Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB2576 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 2576
5	5	To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand health care and benefits
6	6	from the Department of Veterans Affairs for military sexual trauma,
7	7	and for other purposes.
8	8	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
9	9	APRIL1, 2025
10	10	Ms. P
11	11	INGREE(for herself, Ms. TOKUDA, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mrs.
12	12	R
13	13	AMIREZ, Mrs. DINGELL, and Mr. MRVAN) introduced the following bill;
14	14	which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
15	15	A BILL
16	16	To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand health
17	17	care and benefits from the Department of Veterans Af-
18	18	fairs for military sexual trauma, and for other purposes.
19	19	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
20	20	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
21	21	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3
22	22	(a) S
23	23	HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4
24	24	‘‘Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Sup-5
25	25	port Act of 2025’’. 6
26	26	(b) T
27	27	ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7
28	28	this Act is as follows: 8
29	29	Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
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32	32	•HR 2576 IH
33	33	TITLE I—DEFINING MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA
34	34	Sec. 101. Report on military sexual trauma in the digital age.
35	35	TITLE II—DISABILITY COMPENSATION AND CLAIMS PROCESSING
36	36	Sec. 201. Definition of military sexual trauma.
37	37	Sec. 202. Conforming changes relating to specialized teams to evaluate claims
38	38	involving military sexual trauma.
39	39	Sec. 203. Evaluation of claims involving military sexual trauma.
40	40	Sec. 204. Choice of location of Department of Veterans Affairs medical exam-
41	41	ination for assessment of claims for compensation relating to
42	42	disability resulting from military sexual trauma.
43	43	Sec. 205. Communications from the Department of Veterans Affairs to individ-
44	44	uals who have experienced military sexual trauma.
45	45	Sec. 206. Study on training and processing relating to claims for disability
46	46	compensation relating to military sexual trauma.
47	47	Sec. 207. Annual special focus review of claims for disability compensation for
48	48	disabilities relating to military sexual trauma.
49	49	Sec. 208. Workgroup on medical examinations for claims for disability com-
50	50	pensation for disabilities relating to military sexual trauma.
51	51	TITLE III—ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE
52	52	Sec. 301. Expansion of eligibility for counseling and treatment for military sex-
53	53	ual trauma to include all former members of the reserve com-
54	54	ponents of the armed forces.
55	55	Sec. 302. Connection to veterans health administration when a disability claim
56	56	related to military sexual trauma is submitted to veterans ben-
57	57	efits administration.
58	58	Sec. 303. Care relating to military sexual trauma for individuals who withdraw
59	59	from or otherwise do not complete service at service academies.
60	60	TITLE I—DEFINING MILITARY 1
61	61	SEXUAL TRAUMA 2
62	62	SEC. 101. REPORT ON MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA IN THE 3
63	63	DIGITAL AGE. 4
64	64	(a) R
65	65	EPORTREQUIRED.—Not later than one year 5
66	66	after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 6
67	67	of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Vet-7
68	68	erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet-8
69	69	erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 9
70	70	on military sexual trauma in the digital age. 10
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73	73	•HR 2576 IH
74	74	(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The report required under 1
75	75	subsection (a) shall include the following: 2
76	76	(1) A comprehensive evaluation and assessment 3
77	77	of current Department of Veterans Affairs statutes, 4
78	78	regulations, and agency guidance relating to military 5
79	79	sexual trauma for the purposes of access to health 6
80	80	care under chapter 17 of title 38, United States 7
81	81	Code, and compensation under chapter 11 of such 8
82	82	title to identify— 9
83	83	(A) gaps in coverage for health care and 10
84	84	compensation eligibility relating to military sex-11
85	85	ual trauma involving online or other techno-12
86	86	logical communications; and 13
87	87	(B) the feasibility and advisability of ex-14
88	88	panding health care and compensation for trau-15
89	89	ma that is nonsexual in nature involving online 16
90	90	or other technological communications. 17
91	91	(2) Recommendations for revising statutes, reg-18
92	92	ulations, and agency guidance in response to the 19
93	93	evaluation and assessment under paragraph (1). 20
94	94	(c) C
95	95	ONSULTATION.— 21
96	96	(1) I
97	97	N GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 22
98	98	(a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall consult 23
99	99	veterans service organizations and such other stake-24
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102	102	•HR 2576 IH
103	103	holders as the Secretary considers relevant and ap-1
104	104	propriate. 2
105	105	(2) R
106	106	ELATION TO FACA.—Chapter 10 of title 5, 3
107	107	United States Code, shall not apply to paragraph 4
108	108	(1). 5
109	109	(d) M
110	110	ILITARYSEXUALTRAUMADEFINED.—In this 6
111	111	section, the term ‘‘military sexual trauma’’— 7
112	112	(1) with respect to eligibility for health care, 8
113	113	has the meaning given such term in section 9
114	114	1720D(f) of title 38, United States Code, as added 10
115	115	by section 301; and 11
116	116	(2) with respect to eligibility for compensation, 12
117	117	has the meaning given such term in section 1166A(i) 13
118	118	of title 38, United States Code, as added by section 14
119	119	203(a). 15
120	120	TITLE II—DISABILITY COM-16
121	121	PENSATION AND CLAIMS 17
122	122	PROCESSING 18
123	123	SEC. 201. DEFINITION OF MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA. 19
