by striking ‘‘may, in its discretion,’’ 20
5383-and inserting ‘‘shall’’; and 21
5384-(B) by adding at the end the following new 22
5385-sentence: ‘‘The Board may, in its discretion, 23
5386-award reasonable attorney fees in a case settled 24
5387-before the issuance of an order if the person 25 196
5388-•HR 8371 EH
5389-can demonstrate that significant attorney fees 1
5390-were incurred and that justice requires such an 2
5391-award.’’. 3
5392-(2) F
5393-EDERAL CIRCUIT ACTIONS .—Subsection 4
5394-(d) of such section is amended by adding at the end 5
5395-the following new paragraph: 6
5396-‘‘(3) In such Federal Circuit proceeding, the court 7
5397-shall award such person reasonable attorney fees, expert 8
5398-witness fees, and other litigation expenses if such person— 9
5399-‘‘(A) prevails in such Federal Circuit pro-10
5400-ceeding; and 11
5401-‘‘(B) is not represented by the Special Counsel 12
5402-in such Federal Circuit proceeding.’’. 13
6725+ILOTPROGRAMTOEMPLOYVETERANS INPO-14
6726+SITIONSRELATING TOCONSERVATION AND RESOURCE 15
6727+M
6728+ANAGEMENTACTIVITIES.— 16
6729+(1) B
6730+EST PRACTICES FOR OTHER DEPART -17
6731+MENTS.—The Assistant Secretary of Labor for Vet-18
6732+erans’ Employment and Training, in consultation 19
6733+with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall estab-20
6734+lish guidelines containing best practices for depart-21
6735+ments and agencies of the Federal Government that 22
6736+carry out programs to employ veterans who are 23
6737+transitioning from service in the Armed Forces. 24
6738+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00227 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6739+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 228
6740+•HR 8371 IH
6741+Such guidelines shall include the findings of the ini-1
6742+tial report required under subsection (a)(1). 2
6743+(2) P
6744+ILOT PROGRAM.— 3
6745+(A) E
6746+STABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of 4
6747+the Interior, in consultation with the Assistant 5
6748+Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment 6
6749+and Training and the Secretary of Veterans Af-7
6750+fairs, shall establish a pilot program under 8
6751+which veterans are employed by the Federal 9
6752+Government in positions that relate to the con-10
6753+servation and resource management activities of 11
6754+the Department of the Interior. 12
6755+(B) C
6756+OMMENCEMENT .—The Secretary of 13
6757+the Interior shall commence the pilot program 14
6758+at least 60, but not more than 180, days after 15
6759+the date of the submission of the report re-16
6760+quired under subsection (a)(1)(A). 17
6761+(C) P
6762+OSITIONS.—The Secretary of the In-18
6763+terior shall— 19
6764+(i) identify vacant positions in the De-20
6765+partment of the Interior that are appro-21
6766+priate to fill using the pilot program; and 22
6767+(ii) to the extent practicable, fill such 23
6768+positions using the pilot program. 24
6769+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00228 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6770+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 229
6771+•HR 8371 IH
6772+(D) APPLICATION OF CIVIL SERVICE 1
6773+LAWS.—A veteran employed under the pilot 2
6774+program shall be treated as an employee as de-3
6775+fined by section 2105 of title 5, United States 4
6776+Code. 5
6777+(E) B
6778+RIEFINGS AND REPORT.— 6
6779+(i) I
6780+NITIAL BRIEFING.—Not later 7
6781+than 60 days after the date of the submis-8
6782+sion of the report required under sub-9
6783+section (a)(1)(A), the Secretary of the In-10
6784+terior and the Assistant Secretary of Labor 11
6785+for Veterans’ Employment and Training 12
6786+shall jointly provide to the appropriate con-13
6787+gressional committees a briefing on the 14
6788+pilot program under this subsection, which 15
6789+shall include a description of how the pilot 16
6790+program will be carried out in a manner to 17
6791+reduce the unemployment of veterans. 18
6792+(ii) I
6793+MPLEMENTATION BRIEFING .— 19
6794+Not later than one year after the date on 20
6795+which the pilot program under this para-21
6796+graph commences, the Secretary of the In-22
6797+terior and the Assistant Secretary of Labor 23
6798+for Veterans’ Employment and Training 24
6799+shall jointly provide to the appropriate con-25
6800+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00229 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6801+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 230
6802+•HR 8371 IH
6803+gressional committees a briefing on the im-1
6804+plementation of the pilot program. 2
6805+(iii) F
6806+INAL REPORT.—Not later than 3
6807+30 days after the date on which the pilot 4
6808+program under this paragraph is com-5
6809+pleted, the Secretary of the Interior and 6
6810+the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Vet-7
6811+erans’ Employment and Training shall 8
6812+jointly submit to the appropriate congres-9
6813+sional committees a report on the pilot 10
6814+program that includes the following: 11
6815+(I) The number of veterans who 12
6816+applied to participate in the pilot pro-13
6817+gram. 14
6818+(II) The number of such veterans 15
6819+employed under the pilot program. 16
6820+(III) The number of veterans 17
6821+identified in subclause (II) who 18
6822+transitioned to full-time positions with 19
6823+the Federal Government after partici-20
6824+pating in the pilot program. 21
6825+(IV) Recommendations with re-22
6826+spect to extending the pilot or making 23
6827+the program permanent. 24
6828+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00230 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6829+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 231
6830+•HR 8371 IH
6831+(V) Any other information the 1
6832+Secretary and the Assistant Secretary 2
6833+determine appropriate with respect to 3
6834+measuring the effectiveness of the 4
6835+pilot program. 5
6836+(F) D
6837+URATION.—The authority to carry 6
6838+out the pilot program under this paragraph 7
6839+shall terminate on the date that is two years 8
6840+after the date on which the pilot program com-9
6841+mences. 10
54036842 (3) A
5404-CTIONS AGAINST A STATE OR PRIVATE EM -14
5405-PLOYER.—Paragraph (2) of section 4323(h) of such 15
5406-title is amended— 16
5407-(A) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)(2)’’ and in-17
5408-serting ‘‘subsection (a)(3)’’; and 18
5409-(B) by striking ‘‘the court may award any 19
5410-such person who prevails in such action or pro-20
5411-ceeding reasonable attorney fees’’ and inserting 21
5412-‘‘the court shall award any such person who 22
5413-prevails in such action or proceeding reasonable 23
5414-attorney fees’’. 24
5415-(f) GAO R
5416-EVIEW ANDREPORT ONUSERRA.— 25 197
5417-•HR 8371 EH
5418-(1) REVIEW.—The Comptroller General of the 1
5419-United States shall review the methods through 2
5420-which the Secretary of Labor, acting through the 3
5421-Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, proc-4
5422-esses actions for relief under chapter 43 of title 38, 5
5423-United States Code. 6
5424-(2) E
5425-LEMENTS.—Not later than one year after 7
5426-the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp-8
5427-troller General shall submit to the Committees on 9
5428-Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 10
5429-and the Senate a report that includes— 11
5430-(A) the findings of the review required 12
5431-under paragraph (1); 13
5432-(B) an identification of the number of ac-14
5433-tions for relief under chapter 43 of title 38, 15
5434-United States Code, initiated during the period 16
5435-covered by the report, disaggregated by size of 17
5436-employer and geographic region; 18
5437-(C) an identification of the number of such 19
5438-actions for relief that were erroneously dis-20
5439-missed, as determined by the Comptroller Gen-21
5440-eral; 22
5441-(D) an identification of the number of such 23
5442-actions for relief that were referred to the De-24
5443-partment of Justice; and 25 198
5444-•HR 8371 EH
5445-(E) an assessment of trends, if any, in 1
5446-such actions for relief initiated during such pe-2
5447-riod. 3
5448-(g) GAO R
5449-EVIEW OFPROTECTIONS FOR MEMBERS 4
5450-OF THEUNIFORMEDSERVICES BYFEDERALINTEL-5
5451-LIGENCEAGENCIES.— 6
5452-(1) I
5453-N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 7
5454-after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 8
5455-Comptroller General of the United States shall sub-9
5456-mit to the appropriate congressional committees a 10
5457-report on the processes and procedures adopted and 11
5458-used by the intelligence community to provide the 12
5459-protections for members of the uniformed services 13
5460-otherwise established under chapter 43 of title 38, 14
5461-United States Code. 15
5462-(2) D
5463-EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 16
5464-(A) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional 17
5465-committees’’ means the Committees on Vet-18
5466-erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 19
5467-and Senate, the Permanent Select Committee 20
5468-on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, 21
5469-and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 22
5470-Senate. 23
5471-(B) The term ‘‘intelligence community’’ 24
5472-has the meaning given such term in section 25 199
5473-•HR 8371 EH
5474-3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 1
5475-U.S.C. 3003(4)). 2
5476-SEC. 222. REVIEW OF INVESTIGATIONS MANUAL OF VET-3
5477-ERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING SERV-4
5478-ICE. 5
6843+PPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT -11
6844+TEES DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘ap-12
6845+propriate congressional committees’’ means— 13
6846+(A) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 14
6847+and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 15
6848+House of Representatives; and 16
6849+(B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 17
6850+and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re-18
6851+sources of the Senate. 19
6852+Subtitle C—Home Loans 20
6853+SEC. 231. IMPROVEMENTS TO PROGRAM FOR DIRECT 21
6854+HOUSING LOANS MADE TO NATIVE AMER-22
6855+ICAN VETERANS BY THE SECRETARY OF VET-23
6856+ERANS AFFAIRS. 24
6857+(a) G
6858+ENERALAUTHORITIES ANDREQUIREMENTS.— 25
6859+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00231 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6860+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 232
6861+•HR 8371 IH
6862+(1) DIRECT HOUSING LOANS TO NATIVE AMER -1
6863+ICAN VETERANS.—Section 3762(a) of title 38, 2
6864+United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 3
6865+‘‘(a) The Secretary may make a direct housing loan 4
6866+to a Native American veteran under this subchapter if the 5
6867+Secretary ensures the following: 6
6868+‘‘(1) That each Native American veteran to 7
6869+whom the Secretary makes a direct housing loan 8
6870+under this subchapter— 9
6871+‘‘(A) holds, possesses, or purchases using 10
6872+the proceeds of the loan a meaningful interest 11
6873+in a lot or dwelling (or both) that is located on 12
6874+trust land; and 13
6875+‘‘(B) will purchase, construct, or improve 14
6876+(as the case may be) a dwelling on the lot using 15
6877+the proceeds of the loan. 16
6878+‘‘(2) That each such Native American veteran 17
6879+will convey to the Secretary by an appropriate in-18
6880+strument the interest referred to in paragraph 19
6881+(1)(A) as security for a direct housing loan under 20
6882+this subchapter. 21
6883+‘‘(3) That the Secretary, including the Sec-22
6884+retary’s employees or agents, may enter upon the 23
6885+trust land for the purposes of carrying out such ac-24
6886+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00232 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6887+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 233
6888+•HR 8371 IH
6889+tions as the Secretary determines are necessary, in-1
6890+cluding— 2
6891+‘‘(A) to evaluate the advisability of the 3
6892+loan; 4
6893+‘‘(B) to monitor any purchase, construc-5
6894+tion, or improvements carried out using the 6
6895+proceeds of the loan; and 7
6896+‘‘(C) to manage any servicing or post-fore-8
6897+closure activities, including acquisition, property 9
6898+inspections, and property management. 10
6899+‘‘(4) That there are established standards and 11
6900+procedures that apply to the foreclosure of the inter-12
6901+est conveyed by a Native American veteran pursuant 13
6902+to paragraph (2), including— 14
6903+‘‘(A) procedures for foreclosing the inter-15
6904+est; and 16
6905+‘‘(B) procedures for the resale of the lot or 17
6906+dwelling (or both) purchased, constructed, or 18
6907+improved using the proceeds of the loan. 19
6908+‘‘(5) That the loan is made in a responsible and 20
6909+prudent manner, subject to standards and proce-21
6910+dures as are necessary for the reasonable protection 22
6911+of the financial interests of the United States.’’. 23
6912+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00233 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6913+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 234
6914+•HR 8371 IH
6915+(2) MEMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING , 1
6916+AGREEMENTS, AND DETERMINATIONS .—Section 2
6917+3762(b) of such title is amended to read as follows: 3
6918+‘‘(b)(1) To carry out the purpose of subsection (a), 4
6919+the Secretary may— 5
6920+‘‘(A) enter into a memorandum of under-6
6921+standing with a tribal organization, other entity, or 7
6922+individual; 8
6923+‘‘(B) rely on agreements or determinations of 9
6924+other Federal agencies to guarantee, insure, or make 10
6925+loans on trust land; and 11
6926+‘‘(C) enter into other agreements or take such 12
6927+other actions as the Secretary determines necessary. 13
6928+‘‘(2) If the Secretary determines that the require-14
6929+ments under subsection (a) are not being enforced by a 15
6930+tribal organization, other entity, or individual that is a 16
6931+party to any memorandum of understanding, agreement, 17
6932+or determination described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 18
6933+may cease making new direct housing loans to Native 19
6934+American veterans under this subchapter within the area 20
6935+of the authority of the tribal organization, other entity, 21
6936+or individual (as the case may be).’’. 22
6937+(b) D
6938+IRECTLOANS TONATIVEAMERICANVETERANS 23
6939+T
6940+OREFINANCEEXISTINGMORTGAGELOANS.—Section 24
6941+3762(h) of such title is amended to read as follows: 25
6942+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00234 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6943+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 235
6944+•HR 8371 IH
6945+‘‘(h) The Secretary may make direct loans to Native 1
6946+American veterans in order to enable such veterans to refi-2
6947+nance existing mortgage loans for any of the following 3
6948+purposes: 4
6949+‘‘(1) To refinance an existing loan made under 5
6950+this section, if the loan— 6
6951+‘‘(A) meets the requirements set forth in 7
6952+subparagraphs (B), (C), and (E) of paragraph 8
6953+(1) of section 3710(e) of this title; 9
6954+‘‘(B) will bear an interest rate at least one 10
6955+percentage point less than the interest rate 11
6956+borne by the loan being refinanced; and 12
6957+‘‘(C) complies with paragraphs (2) and (3) 13
6958+of section 3710(e) of this title, except that for 14
6959+the purposes of this subsection the reference to 15
6960+subsection (a)(8) of section 3710 of this title in 16
6961+such paragraphs (2) and (3) shall be deemed to 17
6962+be a reference to this subsection. 18
6963+‘‘(2) To refinance an existing mortgage loan not 19
6964+made under this section on a dwelling owned and oc-20
6965+cupied by the veteran as the veteran’s home, if all 21
6966+of the following requirements are met: 22
6967+‘‘(A) The loan will be secured by the same 23
6968+dwelling as was the loan being refinanced. 24
6969+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00235 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6970+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 236
6971+•HR 8371 IH
6972+‘‘(B) The loan will provide the veteran with 1
6973+a net tangible benefit. 2
6974+‘‘(C) The nature and condition of the prop-3
6975+erty is such as to be suitable for dwelling pur-4
6976+poses. 5
6977+‘‘(D) The amount of the loan does not ex-6
6978+ceed either of the following: 7
6979+‘‘(i) 100 percent of the reasonable 8
6980+value of the dwelling, with such reasonable 9
6981+value determined under the procedures es-10
6982+tablished by the Secretary under sub-11
6983+section (d)(2). 12
6984+‘‘(ii) An amount equal to the sum of 13
6985+the balance of the loan being refinanced 14
6986+and such closing costs (including any dis-15
6987+count points) as may be authorized by the 16
6988+Secretary to be included in the loan. 17
6989+‘‘(E) Notwithstanding subparagraph (D), 18
6990+if a loan is made for both the purpose of this 19
6991+paragraph and to make energy efficiency im-20
6992+provements, the loan must not exceed either of 21
6993+the following: 22
6994+‘‘(i) 100 percent of the reasonable 23
6995+value of the dwelling as improved for en-24
6996+ergy efficiency, with such reasonable value 25
6997+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00236 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
6998+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 237
6999+•HR 8371 IH
7000+determined under the procedures estab-1
7001+lished by the Secretary under subsection 2
7002+(d)(2). 3
7003+‘‘(ii) The amount referred to under 4
7004+subparagraph (D)(ii), plus the applicable 5
7005+amount specified under section 3710(d)(2) 6
7006+of this title. 7
7007+‘‘(F) The loan meets all other require-8
7008+ments the Secretary may establish under this 9
7009+subchapter. 10
7010+‘‘(G) The existing mortgage being refi-11
7011+nanced is a first lien on the property and se-12
7012+cured of record. 13
7013+‘‘(3) To refinance an existing mortgage loan to 14
7014+repair, alter, or improve a dwelling owned by the 15
7015+veteran and occupied by the veteran as the veteran’s 16
7016+home, if all of the following requirements are met: 17
7017+‘‘(A) The loan will be secured by the same 18
7018+dwelling as was the loan being refinanced. 19
7019+‘‘(B) The nature and condition of the 20
7020+property is such as to be suitable for dwelling 21
7021+purposes, and the repair, alteration, or improve-22
7022+ment substantially protects or improves the 23
7023+basic livability or utility of such property. 24
7024+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00237 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
7025+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 238
7026+•HR 8371 IH
7027+‘‘(C) The amount of the loan, including the 1
7028+costs of repairs, alterations, and improvements, 2
7029+does not exceed either of the following: 3
7030+‘‘(i) 100 percent of the reasonable 4
7031+value of the dwelling as repaired, altered, 5
7032+or improved, with such reasonable value 6
7033+determined under the procedures estab-7
7034+lished by the Secretary under subsection 8
7035+(d)(2). 9
7036+‘‘(ii) An amount equal to the sum 10
7037+of— 11
7038+‘‘(I) the balance of the loan being 12
7039+refinanced; 13
7040+‘‘(II) the actual cost of repairs, 14
7041+alterations, or improvements; and 15
7042+‘‘(III) such closing costs (includ-16
7043+ing any discount points) as may be 17
7044+authorized by the Secretary to be in-18
7045+cluded in the loan. 19
7046+‘‘(D) The loan meets all other require-20
7047+ments the Secretary may establish under this 21
7048+subchapter. 22
7049+‘‘(E) The existing mortgage loan being re-23
7050+financed is a first lien on the property and se-24
7051+cured of record.’’. 25
7052+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00238 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
7053+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 239
7054+•HR 8371 IH
7055+(c) EXPANSION OFOUTREACHPROGRAM ONAVAIL-1
7056+ABILITY OFDIRECTHOUSINGLOANS FORNATIVEAMER-2
7057+ICANVETERANS.—Section 3762(i)(2) of such title is 3
7058+amended by adding at the end the following new subpara-4
7059+graph: 5
7060+‘‘(G) Pursuant to subsection (g)(4), assisting 6
7061+Native American veterans in qualifying for mortgage 7
7062+financing by— 8
7063+‘‘(i) partnering with local service providers, 9
7064+such as tribal organizations, tribally designated 10
7065+housing entities, Native community development 11
7066+financial institutions, and nonprofit organiza-12
7067+tions, for conducting outreach, homebuyer edu-13
7068+cation, housing counseling, and post-purchase 14
7069+education; and 15
7070+‘‘(ii) providing other technical assistance as 16
7071+needed. 17
7072+‘‘(H) Attending conferences and conventions 18
7073+conducted by the network of Native community de-19
7074+velopment financial institutions and other Native 20
7075+American homeownership organizations to provide 21
7076+information and training to Native community devel-22
7077+opment financial institutions about the availability of 23
7078+the relending program under section 3762A of this 24
7079+title.’’. 25
7080+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00239 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
7081+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 240
7082+•HR 8371 IH
7083+(d) ADEQUATEPERSONNEL.—Section 3762 of such 1
7084+title is amended by adding at the end the following new 2
7085+subsection: 3
7086+‘‘(k) The Secretary shall assign a sufficient number 4
7087+of personnel of the Department dedicated to carrying out 5
7088+the authority of the Secretary under this subchapter, in-6
7089+cluding construction and valuation specialists to assist 7
7090+with issues unique to new construction and renovations 8
7091+on trust land.’’. 9
7092+(e) D
7093+EFINITIONS.—Section 3765 of such title is 10
7094+amended— 11
7095+(1) in paragraph (1)— 12
7096+(A) by amending subparagraph (C) to read 13
7097+as follows: 14
7098+‘‘(C) is located in the State of Alaska with-15
7099+in a region established under section 7(a) of the 16
7100+Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 17
7101+U.S.C. 1606(a));’’; 18
7102+(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 19
7103+period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 20
7104+and 21
7105+(C) by adding at the end the following new 22
7106+subparagraphs: 23
7107+‘‘(E) is defined by the Secretary of the In-24
7108+terior and recognized by the United States as 25
7109+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00240 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
7110+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 241
7111+•HR 8371 IH
7112+land over which an Indian Tribe has govern-1
7113+mental dominion; or 2
7114+‘‘(F) is on any land that the Secretary de-3
7115+termines is provided to Native American vet-4
7116+erans because of their status as Native Ameri-5
7117+cans.’’; and 6
7118+(2) by adding at the end the following new 7
7119+paragraphs: 8
7120+‘‘(6) The term ‘community development finan-9
7121+cial institution’ has the meaning given that term in 10
7122+section 103 of the Community Development Banking 11
