| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 2278 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans |
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| 6 | 6 | | Affairs to improve equitable access to certain benefits under the laws |
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| 7 | 7 | | administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and to improve certain |
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| 8 | 8 | | outreach to individuals who served uniformed services and dependents |
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| 9 | 9 | | of such individuals, and for other purposes. |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 11 | 11 | | MARCH21, 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | Mr. T |
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| 13 | 13 | | AKANOintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the |
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| 14 | 14 | | Committee on Veterans’ Affairs |
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| 15 | 15 | | A BILL |
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| 16 | 16 | | To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Sec- |
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| 17 | 17 | | retary of Veterans Affairs to improve equitable access |
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| 18 | 18 | | to certain benefits under the laws administered by the |
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| 19 | 19 | | Secretary of Veterans Affairs and to improve certain |
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| 20 | 20 | | outreach to individuals who served uniformed services |
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| 21 | 21 | | and dependents of such individuals, and for other pur- |
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| 22 | 22 | | poses. |
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| 23 | 23 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Survivor Benefits De-4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | livery Improvement Act of 2025’’. 5 |
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| 30 | 30 | | •HR 2278 IH |
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| 31 | 31 | | SEC. 2. EQUITABLE ACCESS TO CERTAIN BENEFITS OF DE-1 |
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| 32 | 32 | | PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR SUR-2 |
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| 33 | 33 | | VIVORS OF VETERANS. 3 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (a) S |
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| 35 | 35 | | HORTTITLE.—This section may be cited as the 4 |
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| 36 | 36 | | ‘‘Survivor Benefits Data Collection Act of 2025’’. 5 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (b) C |
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| 38 | 38 | | OLLECTION OFDEMOGRAPHICDATA.— 6 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (1) C |
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| 40 | 40 | | OLLECTION.—Chapter 53 of title 38, 7 |
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| 41 | 41 | | United States Code, is amended by adding at the 8 |
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| 42 | 42 | | end the following new section (and conforming the 9 |
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| 43 | 43 | | table of sections at the beginning of such chapter ac-10 |
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| 44 | 44 | | cordingly): 11 |
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| 45 | 45 | | ‘‘§ 5322. Demographic data of certain beneficiaries 12 |
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| 46 | 46 | | ‘‘(a) C |
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| 47 | 47 | | OLLECTION.—The Secretary, in consultation 13 |
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| 48 | 48 | | with the entities described in subsection (b), shall— 14 |
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| 49 | 49 | | ‘‘(1) develop a method to collect the demo-15 |
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| 50 | 50 | | graphic data of— 16 |
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| 51 | 51 | | ‘‘(A) each covered survivor receiving dis-17 |
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| 52 | 52 | | ability and indemnity compensation under chap-18 |
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| 53 | 53 | | ter 13 of this title, pension under chapter 15 of 19 |
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| 54 | 54 | | this title, or increased pension (or additional 20 |
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| 55 | 55 | | compensation or allowances) under this title 21 |
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| 56 | 56 | | based on the need of regular aid and attend-22 |
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| 57 | 57 | | ance or by reason of being permanently house-23 |
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| 58 | 58 | | bound; and 24 |
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| 59 | 59 | | ‘‘(B) each person who receives burial bene-25 |
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| 60 | 60 | | fits under chapter 23 of this title; and 26 |
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| 63 | 63 | | •HR 2278 IH |
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| 64 | 64 | | ‘‘(2) collect demographic data pursuant to the 1 |
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| 65 | 65 | | method developed under paragraph (1). 2 |
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| 66 | 66 | | ‘‘(b) E |
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| 67 | 67 | | NTITIES FORCONSULTATION.—The entities 3 |
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| 68 | 68 | | described in this subsection are the following: 4 |
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| 69 | 69 | | ‘‘(1) The Advisory Committee on Minority Vet-5 |