124	124	In this title, the term ‘‘military sexual trauma’’ has 20
125	125	the meaning given such term in section 1166A(i) of title 21
126	126	38, United States Code, as added by section 203(a). 22
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130	130	SEC. 202. CONFORMING CHANGES RELATING TO SPECIAL-1
131	131	IZED TEAMS TO EVALUATE CLAIMS INVOLV-2
132	132	ING MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA. 3
133	133	Section 1166 of title 38, United States Code, is 4
134	134	amended— 5
135	135	(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘for com-6
136	136	pensation for a covered mental health condition’’ 7
137	137	and inserting ‘‘for compensation for a condition, 8
138	138	which may include a covered mental health condi-9
139	139	tion,’’; and 10
140	140	(2) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol-11
141	141	lows: 12
142	142	‘‘(d) D
143	143	EFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘cov-13
144	144	ered mental health condition’ and ‘military sexual trauma’ 14
145	145	have the meanings given those terms in section 1166A(i) 15
146	146	of this title.’’. 16
147	147	SEC. 203. EVALUATION OF CLAIMS INVOLVING MILITARY 17
148	148	SEXUAL TRAUMA. 18
149	149	(a) I
150	150	NGENERAL.—Subchapter VI of chapter 11 of 19
151	151	such title is amended by inserting after section 1166 the 20
152	152	following new section: 21
153	153	‘‘§ 1166A. Evaluation of claims involving military sex-22
154	154	ual trauma 23
155	155	‘‘(a) I
156	156	NGENERAL.—(1) In the case of any veteran 24
157	157	who claims that a covered mental health condition based 25
158	158	on military sexual trauma was incurred in or aggravated 26
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161	161	•HR 2576 IH
162	162	by active military, naval, air, or space service, the Sec-1
163	163	retary shall consider the following: 2
164	164	‘‘(A) A diagnosis of such mental health condi-3
165	165	tion by a mental health professional. 4
166	166	‘‘(B) A link, established by medical evidence, 5
167	167	between current symptoms and a military sexual 6
168	168	trauma. 7
169	169	‘‘(C) Credible corroborating evidence, in accord-8
170	170	ance with subsections (b) and (c), that the claimed 9
171	171	military sexual trauma occurred. 10
172	172	‘‘(2) The reasons for granting or denying service-con-11
173	173	nection in each case described in paragraph (1) shall be 12
174	174	recorded in full. 13
175	175	‘‘(b) N
176	176	ONMILITARYSOURCES OF EVIDENCE.—(1) 14
177	177	For purposes of subsection (a), evidence from sources 15
178	178	other than official records of the Department of Defense 16
179	179	regarding the veteran’s active military, naval, air, or space 17
180	180	service may corroborate the veteran’s account of the trau-18
181	181	ma. 19
182	182	‘‘(2) Examples of evidence described in paragraph (1) 20
183	183	include the following: 21
184	184	‘‘(A) Records from law enforcement authorities, 22
185	185	rape crisis centers, mental health counseling centers, 23
186	186	hospitals, and physicians. 24
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190	190	‘‘(B) Pregnancy tests and tests for sexually 1
191	191	transmitted diseases. 2
192	192	‘‘(C) Statements from family members, room-3
193	193	mates, other members of the Armed Forces or vet-4
194	194	erans, and clergy. 5
195	195	‘‘(c) E
196	196	VIDENCE OFBEHAVIORCHANGES.—(1) For 6
197	197	purposes of subsection (a), evidence of a behavior change 7
198	198	following military sexual trauma is one type of relevant 8
199	199	evidence that may be found in sources described in such 9
200	200	subsection. 10
201	201	‘‘(2) Examples of behavior changes that may be rel-11
202	202	evant evidence of military sexual trauma include the fol-12
203	203	lowing: 13
204	204	‘‘(A) A request for a transfer to another mili-14
205	205	tary duty assignment. 15
206	206	‘‘(B) Deterioration in work performance. 16
207	207	‘‘(C) Substance abuse or substance use dis-17
208	208	order. 18
209	209	‘‘(D) Episodes of depression, panic attacks, or 19
210	210	anxiety without an identifiable cause. 20
211	211	‘‘(E) Unexplained economic or social behavior 21
212	212	changes. 22
213	213	‘‘(d) N
214	214	OTICE ANDOPPORTUNITYTOSUPPLYEVI-23
215	215	DENCE.—The Secretary may not deny a claim of a veteran 24
216	216	for compensation under this chapter for a covered mental 25
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219	219	•HR 2576 IH
220	220	health condition that is based on military sexual trauma 1
221	221	without first— 2
222	222	‘‘(1) advising the veteran that evidence de-3
223	223	scribed in subsections (b) and (c) may constitute 4
224	224	credible corroborating evidence of the military sexual 5
225	225	trauma; and 6
226	226	‘‘(2) allowing the veteran an opportunity to fur-7
227	227	nish such corroborating evidence or advise the Sec-8
228	228	retary of potential sources of such evidence. 9
229	229	‘‘(e) R
230	230	EVIEW OFEVIDENCE.—In reviewing a claim 10
231	231	for compensation described in subsection (a)(1), for any 11
232	232	evidence identified as part of such claim that is described 12
233	233	in subsection (b) or (c), the Secretary shall submit such 13
234	234	evidence to such medical or mental health professional as 14
235	235	the Secretary considers appropriate, including clinical and 15
236	236	counseling experts employed by the Department, to obtain 16
237	237	an opinion as to whether the evidence indicates that a mili-17
238	238	tary sexual trauma occurred. 18
239	239	‘‘(f) P
240	240	OINT OFCONTACT.—The Secretary shall en-19
241	241	sure that each document provided to a veteran relating 20
242	242	to a claim for compensation described in subsection (a)(1) 21
243	243	includes contact information for an appropriate point of 22
244	244	contact with the Department. 23
245	245	‘‘(g) S
246	246	PECIALIZEDTEAMS.—The Secretary shall en-24
247	247	sure that all claims for compensation described in sub-25
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250	250	•HR 2576 IH
251	251	section (a)(1) are reviewed and processed by a specialized 1
252	252	team established under section 1166 of this title. 2
253	253	‘‘(h) R
254	254	ULE OFCONSTRUCTIONREGARDINGAPPLICA-3
255	255	TION TONONSEXUALPERSONALASSAULT.—The Sec-4