7123+and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 12
7124+4702). 13
7125+‘‘(7) The term ‘Indian Tribe’ means any Indian 14
7126+tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or com-15
7127+munity, including any Alaska Native village or re-16
7128+gional or village corporation as defined in or estab-17
7129+lished pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settle-18
7130+ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), which is recog-19
7131+nized as eligible for the special programs and serv-20
7132+ices provided by the United States to Indians be-21
7133+cause of their status as Indians. 22
7134+‘‘(8) The term ‘Native community development 23
7135+financial institution’ means any entity— 24
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7137+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 242
7138+•HR 8371 IH
7139+‘‘(A) that has been certified as a commu-1
7140+nity development financial institution by the 2
7141+Secretary of the Treasury; 3
7142+‘‘(B) that is not less than 51 percent 4
7143+owned or controlled by Native Americans; and 5
7144+‘‘(C) for which not less than 51 percent of 6
7145+the activities of the entity serve Native Ameri-7
7146+cans. 8
7147+‘‘(9) The term ‘net tangible benefit’ shall have 9
7148+such meaning as the Secretary determines appro-10
7149+priate, but shall include the refinance of an interim 11
7150+construction loan. 12
7151+‘‘(10) The term ‘other technical assistance’ 13
7152+means services to assist a Native American veteran 14
7153+to navigate the steps necessary for securing a mort-15
7154+gage loan on trust land, including pre-development 16
7155+activities related to utilities, identifying appropriate 17
7156+residential construction services, and obtaining lease 18
7157+clearances and title status reports from the applica-19
7158+ble tribal organization or the Bureau of Indian Af-20
7159+fairs. 21
7160+‘‘(11) The term ‘tribally designated housing en-22
7161+tity’ has the meaning given that term in section 4 23
7162+of the Native American Housing Assistance and 24
7163+Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103).’’. 25
7164+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00242 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
7165+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 243
7166+•HR 8371 IH
7167+(f) INTEREST RATEREDUCTION FINANCING 1
7168+L
7169+OAN.—Section 3729(b)(4)(F) of such title is amended 2
7170+by striking ‘‘3762(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘3762(h)(1)’’. 3
7171+(g) R
7172+EGULATIONS.—Section 3761 of such title is 4
7173+amended by adding at the end the following new sub-5
7174+section: 6
7175+‘‘(c) The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations 7
7176+as may be necessary to carry out this subchapter.’’. 8
7177+SEC. 232. NATIVE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL 9
7178+INSTITUTION RELENDING PROGRAM. 10
54797179 (a) I
5480-NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 6
5481-date of the enactment of this Act, and once every two 7
5482-years thereafter for the period of five years beginning on 8
5483-such date, the Secretary of Labor, shall review the manual 9
5484-of the Department of Labor titled ‘‘Veterans’ Employment 10
5485-and Training Service Investigations Manual: USERRA, 11
5486-VEOA, and VP’’ (or a successor manual) and make such 12
5487-revisions to such manual as the Secretary determines ap-13
5488-propriate. 14
5489-(b) R
5490-EPORT.—Not later than 90 days after any date 15
5491-on which the Secretary completes a review required under 16
5492-subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Commit-17
5493-tees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 18
5494-and the Senate— 19
5495-(1) a report that includes a description of any 20
5496-revision to such manual made pursuant to such re-21
5497-view; and 22
5498-(2) a copy of the entire such manual which— 23
5499-(A) shall be provided to the Chairman and 24
5500-Ranking Member of each such committee; and 25 200
5501-•HR 8371 EH
5502-(B) may contain a separate addendum for 1
5503-portions of the manual that contain law en-2
5504-forcement sensitive materials. 3
5505-SEC. 223. WARRIOR TRAINING ADVANCEMENT COURSE. 4
5506-(a) R
5507-EPORTING ON THE WARRIORTRAININGAD-5
5508-VANCEMENTCOURSE.— 6
5509-(1) R
5510-EPORTS REQUIRED.— 7
5511-(A) I
5512-NITIAL REPORT.—Not later than six 8
5513-months after the date of the enactment of this 9
5514-Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 10
5515-submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs 11
5516-of the Senate and House of Representatives a 12
5517-report on WARTAC. 13
5518-(B) A
5519-NNUAL REPORT.—One year after the 14
5520-submission of the report required under para-15
5521-graph subparagraph (A) and annually there-16
5522-after, the Secretary shall submit to such Com-17
5523-mittees a report that contains the elements 18
5524-under subparagraphs (A) and (C) of paragraph 19
5525-(2) with regards to the preceding year. 20
5526-(2) E
5527-LEMENTS.—Except as provided in para-21
5528-graph (1)(B), the reports under this subsection shall 22
5529-include the following elements: 23
5530-(A) B
5531-EST PRACTICES.—With regards to 24
5532-best practices of WARTAC— 25 201
5533-•HR 8371 EH
5534-(i) how many covered members have 1
5535-applied to participate in WARTAC; 2
5536-(ii) how many covered members have 3
5537-participated in WARTAC; 4
5538-(iii) how the Secretary provides train-5
5539-ing to covered members during TAP; 6
5540-(iv) how many covered members have 7
5541-completed WARTAC; and 8
5542-(v) any other information the Sec-9
5543-retary determines appropriate. 10
7180+NGENERAL.—Subchapter V of chapter 37 of 11
7181+title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 12
7182+section 3762 the following new section: 13
7183+‘‘§ 3762A. Native community development financial 14
7184+institution relending program 15
7185+‘‘(a) P
7186+URPOSE.—The Secretary may make a loan to 16
7187+a Native community development financial institution for 17
7188+the purpose of allowing the institution to relend loan 18
7189+amounts to qualified Native American veterans, subject to 19
7190+the requirements of this section. 20
7191+‘‘(b) S
7192+TANDARDS.—(1) The Secretary shall establish 21
7193+standards to be used in evaluating whether to make a loan 22
7194+to a Native community development financial institution 23
7195+under this section. 24
7196+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00243 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
7197+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 244
7198+•HR 8371 IH
7199+‘‘(2) In establishing standards under paragraph (1), 1
7200+the Secretary shall ensure that a Native community devel-2
7201+opment financial institution— 3
7202+‘‘(A) is able to originate and service loans for 4
7203+single-family homes; 5
7204+‘‘(B) is able to operate the relending program 6
7205+in a manner consistent with the mission of the De-7
7206+partment to serve veterans; and 8
7207+‘‘(C) uses loan amounts received under this sec-9
7208+tion only for the purpose of relending, as described 10
7209+in subsection (c), to Native American veterans. 11
7210+‘‘(c) R
7211+ELENDINGREQUIREMENTS.—(1) A Native 12
7212+community development financial institution that receives 13
7213+a loan under this section shall use the loan amounts to 14
7214+make loans to Native American veterans residing on trust 15
7215+land. 16
7216+‘‘(2) A loan to a Native American veteran made by 17
7217+a Native community development financial institution 18
7218+under paragraph (1) shall— 19
7219+‘‘(A) be limited either to the purpose of pur-20
7220+chase, construction, or improvement of a dwelling lo-21
7221+cated on trust land or to the refinance of an existing 22
7222+mortgage loan for a dwelling on trust land, con-23
7223+sistent with the requirements of section 3762(h) of 24
7224+this title; and 25
7225+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00244 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
7226+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 245
7227+•HR 8371 IH
7228+‘‘(B) comply with such terms and conditions as 1
7229+the Secretary determines are necessary to protect 2
7230+against predatory lending, including the interest rate 3
7231+charged on a loan to a Native American veteran. 4
7232+‘‘(d) R
7233+EPAYMENT.—A loan made to a Native commu-5
7234+nity development financial institution under this section 6
7235+shall— 7
7236+‘‘(1) be payable to the Secretary upon such 8
7237+terms and conditions as are prescribed in regulations 9
7238+pursuant to this subchapter; and 10
7239+‘‘(2) bear interest at a rate of one percent. 11
7240+‘‘(e) O
7241+VERSIGHT.—Subject to notice and opportunity 12
7242+for a hearing, whenever the Secretary finds with respect 13
7243+to loans made under subsection (a) or (c) that any Native 14
7244+community development financial institution has failed to 15
7245+maintain adequate loan accounting records, to dem-16
7246+onstrate proper ability to service loans adequately, or to 17
7247+exercise proper credit judgment, or that such Native com-18
7248+munity development financial institution has willfully or 19
7249+negligently engaged in practices otherwise detrimental to 20
7250+the interest of veterans or of the Government, the Sec-21
7251+retary may take such actions as the Secretary determines 22
7252+necessary to protect veterans or the Government, such as 23
7253+requiring immediate repayment of any loans made under 24
7254+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00245 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
7255+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 246
7256+•HR 8371 IH
7257+subsection (a) and the assignment to the Secretary of 1
7258+loans made under subsection (c). 2
7259+‘‘(f) S
7260+UNSET.—The Secretary may not make a loan 3
7261+under this section after September 30, 2026.’’. 4
55447262 (b) C
5545-OST SAVINGS.—With regards to cost 11
5546-savings of WARTAC— 12
5547-(i) how much money the Secretary de-13
5548-termines WARTAC saves the United 14
5549-States each fiscal year; 15
5550-(ii) how much money the Secretary 16
5551-determines WARTAC has saved the 17
5552-United States since its establishment; and 18
5553-(iii) the determination of the Sec-19
5554-retary whether other Federal agencies may 20
5555-save money by establishing a program 21
5556-similar to WARTAC. 22
5557-(C) H
5558-IRING.—With regards to hiring cov-23
5559-ered members who complete WARTAC— 24 202
5560-•HR 8371 EH
5561-(i) how the Secretary identifies posi-1
5562-tions in the Department of Veterans Af-2
5563-fairs for which such covered members may 3
5564-qualify; 4
5565-(ii) the grades of such positions on 5
5566-the General Schedule under section 5332 6
5567-of title 5, United States Code; and 7
5568-(iii) how many such covered members 8
5569-the Secretary has hired to such positions. 9
5570-(3) D
5571-ISTRIBUTION.—Not later than 30 days 10
5572-after submitting the report under paragraph (1)(A), 11
5573-the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall transmit a 12
5574-copy of the report under this section to the head of 13
5575-each Federal agency. 14
5576-(4) D
5577-EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 15
5578-(A) The term ‘‘covered member’’ means 16
5579-members of the Armed Forces participating in 17
5580-TAP. 18
5581-(B) The term ‘‘TAP’’ means the Transi-19
5582-tion Assistance Program under sections 1142 20
5583-and 1144 of title 10, United States Code. 21
5584-(C) The term ‘‘WARTAC’’ means the 22
5585-Warrior Training Advancement Course of the 23
5586-Veterans Benefit Administration, in which the 24
5587-Secretary provides training to covered members 25 203
5588-•HR 8371 EH
5589-so such covered members may qualify for cer-1
5590-tain employment in the Veterans Benefit Ad-2
5591-ministration. 3
5592-(b) P
5593-ILOTPROGRAM TOEMPLOYVETERANS INPOSI-4
5594-TIONSRELATING TO CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE 5
5595-M
5596-ANAGEMENTACTIVITIES.— 6
5597-(1) B
5598-EST PRACTICES FOR OTHER DEPART -7
5599-MENTS.—The Assistant Secretary of Labor for Vet-8
5600-erans’ Employment and Training, in consultation 9
5601-with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall estab-10
5602-lish guidelines containing best practices for depart-11
5603-ments and agencies of the Federal Government that 12
5604-carry out programs to employ veterans who are 13
5605-transitioning from service in the Armed Forces. 14
5606-Such guidelines shall include the findings of the ini-15
5607-tial report required under subsection (a)(1). 16
5608-(2) P
5609-ILOT PROGRAM.— 17
5610-(A) E
5611-STABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of 18
5612-the Interior, in consultation with the Assistant 19
5613-Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment 20
5614-and Training and the Secretary of Veterans Af-21
5615-fairs, shall establish a pilot program under 22
5616-which veterans are employed by the Federal 23
5617-Government in positions that relate to the con-24 204
5618-•HR 8371 EH
5619-servation and resource management activities of 1
5620-the Department of the Interior. 2
5621-(B) P
5622-OSITIONS.—The Secretary of the In-3
5623-terior shall— 4
5624-(i) identify vacant positions in the De-5
5625-partment of the Interior that are appro-6
5626-priate to fill using the pilot program; and 7
5627-(ii) to the extent practicable, fill such 8
5628-positions using the pilot program. 9
5629-(C) A
5630-PPLICATION OF CIVIL SERVICE 10
5631-LAWS.—A veteran employed under the pilot 11
5632-program shall be treated as an employee as de-12
5633-fined by section 2105 of title 5, United States 13
5634-Code. 14
5635-(D) B
5636-RIEFINGS AND REPORT.— 15
5637-(i) I
5638-NITIAL BRIEFING.—Not later 16
5639-than 60 days after the date of the submis-17
5640-sion of the report required under sub-18
5641-section (a)(1)(A), the Secretary of the In-19
5642-terior and the Assistant Secretary of Labor 20
5643-for Veterans’ Employment and Training 21
5644-shall jointly provide to the appropriate con-22
5645-gressional committees a briefing on the 23
5646-pilot program under this subsection, which 24
5647-shall include a description of how the pilot 25 205
5648-•HR 8371 EH
5649-program will be carried out in a manner to 1
5650-reduce the unemployment of veterans and 2
5651-any recommendations for legislative actions 3
5652-to improve the pilot program. 4
5653-(ii) I
5654-MPLEMENTATION BRIEFING .— 5
5655-Not later than one year after the date on 6
5656-which the pilot program under this para-7
5657-graph commences, the Secretary of the In-8
5658-terior and the Assistant Secretary of Labor 9
5659-for Veterans’ Employment and Training 10
5660-shall jointly provide to the appropriate con-11
5661-gressional committees a briefing on the im-12
5662-plementation of the pilot program. 13
5663-(iii) F
5664-INAL REPORT.—Not later than 14
5665-30 days after the date on which the pilot 15
5666-program under this paragraph is com-16
5667-pleted, the Secretary of the Interior and 17
5668-the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Vet-18
5669-erans’ Employment and Training shall 19
5670-jointly submit to the appropriate congres-20
5671-sional committees a report on the pilot 21
5672-program that includes the following: 22
5673-(I) The number of veterans who 23
5674-applied to participate in the pilot pro-24
5675-gram. 25 206
5676-•HR 8371 EH
5677-(II) The number of such veterans 1
5678-employed under the pilot program. 2
5679-(III) The number of veterans 3
5680-identified in subclause (II) who 4
5681-transitioned to full-time positions with 5
5682-the Federal Government after partici-6
5683-pating in the pilot program. 7
5684-(IV) Any other information the 8
5685-Secretary and the Assistant Secretary 9
5686-determine appropriate with respect to 10
5687-measuring the effectiveness of the 11
5688-pilot program. 12
5689-(E) D
5690-URATION.—The authority to carry 13
5691-out the pilot program under this paragraph 14
5692-shall terminate on the date that is two years 15
5693-after the date on which the pilot program com-16
5694-mences. 17
5695-(3) O
5696-UTDOOR RECREATION PROGRAM ATTEND -18
5697-ANCE.—The Secretary of each of the military de-19
5698-partment is encouraged to allow members of the 20
5699-Armed Forces serving on active duty to participate 21
5700-in programs related to environmental stewardship or 22
5701-guided outdoor recreation. 23 207
5702-•HR 8371 EH
5703-(4) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT -1
5704-TEES DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘ap-2
5705-propriate congressional committees’’ means— 3
5706-(A) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 4
5707-and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 5
5708-House of Representatives; and 6
5709-(B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 7
5710-and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re-8
5711-sources of the Senate. 9
5712-Subtitle C—Home Loans 10
5713-SEC. 231. IMPROVEMENTS TO PROGRAM FOR DIRECT 11
5714-HOUSING LOANS MADE TO NATIVE AMER-12
5715-ICAN VETERANS BY THE SECRETARY OF VET-13
5716-ERANS AFFAIRS. 14
5717-(a) G
5718-ENERALAUTHORITIES ANDREQUIREMENTS.— 15
5719-(1) D
5720-IRECT HOUSING LOANS TO NATIVE AMER -16
5721-ICAN VETERANS.—Section 3762(a) of title 38, 17
5722-United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 18
5723-‘‘(a) The Secretary may make a direct housing loan 19
5724-to a Native American veteran under this subchapter if the 20
5725-Secretary ensures the following: 21
5726-‘‘(1) That each Native American veteran to 22
5727-whom the Secretary makes a direct housing loan 23
5728-under this subchapter— 24 208
5729-•HR 8371 EH
5730-‘‘(A) holds, possesses, or purchases using 1
5731-the proceeds of the loan a meaningful interest 2
5732-in a lot or dwelling (or both) that is located on 3
5733-trust land; and 4
5734-‘‘(B) will purchase, construct, or improve 5
5735-(as the case may be) a dwelling on the lot using 6
5736-the proceeds of the loan. 7
5737-‘‘(2) That each such Native American veteran 8
5738-will convey to the Secretary by an appropriate in-9
5739-strument the interest referred to in paragraph 10
5740-(1)(A) as security for a direct housing loan under 11
5741-this subchapter. 12
5742-‘‘(3) That the Secretary, including the Sec-13
5743-retary’s employees or agents, may enter upon the 14
5744-trust land for the purposes of carrying out such ac-15
5745-tions as the Secretary determines are necessary, in-16
5746-cluding— 17
5747-‘‘(A) to evaluate the advisability of the 18
5748-loan; 19
5749-‘‘(B) to monitor any purchase, construc-20
5750-tion, or improvements carried out using the 21
5751-proceeds of the loan; and 22
5752-‘‘(C) to manage any servicing or post-fore-23
5753-closure activities, including acquisition, property 24
5754-inspections, and property management. 25 209
5755-•HR 8371 EH
5756-‘‘(4) That there are established standards and 1
5757-procedures that apply to the foreclosure of the inter-2
5758-est conveyed by a Native American veteran pursuant 3
5759-to paragraph (2), including— 4
5760-‘‘(A) procedures for foreclosing the inter-5
5761-est; and 6
5762-‘‘(B) procedures for the resale of the lot or 7
5763-dwelling (or both) purchased, constructed, or 8
5764-improved using the proceeds of the loan. 9
5765-‘‘(5) That the loan is made in a responsible and 10
5766-prudent manner, subject to standards and proce-11
5767-dures as are necessary for the reasonable protection 12
5768-of the financial interests of the United States.’’. 13
5769-(2) M
5770-EMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING , 14
5771-AGREEMENTS, AND DETERMINATIONS .—Section 15
5772-3762(b) of such title is amended to read as follows: 16
5773-‘‘(b)(1) To carry out the purpose of subsection (a), 17
5774-the Secretary may— 18
5775-‘‘(A) enter into a memorandum of under-19
5776-standing with a tribal organization, other entity, or 20
5777-individual; 21
5778-‘‘(B) rely on agreements or determinations of 22
5779-other Federal agencies to guarantee, insure, or make 23
5780-loans on trust land; and 24 210
5781-•HR 8371 EH
5782-‘‘(C) enter into other agreements or take such 1
5783-other actions as the Secretary determines necessary. 2
5784-‘‘(2) If the Secretary determines that the require-3
5785-ments under subsection (a) are not being enforced by a 4
5786-tribal organization, other entity, or individual that is a 5
5787-party to any memorandum of understanding, agreement, 6
5788-or determination described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 7
5789-may cease making new direct housing loans to Native 8
5790-American veterans under this subchapter within the area 9
5791-of the authority of the tribal organization, other entity, 10
5792-or individual (as the case may be).’’. 11
5793-(b) D
5794-IRECTLOANS TONATIVEAMERICANVETERANS 12
5795-T
5796-OREFINANCEEXISTINGMORTGAGELOANS.—Section 13
5797-3762(h) of such title is amended to read as follows: 14
5798-‘‘(h) The Secretary may make direct loans to Native 15
5799-American veterans in order to enable such veterans to refi-16
5800-nance existing mortgage loans for any of the following 17
5801-purposes: 18
5802-‘‘(1) To refinance an existing loan made under 19
5803-this section, if the loan— 20
5804-‘‘(A) meets the requirements set forth in 21
5805-subparagraphs (B), (C), and (E) of paragraph 22
5806-(1) of section 3710(e) of this title; 23 211
5807-•HR 8371 EH
5808-‘‘(B) will bear an interest rate at least one 1
5809-percentage point less than the interest rate 2
5810-borne by the loan being refinanced; and 3
5811-‘‘(C) complies with paragraphs (2) and (3) 4
5812-of section 3710(e) of this title, except that for 5
5813-the purposes of this subsection the reference to 6
5814-subsection (a)(8) of section 3710 of this title in 7
5815-such paragraphs (2) and (3) shall be deemed to 8
5816-be a reference to this subsection. 9
5817-‘‘(2) To refinance an existing mortgage loan not 10
5818-made under this section on a dwelling owned and oc-11
5819-cupied by the veteran as the veteran’s home, if all 12
5820-of the following requirements are met: 13
5821-‘‘(A) The loan will be secured by the same 14
5822-dwelling as was the loan being refinanced. 15
5823-‘‘(B) The loan will provide the veteran with 16
5824-a net tangible benefit. 17
5825-‘‘(C) The nature and condition of the prop-18
5826-erty is such as to be suitable for dwelling pur-19
5827-poses. 20
5828-‘‘(D) The amount of the loan does not ex-21
5829-ceed either of the following: 22
5830-‘‘(i) 100 percent of the reasonable 23
5831-value of the dwelling, with such reasonable 24
5832-value determined under the procedures es-25 212
5833-•HR 8371 EH
5834-tablished by the Secretary under sub-1
5835-section (d)(2). 2
5836-‘‘(ii) An amount equal to the sum of 3
5837-the balance of the loan being refinanced 4
5838-and such closing costs (including any dis-5
5839-count points) as may be authorized by the 6
5840-Secretary to be included in the loan. 7
5841-‘‘(E) Notwithstanding subparagraph (D), 8
5842-if a loan is made for both the purpose of this 9
5843-paragraph and to make energy efficiency im-10
5844-provements, the loan must not exceed either of 11
5845-the following: 12
5846-‘‘(i) 100 percent of the reasonable 13
