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# Legislative Bulletin.....................................................December 8, 2006

**Contents:**

> **S. 3421** --- A bill to authorize major medical facility projects
> and major medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans
> Affairs for fiscal years 2006 and 2007

S. 3421 --- A bill to authorize major medical facility projects and
major medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs for
fiscal years 2006 and 2007 --- *as amended* (Sen. Craig, R-ID)

**[Order of Business]{.underline}**: The bill is scheduled for
consideration on Friday, December 8, 2006, under a motion to suspend the
rules and pass the bill, as amended.

**[Summary]{.underline}**:

**Title I -- Attorney Representation Matters**

-   Modifies and increases qualifications, standards, and procedures
    regarding individuals acting as agents and attorneys before the
    Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including:

    -   the requirement that individuals must show "that such individual
        is of good moral character and in good repute, is qualified to
        render claimants valuable service, and is otherwise competent"
        to assist the veteran in presenting claims; and

    -   provides that an attorney may not charge a fee for services
        "provided before the date on which the Board of Veterans'
        Appeals first makes a final decision in a case."

**Title II -- Health Matters**

-   Establishes certain qualifications for clinical care providers the
    VA is authorized to hire (such as holding a master's degree in
    mental health, etc.), and adds the professions of "marriage and
    family therapist and licensed mental health counselor" to the list
    of authorized clinical care providers;

-   Exempts the position of Chief Nursing Officer (Office of Nursing
    Services) from the provisions of section 38 U.S.C. 7451 (regarding
    competitive pay requirements), and allows the Secretary to determine
    the pay rate of the Chief Nursing Office;

-   Requires the VA to ensure that each community-based outpatient
    clinic of the VA has the capacity to provide (or monitor the
    provision of) mental health services to enrolled veterans who need
    such services;

-   Modifies VA regulations regarding releasing confidential medical
    records (just name and address) to certain entities in instances
    where the individual has died or is near death and is an organ or
    tissue donor, in order to facilitate whether the individual is a
    suitable organ, tissue, or eye donor;

-   Directs the VA to increase the number of facilities of the
    Readjustment Counseling Service that are capable of providing health
    services and counseling through tele-health linkages with VA
    facilities;

-   Requires the VA to publish a strategic plan for the provision of
    long-term care by the VA;

-   Requires the VA to designate at least six VA heal-care facilities as
    the locations for centers of Parkinson's Disease research, education
    and clinical activities;

-   Requires the VA to designate at least two VA health-care facilities
    as the locations for multiple sclerosis centers of excellence;

-   Stipulates the payment rates that the VA will pay to state nursing
    homes providing care to veterans with service-related disabilities;

-   Creates a new Office of Rural Health at the VA within the Office of
    the Under Secretary for health;

-   Directs the VA to conduct an extensive outreach program to identify
    and provide information to veterans who served Operation Iraqi
    Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom and who reside in rural
    communities, in order to enroll those veterans in the VA health-care
    system during the period in which they are eligible;

-   **Creates a new pilot program** to assess the feasibility and
    advisability of various mechanisms to expand and improve caregiver
    assistance services; (and authorizes \$10 million for FY07-FY08 for
    such services); and

-   Directs the VA to employ at least 100 veterans for the purpose of
    providing outreach to veterans on the availability of readjustment
    counseling and related mental health services for veterans (under 38
    U.S.C. 1712A).

**Title III - Education Matters**

-   Expands eligibility for the Dependants' Educational Assistance
    program (DEA) to include the spouse or child of hospitalized service
    member and is determined by the VA to have permanent disability.

-   Extends authorization for work-study programs located at VA
    cemeteries, state veterans homes, and state approving agencies
    through June 30, 2007 (set to expire on December 27, 2006).

-   Gives an entitlement to certain education beneficiaries who are
    survivors and dependents of veterans who are forced to discontinue a
    course of education doe to being called to full-time National Guard
    duty.

**Title IV -- National Cemetery and Memorial Affairs Matters**

-   Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to tribal organizations for
    establishing, expanding, or improving veterans' cemeteries on trust
    land owned by, or held in trust for, such organizations.

-   Extends until December 31, 2007, the VA's ability to furnish a
    government marker or headstone for the grave of a veteran buried at
    a private cemetery who died on or after September 11, 2001.

-   Directs the Secretary of the Army to remove the remains of Russell
    Wayne Wagner from Arlington National Cemetery. Reportedly, Russell
    Wayne Wagner "is the only individual convicted of a capital offense
    who has been interred or inurned in Arlington since 1997."

-   Authorizes the provision of a memorial headstone or marker with an
    inscription for the eligible dependent child of a veteran.

**Title V -- Housing and Small Business Matters**

-   Extends VA's authority to guarantee loans to the purchase of stock
    or membership in a housing corporation (cooperative), and terminates
    the authority to guarantee loans in cooperatives five years after
    enactment. Currently, the VA can guarantee loans for certain
    veterans for buying a home, home repairs, and other related
    expenses.

-   Establishes a goal for each fiscal year for participation in the VA
    contracts by veteran owned businesses;

-   States that the VA Secretary may determine the goal for each fiscal
    year, but that the goal may not be less than the government-wide
    goal for participation by small businesses owned by veterans
    service-connected disabilities;

-   Stipulates that non-competitive contract procedures may be used to
    meet the contracting goals/quotas in this Act;

-   Allows sole source contracts to be awarded to a veteran owned
    business up to \$5 million;

-   Requires the VA to create and maintain a database of small business
    owned and controlled by veterans, and a database of the veteran
    owners of those businesses; and

-   Requires the VA to give priority to a veteran-owned small business
    when procuring goods and services, if the business meets the
    requirements of the contract.

**Title VI -- Employment and Training Matters**

-   Requires the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Service
    (VETS) to establish professional qualification guidelines (for use
    by states) for determining the eligibility for employment of state
    employees who are designated as disabled veterans outreach program
    specialists (DVOPS) and local veterans employment representatives
    (LVERs);

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-   Requires states to describe the qualifications and training for
    DVOPS and LVERs as part of the application for a state grant;

-   **Establishes a demonstration project** that would:

    a.  authorizes the Secretary of Labor to identify not fewer than ten
        military occupational specialties that would lead to civilian
        credentialing within an industry that has a critical shortage of
        employees or that is a high-growth industry;

    b.  requires the Secretary of Labor to work with states and
        industries to identify the civilian credentialing requirements
        within each state and industry to reduce the barriers for
        service members seeking civilian employment; and

    c.  requires an annual report to Congress describing the efforts and
        results of the previous year toward credentialing services.

**Title VII -- Homeless Veterans Assistance**

-   S. 3421 makes permanent the authority of the Secretary of Veterans
    Affairs to make grants to eligible entities for homeless veterans
    outreach, rehabilitation, job training, and housing assistance.

-   S. 3421 reauthorizes the per diem grant program to medical services
    providers to give medical services to special needs veterans at the
    current level of \$5 million per year for the 2007-2011 period.

-   The bill reauthorizes and increases the authorization level (from
    \$750,000 to \$1 million) of grants to organizations that help
    community-based organizations apply for grants. The grant program is
    reauthorized over the 2007-2012 period.

-   S. 3421 adds three new ex-officio members of the Department the
    Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans. The bill reauthorizes the
    committee until December 30, 2011.

-   S. 3421 authorizes a number of vouchers to veterans housing over the
    2007-2011 period.

**Title VIII -- Construction Matters**

-   S. 3421 authorizes \$300 million for the VA Medical Center in New
    Orleans, Louisiana; \$310 million for the VA Medical Center in
    Biloxi, Mississippi; and \$98 million for the VA Medical Center in
    Denver, Colorado in FY06 for construction projects.

-   The bill extends authorization for seventeen construction projects
    in connection with capital asset realignment totaling roughly \$1.86
    billion dollars.

-   S. 3421 authorizes roughly \$222 million in FY07 for major medical
    facility projects.

-   The bill authorizes \$36.8 million for advanced planning for a major
    medical facility in Charleston, South Carolina.

-   S. 3421 authorizes roughly \$25 million in FY06 for medical facility
    leases, and \$26.6 million in FY07 for major medical facility
    leases.

-   The bill authorizes \$708 million for major medical facility
    construction projects in FY06.

-   S. 3421 authorizes \$1.759 billion in for major medical facility
    projects under capital asset realignment, \$222 million for major
    medical facility projects, and \$36.8 million for advanced planning
    and design of a major medical facility in Charleston, South
    Carolina.

**Title IX -- Information Security Matters**

-   Establishes certain information security procedures at the VA, such
    as conducting periodic assessments of harm that could result from
    unauthorized access, use, disclosure, etc, of information that
    supports the operation of the VA;

-   Requires the VA, in the event of a data breach of sensitive
    personnel information, to ensure that a VA entity or the VA
    Inspector General conduct an independent risk analysis of the data
    breach to determine the level of risk associated of the breach; and

-   Allows the VA to carry out programs to provide financial support for
    education in computer science and electrical and computer
    engineering at accredited institutions of higher education, in order
    to encourage recruitment and retention of VA personnel.

**Title X -- Other Matters**

-   Stipulates that if this Act is enacted after the enactment of the
    Veterans Programs Extension Act of 2006; then as of the date of the
    enactment of this Act, the Veterans Programs Extension Act and the
    amendments made by that Act shall be deemed not to have taken effect
    and the Veterans Programs Extension Act and the amendments made by
    that Act shall cease to be in effect.

**[Committee Action]{.underline}**: S. 3421 was received from the Senate
on September 26, 2006.

**[Cost to Taxpayers]{.underline}**: An updated CBO score for S. 3421 is
not available. However, the bill authorizes billions of dollars.

**[Does the Bill Expand the Size and Scope of the Federal
Government?]{.underline}**: Yes, it creates new programs.

**[Does the Bill Contain Any New State-Government, Local-Government, or
Private-Sector Mandates?]{.underline}**: No.

**[Constitutional Authority]{.underline}**: Senate Report
[109-328](http://www.congress.gov/cgi-lis/cpquery/R?cp109:FLD010:@1(sr328))
does not cite constitutional authority for S. 3421.

**[RSC Staff Contact]{.underline}**:

Derek Baker; <Derek.baker@mail.house.gov>; 202.226.8585 (Titles 1, 2, 9,
10)

Joelle Cannon; <joelle.cannon@mail.house.gov>; 202.226.0718 (Titles 3,
4, 5, 6)

Marcus Kelley; <marcus.kelley@mail.house.gov>; (202) 226-9717 (Titles 7,
8)