256	256	retary shall not construe this section as supplanting the 5
257	257	standard of proof or evidence required for claims for post- 6
258	258	traumatic stress disorder based on nonsexual personal as-7
259	259	sault, which the Secretary shall continue to define in regu-8
260	260	lation. 9
261	261	‘‘(i) D
262	262	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 10
263	263	‘‘(1) The term ‘covered mental health condition’ 11
264	264	means post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, de-12
265	265	pression, or other mental health diagnosis that the 13
266	266	Secretary determines to be related to military sexual 14
267	267	trauma and which may be service-connected under 15
268	268	section 1110 of this title. 16
269	269	‘‘(2) The term ‘mental health professional’ 17
270	270	means a provider in the field of mental health who 18
271	271	meets the credential, licensure, education, and train-19
272	272	ing requirements established by the Secretary. 20
273	273	‘‘(3) The term ‘military sexual trauma’ means, 21
274	274	with respect to a veteran, a physical assault of a sex-22
275	275	ual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual har-23
276	276	assment that occurred while the veteran was serving 24
277	277	in the active military, naval, air, or space service.’’. 25
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280	280	•HR 2576 IH
281	281	(b) OUTREACH.— 1
282	282	(1) I
283	283	N GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 2
284	284	after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-3
285	285	retary of Veterans Affairs shall implement, with 4
286	286	input from the veteran community, an informative 5
287	287	outreach program for veterans regarding the stand-6
288	288	ard of proof for evaluation of claims relating to mili-7
289	289	tary sexual trauma, including requirements for a 8
290	290	medical examination and opinion. 9
291	291	(2) T
292	292	ARGETED OUTREACH .—In implementing 10
293	293	the program under paragraph (1), the Secretary 11
294	294	shall, to the extent practicable, target outreach to 12
295	295	veterans who submitted a claim relating to military 13
296	296	sexual trauma that was denied. 14
297	297	(c) C
298	298	LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 15
299	299	at the beginning of chapter 11 of such title is amended 16
300	300	by inserting after the item relating to section 1166 the 17
301	301	following new item: 18
302	302	‘‘1166A. Evaluation of claims involving military sexual trauma.’’.
303	303	SEC. 204. CHOICE OF LOCATION OF DEPARTMENT OF VET-
304	304	19
305	305	ERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL EXAMINATION FOR 20
306	306	ASSESSMENT OF CLAIMS FOR COMPENSA-21
307	307	TION RELATING TO DISABILITY RESULTING 22
308	308	FROM MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA. 23
309	309	(a) I
310	310	NGENERAL.—Section 1165 of title 38, United 24
311	311	States Code, is amended— 25
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315	315	(1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘and 1
316	316	location of medical examination’’ after ‘‘ex-2
317	317	aminer’’; 3
318	318	(2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘a physical as-4
319	319	sault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, 5
320	320	or sexual harassment’’ and inserting ‘‘military sexual 6
321	321	trauma (as defined in section 1166A(i) of this 7
322	322	title)’’; 8
323	323	(3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-9
324	324	section (d); and 10
325	325	(4) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-11
326	326	lowing new subsection (c): 12
327	327	‘‘(c) C
328	328	HOICE OF EXAMINATIONLOCATION.—The 13
329	329	Secretary shall ensure that a veteran who requires a med-14
330	330	ical examination in support of a claim described in sub-15
331	331	section (a) may request that the medical examination take 16
332	332	place at a medical facility of the Department by a qualified 17
333	333	employee of the Department rather than at a location des-18
334	334	ignated by a contractor of the Department that performs 19
335	335	such examinations on behalf of the Department.’’. 20
336	336	(b) C
337	337	LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 21
338	338	at the beginning of chapter 11 of such title is amended 22
339	339	by striking the item relating to section 1165 and inserting 23
340	340	the following new item: 24
341	341	‘‘1165. Choice of sex of medical examiner and location of medical examination
342	342	for certain disabilities.’’.
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346	346	SEC. 205. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF 1
347	347	VETERANS AFFAIRS TO INDIVIDUALS WHO 2
348	348	HAVE EXPERIENCED MILITARY SEXUAL 3
349	349	TRAUMA. 4
350	350	(a) R
351	351	EVIEWWORKGROUP.— 5
352	352	(1) I
353	353	N GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 6
354	354	Affairs shall establish a workgroup to review cor-7
355	355	respondence relating to military sexual trauma. 8
356	356	(2) M
357	357	EMBERSHIP.—The workgroup established 9
358	358	under paragraph (1) shall be composed of members 10
359	359	who shall be appointed by the Secretary from among 11
360	360	employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs 12
361	361	who are experts in military sexual trauma and men-13
362	362	tal health, of whom— 14
363	363	(A) one or more shall be appointed from 15
364	364	among mental health providers of the Veterans 16
365	365	Health Administration; 17
366	366	(B) one or more shall be appointed from 18
367	367	among experts on sexual assault and sexual 19
368	368	harassment of the Veterans Benefits Adminis-20
369	369	tration; and 21
370	370	(C) one or more shall be appointed from 22
371	371	among experts on sexual assault and sexual 23
372	372	harassment of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. 24
373	373	(3) D
374	374	UTIES.—The workgroup established under 25
375	375	paragraph (1) shall— 26
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379	379	(A) review standard correspondence, which 1
380	380	may include templates for notices under sec-2
381	381	tions 5103, 5104, 5104B, and 7104 of title 38, 3
382	382	United States Code, from the Department to 4
383	383	individuals who have experienced military sex-5