5847-value of the dwelling as improved for en-14
5848-ergy efficiency, with such reasonable value 15
5849-determined under the procedures estab-16
5850-lished by the Secretary under subsection 17
5851-(d)(2). 18
5852-‘‘(ii) The amount referred to under 19
5853-subparagraph (D)(ii), plus the applicable 20
5854-amount specified under section 3710(d)(2) 21
5855-of this title. 22
5856-‘‘(F) The loan meets all other require-23
5857-ments the Secretary may establish under this 24
5858-subchapter. 25 213
5859-•HR 8371 EH
5860-‘‘(G) The existing mortgage being refi-1
5861-nanced is a first lien on the property and se-2
5862-cured of record. 3
5863-‘‘(3) To refinance an existing mortgage loan to 4
5864-repair, alter, or improve a dwelling owned by the 5
5865-veteran and occupied by the veteran as the veteran’s 6
5866-home, if all of the following requirements are met: 7
5867-‘‘(A) The loan will be secured by the same 8
5868-dwelling as was the loan being refinanced. 9
5869-‘‘(B) The nature and condition of the 10
5870-property is such as to be suitable for dwelling 11
5871-purposes, and the repair, alteration, or improve-12
5872-ment substantially protects or improves the 13
5873-basic livability or utility of such property. 14
5874-‘‘(C) The amount of the loan, including the 15
5875-costs of repairs, alterations, and improvements, 16
5876-does not exceed either of the following: 17
5877-‘‘(i) 100 percent of the reasonable 18
5878-value of the dwelling as repaired, altered, 19
5879-or improved, with such reasonable value 20
5880-determined under the procedures estab-21
5881-lished by the Secretary under subsection 22
5882-(d)(2). 23
5883-‘‘(ii) An amount equal to the sum 24
5884-of— 25 214
5885-•HR 8371 EH
5886-‘‘(I) the balance of the loan being 1
5887-refinanced; 2
5888-‘‘(II) the actual cost of repairs, 3
5889-alterations, or improvements; and 4
5890-‘‘(III) such closing costs (includ-5
5891-ing any discount points) as may be 6
5892-authorized by the Secretary to be in-7
5893-cluded in the loan. 8
5894-‘‘(D) The loan meets all other require-9
5895-ments the Secretary may establish under this 10
5896-subchapter. 11
5897-‘‘(E) The existing mortgage loan being re-12
5898-financed is a first lien on the property and se-13
5899-cured of record.’’. 14
5900-(c) E
5901-XPANSION OFOUTREACHPROGRAM ONAVAIL-15
5902-ABILITY OFDIRECTHOUSINGLOANS FORNATIVEAMER-16
5903-ICANVETERANS.—Section 3762(i)(2) of such title is 17
5904-amended by adding at the end the following new subpara-18
5905-graph: 19
5906-‘‘(G) Pursuant to subsection (g)(4), assisting 20
5907-Native American veterans in qualifying for mortgage 21
5908-financing by— 22
5909-‘‘(i) partnering with local service providers, 23
5910-such as tribal organizations, tribally designated 24
5911-housing entities, Native community development 25 215
5912-•HR 8371 EH
5913-financial institutions, and nonprofit organiza-1
5914-tions, for conducting outreach, homebuyer edu-2
5915-cation, housing counseling, and post-purchase 3
5916-education; and 4
5917-‘‘(ii) providing other technical assistance as 5
5918-needed. 6
5919-‘‘(H) Attending conferences and conventions 7
5920-conducted by the network of Native community de-8
5921-velopment financial institutions and other Native 9
5922-American homeownership organizations to provide 10
5923-information and training to Native community devel-11
5924-opment financial institutions about the availability of 12
5925-the relending program under section 3762A of this 13
5926-title.’’. 14
5927-(d) A
5928-DEQUATEPERSONNEL.—Section 3762 of such 15
5929-title is amended by adding at the end the following new 16
5930-subsection: 17
5931-‘‘(k) The Secretary shall assign a sufficient number 18
5932-of personnel of the Department dedicated to carrying out 19
5933-the authority of the Secretary under this subchapter, in-20
5934-cluding construction and valuation specialists to assist 21
5935-with issues unique to new construction and renovations 22
5936-on trust land.’’. 23
5937-(e) D
5938-EFINITIONS.—Section 3765 of such title is 24
5939-amended— 25 216
5940-•HR 8371 EH
5941-(1) in paragraph (1)— 1
5942-(A) by amending subparagraph (C) to read 2
5943-as follows: 3
5944-‘‘(C) is located in the State of Alaska with-4
5945-in a region established under section 7(a) of the 5
5946-Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 6
5947-U.S.C. 1606(a));’’; 7
5948-(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 8
5949-period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 9
5950-and 10
5951-(C) by adding at the end the following new 11
5952-subparagraphs: 12
5953-‘‘(E) is defined by the Secretary of the In-13
5954-terior and recognized by the United States as 14
5955-land over which an Indian Tribe has govern-15
5956-mental dominion; or 16
5957-‘‘(F) is on any land that the Secretary de-17
5958-termines is provided to Native American vet-18
5959-erans because of their status as Native Ameri-19
5960-cans.’’; and 20
5961-(2) by adding at the end the following new 21
5962-paragraphs: 22
5963-‘‘(6) The term ‘community development finan-23
5964-cial institution’ has the meaning given that term in 24
5965-section 103 of the Community Development Banking 25 217
5966-•HR 8371 EH
5967-and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 1
5968-4702). 2
5969-‘‘(7) The term ‘Indian Tribe’ means any Indian 3
5970-tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or com-4
5971-munity, including any Alaska Native village or re-5
5972-gional or village corporation as defined in or estab-6
5973-lished pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settle-7
5974-ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), which is recog-8
5975-nized as eligible for the special programs and serv-9
5976-ices provided by the United States to Indians be-10
5977-cause of their status as Indians. 11
5978-‘‘(8) The term ‘Native community development 12
5979-financial institution’ means any entity— 13
5980-‘‘(A) that has been certified as a commu-14
5981-nity development financial institution by the 15
5982-Secretary of the Treasury; 16
5983-‘‘(B) that is not less than 51 percent 17
5984-owned or controlled by Native Americans; and 18
5985-‘‘(C) for which not less than 51 percent of 19
5986-the activities of the entity serve Native Ameri-20
5987-cans. 21
5988-‘‘(9) The term ‘net tangible benefit’ shall have 22
5989-such meaning as the Secretary determines appro-23
5990-priate, but shall include the refinance of an interim 24
5991-construction loan. 25 218
5992-•HR 8371 EH
5993-‘‘(10) The term ‘other technical assistance’ 1
5994-means services to assist a Native American veteran 2
5995-to navigate the steps necessary for securing a mort-3
5996-gage loan on trust land, including pre-development 4
5997-activities related to utilities, identifying appropriate 5
5998-residential construction services, and obtaining lease 6
5999-clearances and title status reports from the applica-7
6000-ble tribal organization or the Bureau of Indian Af-8
6001-fairs. 9
6002-‘‘(11) The term ‘tribally designated housing en-10
6003-tity’ has the meaning given that term in section 4 11
6004-of the Native American Housing Assistance and 12
6005-Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103).’’. 13
6006-(f) I
6007-NTEREST RATEREDUCTION FINANCING 14
6008-L
6009-OAN.—Section 3729(b)(4)(F) of such title is amended 15
6010-by striking ‘‘3762(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘3762(h)(1)’’. 16
6011-(g) R
6012-EGULATIONS.—Section 3761 of such title is 17
6013-amended by adding at the end the following new sub-18
6014-section: 19
6015-‘‘(c) The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations 20
6016-as may be necessary to carry out this subchapter.’’. 21 219
6017-•HR 8371 EH
6018-SEC. 232. NATIVE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL 1
6019-INSTITUTION RELENDING PROGRAM. 2
6020-(a) I
6021-NGENERAL.—Subchapter V of chapter 37 of 3
6022-title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 4
6023-section 3762 the following new section: 5
6024-‘‘§ 3762A. Native community development financial 6
6025-institution relending program 7
6026-‘‘(a) P
6027-URPOSE.—The Secretary may make a loan to 8
6028-a Native community development financial institution for 9
6029-the purpose of allowing the institution to relend loan 10
6030-amounts to qualified Native American veterans, subject to 11
6031-the requirements of this section. 12
6032-‘‘(b) S
6033-TANDARDS.—(1) The Secretary shall establish 13
6034-standards to be used in evaluating whether to make a loan 14
6035-to a Native community development financial institution 15
6036-under this section. 16
6037-‘‘(2) In establishing standards under paragraph (1), 17
6038-the Secretary shall ensure that a Native community devel-18
6039-opment financial institution— 19
6040-‘‘(A) is able to originate and service loans for 20
6041-single-family homes; 21
6042-‘‘(B) is able to operate the relending program 22
6043-in a manner consistent with the mission of the De-23
6044-partment to serve veterans; and 24 220
6045-•HR 8371 EH
6046-‘‘(C) uses loan amounts received under this sec-1
6047-tion only for the purpose of relending, as described 2
6048-in subsection (c), to Native American veterans. 3
6049-‘‘(c) R
6050-ELENDINGREQUIREMENTS.—(1) A Native 4
6051-community development financial institution that receives 5
6052-a loan under this section shall use the loan amounts to 6
6053-make loans to Native American veterans residing on trust 7
6054-land. 8
6055-‘‘(2) A loan to a Native American veteran made by 9
6056-a Native community development financial institution 10
6057-under paragraph (1) shall— 11
6058-‘‘(A) be limited either to the purpose of pur-12
6059-chase, construction, or improvement of a dwelling lo-13
6060-cated on trust land or to the refinance of an existing 14
6061-mortgage loan for a dwelling on trust land, con-15
6062-sistent with the requirements of section 3762(h) of 16
6063-this title; and 17
6064-‘‘(B) comply with such terms and conditions as 18
6065-the Secretary determines are necessary to protect 19
6066-against predatory lending, including the interest rate 20
6067-charged on a loan to a Native American veteran. 21
6068-‘‘(d) R
6069-EPAYMENT.—A loan made to a Native commu-22
6070-nity development financial institution under this section 23
6071-shall— 24 221
6072-•HR 8371 EH
6073-‘‘(1) be payable to the Secretary upon such 1
6074-terms and conditions as are prescribed in regulations 2
6075-pursuant to this subchapter; and 3
6076-‘‘(2) bear interest at a rate of one percent. 4
6077-‘‘(e) O
6078-VERSIGHT.—Subject to notice and opportunity 5
6079-for a hearing, whenever the Secretary finds with respect 6
6080-to loans made under subsection (a) or (c) that any Native 7
6081-community development financial institution has failed to 8
6082-maintain adequate loan accounting records, to dem-9
6083-onstrate proper ability to service loans adequately, or to 10
6084-exercise proper credit judgment, or that such Native com-11
6085-munity development financial institution has willfully or 12
6086-negligently engaged in practices otherwise detrimental to 13
6087-the interest of veterans or of the Government, the Sec-14
6088-retary may take such actions as the Secretary determines 15
6089-necessary to protect veterans or the Government, such as 16
6090-requiring immediate repayment of any loans made under 17
6091-subsection (a) and the assignment to the Secretary of 18
6092-loans made under subsection (c). 19
6093-‘‘(f) S
6094-UNSET.—The Secretary may not make a loan 20
6095-under this section after September 30, 2027.’’. 21
6096-(b) C
6097-LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 22
6098-at the beginning of chapter 37 of such title is amended 23
6099-by inserting after the item relating to section 3762 the 24
6100-following new item: 25 222
6101-•HR 8371 EH
7263+LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 5
7264+at the beginning of chapter 37 of such title is amended 6
7265+by inserting after the item relating to section 3762 the 7
7266+following new item: 8
61027267 ‘‘3762A. Native community development financial institution relending pro-
61037268 gram.’’.
6104-(c) NATIVEAMERICANVETERANHOUSINGLOAN 1
7269+(c) NATIVEAMERICANVETERANHOUSINGLOAN 9
61057270 P
6106-ROGRAMACCOUNT.—Section 3763 of such title is 2
6107-amended by adding at the end the following new sub-3
6108-section: 4
6109-‘‘(c) Of amounts available in the Account, the Sec-5
6110-retary may use for loans made under section 3762A of 6
6111-this title— 7
6112-‘‘(1) in fiscal year 2025, not more than 8
6113-$5,000,000; and 9
6114-‘‘(2) in any fiscal year after fiscal year 2025, 10
6115-an amount determined necessary by the Secretary to 11
6116-meet the demand for such loans.’’. 12
6117-TITLE III—DISABILITY AND 13
6118-MEMORIAL AFFAIRS MATTERS 14
6119-SEC. 301. BURIAL ALLOWANCE FOR CERTAIN VETERANS 15
6120-WHO DIE AT HOME WHILE IN RECEIPT OF 16
6121-HOSPICE CARE FURNISHED BY DEPARTMENT 17
6122-OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 18
7271+ROGRAMACCOUNT.—Section 3763 of such title is 10
7272+amended by adding at the end the following new sub-11
7273+section: 12
7274+‘‘(c) Of amounts available in the Account, the Sec-13
7275+retary may use for loans made under section 3762A of 14
7276+this title— 15
7277+‘‘(1) in fiscal year 2024, not more than 16
7278+$5,000,000; and 17
7279+‘‘(2) in any fiscal year after fiscal year 2024, 18
7280+an amount determined necessary by the Secretary to 19
7281+meet the demand for such loans.’’. 20
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7284+•HR 8371 IH
7285+TITLE III—DISABILITY AND 1
7286+MEMORIAL AFFAIRS MATTERS 2
7287+SEC. 301. BURIAL ALLOWANCE FOR CERTAIN VETERANS 3
7288+WHO DIE AT HOME WHILE IN RECEIPT OF 4
7289+HOSPICE CARE FURNISHED BY DEPARTMENT 5
7290+OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 6
61237291 (a) I
6124-NGENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 19
6125-shall treat a veteran described in subsection (b) as a vet-20
6126-eran described in subparagraph (A) of section 2303(a)(2) 21
6127-of title 38, United States Code. 22
7292+NGENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 7
7293+shall treat a veteran described in subsection (b) as a vet-8
7294+eran described in subparagraph (A) of section 2303(a)(2) 9
7295+of title 38, United States Code. 10
61287296 (b) V
6129-ETERANDESCRIBED.—A veteran described in 23
6130-this subsection is a veteran who dies in a home or other 24 223
6131-•HR 8371 EH
6132-setting at which the deceased veteran was, at the time of 1
6133-death, receiving hospice care pursuant to section 1717(a) 2
6134-of such title if such care was directly preceded by the Sec-3
6135-retary furnishing to the veteran hospital care or nursing 4
6136-home care described in clause (ii) of such subparagraph. 5
7297+ETERANDESCRIBED.—A veteran described in 11
7298+this subsection is a veteran who dies in a home or other 12
7299+setting at which the deceased veteran was, at the time of 13
7300+death, receiving hospice care pursuant to section 1717(a) 14
7301+of such title if such care was directly preceded by the Sec-15
7302+retary furnishing to the veteran hospital care or nursing 16
7303+home care described in clause (ii) of such subparagraph. 17
61377304 (c) E
6138-FFECTIVEDATE; APPLICABILITY.—This section 6
6139-shall apply with respect to deaths that occur— 7
6140-(1) on or after the date that is 180 days after 8
6141-the date of the enactment of this Act; and 9
6142-(2) before October 1, 2026. 10
6143-SEC. 302. AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF-11
6144-FAIRS TO AWARD GRANTS TO STATES AND IN-12
6145-DIAN TRIBES TO IMPROVE OUTREACH TO 13
6146-VETERANS. 14
7305+FFECTIVEDATE; APPLICABILITY.—This section 18
7306+shall apply with respect to deaths that occur— 19
7307+(1) on or after the date that is 180 days after 20
7308+the date of the enactment of this Act; and 21
7309+(2) before October 1, 2026. 22
7310+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00247 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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7312+•HR 8371 IH
7313+SEC. 302. AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF-1
7314+FAIRS TO AWARD GRANTS TO STATES AND IN-2
7315+DIAN TRIBES TO IMPROVE OUTREACH TO 3
7316+VETERANS. 4
61477317 (a) I
6148-NGENERAL.—Chapter 63 of title 38, United 15
6149-States Code, is amended— 16
6150-(1) by redesignating sections 6307 and 6308 as 17
6151-sections 6308 and 6309, respectively; and 18
6152-(2) by inserting after section 6306 the following 19
6153-new section 6307: 20
6154-‘‘§ 6307. Grants to States and Indian Tribes to im-21
6155-prove outreach to veterans 22
7318+NGENERAL.—Chapter 63 of title 38, United 5
7319+States Code, is amended— 6
7320+(1) by redesignating sections 6307 and 6308 as 7
7321+sections 6308 and 6309, respectively; and 8
7322+(2) by inserting after section 6306 the following 9
7323+new section 6307: 10
7324+‘‘§ 6307. Grants to States and Indian Tribes to im-11
7325+prove outreach to veterans 12
61567326 ‘‘(a) P
6157-URPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 23
6158-provide for assistance by the Secretary to States and In-24
6159-dian Tribes to carry out programs that improve covered 25 224
6160-•HR 8371 EH
6161-outreach and assistance to veterans and the spouses, chil-1
6162-dren, and parents of veterans, to ensure that such individ-2
6163-uals are fully informed about, and assisted in applying for, 3
6164-any veterans and veterans-related benefits and programs 4
6165-(including veterans programs of a State or Indian Tribe) 5
6166-for which they may be eligible and facilitate opportunities 6
6167-for such individuals to receive competent, qualified serv-7
6168-ices in the preparation, presentation and prosecution of 8
6169-veterans benefits claims. 9
7327+URPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 13
7328+provide for assistance by the Secretary to States and In-14
7329+dian Tribes to carry out programs that improve covered 15
7330+outreach and assistance to veterans and the spouses, chil-16
7331+dren, and parents of veterans, to ensure that such individ-17
7332+uals are fully informed about, and assisted in applying for, 18
7333+any veterans and veterans-related benefits and programs 19
7334+(including veterans programs of a State or Indian Tribe) 20
7335+for which they may be eligible and facilitate opportunities 21
7336+for such individuals to receive competent, qualified serv-22
7337+ices in the preparation, presentation and prosecution of 23
7338+veterans benefits claims. 24
61707339 ‘‘(b) A
6171-UTHORITY.—The Secretary may award grants 10
6172-to States and Indian Tribes— 11
6173-‘‘(1) to carry out, coordinate, improve, or other-12
6174-wise enhance— 13
6175-‘‘(A) covered outreach activities; or 14
6176-‘‘(B) activities to assist in the development 15
6177-and submittal of claims for veterans and vet-16
6178-erans-related benefits; or 17
6179-‘‘(2) to increase the number of county or Tribal 18
6180-veterans service officers serving in the State by hir-19
6181-ing new, additional such officers. 20
7340+UTHORITY.—The Secretary may award grants 25
7341+to States and Indian Tribes— 26
7342+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00248 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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7344+•HR 8371 IH
7345+‘‘(1) to carry out, coordinate, improve, or other-1
7346+wise enhance— 2
7347+‘‘(A) covered outreach activities; or 3
7348+‘‘(B) activities to assist in the development 4
7349+and submittal of claims for veterans and vet-5
7350+erans-related benefits; or 6
7351+‘‘(2) to increase the number of county or Tribal 7
7352+veterans service officers serving in the State by hir-8
7353+ing new, additional such officers. 9
61827354 ‘‘(c) A
6183-PPLICATION.—(1) To be eligible for a grant 21
6184-under this section, a State or Indian Tribe shall submit 22
6185-to the Secretary an application therefor at such time, in 23
6186-such manner, and containing such information as the Sec-24
6187-retary may require. 25 225
6188-•HR 8371 EH
6189-‘‘(2) Each application submitted under paragraph (1) 1
6190-shall include the following: 2
6191-‘‘(A) A detailed plan for the use of the grant. 3
6192-‘‘(B) A description of the programs through 4
6193-which the State or Indian Tribe will meet the out-5
6194-come measures developed by the Secretary under 6
6195-subsection (j). 7
6196-‘‘(C) A description of how the State or Indian 8
6197-Tribe will distribute grant amounts equitably among 9
6198-counties or Tribal lands with varying levels of urban-10
6199-ization. 11
6200-‘‘(D) A plan for how the grant will be used to 12
6201-meet the unique needs of American Indian veterans, 13
6202-Alaska Native veterans, or Native Hawaiian vet-14
6203-erans, elderly veterans, and veterans from other un-15
6204-derserved communities. 16
7355+PPLICATION.—(1) To be eligible for a grant 10
7356+under this section, a State or Indian Tribe shall submit 11
7357+to the Secretary an application therefor at such time, in 12
7358+such manner, and containing such information as the Sec-13
7359+retary may require. 14
7360+‘‘(2) Each application submitted under paragraph (1) 15
7361+shall include the following: 16
7362+‘‘(A) A detailed plan for the use of the grant. 17
7363+‘‘(B) A description of the programs through 18
7364+which the State or Indian Tribe will meet the out-19
7365+come measures developed by the Secretary under 20
7366+subsection (j). 21
7367+‘‘(C) A description of how the State or Indian 22
7368+Tribe will distribute grant amounts equitably among 23
7369+counties or Tribal lands with varying levels of urban-24
7370+ization. 25
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7373+•HR 8371 IH
7374+‘‘(D) A plan for how the grant will be used to 1
7375+meet the unique needs of American Indian veterans, 2
7376+Alaska Native veterans, or Native Hawaiian vet-3
7377+erans, elderly veterans, and veterans from other un-4
7378+derserved communities. 5
62057379 ‘‘(d) D
6206-ISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall seek to en-17
6207-sure that grants awarded under this section are equitably 18
6208-distributed among States and Indian Tribes with varying 19
6209-levels of urbanization. 20
7380+ISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall seek to en-6
7381+sure that grants awarded under this section are equitably 7
7382+distributed among States and Indian Tribes with varying 8
7383+levels of urbanization. 9
62107384 ‘‘(e) S
6211-ET-ASIDE.—Of the amounts authorized to be 21
6212-appropriated or otherwise made available for grants under 22
6213-this section for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall ensure 23
6214-that not less than five percent is used to make grants to 24
6215-Indian Tribes. 25 226
6216-•HR 8371 EH
6217-‘‘(f) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize 1
6218-awarding grants under this section that will serve the fol-2
6219-lowing areas: 3
6220-‘‘(1) Areas with a critical shortage of county or 4
6221-Tribal veterans service officers. 5
6222-‘‘(2) Areas with high rates of— 6
6223-‘‘(A) suicide among veterans; or 7
6224-‘‘(B) referrals to the Veterans Crisis Line. 8
7385+ET-ASIDE.—Of the amounts authorized to be 10
7386+appropriated or otherwise made available for grants under 11