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| 70 | 70 | | erans established under section 544 of this title. 6 |
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| 71 | 71 | | ‘‘(2) The Advisory Committee on Women Vet-7 |
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| 72 | 72 | | erans established under section 542 of this title. 8 |
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| 73 | 73 | | ‘‘(3) The Veterans’ Family, Caregiver, and Sur-9 |
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| 74 | 74 | | vivor Advisory Committee of the Department of Vet-10 |
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| 75 | 75 | | erans Affairs, or successor advisory committee. 11 |
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| 76 | 76 | | ‘‘(4) Veterans service organizations. 12 |
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| 77 | 77 | | ‘‘(c) D |
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| 78 | 78 | | ESIGNATION OF UNDERSERVED DEMO-13 |
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| 79 | 79 | | GRAPHICS.—The Secretary shall— 14 |
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| 80 | 80 | | ‘‘(1) designate as an underserved demographic 15 |
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| 81 | 81 | | any demographic the Secretary determines, taking 16 |
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| 82 | 82 | | into account the demographic data collected under 17 |
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| 83 | 83 | | subsection (a), is underserved with respect to the 18 |
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| 84 | 84 | | benefits specified in such subsection; and 19 |
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| 85 | 85 | | ‘‘(2) review such designations on at least a bi-20 |
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| 86 | 86 | | ennial basis and update as appropriate. 21 |
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| 87 | 87 | | ‘‘(d) I |
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| 88 | 88 | | NCLUSION INANNUALREPORTS.—For each 22 |
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| 89 | 89 | | annual benefits report of the Veterans Benefits Adminis-23 |
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| 90 | 90 | | tration, the Secretary shall include as part of the report 24 |
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| 91 | 91 | | information concerning the demographic data collected 25 |
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| 94 | 94 | | •HR 2278 IH |
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| 95 | 95 | | under subsection (a) during the fiscal year covered by the 1 |
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| 96 | 96 | | report. 2 |
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| 97 | 97 | | ‘‘(e) E |
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| 98 | 98 | | FFECT ONAPPLICATION.—Nothing in this sec-3 |
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| 99 | 99 | | tion shall be construed as requiring any person to submit 4 |
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| 100 | 100 | | demographic data or as authorizing the Secretary to con-5 |
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| 101 | 101 | | sider whether a person submits demographic data in eval-6 |
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| 102 | 102 | | uating any claim for benefits under the laws administered 7 |
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| 103 | 103 | | by the Secretary. 8 |
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| 104 | 104 | | ‘‘(f) D |
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| 105 | 105 | | EFINITIONS.—In this section: 9 |
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| 106 | 106 | | ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered survivor’ means a sur-10 |
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| 107 | 107 | | viving spouse, child, or parent of a veteran. 11 |
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| 108 | 108 | | ‘‘(2) The term ‘demographic data’ includes, 12 |
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| 109 | 109 | | with respect to an individual, the following: 13 |
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| 110 | 110 | | ‘‘(A) Race. 14 |
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| 111 | 111 | | ‘‘(B) Ethnicity. 15 |
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| 112 | 112 | | ‘‘(C) Tribal affiliation, if any. 16 |
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| 113 | 113 | | ‘‘(D) LGBTQIA+ status. 17 |
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| 114 | 114 | | ‘‘(E) Geographic location. 18 |
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| 115 | 115 | | ‘‘(3) The term ‘veterans service organization’ 19 |
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| 116 | 116 | | means any organization recognized by the Secretary 20 |
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| 117 | 117 | | under section 5902 of this title.’’. 21 |
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| 118 | 118 | | (2) D |
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| 119 | 119 | | EADLINES; APPLICABILITY.— 22 |
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| 120 | 120 | | (A) D |
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| 121 | 121 | | EADLINE FOR COLLECTION .—The 23 |
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| 122 | 122 | | Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop the 24 |
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| 123 | 123 | | data collection method under subsection (a) of 25 |
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| 126 | 126 | | •HR 2278 IH |
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| 127 | 127 | | section 5322 of title 38, United States Code (as 1 |
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| 128 | 128 | | added by paragraph (1)), and commence the 2 |
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| 129 | 129 | | collection of data pursuant to such method, by 3 |