384	384	ual trauma for sensitivity; and 6
385	385	(B) ensure that the correspondence— 7
386	386	(i) treats such individuals with dignity 8
387	387	and respect; and 9
388	388	(ii) does not re-traumatize such indi-10
389	389	viduals. 11
390	390	(4) I
391	391	NDIVIDUAL WHO HAS EXPERIENCED MILI -12
392	392	TARY SEXUAL TRAUMA DEFINED .—In this sub-13
393	393	section, the term ‘‘individual who has experienced 14
394	394	military sexual trauma’’ means— 15
395	395	(A) an individual who has filed a claim for 16
396	396	compensation under chapter 11 of title 38, 17
397	397	United States Code, relating to military sexual 18
398	398	trauma; 19
399	399	(B) a veteran who has been awarded com-20
400	400	pensation under such chapter relating to mili-21
401	401	tary sexual trauma; or 22
402	402	(C) a member of the Armed Forces (in-23
403	403	cluding a member of the National Guard or Re-24
404	404	serves), a former member of the Armed Forces, 25
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407	407	•HR 2576 IH
408	408	or a veteran who is receiving care from the De-1
409	409	partment relating to military sexual trauma. 2
410	410	(b) C
411	411	ONTENTS OFCERTAINWRITTENCOMMUNICA-3
412	412	TIONS TOINDIVIDUALSWHOHAVEEXPERIENCEDMILI-4
413	413	TARYSEXUALTRAUMA.— 5
414	414	(1) N
415	415	OTICE TO CLAIMANTS OF REQUIRED IN -6
416	416	FORMATION AND EVIDENCE .—Section 5103 of title 7
417	417	38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 8
418	418	the end the following new subsection: 9
419	419	‘‘(c) W
420	420	RITTENCOMMUNICATIONS TO INDIVIDUALS 10
421	421	W
422	422	HOHAVEEXPERIENCED MILITARYSEXUALTRAU-11
423	423	MA.—(1) The Secretary shall ensure that any written com-12
424	424	munication under this section from the Department to an 13
425	425	individual who has experienced military sexual trauma in-14
426	426	cludes each of the following: 15
427	427	‘‘(A) Contact information for each of the fol-16
428	428	lowing: 17
429	429	‘‘(i) The military sexual trauma coordi-18
430	430	nator of the Veterans Benefits Administration. 19
431	431	‘‘(ii) The military sexual trauma coordi-20
432	432	nator of the Veterans Health Administration. 21
433	433	‘‘(iii) The Veterans Crisis Line. 22
434	434	‘‘(iv) The facility of the Veterans Health 23
435	435	Administration closest to where the individual 24
436	436	resides. 25
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440	440	‘‘(v) The Vet Center closest to where the 1
441	441	individual resides. 2
442	442	‘‘(B) Information on the eligibility of the indi-3
443	443	vidual for services provided through the Vet Center 4
444	444	described in subparagraph (A)(v). 5
445	445	‘‘(2) In this subsection: 6
446	446	‘‘(A) The term ‘individual who has experienced 7
447	447	military sexual trauma’ means— 8
448	448	‘‘(i) an individual who has filed a claim for 9
449	449	compensation under chapter 11 of this title re-10
450	450	lating to military sexual trauma; 11
451	451	‘‘(ii) a veteran who has been awarded com-12
452	452	pensation under such chapter relating to mili-13
453	453	tary sexual trauma; or 14
454	454	‘‘(iii) a member of the Armed Forces (in-15
455	455	cluding a member of the National Guard or Re-16
456	456	serves), a former member of the Armed Forces, 17
457	457	or a veteran who is receiving care from the De-18
458	458	partment relating to military sexual trauma. 19
459	459	‘‘(B) The term ‘military sexual trauma’ has the 20
460	460	meaning given that term in section 1166A(i) of this 21
461	461	title. 22
462	462	‘‘(C) The term ‘Vet Center’ has the meaning 23
463	463	given that term in section 1712A(h) of this title. 24
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466	466	•HR 2576 IH
467	467	‘‘(D) The term ‘Veterans Crisis Line’ means 1
468	468	the toll-free hotline for veterans established under 2
469	469	section 1720F(h) of this title.’’. 3
470	470	(2) D
471	471	ECISIONS AND NOTICES OF DECISIONS .— 4
472	472	Section 5104 of title 38, United States Code, is 5
473	473	amended by adding at the end the following new 6
474	474	subsection: 7
475	475	‘‘(e)(1) The Secretary shall ensure that any written 8
476	476	communication under this section from the Department 9
477	477	to an individual who has experienced military sexual trau-10
478	478	ma includes each of the following: 11
479	479	‘‘(A) Contact information for each of the fol-12
480	480	lowing: 13
481	481	‘‘(i) The military sexual trauma coordi-14
482	482	nator of the Veterans Health Administration. 15
483	483	‘‘(ii) The Veterans Crisis Line. 16
484	484	‘‘(iii) The facility of the Veterans Health 17
485	485	Administration closest to where the individual 18
486	486	resides. 19
487	487	‘‘(iv) The Vet Center closest to where the 20
488	488	individual resides. 21
489	489	‘‘(B) Information on the eligibility of the indi-22
490	490	vidual for services provided through the Vet Center 23
491	491	described in subparagraph (A)(iv). 24
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494	494	•HR 2576 IH
495	495	‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that any written 1
496	496	communication under this section from the Department 2
497	497	to an individual who has experienced military sexual trau-3
498	498	ma that includes notification of an award of compensation 4
499	499	under chapter 11 of this title relating to military sexual 5
500	500	trauma includes— 6
501	501	‘‘(A) the contact information described in para-7
502	502	graph (1); and 8
503	503	‘‘(B) the contact information for the military 9
504	504	sexual trauma coordinator of the Veterans Benefits 10
505	505	Administration. 11
506	506	‘‘(3) In this subsection: 12
507	507	‘‘(A) The term ‘individual who has experienced 13
508	508	military sexual trauma’ means— 14
509	509	‘‘(i) an individual who has filed a claim for 15
510	510	compensation under chapter 11 of this title re-16
511	511	lating to military sexual trauma; 17
512	512	‘‘(ii) a veteran who has been awarded com-18
513	513	pensation under such chapter relating to mili-19
514	514	tary sexual trauma; or 20
515	515	‘‘(iii) a member of the Armed Forces (in-21
516	516	cluding a member of the National Guard or Re-22
517	517	serves), a former member of the Armed Forces, 23
518	518	or a veteran who is receiving care from the De-24