7387+this section for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall ensure 12
7388+that not less than five percent is used to make grants to 13
7389+Indian Tribes. 14
7390+‘‘(f) P
7391+RIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize 15
7392+awarding grants under this section that will serve the fol-16
7393+lowing areas: 17
7394+‘‘(1) Areas with a critical shortage of county or 18
7395+Tribal veterans service officers. 19
7396+‘‘(2) Areas with high rates of— 20
7397+‘‘(A) suicide among veterans; or 21
7398+‘‘(B) referrals to the Veterans Crisis Line. 22
62257399 ‘‘(g) U
6226-SE OFCOUNTY ORTRIBALVETERANSSERV-9
6227-ICEOFFICERS.—A State or Indian Tribe that receives a 10
6228-grant under this section to carry out an activity described 11
6229-in subsection (b)(1) shall carry out the activity through— 12
6230-‘‘(1) a county or Tribal veterans service officer 13
6231-of the State; or 14
6232-‘‘(2) if the State or Indian Tribe does not have 15
6233-a county or Tribal veterans service officer, or if the 16
6234-county or Tribal veterans service officers of the 17
6235-State or Indian Tribe cover only a portion of that 18
6236-State or Indian Tribe, an appropriate entity of a 19
6237-State, local, or Tribal government, as determined by 20
6238-the Secretary. 21
7400+SE OFCOUNTY ORTRIBALVETERANSSERV-23
7401+ICEOFFICERS.—A State or Indian Tribe that receives a 24
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7404+•HR 8371 IH
7405+grant under this section to carry out an activity described 1
7406+in subsection (b)(1) shall carry out the activity through— 2
7407+‘‘(1) a county or Tribal veterans service officer 3
7408+of the State; or 4
7409+‘‘(2) if the State or Indian Tribe does not have 5
7410+a county or Tribal veterans service officer, or if the 6
7411+county or Tribal veterans service officers of the 7
7412+State or Indian Tribe cover only a portion of that 8
7413+State or Indian Tribe, an appropriate entity of a 9
7414+State, local, or Tribal government, as determined by 10
7415+the Secretary. 11
62397416 ‘‘(h) R
6240-EQUIREDACTIVITIES.—Any grant awarded 22
6241-under this section shall be used— 23
6242-‘‘(1) to expand existing programs, activities, 24
6243-and services; 25 227
6244-•HR 8371 EH
6245-‘‘(2) to hire new, additional county or Tribal 1
6246-veterans service officers; or 2
6247-‘‘(3) for travel and transportation to facilitate 3
6248-carrying out paragraph (1) or (2). 4
7417+EQUIREDACTIVITIES.—Any grant awarded 12
7418+under this section shall be used— 13
7419+‘‘(1) to expand existing programs, activities, 14
7420+and services; 15
7421+‘‘(2) to hire new, additional county or Tribal 16
7422+veterans service officers; or 17
7423+‘‘(3) for travel and transportation to facilitate 18
7424+carrying out paragraph (1) or (2). 19
62497425 ‘‘(i) A
6250-UTHORIZEDACTIVITIES.—A grant under this 5
6251-section may be used to provide education and training, in-6
6252-cluding on-the-job training, for State, county, local, and 7
6253-Tribal government employees who provide (or when 8
6254-trained will provide) covered outreach services in order for 9
6255-those employees to obtain accreditation in accordance with 10
6256-procedures approved by the Secretary. 11
7426+UTHORIZEDACTIVITIES.—A grant under this 20
7427+section may be used to provide education and training, in-21
7428+cluding on-the-job training, for State, county, local, and 22
7429+Tribal government employees who provide (or when 23
7430+trained will provide) covered outreach services in order for 24
7431+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00251 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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7433+•HR 8371 IH
7434+those employees to obtain accreditation in accordance with 1
7435+procedures approved by the Secretary. 2
62577436 ‘‘(j) O
6258-UTCOMEMEASURES.—(1) The Secretary shall 12
6259-develop and provide to each State or Indian Tribe that 13
6260-receives a grant under this section written guidance on 14
6261-the following: 15
6262-‘‘(A) Outcome measures. 16
6263-‘‘(B) Policies of the Department. 17
6264-‘‘(2) In developing outcome measures under para-18
6265-graph (1), the Secretary shall consider the following goals: 19
6266-‘‘(A) Increasing the use of veterans and vet-20
6267-erans-related benefits, particularly among vulnerable 21
6268-populations. 22
6269-‘‘(B) Increasing the number of county and 23
6270-Tribal veterans service officers recognized by the 24 228
6271-•HR 8371 EH
6272-Secretary for the representation of veterans under 1
6273-chapter 59 of this title. 2
7437+UTCOMEMEASURES.—(1) The Secretary shall 3
7438+develop and provide to each State or Indian Tribe that 4
7439+receives a grant under this section written guidance on 5
7440+the following: 6
7441+‘‘(A) Outcome measures. 7
7442+‘‘(B) Policies of the Department. 8
7443+‘‘(2) In developing outcome measures under para-9
7444+graph (1), the Secretary shall consider the following goals: 10
7445+‘‘(A) Increasing the use of veterans and vet-11
7446+erans-related benefits, particularly among vulnerable 12
7447+populations. 13
7448+‘‘(B) Increasing the number of county and 14
7449+Tribal veterans service officers recognized by the 15
7450+Secretary for the representation of veterans under 16
7451+chapter 59 of this title. 17
62747452 ‘‘(k) T
6275-RACKINGREQUIREMENTS.—(1) With respect 3
6276-to each grant awarded under this section, the Secretary 4
6277-shall track the use of veterans and veterans-related bene-5
6278-fits among the population served by the grant, including 6
6279-the average period of time between the date on which a 7
6280-veteran applies for such a benefit and the date on which 8
6281-the veteran receives the benefit, disaggregated by type of 9
6282-benefit. 10
6283-‘‘(2) Not less frequently than annually during the life 11
6284-of the grant program established under this section, the 12
6285-Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on— 13
6286-‘‘(A) the information tracked under paragraph 14
6287-(1); 15
6288-‘‘(B) how the grants awarded under this section 16
6289-serve the unique needs of American Indian veterans, 17
6290-Alaska Native veterans, or Native Hawaiian vet-18
6291-erans, elderly veterans, and veterans from other un-19
6292-derserved communities; and 20
6293-‘‘(C) other information provided by States and 21
6294-Indian Tribes pursuant to the grant reporting re-22
6295-quirements. 23
7453+RACKINGREQUIREMENTS.—(1) With respect 18
7454+to each grant awarded under this section, the Secretary 19
7455+shall track the use of veterans and veterans-related bene-20
7456+fits among the population served by the grant, including 21
7457+the average period of time between the date on which a 22
7458+veteran applies for such a benefit and the date on which 23
7459+the veteran receives the benefit, disaggregated by type of 24
7460+benefit. 25
7461+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00252 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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7463+•HR 8371 IH
7464+‘‘(2) Not less frequently than annually during the life 1
7465+of the grant program established under this section, the 2
7466+Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on— 3
7467+‘‘(A) the information tracked under paragraph 4
7468+(1); 5
7469+‘‘(B) how the grants awarded under this section 6
7470+serve the unique needs of American Indian veterans, 7
7471+Alaska Native veterans, or Native Hawaiian vet-8
7472+erans, elderly veterans, and veterans from other un-9
7473+derserved communities; and 10
7474+‘‘(C) other information provided by States and 11
7475+Indian Tribes pursuant to the grant reporting re-12
7476+quirements. 13
62967477 ‘‘(l) P
6297-ERFORMANCEREVIEW.—The Secretary shall— 24 229
6298-•HR 8371 EH
6299-‘‘(1) review the performance of each State or 1
6300-Indian Tribe that receives a grant under this sec-2
6301-tion; and 3
6302-‘‘(2) make information regarding such perform-4
6303-ance publicly available. 5
7478+ERFORMANCEREVIEW.—The Secretary shall— 14
7479+‘‘(1) review the performance of each State or 15
7480+Indian Tribe that receives a grant under this sec-16
7481+tion; and 17
7482+‘‘(2) make information regarding such perform-18
7483+ance publicly available. 19
63047484 ‘‘(m) R
6305-EMEDIATIONPLAN.—(1) In the case of a 6
6306-State or Indian Tribe that receives a grant under this sec-7
6307-tion and does not meet the outcome measures developed 8
6308-by the Secretary under subsection (j), the Secretary shall 9
6309-require the State or Indian Tribe to submit a remediation 10
6310-plan under which the State shall describe how and when 11
6311-it plans to meet such outcome measures. 12
6312-‘‘(2) The Secretary may not award a subsequent 13
6313-grant under this section to a State or Indian Tribe de-14
6314-scribed in paragraph (1) unless the Secretary approves the 15
6315-remediation plan submitted by the State or Indian Tribe. 16
7485+EMEDIATIONPLAN.—(1) In the case of a 20
7486+State or Indian Tribe that receives a grant under this sec-21
7487+tion and does not meet the outcome measures developed 22
7488+by the Secretary under subsection (j), the Secretary shall 23
7489+require the State or Indian Tribe to submit a remediation 24
7490+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00253 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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7492+•HR 8371 IH
7493+plan under which the State shall describe how and when 1
7494+it plans to meet such outcome measures. 2
7495+‘‘(2) The Secretary may not award a subsequent 3
7496+grant under this section to a State or Indian Tribe de-4
7497+scribed in paragraph (1) unless the Secretary approves the 5
7498+remediation plan submitted by the State or Indian Tribe. 6
63167499 ‘‘(n) D
6317-EFINITIONS.—In this section: 17
6318-‘‘(1) The term ‘county or Tribal veterans serv-18
6319-ice officer’ includes a local equivalent veterans serv-19
6320-ice officer. 20
6321-‘‘(2) The term ‘covered outreach’ means out-21
6322-reach with respect to— 22
6323-‘‘(A) benefits administered by the Under 23
6324-Secretary for Benefits; or 24 230
6325-•HR 8371 EH
6326-‘‘(B) similar benefits administered by a 1
6327-State or Indian Tribe. 2
6328-‘‘(3) The term ‘Indian Tribe’ has the meaning 3
6329-given such term in section 4 of the Indian Self-De-4
6330-termination and Education Assistance Act (25 5
6331-U.S.C. 5304). 6
6332-‘‘(4) The term ‘State’ includes the District of 7
6333-Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 8
6334-Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 9
6335-and any territory or possession of the United States. 10
6336-‘‘(5) The term ‘Veterans Crisis Line’ means the 11
6337-toll-free hotline for veterans established under sec-12
6338-tion 1720F(h) of this title.’’. 13
7500+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 7
7501+‘‘(1) The term ‘county or Tribal veterans serv-8
7502+ice officer’ includes a local equivalent veterans serv-9
7503+ice officer. 10
7504+‘‘(2) The term ‘covered outreach’ means out-11
7505+reach with respect to— 12
7506+‘‘(A) benefits administered by the Under 13
7507+Secretary for Benefits; or 14
7508+‘‘(B) similar benefits administered by a 15
7509+State or Indian Tribe. 16
7510+‘‘(3) The term ‘Indian Tribe’ has the meaning 17
7511+given such term in section 4 of the Indian Self-De-18
7512+termination and Education Assistance Act (25 19
7513+U.S.C. 5304). 20
7514+‘‘(4) The term ‘State’ includes the District of 21
7515+Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 22
7516+Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 23
7517+and any territory or possession of the United States. 24
7518+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00254 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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7520+•HR 8371 IH
7521+‘‘(5) The term ‘Veterans Crisis Line’ means the 1
7522+toll-free hotline for veterans established under sec-2
7523+tion 1720F(h) of this title.’’. 3
63397524 (b) C
6340-LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 14
6341-at the beginning of chapter 63 of such title is amended 15
6342-by striking the items relating to sections 6307 and 6308 16
6343-and inserting the following new items: 17
7525+LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 4
7526+at the beginning of chapter 63 of such title is amended 5
7527+by striking the items relating to sections 6307 and 6308 6
7528+and inserting the following new items: 7
63447529 ‘‘6307. Grants to States and Indian Tribes to improve outreach to veterans
63457530 ‘‘6308. Outreach for eligible dependents
63467531 ‘‘6309. Biennial report to Congress’’.
6347-(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 18
6348-authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans 19
6349-Affairs for each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027, 20
6350-$10,000,000 to carry out section 6307 of title 28, United 21
6351-States Code, as added by subsection (a). 22 231
6352-•HR 8371 EH
6353-SEC. 303. DEFINITION OF SURVIVING SPOUSE. 1
6354-Paragraph (3) of section 101 of title 38, United 2
6355-States Code, is amended to read as follows: 3
6356-‘‘(3) The term ‘surviving spouse’ means (except for 4
6357-purposes of chapter 19 of this title) a person who was 5
6358-the spouse of a veteran at the time of the veteran’s death, 6
6359-and who lived with the veteran continuously from the date 7
6360-of marriage to the date of the veteran’s death (except 8
6361-where there was a separation which was due to the mis-9
6362-conduct of, or procured by, the veteran without the fault 10
6363-of the spouse) and who has not remarried.’’. 11
6364-SEC. 304. ENSURING ONLY LICENSED HEALTH CARE PRO-12
6365-FESSIONALS PERFORM MEDICAL DISABILITY 13
6366-EXAMINATIONS UNDER CERTAIN DEPART-14
6367-MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PRO-15
6368-GRAM. 16
7532+(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 8
7533+authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans 9
7534+Affairs for each of fiscal years 2025 and 2026, 10
7535+$10,000,000 to carry out section 6307 of title 28, United 11
7536+States Code, as added by subsection (a). 12
7537+SEC. 303. DEFINITION OF SURVIVING SPOUSE. 13
7538+Paragraph (3) of section 101 of title 38, United 14
7539+States Code, is amended to read as follows: 15
7540+‘‘(3) The term ‘surviving spouse’ means (except for 16
7541+purposes of chapter 19 of this title) a person who was 17
7542+the spouse of a veteran at the time of the veteran’s death, 18
7543+and who lived with the veteran continuously from the date 19
7544+of marriage to the date of the veteran’s death (except 20
7545+where there was a separation which was due to the mis-21
7546+conduct of, or procured by, the veteran without the fault 22
7547+of the spouse) and who has not remarried.’’. 23
7548+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00255 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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7550+•HR 8371 IH
7551+SEC. 304. ENSURING ONLY LICENSED HEALTH CARE PRO-1
7552+FESSIONALS PERFORM MEDICAL DISABILITY 2
7553+EXAMINATIONS UNDER CERTAIN DEPART-3
7554+MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PRO-4
7555+GRAM. 5
63697556 (a) P
6370-ROHIBITION ON USE OFCERTAINHEALTH 17
7557+ROHIBITION ON USE OFCERTAINHEALTH 6
63717558 C
6372-AREPROFESSIONALS.—Section 504(c)(1) of the Vet-18
6373-erans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1996 (Public Law 19
6374-104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended by inserting 20
6375-‘‘only’’ before ‘‘a health care professional’’. 21
7559+AREPROFESSIONALS.—Section 504(c)(1) of the Vet-7
7560+erans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1996 (Public Law 8
7561+104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended by inserting 9
7562+‘‘only’’ before ‘‘a health care professional’’. 10
63767563 (b) R
6377-EMEDIES.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 22
6378-shall take such actions as the Secretary considers appro-23
6379-priate to ensure compliance with section 504(c) of the Vet-24
6380-erans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1996 (Public Law 25 232
6381-•HR 8371 EH
6382-104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note), as amended by subsection 1
6383-(a). 2
7564+EMEDIES.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 11
7565+shall take such actions as the Secretary considers appro-12
7566+priate to ensure compliance with section 504(c) of the Vet-13
7567+erans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1996 (Public Law 14
7568+104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note), as amended by subsection 15
7569+(a). 16
63847570 (c) A
6385-NNUALREPORT.—Not later than one year after 3
6386-the date of the enactment of this Act and not less fre-4
6387-quently than once each year thereafter, the Secretary shall 5
6388-submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen-6
6389-ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 7
6390-of Representatives a report on— 8
6391-(1) the conduct of the pilot program established 9
6392-under section 504 of the Veterans’ Benefits Im-10
6393-provements Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–275; 38 11
6394-U.S.C. 5101 note); and 12
6395-(2) the actions of the Secretary under sub-13
6396-section (b). 14
7571+NNUALREPORT.—Not later than one year after 17
7572+the date of the enactment of this Act and not less fre-18
7573+quently than once each year thereafter, the Secretary shall 19
7574+submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen-20
7575+ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 21
7576+of Representatives a report on— 22
7577+(1) the conduct of the pilot program established 23
7578+under section 504 of the Veterans’ Benefits Im-24
7579+provements Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–275; 38 25
7580+U.S.C. 5101 note); and 26
7581+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00256 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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7583+•HR 8371 IH
7584+(2) the actions of the Secretary under sub-1
7585+section (b). 2
63977586 (d) T
6398-ECHNICALCORRECTIONS.—Section 504 of the 15
6399-Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1996 (Public 16
6400-Law 104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended, in the 17
7587+ECHNICALCORRECTIONS.—Section 504 of the 3
7588+Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1996 (Public 4
7589+Law 104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended, in the 5
64017590 section heading, by striking ‘‘
6402-PHYSICIANS’’ and inserting 18
7591+PHYSICIANS’’ and inserting 6
64037592 ‘‘
6404-HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS ’’. 19 233
6405-•HR 8371 EH
6406-SEC. 305. PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING AN 1
6407-AGENT OR ATTORNEY TO A LICENSED 2
6408-HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL WHO PER-3
6409-FORMS A MEDICAL DISABILITY EXAMINATION 4
6410-UNDER CERTAIN DEPARTMENT OF VET-5
6411-ERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PROGRAM. 6
7593+HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS ’’. 7
7594+SEC. 305. PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING AN 8
7595+AGENT OR ATTORNEY TO A LICENSED 9
7596+HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL WHO PER-10
7597+FORMS A MEDICAL DISABILITY EXAMINATION 11
7598+UNDER CERTAIN DEPARTMENT OF VET-12
7599+ERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PROGRAM. 13
64127600 (a) I
6413-NGENERAL.—Section 504 of the Veterans’ Ben-7
6414-efits Improvements Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–275; 38 8
6415-U.S.C. 5101 note), as amended by section 304, is further 9
6416-amended by adding at the end the following new sub-10
6417-section: 11
7601+NGENERAL.—Section 504 of the Veterans’ Ben-14
7602+efits Improvements Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–275; 38 15
7603+U.S.C. 5101 note), as amended by section 304, is further 16
7604+amended by adding at the end the following new sub-17
7605+section: 18
64187606 ‘‘(f) C
6419-ERTAININFORMATIONPROVIDED TOHEALTH 12
7607+ERTAININFORMATIONPROVIDED TOHEALTH 19
64207608 C
6421-AREPROFESSIONAL.—The Secretary shall provide to a 13
6422-health care professional who performs an examination 14
6423-under subsection (a), or a contractor performing a con-15
6424-tract under such subsection, the contact information of 16
6425-any agent or attorney recognized by the Secretary under 17
6426-chapter 59 of title 38, United States Code, with regards 18
6427-to a claim for benefits that gives rise to such examina-19
6428-tion.’’. 20
7609+AREPROFESSIONAL.—The Secretary shall provide to a 20
7610+health care professional who performs an examination 21
7611+under subsection (a) the contact information of any agent 22
7612+or attorney recognized by the Secretary under chapter 59 23
7613+of title 38, United States Code, with regards to a claim 24
7614+for benefits that gives rise to such examination.’’. 25
7615+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00257 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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7617+•HR 8371 IH
7618+(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by this 1
7619+section shall apply to an examination described in sub-2
7620+section (a) of such section that is performed on or after 3
7621+the date of the enactment of this Act. 4
7622+SEC. 306. MODERNIZATION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 5
7623+AFFAIRS DISABILITY BENEFIT QUESTION-6
7624+NAIRES. 7
7625+(a) R
7626+EQUIREMENT FOR TRANSMISSION OFCERTAIN 8
7627+I
7628+NFORMATION INMACHINE-READABLEFORMAT.— 9
7629+(1) R
7630+EQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 days 10
7631+after enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-11
7632+erans Affairs shall require all disability benefit ques-12
7633+tionnaire data collected in the course of medical dis-13
7634+ability examinations made by covered non-Depart-14
7635+ment providers to be transmitted to the Department 15
7636+in a machine-readable format. 16
7637+(2) I
7638+SSUANCE OF STANDARDS .—Not later than 17
7639+90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 18
7640+the Secretary shall issue standards for the trans-19
7641+mission of disability benefit questionnaire data in a 20
7642+machine-readable format as required under para-21
7643+graph (1). 22
7644+(3) U
7645+PDATES.—In making updates to disability 23
7646+benefit questionnaires after the date specified in 24
7647+paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 25
7648+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00258 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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7650+•HR 8371 IH
7651+(A) ensure that the updates are made in a 1
7652+manner that allows for the data collected under 2
7653+the questionnaires to be in a machine-readable 3
7654+format as of the date on which the update goes 4
7655+into effect; and 5
7656+(B) not later than 30 days before an up-6
7657+date goes into effect, notify the covered non-De-7
7658+partment providers (or their employers) de-8
7659+scribed in such paragraph of such updates. 9
7660+(b) P
7661+LAN FORINFORMATIONTECHNOLOGYSYSTEM 10