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| 130 | 130 | | not later than 180 days after the date of the 4 |
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| 131 | 131 | | enactment of this Act. 5 |
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| 132 | 132 | | (B) D |
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| 133 | 133 | | EADLINE FOR INITIAL DESIGNA -6 |
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| 134 | 134 | | TIONS.—The Secretary shall make the initial 7 |
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| 135 | 135 | | designation of any underserved demographics 8 |
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| 136 | 136 | | under subsection (c) of such section 5322 by 9 |
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| 137 | 137 | | not later than one year after the date on which 10 |
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| 138 | 138 | | the Secretary commences the collection of data 11 |
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| 139 | 139 | | under subsection (a) of such section. 12 |
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| 140 | 140 | | (C) A |
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| 141 | 141 | | PPLICABILITY REGARDING ANNUAL 13 |
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| 142 | 142 | | REPORTS.—The requirement under subsection 14 |
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| 143 | 143 | | (d) of such section 5322 shall apply with re-15 |
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| 144 | 144 | | spect to annual benefits reports of the Veterans 16 |
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| 145 | 145 | | Benefits Administration submitted on or after 17 |
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| 146 | 146 | | the date that is one year after the date on 18 |
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| 147 | 147 | | which the Secretary commences the collection of 19 |
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| 148 | 148 | | data under subsection (a) of such section. 20 |
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| 149 | 149 | | (c) O |
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| 150 | 150 | | UTREACH ANDEDUCATION.— 21 |
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| 151 | 151 | | (1) S |
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| 152 | 152 | | TRATEGY FOR UNDERSERVED DEMO -22 |
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| 153 | 153 | | GRAPHICS.—Not later than one year after the date 23 |
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| 154 | 154 | | of initial designation, the Secretary shall develop and 24 |
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| 155 | 155 | | submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 25 |
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| 158 | 158 | | •HR 2278 IH |
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| 159 | 159 | | the Senate and House of Representatives an out-1 |
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| 160 | 160 | | reach and education strategy for raising awareness 2 |
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| 161 | 161 | | regarding the benefits specified in section 5322(a) of 3 |
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| 162 | 162 | | title 38, United States Code (as added by subsection 4 |
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| 163 | 163 | | (b)), among covered survivors who belong to an un-5 |
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| 164 | 164 | | derserved demographic. 6 |
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| 165 | 165 | | (2) E |
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| 166 | 166 | | LIGIBILITY OF VETERANS FOR CERTAIN 7 |
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| 167 | 167 | | BURIAL BENEFITS.— 8 |
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| 168 | 168 | | (A) O |
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| 169 | 169 | | UTREACH PLAN.—Not later than 180 9 |
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| 170 | 170 | | days after the date of initial designation, the 10 |
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| 171 | 171 | | Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs shall de-11 |
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| 172 | 172 | | velop and submit to the Committees on Vet-12 |
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| 173 | 173 | | erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 13 |
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| 174 | 174 | | and the Senate an outreach strategy for raising 14 |
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| 175 | 175 | | awareness regarding eligibility for burial in a 15 |
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| 176 | 176 | | national cemetery under section 2303 of title 16 |
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| 177 | 177 | | 38, United States Code, among veterans and 17 |
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| 178 | 178 | | beneficiaries who belong to an underserved de-18 |
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| 179 | 179 | | mographic. 19 |
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| 180 | 180 | | (B) E |
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| 181 | 181 | | DUCATION ACTIVITIES.—The Under 20 |
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| 182 | 182 | | Secretary shall carry out education activities 21 |
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| 183 | 183 | | pursuant to the plan developed under subpara-22 |
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| 184 | 184 | | graph (A) to ensure that the veterans and bene-23 |
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| 185 | 185 | | ficiaries specified in such paragraph are made 24 |
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| 189 | 189 | | aware of any eligibility specified in such sub-1 |
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| 190 | 190 | | paragraph. 2 |
