Surviving Spouses and Dependents Outreach Enhancement and Veterans Casework Improvement Act

Summary: Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to assign appropriate Department employees to conduct outreach programs and provide outreach services for eligible spouses and dependents.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Surviving Spouses and Dependents 
Outreach Enhancement and Veterans Casework Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) There are over 600,000 surviving spouses and dependents 
        receiving dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) or death 
        pensions from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
            (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs does not target this 
        population for specific outreach efforts, nor does it provide 
        program outreach coordinators designated at each regional 
        office of the Department to assist this population and other 
        survivors who may be eligible for benefits from the Department.
            (3) Approximately 1,000 veterans die daily, many survived 
        by widows and dependents who may not be fully informed as to 
        their eligibility for benefits under laws administered by the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
            (4) There is no formal program for coordination of benefits 
        for surviving spouses and dependents at any level within the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs.
            (5) Due to insufficient outreach efforts, informational 
        updates targeted specifically to surviving spouses and 
        dependents are not provided. Outreach efforts to provide 
        information concerning changes in service-connection for 
        disabilities presumed associated with exposure to herbicides 
        and ionizing radiation and former prisoners of war have been 
        insufficient to adequately inform survivors of benefits to 
        which they may now be entitled.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL GOAL TO FULLY INFORM AND ASSIST SURVIVING SPOUSES AND 
              DEPENDENTS REGARDING ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS AND HEALTH 
              CARE SERVICES.

    (a) National Goal.--Congress hereby declares it to be a national 
goal to fully inform surviving spouses and dependents regarding their 
eligibility for benefits and health care services under laws 
administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
    (b) Cooperative Efforts Encouraged.--Congress hereby encourages all 
elements within the Department of Veterans Affairs, private and public 
sector entities (including veterans service organizations), and 
veterans widows and surviving spouses organizations to work 
cooperatively to fully inform the surviving spouses and dependents of 
veterans regarding their eligibility for benefits and health care 
services under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT FOR OUTREACH EFFORTS AND DEDICATED STAFF AT EACH 
              REGIONAL OFFICE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs have 
historically targeted certain specific populations for outreach efforts 
concerning benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs. Groups currently targeted for such outreach efforts 
and for which program outreach coordinators have been designated at 
each regional office of the Department of Veterans Affairs are the 
following:
            (1) Former prisoners of war.
            (2) Women veterans.
            (3) Minority veterans.
            (4) Active duty personnel.
            (5) Homeless veterans.
            (6) Elderly veterans.
            (7) Recently separated veterans.
    (b) Eligible Dependent Defined.--Paragraph (2) of section 7721(b) 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) the term `eligible dependent' means a spouse, 
        surviving spouse (whether or not remarried), child (regardless 
of age or marital status), or parent of a person who served in the 
active military, naval, or air service.''.
    (c) Improved Outreach Program.--(1) Subchapter II of chapter 77 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:
``Sec. 7727. Outreach for eligible dependents
    ``(a) In carrying out this subchapter, the Secretary shall ensure 
that the needs of eligible dependents are fully addressed.
    ``(b)(1) In order to carry out subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
assign such employees of the Veterans Benefits Administration as the 
Secretary considers appropriate to conduct outreach programs and 
provide outreach services for eligible dependents. In areas where the 
number of eligible dependents warrant doing so, the Secretary shall 
assign at least one employee in the Veterans Benefits Administration 
regional office to serve as a full-time coordinator of outreach 
programs and services for eligible dependents in that region.
    ``(2) Responsibilities of employees assigned to outreach functions 
under paragraph (1) shall include providing eligible dependents with 
information about benefits under laws administered by the Secretary and 
with assistance in claims preparation and inquiry resolution.
    ``(c) Whenever an eligible dependent first applies for any benefit 
under laws administered by the Secretary, the Secretary shall provide 
to the dependent information concerning eligibility for benefits and 
health care services under programs administered by the Secretary. For 
purposes of this paragraph, a request for burial or related benefits, 
including an application for life insurance proceeds, shall be treated 
by the Secretary as an initial application for benefits.
    ``(d)(1) Information provided an eligible dependent under this 
section shall include information on how to apply for benefits for 
which the dependent may be eligible, including information about 
assistance available under subsection (b) and section 7722(d) of this 
title.
    ``(2) In the case of eligible dependents who are members of 
distinct beneficiary populations (such as survivors of veterans), the 
Secretary shall ensure that information provided under this section 
includes specific information about benefits relating to that 
population.
    ``(e) For any area in which there is a significant population of 
eligible dependents whose primary language is a language other than 
English, the Secretary shall make information provided under this 
subsection available to those dependents in the dominant language in 
that area (in addition to English).
    ``(f) Outreach services and assistance shall be provided for 
eligible dependents through the same means that are used for other 
specially targeted groups.
    ``(g) The Secretary shall ensure that the availability of outreach 
services and assistance for eligible dependents under this subchapter 
is made known through a variety of means, including the Internet, 
correspondence of the Department, announcements in veterans 
publications, direct correspondence to congressional offices, military 
bases public affairs offices, military retiree affairs offices, and 
United States embassies.
    ``(h) The Secretary shall support the Department's periodic 
evaluation under section 527 of this title concerning the Department's 
efforts to address the needs of eligible dependents.
    ``(i) The Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual report on 
the programs of the Department addressing the information and 
assistance needs of eligible dependents. The Secretary shall include in 
each such report the following:
            ``(1) Information about expenditures, costs, and workload 
        under the program of the Department directed towards the 
        information and assistance needs of eligible dependents.
            ``(2) Information about outreach efforts directed toward 
        eligible dependents.
            ``(3) Information about emerging needs within the program 
        that relate to other provisions of law, including section 7725 
        of this title with respect to language needs of eligible 
        dependents.
            ``(4) Information as to the timeline for implementation of 
        improvements to meet existing and emerging needs of eligible 
        dependents in addition to those specified in this section.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7726 the 
following new item:

``7727. Outreach for eligible dependents.''.