7662+M
7663+ODIFICATION.—Not later than 180 days after the date 11
7664+of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 12
7665+to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 13
7666+the House of Representatives a plan to modify the infor-14
7667+mation technology systems and processes of the Depart-15
7668+ment to enable a non-Department health care professional, 16
7669+assigned to or selected by a claimant, to transmit to the 17
7670+Department, in a machine-readable format, disability ben-18
7671+efit questionnaire data, including complete disability ben-19
7672+efit questionnaires rather than partial questionnaires or 20
7673+elements of medical evidence. 21
7674+(c) P
7675+UBLICAVAILABILITY OFINFORMATION.—The 22
7676+Secretary shall make publicly available on the internet 23
7677+website of the Department referred to in section 5101(d) 24
7678+of title 38, United States Code— 25
7679+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00259 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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7681+•HR 8371 IH
7682+(1) a description of the standards issued under 1
7683+subsection (a)(2); and 2
7684+(2) the plan required under subsection (b). 3
7685+(d) D
7686+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 4
7687+(1) The term ‘‘claimant’’ has the meaning given 5
7688+such term in section 5100 of title 38, United States 6
7689+Code. 7
7690+(2) The term ‘‘covered non-Department pro-8
7691+vider’’ means a health care provider who— 9
7692+(A) is not an employee of the Department 10
7693+of Veterans Affairs; and 11
7694+(B) pursuant to a contract under section 12
7695+504 of the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act 13
7696+of 1996 (Public Law 104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 14
7697+note), as amended by sections 304 and 305, ex-15
7698+amines a claimant for a medical disability. 16
7699+SEC. 307. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AUTO-17
7700+MATIC PROCESSING OF CERTAIN CLAIMS 18
7701+FOR TEMPORARY DISABILITY RATINGS. 19
7702+(a) I
7703+NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 20
7704+date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-21
7705+erans Affairs shall modify the information technology sys-22
7706+tems of the Department of Veterans Affairs to use auto-23
7707+mation technology for claims for temporary disability rat-24
7708+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00260 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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7710+•HR 8371 IH
7711+ings for veterans described in section 1156(a)(1)(C) of 1
7712+title 38, United States Code. 2
64297713 (b) A
6430-PPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by this 21
6431-section shall apply to an examination described in sub-22
6432-section (a) of such section that is performed on or after 23
6433-the date of the enactment of this Act. 24 234
6434-•HR 8371 EH
6435-SEC. 306. MODERNIZATION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 1
6436-AFFAIRS DISABILITY BENEFIT QUESTION-2
6437-NAIRES. 3
6438-(a) R
6439-EQUIREMENT FOR TRANSMISSION OFCERTAIN 4
6440-I
6441-NFORMATION INMACHINE-READABLEFORMAT.— 5
6442-(1) R
6443-EQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 days 6
6444-after enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-7
6445-erans Affairs shall require all disability benefit ques-8
6446-tionnaire data collected in the course of medical dis-9
6447-ability examinations made by covered non-Depart-10
6448-ment providers to be transmitted to the Department 11
6449-in a machine-readable format. 12
6450-(2) I
6451-SSUANCE OF STANDARDS .—Not later than 13
6452-90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 14
6453-the Secretary shall issue standards for the trans-15
6454-mission of disability benefit questionnaire data in a 16
6455-machine-readable format as required under para-17
6456-graph (1). 18
6457-(3) U
6458-PDATES.—In making updates to disability 19
6459-benefit questionnaires after the date specified in 20
6460-paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 21
6461-(A) ensure that the updates are made in a 22
6462-manner that allows for the data collected under 23
6463-the questionnaires to be in a machine-readable 24
6464-format as of the date on which the update goes 25
6465-into effect; and 26 235
6466-•HR 8371 EH
6467-(B) not later than 30 days before an up-1
6468-date goes into effect, notify the covered non-De-2
6469-partment providers (or the contractor per-3
6470-forming a contract under section 504 of the 4
6471-Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 1996 5
6472-(Public Law 104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note)) 6
6473-described in such paragraph of such updates. 7
6474-(b) P
6475-LAN FORINFORMATIONTECHNOLOGYSYSTEM 8
6476-M
6477-ODIFICATION.—Not later than 180 days after the date 9
6478-of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 10
6479-to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 11
6480-House of Representatives a plan to modify the information 12
6481-technology systems and processes of the Department to 13
6482-enable a non-Department health care professional, as-14
6483-signed to or selected by a claimant, to transmit to the De-15
6484-partment, in a machine-readable format, disability benefit 16
6485-questionnaire data, including complete disability benefit 17
6486-questionnaires rather than partial questionnaires or ele-18
6487-ments of medical evidence. 19
6488-(c) P
6489-UBLICAVAILABILITY OFINFORMATION.—The 20
6490-Secretary shall make publicly available on the internet 21
6491-website of the Department referred to in section 5101(d) 22
6492-of title 38, United States Code— 23
6493-(1) a description of the standards issued under 24
6494-subsection (a)(2); and 25 236
6495-•HR 8371 EH
6496-(2) the plan required under subsection (b). 1
6497-(d) D
6498-EFINITIONS.—In this section: 2
6499-(1) The term ‘‘claimant’’ has the meaning given 3
6500-such term in section 5100 of title 38, United States 4
6501-Code. 5
6502-(2) The term ‘‘covered non-Department pro-6
6503-vider’’ means a health care provider who— 7
6504-(A) is not an employee of the Department 8
6505-of Veterans Affairs; and 9
6506-(B) pursuant to a contract under section 10
6507-504 of the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act 11
6508-of 1996 (Public Law 104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 12
6509-note), as amended by sections 304 and 305, ex-13
6510-amines a claimant for a medical disability. 14
6511-SEC. 307. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AUTO-15
6512-MATIC PROCESSING OF CERTAIN CLAIMS 16
6513-FOR TEMPORARY DISABILITY RATINGS. 17
6514-(a) I
6515-NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 18
6516-date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-19
6517-erans Affairs shall modify the information technology sys-20
6518-tems of the Department of Veterans Affairs to use auto-21
6519-mation technology for claims for temporary disability rat-22
6520-ings for veterans described in section 1156(a)(1)(C) of 23
6521-title 38, United States Code. 24 237
6522-•HR 8371 EH
6523-(b) ADDITIONALREQUIREMENTS.—In providing for 1
6524-the automatic processing of claims as required under sub-2
6525-section (a), the Secretary shall ensure that— 3
6526-(1) medical evidence is obtained from the cor-4
6527-porate data warehouse of the Department or other 5
6528-sources of data, the Secretary determines appro-6
6529-priate; 7
6530-(2) employees of the Department continue to 8
6531-determine whether a veteran is entitled to a tem-9
6532-porary disability rating under section 1156(a)(1)(C) 10
6533-of title 38, United States Code; and 11
6534-(3) claims may be processed manually if the 12
6535-evidence of record is not sufficient to decide the 13
6536-claim or if the medical evidence is provided in a for-14
6537-mat that is not compatible with the system devel-15
6538-oped under subsection (a). 16
6539-TITLE IV—HOMELESSNESS 17
6540-MATTERS 18
6541-SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 19
6542-This title may be cited as the ‘‘Housing our Military 20
6543-Veterans Effectively Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘HOME Act of 21
6544-2024’’. 22 238
6545-•HR 8371 EH
7714+DDITIONALREQUIREMENTS.—In providing for 3
7715+the automatic processing of claims as required under sub-4
7716+section (a), the Secretary shall ensure that— 5
7717+(1) medical evidence is obtained from the cor-6
7718+porate data warehouse of the Department or other 7
7719+sources of data, the Secretary determines appro-8
7720+priate; 9
7721+(2) employees of the Department continue to 10
7722+determine whether a veteran is entitled to a tem-11
7723+porary disability rating under section 1156(a)(1)(C) 12
7724+of title 38, United States Code; and 13
7725+(3) claims may be processed manually if the 14
7726+evidence of record is not sufficient to decide the 15
7727+claim or if the medical evidence is provided in a for-16
7728+mat that is not compatible with the system devel-17
7729+oped under subsection (a). 18
7730+TITLE IV—HOMELESSNESS 19
7731+MATTERS 20
7732+SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 21
7733+This title may be cited as the ‘‘Housing our Military 22
7734+Veterans Effectively Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘HOME Act of 23
7735+2023’’. 24
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65467739 SEC. 402. PER DIEM PAYMENTS PROVIDED BY THE SEC-1
65477740 RETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR SERV-2
65487741 ICES FURNISHED TO HOMELESS VETERANS. 3
65497742 (a) I
65507743 NGENERAL.—Section 2012 of title 38, United 4
65517744 States Code, is amended— 5
65527745 (1) in subsection (a)— 6
65537746 (A) in paragraph (2)(B)— 7
65547747 (i) in clause (i)(II)(aa)(BB), by strik-8
65557748 ing ‘‘115 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘115 per-9
65567749 cent (or, during the period beginning on 10
65577750 the date of the enactment of the the Sen-11
65587751 ator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans 12
65597752 Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act 13
6560-and ending on September 30, 2027, 133 14
7753+and ending on September 30, 2026, 133 14
65617754 percent)’’; and 15
65627755 (ii) by adding at the end the fol-16
65637756 lowing: 17
6564-‘‘(iii) For each of fiscal years 2025 through 2027, 18
7757+‘‘(iii) For each of fiscal years 2024 through 2026, 18
65657758 the Secretary may waive the maximum rate for per diem 19
65667759 payments under clause (i)(II)(aa)(BB) or (ii) and, subject 20
65677760 to the availability of appropriations, provide such pay-21
65687761 ments at a rate that does not exceed 200 percent of the 22
65697762 rate authorized for State homes for domiciliary care under 23
65707763 subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 1741 of this title, as the 24
6571-Secretary may increase from time to time under sub-25 239
6572-•HR 8371 EH
7764+Secretary may increase from time to time under sub-25
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7767+•HR 8371 IH
65737768 section (c) of that section, if the Secretary notifies Con-1
65747769 gress of such waiver. 2
65757770 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary may not, pursuant to clause (iii), 3
65767771 waive the maximum rate described in such clause for more 4
65777772 than 50 percent of all grant recipients and eligible entities 5
65787773 for a fiscal year.’’; and 6
65797774 (B) by adding at the end the following new 7
65807775 paragraph: 8
65817776 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may not provide more than 9
65827777 12,000 per diem payments under this section for a fiscal 10
65837778 year.’’; and 11
65847779 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub-12
65857780 section: 13
65867781 ‘‘(f) R
65877782 EPORTSREQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days 14
6588-after the date of the enactment of the HOME Act of 2024, 15
7783+after the date of the enactment of the HOME Act of 2023, 15
65897784 and not less frequently than twice each year thereafter, 16
65907785 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 17
65917786 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af-18
65927787 fairs of the House of Representatives a report on the rate 19
65937788 for per diem payments under this section that includes, 20
65947789 for each Veterans Integrated Service Network of the De-21
65957790 partment, the following data: 22
6596-‘‘(1) The average rate for such a payment. 23 240
6597-•HR 8371 EH
7791+‘‘(1) The average rate for such a payment. 23
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7794+•HR 8371 IH
65987795 ‘‘(2) A list of locations where the rate for such 1
65997796 a payment is within 10 percent of the maximum rate 2
66007797 for such a payment authorized under this section. 3
66017798 ‘‘(3) The average length of stay by a veteran 4
66027799 participating in a program described in section 5
66037800 2012(a) of this title.’’. 6
66047801 (b) R
66057802 EGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of 7
6606-Veterans Affairs may carry out the amendments made by 8
6607-subsection (a) through interim guidance in advance of the 9
6608-issuance of regulations for such purpose. 10
7803+Veterans Affairs may prescribe interim guidance to carry 8
7804+out the amendments made by subsection (a). 9
66097805 (c) S
6610-TRATEGICPLAN.— 11
7806+TRATEGICPLAN.— 10
66117807 (1) I
6612-N GENERAL.—Not later than September 12
6613-30, 2025, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 13
6614-submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 14
6615-Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 15
6616-the House of Representatives a strategic plan for the 16
6617-provision of grants and per diem payments for serv-17
6618-ices furnished to homeless veterans under sections 18
6619-2011 and 2012 of title 38, United States Code. 19
7808+N GENERAL.—Not later than the end of 11
7809+fiscal year 2025, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 12
7810+shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 13
7811+of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af-14
7812+fairs of the House of Representatives a strategic 15
7813+plan for the provision of grants and per diem pay-16
7814+ments for services furnished to homeless veterans 17
7815+under sections 2011 and 2012 of title 38, United 18
7816+States Code. 19
66207817 (2) E
66217818 LEMENTS.—The plan required by para-20
66227819 graph (1) shall include the following: 21
66237820 (A) A method for administering grant 22
66247821 funding equitably without using the rate au-23
66257822 thorized for State homes for domiciliary care 24
6626-under subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 1741 of 25 241
6627-•HR 8371 EH
7823+under subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 1741 of 25
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7826+•HR 8371 IH
66287827 title 38, United States Code, as the Secretary 1
66297828 may increase from time to time under sub-2
66307829 section (c) of that section, that takes into ac-3
66317830 count— 4
66327831 (i) the wide variety of services fur-5
66337832 nished by grant recipients and eligible enti-6
66347833 ties under sections 2011 and 2012 of title 7
66357834 38, United States Code; 8
66367835 (ii) varying costs of living across dif-9
66377836 ferent geographic locations; 10
66387837 (iii) varying availability of affordable 11
66397838 housing in different geographic locations; 12
66407839 (iv) circumstances of housing insecu-13
66417840 rity in rural and Tribal communities; 14
66427841 (v) veterans with significant medical 15
66437842 care needs; and 16
66447843 (vi) the changing dynamic of the vet-17
66457844 eran population nationwide. 18
66467845 (B) A plan and timeline for implementa-19
66477846 tion of the method included under subpara-20
66487847 graph (A). 21
66497848 (C) An estimate of increased costs or sav-22
6650-ings per year under the plan. 23 242
6651-•HR 8371 EH
7849+ings per year under the plan. 23
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7852+•HR 8371 IH
66527853 (D) An overview of the different grants 1
66537854 that will be available once the plan is imple-2
66547855 mented. 3
66557856 SEC. 403. AUTHORIZATION FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS 4
66567857 AFFAIRS TO USE OF CERTAIN FUNDS FOR IM-5
66577858 PROVED FLEXIBILITY IN ASSISTANCE TO 6
66587859 HOMELESS VETERANS. 7
66597860 (a) U
66607861 SE OFFUNDS.—During the period beginning on 8
66617862 the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on the 9
66627863 termination date specified in subsection (d), the Secretary 10
66637864 of Veterans Affairs may provide to a covered veteran, as 11
66647865 the Secretary determines necessary— 12
66657866 (1) food, shelter, clothing, blankets, and hy-13
66667867 giene items required for the safety and survival of 14
66677868 the veteran; 15
66687869 (2) transportation required to support the sta-16
66697870 bility and health of the veteran for appointments 17
66707871 with service providers, the conduct of housing and 18
66717872 employment searches, and the obtainment of food 19
66727873 and supplies; and 20
66737874 (3) tablets, smartphones, disposable phones and 21
66747875 other technology, and related service plans required 22
66757876 to support the stability and health of the veteran 23
66767877 through the maintenance of contact with service pro-24
6677-viders, prospective landlords, and family members. 25 243
6678-•HR 8371 EH
7878+viders, prospective landlords, and family members. 25
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66797882 (b) HOMELESSVETERANS ONDEPARTMENT OFVET-1
66807883 ERANSAFFAIRSLAND.— 2
66817884 (1) I
66827885 N GENERAL.—The Secretary may collabo-3
66837886 rate, to the extent practicable, with one or more or-4
66847887 ganizations to manage the use of land of the Depart-5
66857888 ment of Veterans Affairs for homeless veterans for 6
66867889 living and sleeping. 7
66877890 (2) F
66887891 ORMS OF COLLABORATION .—Collaboration 8
66897892 under paragraph (1) may include the provision by ei-9
66907893 ther the Secretary or the head of the organization 10
66917894 concerned of food services and security for property, 11
66927895 buildings, and other facilities owned or controlled by 12
66937896 the Department of Veterans Affairs. 13
66947897 (c) R
66957898 EPORTREQUIRED.—Not later than six months 14
66967899 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 15
66977900 thereafter until the date specified in subsection (d), the 16
66987901 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that includes, 17
66997902 with respect to the period covered by such report— 18
67007903 (1) a statement, disaggregated by each medical 19
67017904 center of the Department of Veterans Affairs, of the 20
67027905 amount of funds under this section— 21
67037906 (A) each such medical center requested 22
67047907 from the Secretary; and 23
67057908 (B) to which the Secretary provided each 24
6706-such medical center; 25 244
6707-•HR 8371 EH
7909+such medical center; 25
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7912+•HR 8371 IH
67087913 (2) data, disaggregated by each such medical 1
67097914 center, relating to how each such medical center 2
67107915 used amounts provided by the Secretary under this 3
67117916 section; 4
67127917 (3) the number of covered veterans to which the 5
67137918 Secretary provided assistance under this section; 6
67147919 (4) the total amount of assistance the Secretary 7
67157920 provided to covered veterans pursuant to subsection 8
67167921 (a)(3) for communications equipment, broken down 9
67177922 by the type of equipment provided; 10
67187923 (5) the total amount of assistance the Secretary 11
67197924 provided covered veterans pursuant to subsection 12
67207925 (a)(2) for ridesharing; 13
67217926 (6) the number of covered veterans who re-14
67227927 ceived such assistance; and 15
67237928 (7) a description, for each rideshare used by a 16
67247929 covered veteran with such assistance, of the reasons 17
6725-such covered veteran used such rideshare. 18
7930+such covered veteran used such rideshare; 18
67267931 (8) the number of covered veterans who lived or 19
67277932 slept on Department land; 20
67287933 (9) the amount of funds used to make available 21
67297934 Department land for covered veterans to live and 22
67307935 sleep; 23
67317936 (10) the number of Department employees 24
6732-whose primary responsibilities involved providing 25 245
6733-•HR 8371 EH
7937+whose primary responsibilities involved providing 25
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7940+•HR 8371 IH
67347941 services for covered veterans living or sleeping on 1
67357942 Department land; 2
67367943 (11) the average length of time a covered vet-3
6737-eran lived or slept on Department land, and 4
7944+eran lived or slept on Department land; and 4
67387945 (12) the period of time the Secretary expects 5
67397946 Department land will be made available for covered 6
67407947 veterans to live and sleep. 7
67417948 (d) T
67427949 ERMINATIONDATE.—The termination date 8
6743-specified in this subsection is September 30, 2027. 9
7950+specified in this subsection is September 30, 2026. 9
67447951 (e) D
67457952 EFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered 10
67467953 veteran’’ means— 11
67477954 (1) a homeless veteran, as such term is defined 12
67487955 in section 2002 of title 38, United States Code; and 13
67497956 (2) a veteran participating in the program car-14
67507957 ried out under section 8(o)(19) of the United States 15
67517958 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)). 16
67527959 SEC. 404. ACCESS TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 17
67537960 TELEHEALTH SERVICES. 18
67547961 (a) I
67557962 NGENERAL.—Subtitle VII of chapter 20 of title 19
67567963 38, United States Code is amended by adding at the end 20
67577964 the following new section: 21
67587965 ‘‘§ 2069. Access to telehealth services 22
67597966 ‘‘To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure 23
67607967 that veterans participating in or receiving services from 24
6761-a program under this chapter have access to telehealth 25 246
6762-•HR 8371 EH
7968+a program under this chapter have access to telehealth 25
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7971+•HR 8371 IH
67637972 services to which such veterans are eligible under the laws 1
67647973 administered by the Secretary, including by ensuring that 2
67657974 telehealth capabilities are available to— 3
67667975 ‘‘(1) such veterans; 4
67677976 ‘‘(2) case managers of the Department of pro-5
67687977 grams for homeless veterans authorized under this 6
67697978 chapter; and 7
67707979 ‘‘(3) community-based service providers for 8
67717980 homeless veterans receiving funds from the Depart-9
67727981 ment through grants or contracts.’’. 10
67737982 (b) C
67747983 LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 11
67757984 at the beginning of chapter 20 of title 38, United States 12
67767985 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 13
67777986 item: 14
67787987 ‘‘2069. Access to telehealth services.’’.