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| 191 | 191 | | (C) R |
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| 192 | 192 | | EPORTS.—Not later than one year 3 |
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| 193 | 193 | | after the date of initial designation, and annu-4 |
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| 194 | 194 | | ally thereafter for five years, the Under Sec-5 |
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| 195 | 195 | | retary shall submit to the Committees on Vet-6 |
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| 196 | 196 | | erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 7 |
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| 197 | 197 | | and the Senate a report on the efforts taken by 8 |
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| 198 | 198 | | the Under Secretary pursuant to this para-9 |
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| 199 | 199 | | graph. 10 |
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| 200 | 200 | | (3) D |
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| 201 | 201 | | EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 11 |
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| 202 | 202 | | (A) The term ‘‘covered survivor’’ has the 12 |
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| 203 | 203 | | meanings given that term in section 5322(e) of 13 |
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| 204 | 204 | | title 38, United States Code (as added by sub-14 |
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| 205 | 205 | | section (b)). 15 |
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| 206 | 206 | | (B) The term ‘‘date of initial designation’’ 16 |
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| 207 | 207 | | means the date on which the Secretary makes 17 |
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| 208 | 208 | | the initial designation of any underserved demo-18 |
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| 209 | 209 | | graphics. 19 |
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| 210 | 210 | | (C) The term ‘‘underserved demographic’’ 20 |
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| 211 | 211 | | means a demographic designated as an under-21 |
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| 212 | 212 | | served demographic by the Secretary of Vet-22 |
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| 213 | 213 | | erans Affairs under section 5322(c) of title 38, 23 |
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| 214 | 214 | | United States Code (as added by subsection 24 |
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| 215 | 215 | | (b)). 25 |
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| 219 | 219 | | (d) ASSESSMENT AND STRATEGY FOR OFFICE OF 1 |
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| 220 | 220 | | S |
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| 221 | 221 | | URVIVORSASSISTANCE.—Not later than one year after 2 |
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| 222 | 222 | | the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 3 |
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| 223 | 223 | | shall— 4 |
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| 224 | 224 | | (1) conduct an assessment of the resources of 5 |
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| 225 | 225 | | the Office of Survivors Assistance of the Department 6 |
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| 226 | 226 | | of Veterans Affairs, or any successor office; and 7 |
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| 227 | 227 | | (2) develop a strategy to ensure the availability 8 |
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| 228 | 228 | | of resources necessary for the function of such of-9 |
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| 229 | 229 | | fice, as determined by the Secretary as a result of 10 |
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| 230 | 230 | | the assessment. 11 |
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| 231 | 231 | | SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO OUTREACH SERVICES PRO-12 |
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| 232 | 232 | | VIDED BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF-13 |
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| 233 | 233 | | FAIRS TO INDIVIDUALS WHO SERVED IN THE 14 |
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| 234 | 234 | | UNIFORMED SERVICES AND DEPENDENTS OF 15 |
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| 235 | 235 | | SUCH INDIVIDUALS. 16 |
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| 236 | 236 | | (a) S |
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| 237 | 237 | | HORTTITLE.—This section may be cited as the 17 |
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| 238 | 238 | | ‘‘Survivor Solid Start Act of 2025’’. 18 |
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| 239 | 239 | | (b) E |
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| 240 | 240 | | XPANSION OF OUTREACHSERVICES.—Sub-19 |
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| 241 | 241 | | chapter I of chapter 63 of title 38, United States Code, 20 |
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| 242 | 242 | | is amended— 21 |
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| 243 | 243 | | (1) in section 6301(b)— 22 |
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| 244 | 244 | | (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 23 |
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| 245 | 245 | | through (3) as paragraphs (2) through (4), re-24 |
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| 246 | 246 | | spectively; 25 |
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| 250 | 250 | | (B) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as 1 |
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| 251 | 251 | | so redesignated) the following new paragraph: 2 |
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| 252 | 252 | | ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered individual’ means— 3 |