519	519	partment relating to military sexual trauma. 25
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522	522	•HR 2576 IH
523	523	‘‘(B) The term ‘military sexual trauma’ has the 1
524	524	meaning given that term in section 1166A(i) of this 2
525	525	title. 3
526	526	‘‘(C) The term ‘Vet Center’ has the meaning 4
527	527	given that term in section 1712A(h) of this title. 5
528	528	‘‘(D) The term ‘Veterans Crisis Line’ means 6
529	529	the toll-free hotline for veterans established under 7
530	530	section 1720F(h) of this title.’’. 8
531	531	(3) H
532	532	IGHER-LEVEL REVIEW BY THE AGENCY OF 9
533	533	ORIGINAL JURISDICTION .—Section 5104B of title 10
534	534	38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 11
535	535	the end the following new subsection: 12
536	536	‘‘(f) W
537	537	RITTENCOMMUNICATIONS TO INDIVIDUALS 13
538	538	W
539	539	HOHAVEEXPERIENCED MILITARYSEXUALTRAU-14
540	540	MA.—(1) The Secretary shall ensure that any written com-15
541	541	munication under this section from the Department to an 16
542	542	individual who has experienced military sexual trauma in-17
543	543	cludes each of the following: 18
544	544	‘‘(A) Contact information for each of the fol-19
545	545	lowing: 20
546	546	‘‘(i) The military sexual trauma coordi-21
547	547	nator of the Veterans Health Administration. 22
548	548	‘‘(ii) The Veterans Crisis Line. 23
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551	551	•HR 2576 IH
552	552	‘‘(iii) The facility of the Veterans Health 1
553	553	Administration closest to where the individual 2
554	554	resides. 3
555	555	‘‘(iv) The Vet Center closest to where the 4
556	556	individual resides. 5
557	557	‘‘(B) Information on the eligibility of the indi-6
558	558	vidual for services provided through the Vet Center 7
559	559	described in subparagraph (A)(iv). 8
560	560	‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that any written 9
561	561	communication under this section from the Department 10
562	562	to an individual who has experienced military sexual trau-11
563	563	ma that includes notification of an award of compensation 12
564	564	under chapter 11 of this title relating to military sexual 13
565	565	trauma includes— 14
566	566	‘‘(A) the contact information described in para-15
567	567	graph (1); and 16
568	568	‘‘(B) the contact information for the military 17
569	569	sexual trauma coordinator of the Veterans Benefits 18
570	570	Administration. 19
571	571	‘‘(3) In this subsection: 20
572	572	‘‘(A) The term ‘individual who has experienced 21
573	573	military sexual trauma’ means— 22
574	574	‘‘(i) an individual who has filed a claim for 23
575	575	compensation under chapter 11 of this title re-24
576	576	lating to military sexual trauma; 25
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579	579	•HR 2576 IH
580	580	‘‘(ii) a veteran who has been awarded com-1
581	581	pensation under such chapter relating to mili-2
582	582	tary sexual trauma; or 3
583	583	‘‘(iii) a member of the Armed Forces (in-4
584	584	cluding a member of the National Guard or Re-5
585	585	serves), a former member of the Armed Forces, 6
586	586	or a veteran who is receiving care from the De-7
587	587	partment relating to military sexual trauma. 8
588	588	‘‘(B) The term ‘military sexual trauma’ has the 9
589	589	meaning given that term in section 1166A(i) of this 10
590	590	title. 11
591	591	‘‘(C) The term ‘Vet Center’ has the meaning 12
592	592	given that term in section 1712A(h) of this title. 13
593	593	‘‘(D) The term ‘Veterans Crisis Line’ means 14
594	594	the toll-free hotline for veterans established under 15
595	595	section 1720F(h) of this title.’’. 16
596	596	(4) B
597	597	OARD OF VETERANS ’ APPEALS.—Section 17
598	598	7104 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 18
599	599	adding at the end the following new subsection: 19
600	600	‘‘(g)(1) The Secretary shall ensure that any written 20
601	601	communication under this section from the Department 21
602	602	to an individual who has experienced military sexual trau-22
603	603	ma include each of the following: 23
604	604	‘‘(A) Contact information for each of the fol-24
605	605	lowing: 25
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608	608	•HR 2576 IH
609	609	‘‘(i) The military sexual trauma coordi-1
610	610	nator of the Veterans Health Administration. 2
611	611	‘‘(ii) The Veterans Crisis Line. 3
612	612	‘‘(iii) The facility of the Veterans Health 4
613	613	Administration closest to where the individual 5
614	614	resides. 6
615	615	‘‘(iv) The Vet Center closest to where the 7
616	616	individual resides. 8
617	617	‘‘(B) Information on the eligibility of the indi-9
618	618	vidual for services provided through the Vet Center 10
619	619	described in subparagraph (A)(iv). 11
620	620	‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that any written 12
621	621	communication under this section from the Department 13
622	622	to an individual who has experienced military sexual trau-14
623	623	ma that includes notification of an award of compensation 15
624	624	under chapter 11 of this title relating to military sexual 16
625	625	trauma includes— 17
626	626	‘‘(A) the contact information described in para-18
627	627	graph (1); and 19
628	628	‘‘(B) the contact information for the military 20
629	629	sexual trauma coordinator of the Veterans Benefits 21
630	630	Administration. 22
631	631	‘‘(3) In this subsection: 23
632	632	‘‘(A) The term ‘individual who has experienced 24
633	633	military sexual trauma’ means— 25
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636	636	•HR 2576 IH
637	637	‘‘(i) an individual who has filed a claim for 1
638	638	compensation under chapter 11 of this title re-2
639	639	lating to military sexual trauma; 3
640	640	‘‘(ii) a veteran who has been awarded com-4
641	641	pensation under such chapter relating to mili-5
642	642	tary sexual trauma; or 6
643	643	‘‘(iii) a member of the Armed Forces (in-7
644	644	cluding a member of the National Guard or Re-8
645	645	serves), a former member of the Armed Forces, 9
646	646	or a veteran who is receiving care from the De-10
647	647	partment relating to military sexual trauma. 11
648	648	‘‘(B) The term ‘military sexual trauma’ has the 12
649	649	meaning given that term in section 1166A(i) of this 13
650	650	title. 14
651	651	‘‘(C) The term ‘Vet Center’ has the meaning 15
652	652	given that term in section 1712A(h) of this title. 16
653	653	‘‘(D) The term ‘Veterans Crisis Line’ means 17
654	654	the toll-free hotline for veterans established under 18
655	655	section 1720F(h) of this title.’’. 19
656	656	SEC. 206. STUDY ON TRAINING AND PROCESSING RELAT-20
657	657	ING TO CLAIMS FOR DISABILITY COMPENSA-21
658	658	TION RELATING TO MILITARY SEXUAL TRAU-22
659	659	MA. 23
660	660	(a) S
661	661	TUDYREQUIRED.—The Secretary of Veterans 24
662	662	Affairs shall conduct a study on— 25
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665	665	•HR 2576 IH
666	666	(1) the quality of training provided to personnel 1
667	667	of the Department of Veterans Affairs who review 2
668	668	claims for disability compensation under chapter 11 3
669	669	of title 38, United States Code, for disabilities relat-4
670	670	ing to military sexual trauma; and 5
671	671	(2) the quality of the procedures of the Depart-6
672	672	ment for reviewing the accuracy of the processing of 7
673	673	such claims. 8
674	674	(b) E
675	675	LEMENTS.—The study required by subsection 9
676	676	(a) shall include the following: 10
677	677	(1) With respect to the quality of training de-11
678	678	scribed in paragraph (1) of such subsection: 12
679	679	(A) Whether the Department ensures per-13
680	680	sonnel complete such training on time. 14
681	681	(B) Whether the training has resulted in 15
682	682	improvements to the processing of claims de-16
683	683	scribed in such subsection and issue-based accu-17
684	684	racy. 18
685	685	(C) Such recommendations as the Sec-19
686	686	retary may have for improving the training. 20
687	687	(2) With respect to the quality of procedures 21
688	688	described in paragraph (2) of such subsection: 22
689	689	(A) Whether the procedures of the Depart-23
690	690	ment for reviewing the accuracy of the proc-24
691	691	essing of claims described in such subsection 25
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694	694	•HR 2576 IH
695	695	comport with generally accepted statistical 1
696	696	methodologies to ensure reasonable accuracy of 2
697	697	such reviews. 3
698	698	(B) Whether such procedures adequately 4
699	699	include mechanisms to correct errors found in 5
700	700	such reviews. 6
701	701	(C) A summary of quality assurance re-7
702	702	views and reports conducted as part of such 8
703	703	procedures. 9
704	704	(D) Such recommendations as the Sec-10
705	705	retary may have for improving such procedures. 11
706	706	(c) R
707	707	EPORTREQUIRED.—Not later than one year 12
708	708	after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 13
709	709	shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 14
710	710	Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 15
711	711	House of Representatives a report detailing the findings 16
712	712	of the Secretary with respect to the study conducted under 17
713	713	subsection (a). 18
714	714	SEC. 207. ANNUAL SPECIAL FOCUS REVIEW OF CLAIMS FOR 19
715	715	DISABILITY COMPENSATION FOR DISABIL-20
716	716	ITIES RELATING TO MILITARY SEXUAL TRAU-21
717	717	MA. 22
718	718	(a) A
719	719	NNUALSPECIALFOCUSREVIEW.— 23
720	720	(1) I
721	721	N GENERAL.—Each year, the Under Sec-24
722	722	retary for Benefits of the Department of Veterans 25
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725	725	•HR 2576 IH
726	726	Affairs shall conduct a special focus review on the 1
727	727	accuracy of the processing of claims for disability 2
728	728	compensation under chapter 11 of title 38, United 3
729	729	States Code, for disabilities relating to military sex-4
730	730	ual trauma. 5
731	731	(2) E
732	732	LEMENTS.—Each review conducted under 6
733	733	paragraph (1) shall include a review of the following: 7
734	734	(A) A statistically significant, nationally 8
735	735	representative sample of all claims for benefits 9
736	736	under the laws administered by the Secretary of 10
737	737	Veterans Affairs relating to military sexual 11
738	738	trauma filed during the fiscal year preceding 12
739	739	the fiscal year in which the report is submitted. 13
740	740	(B) The accuracy of each decision made 14
741	741	with respect to each claim described in subpara-15
742	742	graph (A). 16
743	743	(C) The types of benefit entitlement errors 17
744	744	found, disaggregated by category. 18
745	745	(D) Trends from year to year. 19
746	746	(E) Training completion rates for per-20
747	747	sonnel of the Department who process claims 21
748	748	described in paragraph (1). 22
749	749	(b) R
750	750	EPROCESSING OF CLAIMS.—If the Under Sec-23
751	751	retary finds, pursuant to a special focus review conducted 24
752	752	under subsection (a)(1), that an error was made with re-25
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755	755	•HR 2576 IH
756	756	spect to the entitlement of a veteran to a benefit under 1
757	757	the laws administered by the Secretary, the Secretary shall 2
758	758	return the relevant claim of the veteran to the appropriate 3
759	759	office of the Department for reprocessing to ensure that 4
760	760	the veteran receives an accurate decision with respect to 5
761	761	the claim. 6
762	762	(c) R
763	763	EPORT.—Section 5501(b) of the Johnny Isakson 7
764	764	and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Bene-8
765	765	fits Improvement Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–315; 134 9
766	766	Stat. 5048) is amended— 10
767	767	(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘through 11
768	768	2027’’ and inserting ‘‘until the date described in sec-12
769	769	tion 207(d) of the Servicemembers and Veterans 13
770	770	Empowerment and Support Act of 2025’’; and 14
771	771	(2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the 15
772	772	following new subparagraph: 16
773	773	‘‘(I) The findings of the most recent spe-17
774	774	cial focus review conducted under subsection 18
775	775	(a)(1) of section 207 of the Servicemembers 19
776	776	and Veterans Empowerment and Support Act 20
777	777	of 2025, including— 21
778	778	‘‘(i) the elements under subsection 22
779	779	(a)(2) of such section; 23
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782	782	•HR 2576 IH
783	783	‘‘(ii) the number of claims returned 1
784	784	for reprocessing under subsection (b) of 2
785	785	such section; and 3
786	786	‘‘(iii) the number of claims described 4
787	787	in clause (ii) for which the decision relat-5
788	788	ing to service-connection or entitlement to 6
789	789	compensation changed as a result of re-7
790	790	processing the claim.’’. 8
791	791	(d) S
792	792	UNSET.—On the date that the Under Secretary 9
793	793	determines, pursuant to special focus reviews conducted 10
794	794	under paragraph (1) of subsection (a), that the accuracy 11
795	795	rates under paragraph (2)(B) of such subsection have 12
796	796	been 95 percent or greater for five consecutive years, sub-13
797	797	section (a)(1) shall cease to be in effect. 14
798	798	SEC. 208. WORKGROUP ON MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS FOR 15
799	799	CLAIMS FOR DISABILITY COMPENSATION 16
800	800	FOR DISABILITIES RELATING TO MILITARY 17
801	801	SEXUAL TRAUMA. 18
802	802	(a) I
803	803	NGENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 19
804	804	date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet-20
805	805	erans Affairs shall establish a workgroup on medical ex-21
806	806	aminations for claims for disability compensation under 22
807	807	chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, for disabilities 23
808	808	relating to military sexual trauma (in this section referred 24
809	809	to as the ‘‘workgroup’’). 25
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812	812	•HR 2576 IH
813	813	(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The workgroup shall be com-1
814	814	posed of the following: 2
815	815	(1) Staff of the operations center for military 3
816	816	sexual trauma of the Department of Veterans Af-4
817	817	fairs who have experience reviewing the quality of 5
818	818	medical examinations in support of claims for dis-6
819	819	ability compensation under chapter 11 of title 38, 7
820	820	United States Code. 8
821	821	(2) Staff of the Medical Disability Examination 9
822	822	Office of the Department. 10
823	823	(3) Veterans service officers who have experi-11
824	824	ence with claims described in subsection (a). 12
825	825	(4) Medical examiners who have experience with 13
826	826	such claims. 14
827	827	(5) Staff of the Veterans Experience Office of 15
828	828	the Department. 16
829	829	(6) Such other individuals as the Secretary con-17
830	830	siders appropriate. 18
831	831	(c) D
832	832	UTIES.—Not later than 180 days after the date 19
833	833	of the enactment of this Act, the Workgroup shall— 20
834	834	(1) review the quality of medical examinations 21
835	835	described in subsection (a); 22
836	836	(2) review the feasibility of minimizing re-ex-23
837	837	aminations for conditions relating to military sexual 24
838	838	trauma; and 25
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841	841	•HR 2576 IH
842	842	(3) submit to the Under Secretary for Benefits 1
843	843	of the Department and the Secretary recommenda-2
844	844	tions on how to— 3
845	845	(A) eliminate re-traumatization of individ-4
846	846	uals who file claims described in subsection (a); 5
847	847	and 6
848	848	(B) reduce the overdevelopment of such 7
849	849	claims. 8
850	850	(d) R
851	851	EPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 9
852	852	of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 10
853	853	to Congress a report that includes the following: 11
854	854	(1) The views of the workgroup on efforts by 12
855	855	the Department to eliminate re-traumatization of in-13
856	856	dividuals who file claims described in subsection (a). 14
857	857	(2) Legislative proposals to improve the experi-15
858	858	ence of such individuals in pursuing such claims. 16
859	859	(3) The recommendations submitted under sub-17
860	860	section (c)(3). 18
861	861	(4) The plan of the Under Secretary for Bene-19
862	862	fits of the Department and the Secretary to imple-20
863	863	ment such recommendations. 21
864	864	(e) R
865	865	EVIEW ANDIMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 22
866	866	one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 23
867	867	Under Secretary for Benefits of the Department and the 24
868	868	Secretary shall— 25
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871	871	•HR 2576 IH
872	872	(1) review the recommendations submitted 1
873	873	under subsection (c)(3); and 2
874	874	(2) implement the recommendations that, as de-3
875	875	termined by the Under Secretary and the Secretary, 4
876	876	would improve the claims process for individuals who 5
877	877	file claims described in subsection (a). 6
878	878	TITLE III—ACCESS TO HEALTH 7
879	879	CARE 8
880	880	SEC. 301. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR COUNSELING 9
881	881	AND TREATMENT FOR MILITARY SEXUAL 10
882	882	TRAUMA TO INCLUDE ALL FORMER MEM-11
883	883	BERS OF THE RESERVE COMPONENTS OF 12
884	884	THE ARMED FORCES. 13
885	885	Section 1720D of title 38, United States Code, is 14
886	886	amended— 15
887	887	(1) in subsection (a)— 16
888	888	(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a phys-17
889	889	ical assault’’ and all that follows through the 18
890	890	period at the end and inserting ‘‘military sexual 19
891	891	trauma.’’; and 20
892	892	(B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘was 21
893	893	suffered’’ and all that follows through the pe-22
894	894	riod at the end and inserting ‘‘resulted from 23
895	895	military sexual trauma.’’; and 24
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898	898	•HR 2576 IH
899	899	(2) by striking subsections (f) and (g) and in-1
900	900	serting the following new subsection (f): 2
901	901	‘‘(f) In this section: 3
902	902	‘‘(1) The term ‘former member of the Armed 4
903	903	Forces’ means a person who served on active duty, 5
904	904	active duty for training, or inactive duty training, 6
905	905	and who was discharged or released therefrom under 7
906	906	any condition that is not— 8
907	907	‘‘(A) a discharge by court-martial, unless 9
908	908	the Secretary determines an exception to the 10
909	909	bar to benefits applies; or 11
910	910	‘‘(B) a discharge subject to a bar to bene-12
911	911	fits under section 5303 of this title. 13
912	912	‘‘(2) The term ‘military sexual trauma’ means, 14
913	913	with respect to a member of the Armed Forces or 15
914	914	former member of the Armed Forces, a physical as-16
915	915	sault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, 17
916	916	or sexual harassment which occurred while the mem-18
917	917	ber or former member was serving on duty, regard-19
918	918	less of duty status or line of duty determination (as 20
919	919	that term is used in section 12323 of title 10). 21
920	920	‘‘(3) The term ‘sexual harassment’ means unso-22
921	921	licited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature 23
922	922	which is threatening in character.’’. 24
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926	926	SEC. 302. CONNECTION TO VETERANS HEALTH ADMINIS-1
927	927	TRATION WHEN A DISABILITY CLAIM RE-2
928	928	LATED TO MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA IS SUB-3
929	929	MITTED TO VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINIS-4
930	930	TRATION. 5
931	931	(a) I
932	932	NGENERAL.—Not later than 14 days after the 6
933	933	date on which a veteran submits a claim for disability com-7
934	934	pensation to the Veterans Benefits Administration for a 8
935	935	disability related to military sexual trauma, the Secretary 9
936	936	of Veterans Affairs shall send a communication to the vet-10
937	937	eran with the following information: 11
938	938	(1) The contact information for the nearest 12
939	939	military sexual trauma coordinator for the veteran 13
940	940	at the Veterans Benefits Administration and a de-14
941	941	scription of the assistance such coordinator can pro-15
942	942	vide. 16
943	943	(2) The contact information for the nearest 17
944	944	military sexual trauma coordinator for the veteran 18
945	945	at the Veterans Health Administration and a de-19
946	946	scription of the assistance such coordinator can pro-20
947	947	vide. 21
948	948	(3) The types of services that individuals who 22
949	949	have experienced military sexual trauma are eligible 23
950	950	to receive from the Department of Veterans Affairs, 24
951	951	including the nearest locations, including the nearest 25
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954	954	•HR 2576 IH
955	955	Vet Center, and the contact information for such 1
956	956	services. 2
957	957	(4) The contact information for the Veterans 3
958	958	Crisis Line established under section 1720F(h) of 4
959	959	title 38, United States Code. 5
960	960	(5) Such other information on services, care, or 6
961	961	resources for military sexual trauma as the Sec-7
962	962	retary determines appropriate. 8
963	963	(b) D
964	964	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 9
965	965	(1) M
966	966	ILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA .—The term 10
967	967	‘‘military sexual trauma’’— 11
968	968	(A) with respect to eligibility for health 12
969	969	care, has the meaning given such term in sec-13
970	970	tion 1720D(f) of title 38, United States Code, 14
971	971	as added by section 301; and 15
972	972	(B) with respect to eligibility for com-16
973	973	pensation, has the meaning given such term in 17
974	974	section 1166A(i) of title 38, United States 18
975	975	Code, as added by section 203(a). 19
976	976	(2) V
977	977	ET CENTER.—The term ‘‘Vet Center’’ has 20
978	978	the meaning given that term in section 1712A(h) of 21
979	979	title 38, United States Code. 22
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982	982	•HR 2576 IH
983	983	SEC. 303. CARE RELATING TO MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA 1
984	984	FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO WITHDRAW FROM OR 2
985	985	OTHERWISE DO NOT COMPLETE SERVICE AT 3
986	986	SERVICE ACADEMIES. 4
987	987	(a) I
988	988	NGENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Af-5
989	989	fairs, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the 6
990	990	Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of 7
991	991	Transportation, shall ensure that each individual who 8
992	992	withdraws from, or otherwise does not complete service at, 9
993	993	a service academy is provided— 10
994	994	(1) information on the potential eligibility of 11
995	995	such individual for care and counseling relating to 12
996	996	military sexual trauma provided through the Depart-13
997	997	ment of Veterans Affairs; and 14
998	998	(2) the option to receive copies of— 15
999	999	(A) the individual’s service treatment 16
1000	1000	records or military personnel records that docu-17
1001	1001	ment military sexual trauma; 18
1002	1002	(B) reporting forms of the Department of 19
1003	1003	Defense, the Department of Homeland Secu-20
1004	1004	rity, or the Department of Transportation on 21
1005	1005	sexual assault or sexual harassment for which 22
1006	1006	the individual was the victim; and 23
1007	1007	(C) any investigative reports into military 24
1008	1008	sexual trauma that occurred during the individ-25
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1011	1011	•HR 2576 IH
1012	1012	ual’s service in the Armed Forces and for which 1
1013	1013	the individual was the victim. 2
1014	1014	(b) D
1015	1015	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 3
1016	1016	(1) M
1017	1017	ILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA .—The term 4
1018	1018	‘‘military sexual trauma’’— 5
1019	1019	(A) with respect to eligibility for health 6
1020	1020	care, has the meaning given such term in sec-7
1021	1021	tion 1720D(f) of title 38, United States Code, 8
1022	1022	as added by section 301; and 9
1023	1023	(B) with respect to eligibility for com-10
1024	1024	pensation, has the meaning given such term in 11
1025	1025	section 1166A(i) of title 38, United States 12
1026	1026	Code, as added by section 203(a). 13
1027	1027	(2) S
1028	1028	ERVICE ACADEMY .—The term ‘‘service 14
1029	1029	academy’’ means any of the following: 15
1030	1030	(A) The United States Military Academy. 16
1031	1031	(B) The United States Naval Academy. 17
1032	1032	(C) The United States Air Force Academy. 18
1033	1033	(D) The United Stated Coast Guard Acad-19
1034	1034	emy. 20
1035	1035	(E) The United States Merchant Marine 21
1036	1036	Academy. 22
1037	1037	Æ
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