6779-TITLE V—OVERSIGHT AND 15
6780-INVESTIGATIONS MATTERS 16
6781-SEC. 501. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEE 17
6782-TRAINING REGARDING OFFICE OF INSPEC-18
6783-TOR GENERAL. 19
7988+TITLE V—ELECTRONIC HEALTH 15
7989+RECORD MATTERS 16
7990+SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 17
7991+This title may be cited as the ‘‘Electronic Health 18
7992+Record Program Restructure, Enhance, Strengthen, and 19
7993+Empower Technology Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘EHR Program 20
7994+RESET Act of 2024’’. 21
7995+SEC. 502. DEFINITIONS. 22
7996+In this title: 23
7997+(1) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-24
7998+mittees’’ means— 25
7999+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00270 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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8001+•HR 8371 IH
8002+(A) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 1
8003+and the Committee on Appropriations of the 2
8004+House of Representatives; and 3
8005+(B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 4
8006+and the Committee on Appropriations of the 5
8007+Senate. 6
8008+(2) The term ‘‘Electronic Health Record Mod-7
8009+ernization Program’’ means any activities being car-8
8010+ried out, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, 9
8011+by the Department of Veterans Affairs to procure 10
8012+and implement an electronic health record system to 11
8013+replace significant medical functions or applications 12
8014+of the Veterans Information Systems and Tech-13
8015+nology Architecture. 14
8016+(3) The term ‘‘other health information tech-15
8017+nology activities and systems of the Department’’ 16
8018+means health information technology activities and 17
8019+systems other than electronic health record systems, 18
8020+including functions supporting clinical care or func-19
8021+tional requirements, notwithstanding the Determina-20
8022+tion and Findings executed by the Secretary of Vet-21
8023+erans Affairs on June 1, 2017. 22
8024+(4) The term ‘‘preliminary program activity’’ 23
8025+means an activity under the Electronic Health 24
8026+Record Modernization Program, including any local 25
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8029+•HR 8371 IH
8030+workshop, training, testing, or any other activity 1
8031+that is a direct precursor to the activation of the 2
8032+electronic health record system at a particular Vet-3
8033+erans Health Administration facility. 4
8034+Subtitle A—Electronic Health 5
8035+Record System and Health In-6
8036+formation Technology Mod-7
8037+ernization 8
8038+SEC. 511. MODERNIZATION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 9
8039+AFFAIRS ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD SYS-10
8040+TEM AND HEALTH INFORMATION TECH-11
8041+NOLOGY. 12
8042+(a) I
8043+NGENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 13
8044+is authorized to carry out a program to modernize— 14
8045+(1) the electronic health record system of the 15
8046+Department of Veterans Affairs, either by making 16
8047+changes to the Electronic Health Record Moderniza-17
8048+tion Program, as in effect on the date of the enact-18
8049+ment of this Act, or by establishing a new program; 19
8050+and 20
8051+(2) other health information technology activi-21
8052+ties and systems of the Department. 22
8053+(b) P
8054+URPOSE OFMODERNIZATIONPROGRAM.—If the 23
8055+Secretary carries out a program under subsection (a), 24
8056+some combination of the components of such program as 25
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8059+•HR 8371 IH
8060+described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall 1
8061+be designed to fulfill the following purposes: 2
8062+(1) To improve the quality of hospital care, 3
8063+medical services, and nursing home care furnished 4
8064+by the Department of Veterans Affairs, including— 5
8065+(A) by improving the delivery of care con-6
8066+sistent with quality and safety standards of the 7
8067+Department; 8
8068+(B) by improving the coordination of such 9
8069+care and services for such patients; and 10
8070+(C) by improving timely access to such 11
8071+care and services for such patients; 12
8072+(2) To increase the productivity, efficiency, and 13
8073+satisfaction of employees of the Veterans Health Ad-14
8074+ministration. 15
8075+(3) To improve the experience of patients en-16
8076+rolled in the patient enrollment system of the De-17
8077+partment of Veterans Affairs under section 1705 of 18
8078+title 38, United States Code. 19
8079+(4) To reduce unnecessary variation in care de-20
8080+livery. 21
8081+(5) To improve the quality, consistency, and 22
8082+management of— 23
8083+(A) data created or received by the Vet-24
8084+erans Health Administration, including such 25
8085+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00273 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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8087+•HR 8371 IH
8088+data related to or needed for benefits deter-1
8089+minations by the Department; and 2
8090+(B) data generated by or exchanged with a 3
8091+health care provider through which the Sec-4
8092+retary furnishes such care and services under 5
8093+the laws administered by the Secretary. 6
8094+(6) To increase the interoperability of the elec-7
8095+tronic health record systems and health information 8
8096+technology systems of the Department by— 9
8097+(A) expressing the content and format of 10
8098+health data using a common language to im-11
8099+prove the exchange of data within and outside 12
8100+the Department; 13
8101+(B) ensuring that Department medical per-14
8102+sonnel have access to integrated, computable, 15
8103+and comprehensive health records and health 16
8104+data of patients sufficient to enable the provi-17
8105+sion of seamless care within and outside the 18
8106+Department; 19
8107+(C) surpassing the capabilities achievable 20
8108+through bidirectional information exchange be-21
8109+tween electronic health record systems or the 22
8110+exchange of read-only data; and 23
8111+(D) planning for and effectuating the 24
8112+broadest possible implementation of interoper-25
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8115+•HR 8371 IH
8116+ability and data standards, specifically with re-1
8117+spect to the Fast Healthcare Interoperability 2
8118+Resources standard or successor standard, the 3
8119+evolution of such standards, and the obsoles-4
8120+cence of such standards. 5
8121+(7) To increase the amount of medical collec-6
8122+tions in the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical 7
8123+Care Collections Fund established under section 8
8124+1729A of title 38, United States Code. 9
8125+(8) To support and strengthen research and de-10
8126+velopment activities, including such activities re-11
8127+quired under section 7303 of title 38, United States 12
8128+Code. 13
8129+(9) To protect the personal information, includ-14
8130+ing personally identifiable information and protected 15
8131+health information, of veterans, patients, and other 16
8132+users of electronic health record systems and health 17
8133+information technology systems authorized under 18
8134+subsection (a) from cyber attacks, identity theft, and 19
8135+other cyber and security threats. 20
8136+(10) Such other purposes as the Secretary may 21
8137+determine appropriate. 22
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8140+•HR 8371 IH
8141+SEC. 512. RESPONSIBILITY FOR ELECTRONIC HEALTH 1
8142+RECORD PROGRAM AND HEALTH INFORMA-2
8143+TION TECHNOLOGY. 3
8144+(a) I
8145+NGENERAL.—If the Secretary of Veterans Af-4
8146+fairs carries out a program under subsection (a) of section 5
8147+511— 6
8148+(1) with respect to the modernization of the 7
8149+electronic health record system of the Department of 8
8150+Veterans Affairs pursuant to section 511(a)(1)— 9
8151+(A) the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Af-10
8152+fairs shall— 11
8153+(i) be directly responsible to the Sec-12
8154+retary for such electronic health record 13
8155+system modernization; 14
8156+(ii) oversee such electronic health 15
8157+record system modernization; 16
8158+(iii) direct resources, subject to the 17
8159+availability of appropriations, to the Office 18
8160+of Information and Technology, the Vet-19
8161+erans Health Administration, or other or-20
8162+ganizational subdivisions of the Depart-21
8163+ment to facilitate such modernization; 22
8164+(iv) designate officials and offices 23
8165+within the Department as operationally re-24
8166+sponsible for such modernization, including 25
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8169+•HR 8371 IH
8170+a Program Executive Director for Elec-1
8171+tronic Health Record Modernization; and 2
8172+(v) coordinate with the Under Sec-3
8173+retary of Veterans Affairs for Health and 4
8174+the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs 5
8175+for Information and Technology; 6
8176+(B) the Under Secretary for Health 7
8177+shall— 8
8178+(i) have primary responsibility for de-9
8179+termining strategy and objectives of such 10
8180+modernization; 11
8181+(ii) exercise responsibility for the im-12
8182+plementation and operation of any func-13
8183+tions assigned by the Deputy Secretary 14
8184+pursuant to subparagraph (D); 15
8185+(iii) coordinate with the Deputy Sec-16
8186+retary, the Program Executive Director 17
8187+designated pursuant to subparagraph 18
8188+(A)(iv), and the Assistant Secretary for In-19
8189+formation and Technology; 20
8190+(C) the Assistant Secretary for Informa-21
8191+tion and Technology shall— 22
8192+(i) be responsible for carrying out the 23
8193+information technology activities of the De-24
8194+partment in accordance with— 25
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8197+•HR 8371 IH
8198+(I) section 310 of title 38, United 1
8199+States Code; 2
8200+(II) chapter 35 of title 44, 3
8201+United States Code; and 4
8202+(III) subtitle III of title 40, 5
8203+United States Code; 6
8204+(ii) exercise responsibility for the im-7
8205+plementation and operation of any func-8
8206+tions assigned by the Deputy Secretary 9
8207+pursuant to subparagraph (D); 10
8208+(iii) coordinate with the Deputy Sec-11
8209+retary, the Program Executive Director 12
8210+designated pursuant to subparagraph 13
8211+(A)(iv), and the Under Secretary for 14
8212+Health; and 15
8213+(D) the Deputy Secretary, in consultation 16
8214+with the Under Secretary for Health and the 17
8215+Assistant Secretary for Information and Tech-18
8216+nology, shall determine the distribution or as-19
8217+signment of responsibilities among the Under 20
8218+Secretary for Health, the Assistant Secretary 21
8219+for Information and Technology, and the Pro-22
8220+gram Executive Director designated pursuant 23
8221+to subparagraph (A)(iv) for— 24
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8224+•HR 8371 IH
8225+(i) defining and elaborating require-1
8226+ments; 2
8227+(ii) implementation schedule; 3
8228+(iii) system design and configuration; 4
8229+(iv) workflow; 5
8230+(v) system usability; 6
8231+(vi) change management; 7
8232+(vii) training; and 8
8233+(viii) other functions relevant to such 9
8234+modernization; and 10
8235+(2) with respect to the modernization of other 11
8236+health information technology activities and systems 12
8237+of the Department pursuant to section 511(a)(2)— 13
8238+(A) the Under Secretary for Health and 14
8239+the Assistant Secretary for Information and 15
8240+Technology shall share primary responsibility, 16
8241+shall coordinate with one another, and shall 17
8242+jointly— 18
8243+(i) coordinate with any other relevant 19
8244+organizational subdivisions of the Depart-20
8245+ment regarding the prioritization, invest-21
8246+ment in, and deployment of health infor-22
8247+mation technology regarding such mod-23
8248+ernization; and 24
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8251+•HR 8371 IH
8252+(ii) develop the health information 1
8253+technology strategy and roadmap required 2
8254+under section 537; 3
8255+(B) the Assistant Secretary for Informa-4
8256+tion and Technology shall be responsible for 5
8257+carrying out the information technology activi-6
8258+ties of the Department in accordance with— 7
8259+(i) section 310 of title 38, United 8
8260+States Code; 9
8261+(ii) chapter 35 of title 44, United 10
8262+States Code; and 11
8263+(iii) subtitle III of title 40, United 12
8264+States Code; and 13
8265+(C) The Under Secretary for Health, act-14
8266+ing through the Chief Digital Health Officer of 15
8267+the Department or a successor or equivalent of-16
8268+ficer, shall coordinate the activities and func-17
8269+tions of the Veterans Health Administration, 18
8270+including health informatics. 19
8271+(b) E
8272+XECUTIVEDIRECTOR.—With respect to the 20
8273+Electronic Health Record Modernization program and any 21
8274+program carried out pursuant to section 511(a)(1), the 22
8275+Program Executive Director designated pursuant to sub-23
8276+section (a)(1)(A)(iv) shall— 24
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8279+•HR 8371 IH
8280+(1) exercise responsibility for the implementa-1
8281+tion and operation of the functions assigned by the 2
8282+Deputy Secretary pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(D); 3
8283+(2) oversee work performed by contractors re-4
8284+lated to such programs, in coordination with the 5
8285+Principal Executive Director of the Office of Acqui-6
8286+sition, Logistics, and Construction; and 7
8287+(3) coordinate with the Under Secretary for 8
8288+Health, the Assistant Secretary for Information and 9
8289+Technology, and any other relevant organizational 10
8290+subdivisions of the Department. 11
8291+SEC. 513. PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION. 12
8292+(a) I
8293+NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 13
8294+date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-14
8295+erans Affairs shall— 15
8296+(1) ensure that each covered contract includes, 16
8297+or is modified to include, a clause prohibiting cov-17
8298+ered information from being monetized, sold, or oth-18
8299+erwise misused by any contractor, including any sub-19
8300+contractor or affiliate thereof, or other non-Depart-20
8301+ment of Veterans Affairs entity; and 21
8302+(2) issue a directive or other policy providing 22
8303+guidance to employees and contractors of the De-23
8304+partment on how to identify the monetization, sale, 24
8305+or misuse of covered information in order to ensure 25
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8308+•HR 8371 IH
8309+contractors are in compliance with clauses in covered 1
8310+contracts included pursuant to paragraph (1). 2
8311+(b) D
8312+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 3
8313+(1) The term ‘‘covered contract’’ means a con-4
8314+tract of the Department of Veterans Affairs that 5
8315+provides for the handling of covered information and 6
8316+is entered into— 7
8317+(A) after the date of the enactment of this 8
8318+Act; or 9
8319+(B) before the date of the enactment of 10
8320+this Act and does not expire before the date of 11
8321+the enactment of this Act. 12
8322+(2) The term ‘‘covered information’’— 13
8323+(A) means protected health information or 14
8324+personally identifiable information, including 15
8325+such information that has been anonymized; 16
8326+and 17
8327+(B) includes information protected 18
8328+under— 19
8329+(i) section 552a of title 5, United 20
8330+States Code; 21
8331+(ii) section 5701 or 7332 of title 38 22
8332+United States Code; 23
8333+(iii) parts 160, 161, and 164 of title 24
8334+45, Code of Federal Regulations; and 25
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8337+•HR 8371 IH
8338+(iv) any other provision of law, as de-1
8339+termined by the Secretary. 2
8340+Subtitle B—Implementation 3
8341+Requirements 4
8342+SEC. 521. VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION 5
8343+WORKFLOW BASELINE. 6
8344+(a) E
8345+STABLISHMENT.—The Under Secretary of Vet-7
8346+erans Affairs for Health, shall— 8
8347+(1) conduct an enterprise inventory of core clin-9
8348+ical and business processes relevant to the program 10
8349+described in section 511(a)(1), including all 11
8350+workflows underlying such processes throughout the 12
8351+Veterans Health Administration; 13
8352+(2) evaluate and compare the workflows re-14
8353+ferred to in paragraph (1) against relevant health 15
8354+care industry best practices and clinical practice 16
8355+guidelines; and 17
8356+(3) establish a baseline of clinical workflows for 18
8357+the Veterans Health Administration. 19
8358+(b) I
8359+NCORPORATION.—The Under Secretary for 20
8360+Health shall incorporate the baseline established under 21
8361+subsection (a)(3) into the program described in section 22
8362+511(a)(1). 23
8363+(c) M
8364+ONITORING AND CONTROL OFVARIATIONS.— 24
8365+The Under Secretary for Health shall— 25
8366+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00283 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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8368+•HR 8371 IH
8369+(1) establish a process to monitor and control 1
8370+variations from the baseline established under sub-2
8371+section (a)(3); and 3
8372+(2) evaluate progress relative to such baseline. 4
8373+(d) S
8374+TANDARDS.—The Under Secretary for Health 5
8375+shall establish national standards for the Veterans Health 6
8376+Administration, pertaining to the implementation and 7
8377+adoption of the electronic health record system, for— 8
8378+(1) order sets; 9
8379+(2) user roles; 10
8380+(3) medical devices; 11
8381+(4) system interfaces and connectivity of med-12
8382+ical devices; and 13
8383+(5) any clinical process not described in sub-14
8384+section (a) that the Under Secretary for Health de-15
8385+termines appropriate. 16
8386+SEC. 522. REQUIREMENTS FOR ELECTRONIC HEALTH 17
8387+RECORD SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION. 18
8388+(a) M
8389+ETRICS.— 19
8390+(1) E
8391+STABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 20
8392+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-21
8393+retary of Veterans Affairs, acting through the Under 22
8394+Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health, shall es-23
8395+tablish standard health care quality metrics for pur-24
8396+poses of evaluating the provision of health care dur-25
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8399+•HR 8371 IH
8400+ing the implementation and adoption of the elec-1
8401+tronic health record system. Such metrics shall— 2
8402+(A) be uniform in composition; 3
8403+(B) take into account relevant differences 4
8404+in size, complexity, and market composition of 5
8405+facilities of the Veterans Health Administra-6
8406+tion; 7
8407+(C) incorporate the Strategic Analytics for 8
8408+Improvement and Learning Value Model of the 9
8409+Department, any other relevant methodology, or 10
8410+any successor methodology; and 11
8411+(D) reflect the purposes referred to in sec-12
8412+tion 511(b). 13
8413+(2) S
8414+TRATEGIC ANALYTICS FOR IMPROVEMENT 14
8415+AND LEARNING VALUE MODEL .—Upon the enact-15
8416+ment of this Act, the Secretary shall continue mak-16
8417+ing publicly available the results of the Strategic 17
8418+Analytics for Improvement and Learning Value 18
8419+Model with respect to all medical facilities where the 19
8420+electronic health record system pursuant to the Elec-20
8421+tronic Health Record Modernization Program is ac-21
8422+tive. 22
8423+(b) L
8424+IMITATION ONPRELIMINARYPROGRAMACTIVI-23
8425+TIES ATCERTAINFACILITIES.—In the case of any med-24
8426+ical facility of the Department where, as of the date of 25
8427+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00285 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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8429+•HR 8371 IH
8430+the enactment of this Act, a preliminary program activity 1
8431+has not been initiated or is not being carried out, the Sec-2
8432+retary may not carry out such an activity at such facility 3
8433+before the date on which the Secretary submits to the ap-4
8434+propriate congressional committees certification that— 5
8435+(1) each medical facility where the electronic 6
8436+health record system pursuant to the Electronic 7
8437+Health Record Modernization Program is active as 8
8438+of such date of enactment, has met or exceeded the 9
8439+operational levels of such medical facility prior to 10
8440+implementing such system with respect to oper-11
8441+ational areas of the Department related to the pur-12
8442+poses described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (7) 13
8443+of section 511(b); and 14
8444+(2) includes data to support such certification. 15
8445+(c) L
8446+IMITATION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ELEC-16
8447+TRONICHEALTHRECORDMODERNIZATIONPROGRAM.— 17
8448+The Secretary may not implement the electronic health 18
8449+record system pursuant to the Electronic Health Record 19
8450+Modernization Program at a Department medical facility 20
8451+where such system is not active as of date of enactment 21
8452+unless— 22
8453+(1) the Secretary has made the certification de-23
8454+scribed in subsection (b); and 24
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8457+•HR 8371 IH
8458+(2) the Under Secretary for Health, in con-1
8459+sultation with the director of the facility, submits to 2
8460+the Secretary, and the Secretary transmits to the 3
8461+appropriate congressional committees, written cer-4
8462+tification that— 5
8463+(A) the director has confidence that the 6
8464+build and configuration of the electronic health 7
8465+record, as proposed to be carried out at such 8
8466+medical facility, are accurate and complete; 9
8467+(B) the staff and infrastructure of such fa-10
8468+cility are adequately prepared to receive such 11
8469+system; 12
8470+(C) the facility and the Department have 13
8471+taken appropriate action to mitigate any ad-14
8472+verse effects of the implementation of such sys-15
8473+tem on health outcomes, coordination of care, 16
8474+wait times, patient safety, or veteran experience 17
8475+at such medical facility; and 18
8476+(D) such system has demonstrated a sus-19
8477+tained record of achieving the contractual re-20
8478+quirements for outage-free time and incident- 21
8479+free time prior to such certification. 22
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8482+•HR 8371 IH
8483+SEC. 523. CONDITIONAL RESTRUCTURING OF ELECTRONIC 1
8484+HEALTH RECORD MODERNIZATION PRO-2
8485+GRAM. 3
8486+(a) I
8487+NGENERAL.—Beginning on the date that is two 4
8488+years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-5
8489+retary of Veterans Affairs may not exercise any option pe-6
8490+riods or optional tasks or extend any contracts to carry 7
8491+out the Electronic Health Record Modernization Program, 8
8492+unless before the date that is two years after the date of 9
8493+enactment of this Act— 10
8494+(1) the Secretary submits to the appropriate 11
8495+congressional committees a certification, including 12
8496+supporting data, that the metrics described in sec-13
8497+tion 522(a) show overall improvement in each meas-14
8498+urement period during the period beginning on the 15
8499+date of the enactment of this Act and ending on the 16
8500+date on which the certification under this paragraph 17
8501+is made; and 18
8502+(2) the Secretary has made the certification de-19
8503+scribed in section 522(b). 20
8504+(b) R
8505+ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-21
8506+tion may be construed to require the Secretary to termi-22
8507+nate any contract, task order, modification, or other simi-23
8508+lar instrument under the Electronic Health Record Mod-24
8509+ernization Program before the expiration of the period of 25
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8512+•HR 8371 IH
8513+performance of such contract, task order, modification, or 1
8514+other similar instrument. 2
8515+(c) F
8516+AILURETOMAKECERTIFICATIONS.—In the 3
8517+event that each certification referred to in paragraphs (1) 4
8518+and (2) of subsection (a) is not made before the date that 5