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| 253 | 253 | | ‘‘(A) a veteran; or 4 |
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| 254 | 254 | | ‘‘(B) an individual who served in the uni-5 |
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| 255 | 255 | | formed services (as defined in section 1965(6) 6 |
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| 256 | 256 | | of this title);’’; 7 |
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| 257 | 257 | | (C) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated), 8 |
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| 258 | 258 | | by striking ‘‘veterans’’ each place it appears 9 |
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| 259 | 259 | | and inserting ‘‘covered individuals’’; and 10 |
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| 260 | 260 | | (D) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated), 11 |
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| 261 | 261 | | by striking ‘‘a person who served in the active 12 |
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| 262 | 262 | | military, naval, air, or space service’’ and in-13 |
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| 263 | 263 | | serting ‘‘a covered individual’’; 14 |
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| 264 | 264 | | (2) in section 6302(b), by striking ‘‘eligible vet-15 |
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| 265 | 265 | | erans’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘covered 16 |
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| 266 | 266 | | individuals’’; 17 |
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| 267 | 267 | | (3) in section 6303— 18 |
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| 268 | 268 | | (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘eligible 19 |
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| 269 | 269 | | veterans’’ and inserting ‘‘covered individuals’’; 20 |
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| 270 | 270 | | (B) in subsection (c)(1)(A), by striking 21 |
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| 271 | 271 | | ‘‘eligible veterans’’ and inserting ‘‘covered indi-22 |
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| 272 | 272 | | viduals’’; 23 |
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| 273 | 273 | | (C) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ‘‘vet-24 |
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| 274 | 274 | | eran or dependent’’ each place it appears and 25 |
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| 277 | 277 | | •HR 2278 IH |
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| 278 | 278 | | inserting ‘‘covered individual or eligible depend-1 |
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| 279 | 279 | | ent’’; and 2 |
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| 280 | 280 | | (D) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘vet-3 |
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| 281 | 281 | | erans’’ and inserting ‘‘covered individuals’’; 4 |
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| 282 | 282 | | (4) in section 6306— 5 |
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| 283 | 283 | | (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘eligible 6 |
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| 284 | 284 | | veteran’’ and inserting ‘‘covered individual’’; 7 |
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| 285 | 285 | | and 8 |
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| 286 | 286 | | (B) in subsection (b)— 9 |
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| 287 | 287 | | (i) by striking ‘‘opportunities for vet-10 |
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| 288 | 288 | | erans’’ and inserting ‘‘opportunities for 11 |
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| 289 | 289 | | covered individuals’’; and 12 |
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| 290 | 290 | | (ii) by striking ‘‘eligible veterans’’ and 13 |
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| 291 | 291 | | inserting ‘‘covered individuals’’; and 14 |
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| 292 | 292 | | (5) in section 6308, by adding at the end the 15 |
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| 293 | 293 | | following new subsection: 16 |
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| 294 | 294 | | ‘‘(c) O |
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| 295 | 295 | | UTREACHSERVICES FORSURVIVINGELIGIBLE 17 |
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| 296 | 296 | | D |
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| 297 | 297 | | EPENDENTS.—(1)(A) Upon receipt of notification of the 18 |
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| 298 | 298 | | death of a covered individual, the Secretary, acting 19 |
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| 299 | 299 | | through the Under Secretary for Benefits, shall provide 20 |
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| 300 | 300 | | outreach services, by mail, email, and telephone, to each 21 |
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| 301 | 301 | | eligible dependent of such individual not less than once 22 |
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| 302 | 302 | | each quarter calendar year until the eligible dependent 23 |
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| 303 | 303 | | files a claim for a benefit under laws administered by the 24 |
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| 304 | 304 | | Secretary. 25 |
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| 308 | 308 | | ‘‘(B) In the case of an eligible dependent described 1 |
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| 309 | 309 | | in subparagraph (A) who is a minor child, the Secretary 2 |
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| 310 | 310 | | shall provide such outreach services to the legal guardian 3 |
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| 311 | 311 | | of the eligible dependent. 4 |
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| 312 | 312 | | ‘‘(C) If the Secretary does not have the contact infor-5 |
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| 313 | 313 | | mation of an eligible dependent or legal guardian de-6 |
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| 314 | 314 | | scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B), the Secretary shall 7 |
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| 315 | 315 | | make reasonable efforts to obtain such contact informa-8 |
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| 316 | 316 | | tion to carry out this subsection. 9 |
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| 317 | 317 | | ‘‘(D) An eligible dependent or legal guardian de-10 |
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| 318 | 318 | | scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) may elect to not re-11 |
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| 319 | 319 | | ceive, or to receive fewer, outreach services under this sub-12 |
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| 320 | 320 | | section. Not less than once each calendar year, the Sec-13 |
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| 321 | 321 | | retary shall notify each such eligible dependent or legal 14 |
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| 322 | 322 | | guardian of the option to make such an election. 15 |
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| 323 | 323 | | ‘‘(2) Outreach services under this subsection shall 16 |
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| 324 | 324 | | provide an eligible dependent with information including 17 |
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| 325 | 325 | | the following: 18 |
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| 326 | 326 | | ‘‘(A) Contact information for the Office of Sur-19 |
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| 327 | 327 | | vivors Assistance established under section 321 of 20 |
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| 328 | 328 | | this title. 21 |
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| 329 | 329 | | ‘‘(B) Information regarding assistance in filing 22 |
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| 330 | 330 | | a claim for a benefit under laws administered by the 23 |
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| 331 | 331 | | Secretary furnished by— 24 |
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| 334 | 334 | | •HR 2278 IH |
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| 335 | 335 | | ‘‘(i) a veterans service organization recog-1 |
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| 336 | 336 | | nized under section 5902 of this title; or 2 |
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| 337 | 337 | | ‘‘(ii) an attorney, agent, or other entity 3 |
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| 338 | 338 | | recognized under section 5904 of this title. 4 |
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| 339 | 339 | | ‘‘(C) How to find an entity— 5 |
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| 340 | 340 | | ‘‘(i) described in clause (i) or (ii) of sub-6 |
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| 341 | 341 | | paragraph (B); and 7 |
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| 342 | 342 | | ‘‘(ii) located near the residence of the eligi-8 |
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| 343 | 343 | | ble dependent. 9 |
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| 344 | 344 | | ‘‘(3) In developing and revising materials used in out-10 |
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| 345 | 345 | | reach services under this subsection, the Secretary shall 11 |
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| 346 | 346 | | consult with entities including the following: 12 |
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| 347 | 347 | | ‘‘(A) Veterans service organizations recognized 13 |
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| 348 | 348 | | under section 5902 of this title. 14 |
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| 349 | 349 | | ‘‘(B) The Advisory Committee on Women Vet-15 |
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| 350 | 350 | | erans established under section 542 of this title. 16 |
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| 351 | 351 | | ‘‘(C) The Advisory Committee on Minority Vet-17 |
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| 352 | 352 | | erans established under section 544 of this title. 18 |
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| 353 | 353 | | ‘‘(D) The Veterans’ Family, Caregiver, and 19 |
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| 354 | 354 | | Survivor Advisory Committee of the Department, or 20 |
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| 355 | 355 | | successor advisory committee.’’. 21 |
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| 356 | 356 | | (c) P |
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| 357 | 357 | | ERSONNEL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 22 |
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| 358 | 358 | | shall establish at least 5, but not more than 10, full-time 23 |
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| 359 | 359 | | equivalent positions at call centers of the Department of 24 |
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| 361 | 361 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13 |
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| 362 | 362 | | •HR 2278 IH |
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| 363 | 363 | | Veterans Affairs to carry out subsection (c) of section 1 |
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| 364 | 364 | | 6308 of such title, as added by subsection (b). 2 |
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| 365 | 365 | | Æ |
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| 367 | 367 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS |
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