8519+is two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 6
8520+not later than 180 days after the date that is two years 7
8521+after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 8
8522+shall either— 9
8523+(1) ensure that each facility of the Veterans 10
8524+Health Administration using the electronic health 11
8525+record system implemented pursuant to the Elec-12
8526+tronic Health Record Modernization Program reacti-13
8527+vates and resumes using the Veterans Health Infor-14
8528+mation Systems and Technology Architecture and 15
8529+the Computerized Patient Record System of the De-16
8530+partment; or 17
8531+(2) if the Secretary has submitted the report on 18
8532+alternative modernization strategies under section 19
8533+536, select and pursue a strategy included in the re-20
8534+port. 21
8535+Subtitle C—Reporting 22
8536+SEC. 531. REPORT ON ADDITIONAL PURPOSES. 23
8537+If the Secretary determines any purpose to be appro-24
8538+priate pursuant to section 511(b)(10), not later than 30 25
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8541+•HR 8371 IH
8542+days after the date of such determination, the Secretary 1
8543+shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 2
8544+a report that includes a description of such purpose. 3
8545+SEC. 532. REPORTS ON BASELINE OF CLINICAL 4
8546+WORKFLOWS. 5
8547+(a) B
8548+ASELINE.—Not later than 90 days after the 6
8549+date on which the Secretary establishes a baseline of clin-7
8550+ical workflows pursuant to section 521(a)(3), the Sec-8
8551+retary shall submit to the appropriate congressional com-9
8552+mittees a report that includes an identification of such 10
8553+baseline. 11
8554+(b) S
8555+TANDARDS.—Not later than 90 days after the 12
8556+date on which the Secretary establishes the national stand-13
8557+ards pursuant to section 521(d), the Secretary shall sub-14
8558+mit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 15
8559+that describes such standards. 16
8560+SEC. 533. REPORT ON HEALTH CARE QUALITY METRICS. 17
8561+Not later than 90 days after the date on which the 18
8562+Secretary establishes the health care quality metrics de-19
8563+scribed in section 522(a), the Secretary shall submit to 20
8564+the appropriate congressional committees a report that in-21
8565+cludes an identification of such metrics. 22
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8569+SEC. 534. REPORT ON SUPPORT STRATEGY FOR EXISTING 1
8570+SITES. 2
8571+(a) I
8572+NGENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 3
8573+date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub-4
8574+mit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 5
8575+on the strategy of the Department to enable each medical 6
8576+facility of the Department where the electronic health 7
8577+record system implemented pursuant to the Electronic 8
8578+Health Record Modernization Program is active as of the 9
8579+date of enactment of this Act to achieve full user adoption 10
8580+of the system and meet or exceed the operational levels 11
8581+of such medical center prior to implementing such system 12
8582+with respect to operational areas of the Department re-13
8583+lated to the purposes described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 14
8584+and (7) of section 511(b). Such report shall include an 15
8585+estimated budget, or revisions to an existing budget, if 16
8586+any, for each such facility to implement such strategy, in-17
8587+cluding with respect to costs related to— 18
8588+(1) training; 19
8589+(2) additional staff; 20
8590+(3) technical support; 21
8591+(4) support contracts; 22
8592+(5) mitigation strategies; and 23
8593+(6) any other resources determined necessary 24
8594+by the director of the facility. 25
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8597+•HR 8371 IH
8598+(b) INPUT.—The report described in subsection (a) 1
8599+shall be developed with input from the directors of each 2
8600+such medical facility and the directors of each Veterans 3
8601+Integrated Service Network in which each such medical 4
8602+facility is located. 5
8603+SEC. 535. REPORT ON RESOURCES REQUIRED FOR FUTURE 6
8604+SITES. 7
8605+Not later than 90 days before a medical facility is 8
8606+scheduled to implement the electronic health record sys-9
8607+tem pursuant to the Electronic Health Record Moderniza-10
8608+tion Program, the Secretary shall submit to the appro-11
8609+priate congressional committees a report provided by the 12
8610+director of the medical facility, in consultation with the 13
8611+chief of staff of the medical facility and the director of 14
8612+the Veterans Integrated Service Network in which such 15
8613+medical facility is located. Such report shall include a de-16
8614+tailed description of the resources provided to the medical 17
8615+facility, and the estimated resources still required, to im-18
8616+plement such system successfully, including with respect 19
8617+to— 20
8618+(1) funding; 21
8619+(2) training; 22
8620+(3) additional staff; 23
8621+(4) technical support; 24
8622+(5) support contracts; 25
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8625+•HR 8371 IH
8626+(6) mitigation strategies; and 1
8627+(7) any other resources determined necessary 2
8628+by the director of the facility. 3
8629+SEC. 536. REPORT ON ALTERNATIVE MODERNIZATION 4
8630+STRATEGIES. 5
8631+(a) I
8632+NGENERAL.—Not later than one year after 6
8633+completing the baseline required under section 521(a), the 7
8634+Secretary, in consultation with the Under Secretary of 8
8635+Veterans Affairs for Health, the Executive Director of the 9
8636+Electronic Health Record Modernization Program, and 10
8637+the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Informa-11
8638+tion and Technology, shall submit to the appropriate con-12
8639+gressional committees a report that includes a description 13
8640+of not fewer than two alternative strategies to the Elec-14
8641+tronic Health Record Modernization Program to carry out 15
8642+the program described in section 511(a) and the purposes 16
8643+described in section 511(b) in the event that each of the 17
8644+certifications referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of sec-18
8645+tion 523(a) are not made. 19
8646+(b) A
8647+LTERNATIVE STRATEGIES.—The alternative 20
8648+strategies included in the report shall include— 21
8649+(1) a strategy of modernizing the Veterans 22
8650+Health Information Systems and Technology Archi-23
8651+tecture in conjunction with other health information 24
8652+technology activities and systems; 25
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8655+•HR 8371 IH
8656+(2) a strategy of implementing a commercial 1
8657+electronic health record system, other than the Elec-2
8658+tronic Health Record Modernization Program, in 3
8659+conjunction with other health information technology 4
8660+activities and systems; and 5
8661+(3) any other strategy the Secretary determines 6
8662+appropriate. 7
8663+(c) R
8664+EQUIREMENTS.—For each alternative strategy 8
8665+included in the report, the Secretary shall include— 9
8666+(1) a description of how the strategy incor-10
8667+porates the baseline required under section 521(a); 11
8668+(2) an indication of what combination of an 12
8669+electronic health record system and other health in-13
8670+formation technology activities and systems will be 14
8671+used to fulfill the purposes described in section 15
8672+511(b); 16
8673+(3) a notional schedule for the implementation 17
8674+of the strategy; 18
8675+(4) a preliminary life cycle cost estimate for the 19
8676+implementation of the strategy, including what, if 20
8677+any, costs incurred during the implementation of the 21
8678+Electronic Health Record Modernization Program 22
8679+may be recovered or investments made during the 23
8680+implementation of such program may be reused; 24
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8683+•HR 8371 IH
8684+(5) an explanation of how the strategy, if imple-1
8685+mented, would achieve the purposes described in sec-2
8686+tion 511(b); 3
8687+(6) a description of any improvements in gov-4
8688+ernance, management, and oversight made by the 5
8689+Department or proposed to be made with respect to 6
8690+a program to carry out an alternative strategy; 7
8691+(7) an analysis of the feasibility of imple-8
8692+menting the strategy; 9
8693+(8) an analysis of the level of risk to taxpayers 10
8694+and the Department to implement the strategy as 11
8695+well as strategies to mitigate any such risks; 12
8696+(9) an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses 13
8697+of the strategy; and 14
8698+(10) a description of how the electronic health 15
8699+record system implemented pursuant to the Elec-16
8700+tronic Health Record Modernization Program will be 17
8701+sustained, deprecated, and replaced through imple-18
8702+mentation of the strategy. 19
8703+SEC. 537. REPORT ON HEALTH INFORMATION TECH-20
8704+NOLOGY STRATEGY AND ROADMAP. 21
8705+(a) I
8706+NGENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the 22
8707+date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Digital Health 23
8708+Officer, or any successor officer of the Department of Vet-24
8709+erans Affairs, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary 25
8710+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00295 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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8712+•HR 8371 IH
8713+of Veterans Affairs for Information and Technology, the 1
8714+Chief Acquisition Officer of the Department of Veterans 2
8715+Affairs, and the Program Executive Director designated 3
8716+pursuant to section 512(a)(1)(A)(iv) shall submit to the 4
8717+appropriate congressional committees a report a con-5
8718+taining a health information technology strategy and road-6
8719+map. 7
8720+(b) C
8721+ONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report required 8
8722+under subsection (a) shall include each of the following: 9
8723+(1) A health information technology strategy 10
8724+presenting the comprehensive approach of the De-11
8725+partment and objectives to identify, prioritize, pro-12
8726+cure and use health information technology of the 13
8727+Department as well as interfaces with health infor-14
8728+mation technology of non-Department entities and 15
8729+integration of such systems and interfaces to im-16
8730+prove— 17
8731+(A) health care quality; 18
8732+(B) health care delivery and coordination, 19
8733+including of interfaced medical devices; 20
8734+(C) efficiency of the health business and 21
8735+administrative functions; and 22
8736+(D) research functions of the Department. 23
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8739+•HR 8371 IH
8740+(2) Goals and measurable metrics to assess im-1
8741+plementation of the strategy described in paragraph 2
8742+(1) and the roadmap described in paragraph (4). 3
8743+(3) As assessment of the current state and de-4
8744+sired future state of the Department, including tech-5
8745+nical architecture, enterprise processes, and systems 6
8746+integration with respect to health information tech-7
8747+nology. 8
8748+(4) A roadmap to implement the strategy de-9
8749+scribed in paragraph (1), consisting of— 10
8750+(A) a revised governance model, to include 11
8751+management and oversight responsibilities, to 12
8752+holistically organize, prioritize, and invest in 13
8753+health information technology initiatives of the 14
8754+Department, regardless of funding source, while 15
8755+removing duplication and fragmentation in such 16
8756+initiatives of the Department; 17
8757+(B) a timeline to implement and 18
8758+operationalize the strategy described in para-19
8759+graph (1); 20
8760+(C) a description of the acquisition and 21
8761+contracting strategies of the Department at the 22
8762+national, regional, or local levels to be created 23
8763+or modified to implement the strategy described 24
8764+in paragraph (1); and 25
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8767+•HR 8371 IH
8768+(D) a description of any human capital 1
8769+needs required to implement the strategy and 2
8770+roadmap, including qualifications or incentives 3
8771+to obtain such needs. 4
8772+(c) U
8773+PDATE TOREPORT.—Not later than 120 days 5
8774+after the first day of the fiscal year after the fiscal year 6
8775+during which the report required under subsection (a) is 7
8776+submitted, and annually thereafter until the date specified 8
8777+in subsection (d), the Chief Digital Health Officer shall 9
8778+submit to the appropriate congressional committees an up-10
8779+dated report that includes each of the following: 11
8780+(1) An identification of any significant changes 12
8781+to the strategy described in subsection (b)(1) or any 13
8782+of the elements of the strategy. 14
8783+(2) An assessment of the extent to which the 15
8784+goals described in subsection (b)(2) have been 16
8785+achieved, including supporting metrics and data. 17
8786+(3) An assessment of the progress and mile-18
8787+stones achieved related to the timeline described in 19
8788+subsection (b)(4)(D). 20
8789+(4) A description of any corrective actions to be 21
8790+taken in response to failure to meet any goals or 22
8791+milestones. 23
8792+(5) The budget and spending plan of the De-24
8793+partment for health information technology, includ-25
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8796+•HR 8371 IH
8797+ing all relevant accounts, for the fiscal year during 1
8798+which the updated report is submitted and the next 2
8799+fiscal year. 3
8800+(d) T
8801+ERMINATIONDATE.—The date specified in this 4
8802+subsection is the date that is four years after the date 5
8803+on which the first update is submitted under subsection 6
8804+(c). 7
8805+SEC. 538. ANNUAL REPORT ON EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN 8
8806+VISTA ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD SYS-9
8807+TEM. 10
8808+(a) I
8809+NGENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 11
8810+first day of each fiscal year that begins after the date of 12
8811+the enactment of this Act until the date specified in sub-13
8812+section (c), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 14
8813+congressional committees a report on the Veterans Infor-15
8814+mation Systems and Technology Architecture. 16
8815+(b) C
8816+ONTENTS OFREPORT.—The report required by 17
8817+subsection (a) shall include— 18
8818+(1) the operation and maintenance costs and 19
8819+development and enhancement costs for the most re-20
8820+cent fiscal year that ended before the date of the 21
8821+submission of the report; 22
8822+(2) the planned operation and maintenance ef-23
8823+forts and development and enhancement efforts dur-24
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8826+•HR 8371 IH
8827+ing the fiscal year during which the report is sub-1
8828+mitted and subsequent fiscal years; 2
8829+(3) the projected operation and maintenance 3
8830+and development and enhancement costs for the nine 4
8831+fiscal years following the fiscal year during which 5
8832+the report is submitted; 6
8833+(4) a list of modules, applications, or systems 7
8834+within the Veterans Information Systems and Tech-8
8835+nology Architecture— 9
8836+(A) that have been retired or have been, or 10
8837+are planned to be, subsumed by other systems 11
8838+or applications; or 12
8839+(B) that the Department plans to retire 13
8840+during the fiscal year or in a future fiscal year; 14
8841+or 15
8842+(C) for which there is no plan to retire or 16
8843+subsume; 17
8844+(5) a list of applications or systems to be devel-18
8845+oped within, significantly modernized, or integrated 19
8846+with, the Veterans Information Systems and Tech-20
8847+nology Architecture during the fiscal year during 21
8848+which the report is submitted or during any future 22
8849+fiscal year; 23
8850+(6) a list of current, scheduled activity and as-24
8851+sociated costs towards achieving certification as a 25
8852+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00300 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
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8854+•HR 8371 IH
8855+certified electronic health record technology pursu-1
8856+ant to the program under section 3001(c) of the 2
8857+Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj–11(c)); 3
8858+and 4
8859+(7) a report on the stability of the system, in-5
8860+cluding— 6
8861+(A) outage-free time; 7
8862+(B) incident-free time; and 8
8863+(C) user interruptions across all instances 9
8864+of the Veterans Information Systems and Tech-10
8865+nology Architecture during the two previous fis-11
8866+cal years. 12
8867+(c) T
8868+ERMINATION.—The date specified in this sub-13
8869+section is the date that is 10 years after the date of the 14
8870+enactment of this Act. 15
8871+SEC. 539. MODIFICATION OF QUARTERLY REPORTS. 16
8872+Section 503 of the Veterans Benefits and Transition 17
8873+Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–407) is amended— 18
8874+(1) in subsection (b)— 19
8875+(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 20
8876+through (6) as subparagraphs (A) through (F), 21
8877+respectively; 22
8878+(B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 23
8879+(A), as redesignated by paragraph (1), by strik-24
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8882+•HR 8371 IH
8883+ing ‘‘Not later than 30 days’’ and inserting the 1
8884+following: 2
8885+‘‘(1) I
8886+N GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days’’; 3
8887+and 4
8888+(C) by adding at the end the following: 5
8889+‘‘(2) A
8890+DDITIONAL MATTERS TO BE IN -6
8891+CLUDED.—The Secretary shall include with any up-7
8892+date submitted under paragraph (1) on or after the 8
8893+date of enactment of the the Senator Elizabeth Dole 9
8894+21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Im-10
8895+provement Act with respect to the quarter covered 11
8896+by the report, the following: 12
8897+‘‘(A) Data on user adoption and employee 13
8898+satisfaction with the electronic health record 14
8899+system implemented pursuant to the Electronic 15
8900+Health Record Modernization program or suc-16
8901+cessor system implemented pursuant to section 17
8902+511(a)(1) of the the Senator Elizabeth Dole 18
8903+21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits 19
8904+Improvement Act, including training on such 20
8905+system, using surveys of the Department and 21
8906+surveys conducted for the Department. 22
8907+‘‘(B) Data on employee retention and turn-23
8908+over at medical facilities where such electronic 24
8909+health record system is in use. 25
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8912+•HR 8371 IH
8913+‘‘(C) Data on downtime, performance dis-1
8914+ruptions, or impaired functionality of such elec-2
8915+tronic health record system including— 3
8916+‘‘(i) cause; 4
8917+‘‘(ii) length; 5
8918+‘‘(iii) responsible entity; and 6
8919+‘‘(iv) corrective actions planned or 7
8920+taken. 8
8921+‘‘(D) Data on the impact of such system 9
8922+on revenue and collections at medical facilities 10
8923+where such electronic health record system is in 11
8924+use, including— 12
8925+‘‘(i) planned revenue and collections; 13
8926+‘‘(ii) actual revenue and collections; 14
8927+and 15
8928+‘‘(iii) steps planned or taken to 16
8929+achieve planned revenue and collections. 17
8930+‘‘(E) Data on ticket resolution. 18
8931+‘‘(F) A list of any credits, reimbursements, 19
8932+or monies provided by a contractor under the 20
8933+Electronic Health Record Modernization pro-21
8934+gram or invoice deductions or withholdings 22
8935+taken by the Department from such contractor 23
8936+in the reporting period to include due to failure 24
8937+to meet the terms of a service level agreement 25
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8940+•HR 8371 IH
8941+or other terms and conditions of the contract.’’; 1
8942+and 2
8943+(2) in subsection (d)(2)(C)— 3
8944+(A) by striking ‘‘or dispute, and’’ and in-4
8945+serting ‘‘dispute, cure notice, letter of concern, 5
8946+or other official communication by the Depart-6
8947+ment to a contractor concerning contract non-7
8948+compliance or corrective action, the official re-8
8949+sponse of the contractor, and’’; and 9
8950+(B) by striking ‘‘or dispute (as’’ and in-10
8951+serting ‘‘dispute, cure notice, letter of concern, 11
8952+or other official communication concerning con-12
8953+tract noncompliance and the official response of 13
8954+the contractor (as’’. 14
8955+SEC. 540. REPORT ON PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFOR-15
8956+MATION. 16
8957+Not later than one year after the date of the enact-17
8958+ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 18
8959+submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re-19
8960+port that includes— 20
8961+(1) a copy of the contract clause required by 21
8962+section 513(a); 22
8963+(2) the guidance required by section 513(b); 23
8964+and 24
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8967+•HR 8371 IH
8968+(3) a summary of any other actions taken to 1
8969+comply with section 513. 2
8970+SEC. 541. REPORT ON ORGANIZATION AND NEEDS. 3
8971+(a) C
8972+ONGRESSIONALNOTICEREGARDINGCERTAIN 4
8973+A
8974+CTIONS.— 5
8975+(1) I
8976+N GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 6
8977+the date on which an official of the Department of 7
8978+Veterans Affairs takes an action specified in para-8
8979+graph (2), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 9
8980+submit to the appropriate congressional committees 10
8981+notice of such action. 11
8982+(2) A
8983+CTION SPECIFIED.—An action specified in 12
8984+this paragraph is any of the following: 13
8985+(A) The designation of any official or of-14
8986+fice by the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Af-15
8987+fairs pursuant to section 512(a)(1)(A)(iv). 16
8988+(B) The designation of any responsibility 17
8989+by the Deputy Secretary pursuant to section 18
8990+512(a)(1)(D). 19
8991+(C) Any action related to the reorganiza-20
8992+tion of a program pursuant to section 511(a)(1) 21
8993+or (2). 22
8994+(b) R
8995+EPORT ON NECESSARY LEGISLATIVE 23
8996+C
8997+HANGES.—Not later than one year after the date of the 24
8998+enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 25
8999+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00305 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
9000+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 306
9001+•HR 8371 IH
9002+appropriate congressional committees a report that in-1
9003+cludes a description of any legislative changes the Sec-2
9004+retary determines are necessary in order to carry out the 3
9005+responsibilities of the Secretary with respect to the pro-4
9006+grams described in section 511(a)(1) or (2), regarding— 5
9007+(1) organization; 6
9008+(2) hiring or compensation authorities; 7
9009+(3) appropriations; or 8
9010+(4) related matters, as determined by the Sec-9
9011+retary. 10
9012+SEC. 542. REPORT ON GOVERNANCE, PERFORMANCE CRI-11
9013+TERIA, AND READINESS. 12
9014+Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact-13
9015+ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 14
9016+submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re-15
9017+port describing the following: 16
9018+(1) The clinical decision making structure of 17
9019+the Department of Veterans Affairs and efforts to 18
9020+achieve a more uniform clinical decision making 19
9021+structure, pertaining to the Electronic Health 20
9022+Record Modernization Program, including— 21
9023+(A) new service requirements; 22
9024+(B) workflow decisions; 23
9025+(C) change requests; and 24
9026+(D) interface needs. 25
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9029+•HR 8371 IH
9030+(2) The criteria or metrics used by the Sec-1
9031+retary to measure improvements in the Electronic 2
9032+Health Record Modernization Program with respect 3
9033+to— 4
9034+(A) end user experience; 5
9035+(B) system stability; 6
9036+(C) training; 7
9037+(D) help desk ticket management; configu-8
9038+ration; and 9
9039+(E) any other criteria or metrics deter-10
9040+mined appropriate by the Secretary. 11
9041+(3) The most recent data reported pursuant to 12
9042+criteria or metrics described in paragraph (2) from 13
9043+each facility of the Veterans Health Administration 14
9044+using the electronic health record system imple-15
9045+mented pursuant to the Electronic Health Record 16
9046+Modernization Program. 17
9047+(4) A description of steps being taken by the 18
9048+Secretary to achieve performance goals relevant to 19
9049+criteria or metrics described in paragraph (2). 20
9050+(5) The standard readiness task list used in fa-21
9051+cilities of the Veterans Health Administration to 22
9052+prepare for implementation of the electronic health 23
9053+record system pursuant to the Electronic Health 24
9054+Record Modernization Program. 25
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9057+•HR 8371 IH
9058+TITLE VI—OVERSIGHT AND 1
9059+INVESTIGATIONS MATTERS 2
9060+SEC. 601. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEE 3
9061+TRAINING REGARDING OFFICE OF INSPEC-4
9062+TOR GENERAL. 5
67849063 (a) T
6785-RAINING.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 20
6786-shall require each employee of the Department of Veterans 21
6787-Affairs who begins employment with the Department on 22
6788-or after the date of the enactment of this Act to receive 23
6789-training that the Inspector General of the Department 24
6790-shall develop on the reporting of wrongdoing to, respond-25 247
6791-•HR 8371 EH
6792-ing to requests from, and the duty of cooperating with 1
6793-the Office of Inspector General of the Department. 2
9064+RAINING.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 6
9065+shall require each employee of the Department of Veterans 7
9066+Affairs who begins employment with the Department on 8
9067+or after the date of the enactment of this Act to receive 9
9068+training that the Inspector General of the Department 10
9069+shall develop on the reporting of wrongdoing to, respond-11
9070+ing to requests from, and the duty of cooperating with 12
9071+the Office of Inspector General of the Department. 13
67949072 (b) T
6795-IMING OFTRAINING.—In carrying out sub-3
6796-section (a), the Secretary shall require each employee of 4
6797-the Department covered under such subsection to undergo 5
6798-the training required by such subsection not later than 6
6799-one year after the date on which the employee begins em-7
6800-ployment with the Department. 8
9073+IMING OFTRAINING.—In carrying out sub-14
9074+section (a), the Secretary shall require each employee of 15
9075+the Department covered under such subsection to undergo 16
9076+the training required by such subsection not later than 17
9077+one year after the date on which the employee begins em-18
9078+ployment with the Department. 19
68019079 (c) E
6802-LEMENTS.—Training developed and required 9
6803-under subsection (a) shall include the following: 10
6804-(1) Definition of the role, responsibilities, and 11
6805-legal authority of the Inspector General of the De-12
6806-partment and the duties of employees of the Depart-13
6807-ment for engaging with the Office of Inspector Gen-14
6808-eral. 15
6809-(2) Identification of Federal whistleblower pro-16
6810-tection rights, including the right to report fraud, 17
6811-waste, abuse, and other wrongdoing to Congress. 18
6812-(3) Identification of the circumstances and 19
6813-mechanisms for reporting fraud, waste, abuse, and 20
6814-other wrongdoing to the Inspector General, including 21
6815-making confidential complaints to the Inspector 22
6816-General. 23
6817-(4) Identification of the prohibitions and rem-24
6818-edies that help to protect employees of the Depart-25 248
6819-•HR 8371 EH
6820-ment from retaliation when reporting wrongdoing to 1
6821-the Inspector General. 2
6822-(5) Recognition of opportunities to engage with 3
6823-staff of the Office of Inspector General to improve 4
6824-programs, operations, and services of the Depart-5
6825-ment. 6
6826-(6) Notification of the authority of the Inspec-7
6827-tor General to subpoena the attendance and testi-8
6828-mony of witnesses, including former employees of 9
6829-the Department, as necessary to carry out the duties 10
6830-of the Office of Inspector General under section 312 11
6831-of title 38, United States Code. 12
6832-(d) D
6833-ESIGN ANDUPDATE.—The Inspector General of 13
6834-the Department shall design, and update as the Inspector 14
6835-General considers appropriate, the training developed and 15
6836-required by subsection (a). 16
9080+LEMENTS.—Training developed and required 20
9081+under subsection (a) shall include the following: 21
9082+(1) Definition of the role, responsibilities, and 22
9083+legal authority of the Inspector General of the De-23
9084+partment and the duties of employees of the Depart-24
9085+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00308 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
9086+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 309
9087+•HR 8371 IH
9088+ment for engaging with the Office of Inspector Gen-1
9089+eral. 2
9090+(2) Identification of Federal whistleblower pro-3
9091+tection rights, including the right to report fraud, 4
9092+waste, abuse, and other wrongdoing to Congress. 5
9093+(3) Identification of the circumstances and 6
9094+mechanisms for reporting fraud, waste, abuse, and 7
9095+other wrongdoing to the Inspector General, including 8
9096+making confidential complaints to the Inspector 9
9097+General. 10
9098+(4) Identification of the prohibitions and rem-11
9099+edies that help to protect employees of the Depart-12
9100+ment from retaliation when reporting wrongdoing to 13
9101+the Inspector General. 14
9102+(5) Recognition of opportunities to engage with 15
9103+staff of the Office of Inspector General to improve 16
9104+programs, operations, and services of the Depart-17
9105+ment. 18
9106+(6) Notification of the authority of the Inspec-19
9107+tor General to subpoena the attendance and testi-20
9108+mony of witnesses, including former employees of 21
9109+the Department, as necessary to carry out the duties 22
9110+of the Office of Inspector General under section 312 23
9111+of title 38, United States Code. 24
9112+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00309 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
9113+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 310
9114+•HR 8371 IH
9115+(d) DESIGN ANDUPDATE.—The Inspector General of 1
9116+the Department shall design, and update as the Inspector 2
9117+General considers appropriate, the training developed and 3
9118+required by subsection (a). 4
68379119 (e) S
6838-YSTEM.—The Secretary shall provide, via the 17
6839-talent management system of the Department, or suc-18
6840-cessor system, the training developed and required under 19
6841-subsection (a). 20
9120+YSTEM.—The Secretary shall provide, via the 5
9121+talent management system of the Department, or suc-6
9122+cessor system, the training developed and required under 7
9123+subsection (a). 8
68429124 (f) R
6843-ELATION TOCERTAINTRAINING.—The Sec-21
6844-retary shall ensure that training developed and required 22
6845-under subsection (a) is separate and distinct from training 23
6846-provided under section 733 of title 38, United States 24
6847-Code. 25 249
6848-•HR 8371 EH
6849-(g) NOTICE TOEMPLOYEES.—The Secretary shall 1
6850-ensure that the Inspector General is afforded the oppor-2
6851-tunity, not less frequently than twice each year and more 3
6852-frequently if the Inspector General considers appropriate 4
6853-under extraordinary circumstances, to use the electronic 5
6854-mail system of the Department to notify all authorized 6
6855-users of such system of the following: 7
6856-(1) The roles and responsibilities of the employ-8
6857-ees of the Department when engaging with the Of-9
6858-fice of Inspector General. 10
6859-(2) The availability of training provided under 11
6860-subsection (a). 12
6861-(3) How to access training provided under sub-13
6862-section (a). 14
6863-(4) Information about how to contact the Office 15
6864-of Inspector General, including a link to any 16
6865-website-based reporting form of the Office. 17
6866-SEC. 502. ANNUAL REVIEW OF SECURITY AT COVERED FA-18
6867-CILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET-19
6868-ERANS AFFAIRS. 20
9125+ELATION TOCERTAINTRAINING.—The Sec-9
9126+retary shall ensure that training developed and required 10
9127+under subsection (a) is separate and distinct from training 11
9128+provided under section 733 of title 38, United States 12
9129+Code. 13
9130+(g) N
9131+OTICE TOEMPLOYEES.—The Secretary shall 14
9132+ensure that the Inspector General is afforded the oppor-15
9133+tunity, not less frequently than twice each year and more 16
9134+frequently if the Inspector General considers appropriate 17
9135+under extraordinary circumstances, to use the electronic 18
9136+mail system of the Department to notify all authorized 19
9137+users of such system of the following: 20
9138+(1) The roles and responsibilities of the employ-21
9139+ees of the Department when engaging with the Of-22
9140+fice of Inspector General. 23
9141+(2) The availability of training provided under 24
9142+subsection (a). 25
9143+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00310 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
9144+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 311
9145+•HR 8371 IH
9146+(3) How to access training provided under sub-1
9147+section (a). 2
9148+(4) Information about how to contact the Office 3
9149+of Inspector General, including a link to any 4
9150+website-based reporting form of the Office. 5
9151+SEC. 602. ANNUAL REVIEW OF SECURITY AT COVERED FA-6
9152+CILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET-7
9153+ERANS AFFAIRS. 8
68699154 (a) A
6870-NNUALSURVEY.—Not later than one year after 21
6871-the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there-22
6872-after for each of the following five fiscal years, the Sec-23
6873-retary of Veterans Affairs, in coordination with the Direc-24
6874-tor of the Office of Security and Law Enforcement of the 25 250
6875-•HR 8371 EH
6876-Department of Veterans Affairs, shall conduct a survey 1
6877-of the covered employees at each covered facility to collect 2
6878-information regarding security. Each annual survey shall 3
6879-include questions about— 4
6880-(1) the type and frequency of criminal activity 5
6881-experienced at the covered facility during the fiscal 6
6882-year which most recently concluded including wheth-7
6883-er or not the criminal activity was related to resi-8
6884-dents at the facility or campus such as those in a 9
6885-residential rehabilitation treatment program or en-10
6886-hanced-use lease facility; 11
6887-(2) the number of vacancies and number of 12
6888-days vacant for Department police officers at the 13
6889-covered facility at the time of the survey delineated 14
6890-by recruitment status and stage; 15
6891-(3) the availability and adequacy of covered 16
6892-equipment; 17
6893-(4) the availability and adequacy of resources, 18
6894-classes, or other time set aside for training Depart-19
6895-ment police officers who work at each covered facil-20
6896-ity about any skill or tactic related to law enforce-21
6897-ment, including the proper use of force, firearms 22
6898-qualifications and training, procedures for respond-23
6899-ing to an active threat, and any other training re-24
6900-quired for Department police officers; 25 251
6901-•HR 8371 EH
6902-(5) any security weakness at covered facilities; 1
6903-(6) the relationship between the covered facility 2
6904-(including the Department police officers who work 3
6905-at the covered facility) and local, state, and federal 4
6906-law enforcement agencies including what agreements 5
6907-or memorandums of understanding exist between 6
6908-each covered facility and external law enforcement 7
6909-agencies; 8
6910-(7) efforts by the personnel of the covered facil-9
6911-ity to address and reduce criminal activity at, or in 10
6912-close proximity to, the covered facility; and 11
6913-(8) recommendations for the Secretary to better 12
6914-address and reduce criminal activity at, or in close 13
6915-proximity to, covered facilities so as to improve the 14
6916-safety of veterans, employees, visitors, other author-15
6917-ized personnel, and the surrounding community. 16
9155+NNUALSURVEY.—Not later than one year after 9
9156+the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there-10
9157+after for each of the following five fiscal years, the Sec-11
9158+retary of Veterans Affairs, in coordination with the Direc-12
9159+tor of the Office of Security and Law Enforcement of the 13
9160+Department of Veterans Affairs, shall conduct a survey 14
9161+of the covered employees at each covered facility to collect 15
9162+information regarding security. Each annual survey shall 16
9163+include questions about— 17
9164+(1) the type and frequency of criminal activity 18
9165+experienced at the covered facility during the fiscal 19
9166+year which most recently concluded including wheth-20
9167+er or not the criminal activity was related to resi-21
9168+dents at the facility or campus such as those in a 22
9169+residential rehabilitation treatment program or en-23
9170+hanced-use lease facility; 24
9171+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00311 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
9172+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 312
9173+•HR 8371 IH
9174+(2) the number of vacancies and number of 1
9175+days vacant for Department police officers at the 2
9176+covered facility at the time of the survey delineated 3
9177+by recruitment status and stage; 4
9178+(3) the availability and adequacy of covered 5
9179+equipment; 6
9180+(4) the availability and adequacy of resources, 7
9181+classes, or other time set aside for training Depart-8
9182+ment police officers who work at each covered facil-9
9183+ity about any skill or tactic related to law enforce-10
9184+ment, including the proper use of force, firearms 11
9185+qualifications and training, procedures for respond-12
9186+ing to an active threat, and any other training re-13
9187+quired for Department police officers; 14
9188+(5) any security weakness at covered facilities; 15
9189+(6) the relationship between the covered facility 16
9190+(including the Department police officers who work 17
9191+at the covered facility) and local, state, and federal 18
9192+law enforcement agencies including what agreements 19
9193+or memorandums of understanding exist between 20
9194+each covered facility and external law enforcement 21
9195+agencies; 22
9196+(7) efforts by the personnel of the covered facil-23
9197+ity to address and reduce criminal activity at, or in 24
9198+close proximity to, the covered facility; and 25
9199+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00312 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
9200+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 313
9201+•HR 8371 IH
9202+(8) recommendations for the Secretary to better 1
9203+address and reduce criminal activity at, or in close 2
9204+proximity to, covered facilities so as to improve the 3
9205+safety of veterans, employees, visitors, other author-4
9206+ized personnel, and the surrounding community. 5
69189207 (b) R
6919-EPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the end 17
6920-of the next full Fiscal Year after the enactment of this 18
6921-Act and for each of the following five fiscal years, the Sec-19
6922-retary shall submit to each of the Committees on Vet-20
6923-erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representa-21
6924-tives a report regarding the results of the surveys con-22
6925-ducted under subsection (a) during the previous fiscal 23
6926-year. The report shall include— 24 252
6927-•HR 8371 EH
6928-(1) the results of the annual survey described 1
6929-under subsection (a) for the year covered by the re-2
6930-port; 3
6931-(2) an analysis, made in coordination with the 4
6932-Director of the Office of Security and Law Enforce-5
6933-ment of such Department, each director and police 6
6934-chief of a Veterans Integrated Service Network, and 7
6935-the directors and police chiefs of the medical centers 8
6936-within the Veterans Integrated Service Network of 9
6937-the results of the triannual security inspections con-10
6938-ducted in prior fiscal year, to include a plan of ac-11
6939-tion that describes how the Secretary plans to ad-12
6940-dress any security weakness identified in the results 13
6941-of the triannual security inspections and includes 14
6942-clearly-stated goals with measurable benchmarks for 15
6943-each goal and deadlines for each benchmark; and 16
6944-(3) a list of all vacant positions for police chief 17
6945-or deputy police chief at each covered facility during 18
6946-the prior fiscal year, the number of individuals who 19
6947-filled those positions over the two years prior to the 20
6948-date of the survey, the number of days the positions 21
6949-were vacant without someone serving in an acting 22
6950-capacity, and the number of days the positions were 23
6951-filled by individuals serving in an acting capacity. 24
9208+EPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the end 6
9209+of the next full Fiscal Year after the enactment of this 7
9210+Act and for each of the following five fiscal years, the Sec-8
9211+retary shall submit to each of the Committees on Vet-9
9212+erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representa-10
9213+tives a report regarding the results of the surveys con-11
9214+ducted under subsection (a) during the previous fiscal 12
9215+year. The report shall include— 13
9216+(1) the results of the annual survey described 14
9217+under subsection (a) for the year covered by the re-15
9218+port; 16
9219+(2) an analysis, made in coordination with the 17
9220+Director of the Office of Security and Law Enforce-18
9221+ment of such Department, each director and police 19
9222+chief of a Veterans Integrated Service Network, and 20
9223+the directors and police chiefs of the medical centers 21
9224+within the Veterans Integrated Service Network of 22
9225+the results of the triannual security inspections con-23
9226+ducted in prior fiscal year, to include a plan of ac-24
9227+tion that describes how the Secretary plans to ad-25
9228+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00313 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
9229+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 314
9230+•HR 8371 IH
9231+dress any security weakness identified in the results 1
9232+of the triannual security inspections and includes 2
9233+clearly-stated goals with measurable benchmarks for 3
9234+each goal and deadlines for each benchmark; and 4
9235+(3) a list of all vacant positions for police chief 5
9236+or deputy police chief at each covered facility during 6
9237+the prior fiscal year, the number of individuals who 7
9238+filled those positions over the two years prior to the 8
9239+date of the survey, the number of days the positions 9
9240+were vacant without someone serving in an acting 10
9241+capacity, and the number of days the positions were 11
9242+filled by individuals serving in an acting capacity. 12
69529243 (c) D
6953-EFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 253
6954-•HR 8371 EH
6955-(1) The term ‘‘covered equipment’’ means any 1
6956-item issued by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 2
6957-a Department police officer (including firearms, 3
6958-weapons detecting technology, ballistic vests, body- 4
6959-worn cameras, and radios) for use in the provision 5
6960-of services under section 902 of title 38, United 6
6961-States Code. 7
6962-(2) The term ‘‘covered employee’’ means an em-8
6963-ployee of the Department of Veterans Affairs who is 9
6964-employed and responsible for security operations at 10
6965-a covered facility including a covered facility’s police 11
6966-chief, facility emergency management leader, facility 12
6967-director, or person carrying out the responsibilities 13
6968-of one of these positions in an acting capacity. 14
6969-(3) The term ‘‘covered facility’’ means any fa-15
6970-cility of the Department of Veterans Affairs where 16
6971-Department police officers have jurisdiction. 17
6972-(4) The term ‘‘Department police officer’’ is 18
6973-used as such term as used in section 902 of title 38, 19
6974-United States Code. 20
6975-(5) The term ‘‘security weakness’’ means a defi-21
6976-ciency in the facilities, staffing, or covered equip-22
6977-ment at a covered facility that a covered employee 23
6978-of the covered facility determines presents a risk to 24
6979-the safety of visitors or staff, including an unsecured 25 254
6980-•HR 8371 EH
6981-door, inoperable security camera, unsecured police 1
6982-operations room, a lack of security presence at an 2
6983-entrance to the covered facility, and a lack of secu-3
6984-rity presence in an area of the covered facility or the 4
6985-grounds of the covered facility that the director of 5
6986-the covered facility determines requires an increased 6
6987-security presence. 7
6988-SEC. 503. MODIFICATION OF CERTAIN HOUSING LOAN 8
6989-FEES. 9
6990-The loan fee table in section 3729(b)(2) of title 38, 10
6991-United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘November 11
6992-29, 2031’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘June 9, 12
6993-2034’’. 13
6994-Passed the House of Representatives November 18,
6995-2024.
6996-Attest:
6997-Clerk. 118
6998-TH
6999-CONGRESS
7000-2
7001-D
7002-S
7003-ESSION
7004-
7005-H. R. 8371
7006-AN ACT
7007-To make certain improvements in the laws adminis-
7008-tered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and
7009-for other purposes.
9244+EFINITIONS.—In this section: 13
9245+(1) The term ‘‘covered equipment’’ means any 14
9246+item issued by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 15
9247+a Department police officer (including firearms, 16
9248+weapons detecting technology, ballistic vests, body- 17
9249+worn cameras, and radios) for use in the provision 18
9250+of services under section 902 of title 38, United 19
9251+States Code. 20
9252+(2) The term ‘‘covered employee’’ means an em-21
9253+ployee of the Department of Veterans Affairs who is 22
9254+employed and responsible for security operations at 23
9255+a covered facility including a covered facility’s police 24
9256+chief, facility emergency management leader, facility 25
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9259+•HR 8371 IH
9260+director, or person carrying out the responsibilities 1
9261+of one of these positions in an acting capacity. 2
9262+(3) The term ‘‘covered facility’’ means any fa-3
9263+cility of the Department of Veterans Affairs where 4
9264+Department police officers have jurisdiction. 5
9265+(4) The term ‘‘Department police officer’’ has 6
9266+the meaning given to such term as used in section 7
9267+902 of title 38, United States Code. 8
9268+(5) The term ‘‘security weakness’’ means a defi-9
9269+ciency in the facilities, staffing, or covered equip-10
9270+ment at a covered facility that a covered employee 11
9271+of the covered facility determines presents a risk to 12
9272+the safety of visitors or staff, including an unsecured 13
9273+door, inoperable security camera, unsecured police 14
9274+operations room, a lack of security presence at an 15
9275+entrance to the covered facility, and a lack of secu-16
9276+rity presence in an area of the covered facility or the 17
9277+grounds of the covered facility that the director of 18
9278+the covered facility determines requires an increased 19
9279+security presence. 20
9280+SEC. 603. MODIFICATION OF CERTAIN HOUSING LOAN 21
9281+FEES. 22
9282+The loan fee table in section 3729(b)(2) of title 38, 23
9283+United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘November 24
9284+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00315 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
9285+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 316
9286+•HR 8371 IH
9287+15, 2031’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘September 1
9288+30, 2034’’. 2
9289+Æ
9290+VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00316 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8371.IH H8371
9291+ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS