II 

Calendar No. 536 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 514 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the benefits and services 

provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to women veterans, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mrs. CAPITO, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Ms. 

STABENOW, Mr. SCHATZ, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. WARREN, Mr. MENENDEZ, 

Ms. HASSAN, Mr. REED, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. 

DUCKWORTH, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. 

CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. HARRIS, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. BROWN, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. SULLIVAN, 

Mr. KING, Ms. SMITH, Mr. KAINE, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. MORAN, Mr. 

CRAMER, Mr. COONS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. 

WARNER, Mr. JONES, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. MANCHIN, and Mr. BENNET) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Veterans’ Affairs 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 

Reported by Mr. MORAN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the 

benefits and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to women veterans, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Deborah Sampson Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—READJUSTMENT AND RELATED ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 101. Provision of reintegration and readjustment services to veterans and 

family members in group retreat settings. 

Sec. 102. Expansion of capabilities of Women Veterans Call Center to include 

text messaging. 

TITLE II—LEGAL AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES 

Sec. 201. Department of Veterans Affairs public-private partnership on legal 

services for women veterans. 

Sec. 202. Additional amount for Supportive Services for Veteran Families grant 

program to support organizations that have a focus on providing assistance to women veterans and their families. 

Sec. 203. Gap analysis of Department of Veterans Affairs programs that provide assistance to women veterans who are homeless. 

TITLE III—NEWBORN CARE 

Sec. 301. Extension of period of eligibility for care for newborn children from 

the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

TITLE IV—ELIMINATING BARRIERS TO ACCESS 

Sec. 401. Women Veterans Retrofit Initiative. 

Sec. 402. Staffing of women’s health primary care providers at medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 403. Additional funding for primary care and emergency care clinicians in 

Women Veterans Health Care Mini-Residency Program. 

Sec. 404. Establishment of women veteran training module for non-Department 

of Veterans Affairs health care providers. 

Sec. 405. Study on staffing of Women Veteran Program Manager program at 

medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs and 

training of staff. 

TITLE V—DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING 

Sec. 501. Requirement for collection and analysis of data on Department of 

Veterans Affairs benefits and services and disaggregation of 

such data by sex and minority status. 


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Sec. 502. Report on availability of prosthetics for women veterans from the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 503. Requirement for Department of Veterans Affairs internet website to 

provide information on services available to women veterans. 

Sec. 504. Report on locations where women veterans are using health care from 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 505. Report on models of medical facilities of Department of Veterans Affairs for the treatment of women. 

Sec. 506. Report on staffing of Department of Veterans relating to the treatment of women. 

1 TITLE I—READJUSTMENT AND 

2 RELATED ASSISTANCE 

3 SEC. 101. PROVISION OF REINTEGRATION AND READJUST4 MENT SERVICES TO VETERANS AND FAMILY 

5 MEMBERS IN GROUP RETREAT SETTINGS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1712A of title 38, United 

7 States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B)— 

9 (A) in clause (ii), by redesignating sub10 clauses (I) and (II) as items (aa) and (bb); 

11 (B) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 

12 subclauses (I) and (II); 

13 (C) in the matter preceding subclause (I), 

14 as redesignated by subparagraph (B), by strik15 ing ‘‘Counseling’’ and inserting ‘‘(i) Coun16 seling’’; and 

17 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

18 clause: 

19 ‘‘(ii)(I) Except as provided in subclause (IV), coun20 seling furnished to an individual under subparagraph (A) 


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1 may include reintegration and readjustment services de2 scribed in subclause (II) furnished in group retreat set3 tings. 

4 ‘‘(II) Reintegration and readjustment services de5 scribed in this subclause are the following: 

6 ‘‘(aa) Information on reintegration of the indi7 vidual into family, employment, and community. 

8 ‘‘(bb) Financial counseling. 

9 ‘‘(cc) Occupational counseling. 

10 ‘‘(dd) Information and counseling on stress re11 duction. 

12 ‘‘(ee) Information and counseling on conflict 

13 resolution. 

14 ‘‘(ff) Such other information and counseling as 

15 the Secretary considers appropriate to assist the in16 dividual in reintegration into family, employment, 

17 and community. 

18 ‘‘(III) In furnishing reintegration and readjustment 

19 services under subclause (I), the Secretary shall offer 

20 women the opportunity to receive such services in group 

21 retreat settings in which the only participants are women. 

22 ‘‘(IV) An individual referred to in subparagraph 

23 (C)(v) may receive reintegration and readjustment services 

24 under subclause (I) only if the individual receives such 


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1 services with a family member described in subclause (I) 

2 or (II) of such subparagraph.’’. 

3 (b) REQUEST FOR SERVICES.—Subsection (a)(2) of 

4 such section is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘Upon’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) 

6 Upon’’; 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)(i)’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(B) Upon the request of an individual described in 

12 paragraph (1)(C), the Secretary shall furnish the indi13 vidual reintegration and readjustment services in group 

14 retreat settings under paragraph (1)(B)(ii).’’. 

15 SEC. 102. EXPANSION OF CAPABILITIES OF WOMEN VET16 ERANS CALL CENTER TO INCLUDE TEXT MES17 SAGING. 

18 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall expand the 

19 capabilities of the Women Veterans Call Center of the De20 partment of Veterans Affairs to include a text messaging 

21 capability. 


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1 TITLE II—LEGAL AND 

2 SUPPORTIVE SERVICES 

3 SEC. 201. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PUBLIC4 PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP ON LEGAL SERVICES 

5 FOR WOMEN VETERANS. 

6 (a) PARTNERSHIP REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 

7 Veterans Affairs shall establish a partnership with at least 

8 one nongovernmental organization to provide legal services 

9 to women veterans. 

10 (b) FOCUS.—The focus of the partnership established 

11 under subsection (a) shall be on the 10 highest unmet 

12 needs of women veterans as set forth in the most recently 

13 completed Community Homelessness Assessment, Local 

14 Education and Networking Groups for Veterans 

15 (CHALENG for Veterans) survey. 

16 SEC. 202. ADDITIONAL AMOUNT FOR SUPPORTIVE SERV17 ICES FOR VETERAN FAMILIES GRANT PRO18 GRAM TO SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS THAT 

19 HAVE A FOCUS ON PROVIDING ASSISTANCE 

20 TO WOMEN VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES. 

21 Section 2044(e) of title 38, United States Code, is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 

24 following new subparagraph: 


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1 ‘‘(F) $400,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

2 2020 through 2022.’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(4) Not less than $20,000,000 shall be available 

6 under paragraph (1)(H) for the provision of financial as7 sistance under subsection (a) to organizations that have 

8 a focus on providing assistance to women veterans and 

9 their families.’’. 

10 SEC. 203. GAP ANALYSIS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

11 AFFAIRS PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE ASSIST12 ANCE TO WOMEN VETERANS WHO ARE HOME13 LESS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

15 shall complete an analysis of programs of the Department 

16 of Veterans Affairs that provide assistance to women vet17 erans who are homeless or precariously housed to identify 

18 the areas in which such programs are failing to meet the 

19 needs of such women. 

20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

22 to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

23 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep24 resentatives a report on the analysis completed under sub25 section (a). 


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1 TITLE III—NEWBORN CARE 

2 SEC. 301. EXTENSION OF PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY FOR 

3 CARE FOR NEWBORN CHILDREN FROM THE 

4 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

5 Section 1786(a) of title 38, United States Code, is 

6 amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by strik7 ing ‘‘seven days’’ and inserting ‘‘14 days’’. 

8 TITLE IV—ELIMINATING 

9 BARRIERS TO ACCESS 

10 SEC. 401. WOMEN VETERANS RETROFIT INITIATIVE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

12 shall retrofit existing medical facilities of the Department 

13 of Veterans Affairs with fixtures, materials, and other out14 fitting measures to support the provision of care to women 

15 veterans at such facilities. 

16 (b) PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

18 to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

19 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep20 resentatives a plan to address deficiencies in environment 

21 of care for women veterans at medical facilities of the De22 partment. 

23 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

24 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

25 $20,000,000 to carry out subsection (a) in addition to 


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1 amounts otherwise made available to the Secretary for the 

2 purposes set forth in such subsection. 

3 SEC. 402. STAFFING OF WOMEN’S HEALTH PRIMARY CARE 

4 PROVIDERS AT MEDICAL FACILITIES OF THE 

5 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

6 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that 

7 each medical facility of the Department of Veterans Af8 fairs has not fewer than one full-time or part-time wom9 en’s health primary care provider whose duties include, to 

10 the extent possible, providing training to other health care 

11 providers of the Department on the needs of women vet12 erans. 

13 SEC. 403. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR PRIMARY CARE AND 

14 EMERGENCY CARE CLINICIANS IN WOMEN 

15 VETERANS HEALTH CARE MINI-RESIDENCY 

16 PROGRAM. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro18 priated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs $1,000,000 

19 for each fiscal year for the Women Veterans Health Care 

20 Mini-Residency Program of the Department of Veterans 

21 Affairs to provide opportunities for participation in such 

22 program for primary care and emergency care clinicians. 

23 (b) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS.—The amounts au24 thorized to be appropriated under subsection (a) shall be 


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1 in addition to amounts otherwise made available to the 

2 Secretary for the purposes set forth in such subsection. 

3 SEC. 404. ESTABLISHMENT OF WOMEN VETERAN TRAINING 

4 MODULE FOR NON-DEPARTMENT OF VET5 ERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet8 erans Affairs shall establish and make available to commu9 nity providers a training module that is specific to women 

10 veterans. 

11 (b) COMMUNITY PROVIDER DEFINED.—In this sec12 tion, the term ‘‘community provider’’ means a non-Depart13 ment of Veterans Affairs health care provider who pro14 vides health care to veterans under the laws administered 

15 by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

16 SEC. 405. STUDY ON STAFFING OF WOMEN VETERAN PRO17 GRAM MANAGER PROGRAM AT MEDICAL 

18 CENTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET19 ERANS AFFAIRS AND TRAINING OF STAFF. 

20 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

21 conduct a study on the use of the Women Veteran Pro22 gram Manager program of the Department of Veterans 

23 Affairs to determine— 

24 (1) if the program is appropriately staffed at 

25 each medical center of the Department; 


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1 (2) whether each medical center of the Depart2 ment is staffed with a Women Veteran Program 

3 Manager; and 

4 (3) whether it would be feasible and advisable 

5 to have a Women Veteran Program Ombudsman at 

6 each medical center of the Department. 

7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

9 to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

10 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep11 resentatives a report on the study conducted under sub12 section (a). 

13 (c) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall ensure that all 

14 Women Veteran Program Managers and Women Veteran 

15 Program Ombudsmen receive the proper training to carry 

16 out their duties. 

17 TITLE V—DATA COLLECTION 

18 AND REPORTING 

19 SEC. 501. REQUIREMENT FOR COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 

20 OF DATA ON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF21 FAIRS BENEFITS AND SERVICES AND DISAG22 GREGATION OF SUCH DATA BY SEX AND MI23 NORITY STATUS. 

24 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 


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1 (1) collect and analyze data on each program of 

2 the Department of Veterans Affairs that provides a 

3 service or benefit to a veteran, including the pro4 gram carried out under section 1144 of title 10, 

5 United States Code; 

6 (2) disaggregate such data by sex and minority 

7 status, when the data lends itself to such disaggre8 gation; and 

9 (3) publish the data collected and analyzed 

10 under paragraph (1), except for such cases in which 

11 the Secretary determines that some portions of the 

12 data would undermine the anonymity of a veteran. 

13 SEC. 502. REPORT ON AVAILABILITY OF PROSTHETICS FOR 

14 WOMEN VETERANS FROM THE DEPARTMENT 

15 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

16 Not later than one year after the date of the enact17 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

18 submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen19 ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 

20 of Representatives a report on the availability from the 

21 Department of Veterans Affairs of prosthetics made for 

22 women veterans, including an assessment of the avail23 ability of such prosthetics at each medical facility of the 

24 Department. 


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1 SEC. 503. REQUIREMENT FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

2 AFFAIRS INTERNET WEBSITE TO PROVIDE IN3 FORMATION ON SERVICES AVAILABLE TO 

4 WOMEN VETERANS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

6 shall survey the internet websites and information re7 sources of the Department of Veterans Affairs in effect 

8 on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act 

9 and publish an internet website that serves as a central10 ized source for the provision to women veterans of infor11 mation about the benefits and services available to them 

12 under laws administered by the Secretary. 

13 (b) ELEMENTS.—The internet website published 

14 under subsection (a) shall provide to women veterans in15 formation regarding all of the services available in the dis16 trict in which that the veteran is seeking such services, 

17 including, with respect to each medical center and commu18 nity-based outpatient clinic in the applicable Veterans In19 tegrated Service Network— 

20 (1) the name and contact information of each 

21 women’s health coordinator; 

22 (2) a list of appropriate staff for other benefits 

23 available from the Veterans Benefits Administration, 

24 the National Cemetery Administration, and such 

25 other entities as the Secretary considers appropriate; 

26 and 


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1 (3) such other information as the Secretary 

2 considers appropriate. 

3 (c) UPDATED INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall 

4 ensure that the information described in subsection (b) 

5 that is published on the internet website required by sub6 section (a) is updated not less frequently than once every 

7 90 days. 

8 (d) OUTREACH.—In carrying out this section, the 

9 Secretary shall ensure that the outreach conducted under 

10 section 1720F(i) of title 38, United States Code, includes 

11 information regarding the internet website required by 

12 subsection (a). 

13 (e) DERIVATION OF FUNDS.—Amounts used by the 

14 Secretary to carry out this section shall be derived from 

15 amounts made available to the Secretary to publish inter16 net websites of the Department. 

17 SEC. 504. REPORT ON LOCATIONS WHERE WOMEN VET18 ERANS ARE USING HEALTH CARE FROM DE19 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

22 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com23 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com24 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of RepresentaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S514.RS S514

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1 tives a report on the use by women veterans of health care 

2 from the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by subsection 

4 (a) shall include the following information: 

5 (1) The number of women veterans who reside 

6 in each State. 

7 (2) The number of women veterans in each 

8 State who are enrolled in the system of patient en9 rollment of the Department established and operated 

10 under section 1705(a) of title 38, United States 

11 Code. 

12 (3) Of the women veterans who are so enrolled, 

13 the number who have received health care under the 

14 laws administered by the Secretary at least one time 

15 during the one-year period preceding the submittal 

16 of the report. 

17 (4) The number of women veterans who have 

18 been seen at each medical facility of the Department 

19 during such year. 

20 (5) The number of appointments that women 

21 veterans have had at each such facility during such 

22 year. 

23 (6) If known, an identification of the medical 

24 facility of the Department in each Veterans Inte25 grated Service Network with the largest rate of inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S514.RS S514

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1 crease in patient population of women veterans as 

2 measured by the increase in unique women veteran 

3 patient use. 

4 (7) If known, an identification of the medical 

5 facility of the Department in each Veterans Inte6 grated Service Network with the largest rate of de7 crease in patient population of women veterans as 

8 measured by the decrease in unique women veterans 

9 patient use. 

10 SEC. 505. REPORT ON MODELS OF MEDICAL FACILITIES OF 

11 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR 

12 THE TREATMENT OF WOMEN. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

15 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com16 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com17 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa18 tives a report on the use by the Department of Veterans 

19 Affairs of general primary care clinics, separate but 

20 shared spaces, and women’s health centers as models of 

21 providing health care to women veterans. 

22 (b) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by subsection 

23 (a) shall include the following: 

24 (1) The number of facilities of the Department 

25 that fall into each model described in subsection (a), 


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1 disaggregated by Veterans Integrated Service Net2 work and State. 

3 (2) A description of the criteria used by the De4 partment to determine which such model is most ap5 propriate for each facility of the Department. 

6 (3) An assessment of how the Department de7 cides to make investments to upgrade facilities to 

8 the next higher-level model. 

9 (4) A description of what, if any, plans the De10 partment has to upgrade facilities from the lowest11 level model, general primary care clinics, to another 

12 model. 

13 (5) An assessment of whether any facilities 

14 could be upgraded to the next higher-level model 

15 within planned investments under the strategic cap16 ital investment planning process of the Department. 

17 (6) An assessment of whether any facilities 

18 could be upgraded to the next higher-level model 

19 with minor modifications to existing plans under the 

20 strategic capital investment planning process of the 

21 Department. 

22 (7) An assessment of whether the Department 

23 has a goal for how many facilities should fall into 

24 each such model. 


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1 SEC. 506. REPORT ON STAFFING OF DEPARTMENT OF VET2 ERANS RELATING TO THE TREATMENT OF 

3 WOMEN. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

6 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com7 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com8 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa9 tives a report on the staffing of the Department of Vet10 erans Affairs relating to the treatment of women. 

11 (b) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by subsection 

12 (a) shall include the following, disaggregated by Veterans 

13 Integrated Service Network and State (except with respect 

14 to paragraph (4)): 

15 (1) The number of women’s health centers. 

16 (2) The number of patient aligned care teams 

17 of the Department relating to women’s health. 

18 (3) The number of full- and part-time gyne19 cologists of the Department. 

20 (4) The number of designated women’s health 

21 care providers of the Department, disaggregated by 

22 facility of the Department. 

23 (5) The number of health care providers of the 

24 Department who have completed a mini-residency 

25 for women’s health care through Women Veterans 

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1 ment during the one-year period preceding the sub2 mittal of the report, and the number that plan to 

3 participate in such a mini-residency during the one4 year period following such date. 

5 (6) The number of designated women’s health 

6 care providers of the Department who have suffi7 cient female patients to retain their competencies 

8 and proficiencies. 

9 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

10 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

11 ‘‘Deborah Sampson Act’’. 

12 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

13 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

TITLE I—IMPROVING ACCESS FOR WOMEN VETERANS TO THE 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

Sec. 101. Office of Women’s Health in Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 102. Women veterans retrofit initiative. 

Sec. 103. Establishment of environment of care standards and inspections at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers. 

Sec. 104. Provision of reintegration and readjustment services to veterans and 

family members in group retreat settings. 

Sec. 105. Provision of legal services for women veterans. 

Sec. 106. Comptroller General surveys and report on supportive services provided 

for very low-income women veterans. 

Sec. 107. Programs on assistance for child care for certain veterans. 

Sec. 108. Availability of prosthetics for women veterans from Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 109. Requirement to improve Department of Veterans Affairs women veterans call center. 

Sec. 110. Facilitation of reproduction and infertility research. 

Sec. 111. Information for members of the Armed Forces regarding availability of 

services provided by Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 112. Sense of Congress on access to facilities of Department of Veterans Affairs by reservists for counseling and treatment relating to military sexual trauma. 


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TITLE II—INCREASING STAFF CULTURAL COMPETENCY 

Sec. 201. Staffing of women’s health primary care providers at medical facilities 

of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 202. Additional funding for primary care and emergency care clinicians in 

Women Veterans Health Care Mini-Residency Program. 

Sec. 203. Establishment of women veteran training module for non-Department 

of Veterans Affairs health care providers. 

Sec. 204. Study on staffing of women veteran program manager program at medical centers of Department of Veterans Affairs and training of 

staff. 

Sec. 205. Study on Women Veteran Coordinator program. 

Sec. 206. Staffing improvement plan for peer specialists of Department of Veterans Affairs who are women. 

TITLE III—ELIMINATING HARASSMENT AND ASSAULT 

Sec. 301. Expansion of coverage by Department of Veterans Affairs of counseling 

and treatment for sexual trauma. 

Sec. 302. Assessment of effects of intimate partner violence on women veterans by 

Advisory Committee on Women Veterans. 

Sec. 303. Anti-harassment and anti-sexual assault policy of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 304. Pilot program on assisting veterans who experience intimate partner violence or sexual assault. 

Sec. 305. Study and task force on veterans experiencing intimate partner violence 

or sexual assault. 

TITLE IV—DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING 

Sec. 401. Requirement for collection and analysis of data on Department of Veterans Affairs benefits and services and disaggregation of such 

data by gender, race, and ethnicity. 

Sec. 402. Study on barriers for women veterans to receipt of health care from Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 403. Study on feasibility and advisability of offering Parenting STAIR program at all medical centers of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 404. Gap analysis of Department of Veterans Affairs programs that provide 

assistance to women veterans who are homeless. 

TITLE V—BENEFITS MATTERS 

Sec. 501. Standard of proof for service-connection of mental health conditions related to military sexual trauma. 

Sec. 502. Choice of sex of Department of Veterans Affairs medical examiner for 

assessment of claims for compensation relating to disability resulting from physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a 

sexual nature, or sexual harassment. 

Sec. 503. Secretary of Veterans Affairs report on implementing recommendations 

of Inspector General of Department of Veterans Affairs in certain report on denied posttraumatic stress disorder claims related to military sexual trauma. 


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1 TITLE I—IMPROVING ACCESS 

2 FOR WOMEN VETERANS TO 

3 THE DEPARTMENT OF VET4 ERANS AFFAIRS 

5 SEC. 101. OFFICE OF WOMEN’S HEALTH IN DEPARTMENT OF 

6 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

7 (a) CHIEF OFFICER OF WOMEN’S HEALTH.—Sub8 section (a) of section 7306 of title 38, United States Code, 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para11 graph (11); and 

12 (2) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol13 lowing new paragraph (10): 

14 ‘‘(10) The Chief Officer of Women’s Health.’’. 

15 (b) ORGANIZATION OF OFFICE AND ANNUAL RE16 PORTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 73 of 

18 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding 

19 at the end of the following new sections: 

20 ‘‘§ 7310. Office of Women’s Health 

21 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) The Under Secretary for 

22 Health shall establish and operate in the Veterans Health 

23 Administration the Office of Women’s Health (in this sec24 tion referred to as the ‘Office’). 


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1 ‘‘(2) The Office shall be located at the Central Office 

2 of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

3 ‘‘(3)(A) The head of the Office is the Chief Officer of 

4 Women’s Health (in this section referred to as the ‘Chief 

5 Officer’). 

6 ‘‘(B) The Chief Officer shall report to the Under Sec7 retary for Health. 

8 ‘‘(4) The Under Secretary for Health shall provide the 

9 Office with such staff and other support as may be nec10 essary for the Office to carry out effectively the functions 

11 of the Office under this section. 

12 ‘‘(5) The Under Secretary for Health may reorganize 

13 existing offices within the Veterans Health Administration 

14 as of the date of the enactment of this section in order to 

15 avoid duplication with the functions of the Office. 

16 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Office include 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) To provide a central office for monitoring 

19 and encouraging the activities of the Veterans Health 

20 Administration with respect to the provision, evalua21 tion, and improvement of health care services pro22 vided to women veterans by the Department. 

23 ‘‘(2) To develop and implement standards of care 

24 for the provision of health care for women veterans by 

25 the Department. 


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1 ‘‘(3) To monitor and identify deficiencies in 

2 standards of care for the provision of health care for 

3 women veterans by the Department, to provide tech4 nical assistance to medical facilities of the Depart5 ment to address and remedy deficiencies, and to per6 form oversight of implementation of such standards of 

7 care. 

8 ‘‘(4) To monitor and identify deficiencies in 

9 standards of care for the provision of health care for 

10 women veterans provided through the community 

11 pursuant to this title and to provide recommendations 

12 to the appropriate office to address and remedy any 

13 deficiencies. 

14 ‘‘(5) To oversee distribution of resources and in15 formation related to health programming for women 

16 veterans under this title. 

17 ‘‘(6) To promote the expansion and improvement 

18 of clinical, research, and educational activities of the 

19 Veterans Health Administration with respect to the 

20 health care of women veterans. 

21 ‘‘(7) To provide, as part of the annual budgeting 

22 process, recommendations with respect to the amounts 

23 to be requested for furnishing hospital care and med24 ical services to women veterans pursuant to chapter 

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1 ommendations that ensure that such amounts either 

2 reflect or exceed the proportion of veterans enrolled in 

3 the system of patient enrollment of the Department 

4 established and operated under section 1705(a) of this 

5 title who are women. 

6 ‘‘(8) To provide recommendations to the Under 

7 Secretary for Health with respect to modifying the 

8 Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation system, or 

9 successor system, to ensure that resource allocations 

10 under such system, or successor system, reflect the 

11 health care needs of women veterans. 

12 ‘‘(9) To carry out such other duties as the Under 

13 Secretary for Health may require. 

14 ‘‘(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—(1) If the Under Secretary 

15 for Health determines not to implement any recommenda16 tion made by the Chief Officer with respect to the allocation 

17 of resources to address the health care needs of women vet18 erans, the Secretary shall notify the appropriate congres19 sional committees of such determination by not later than 

20 30 days after the date on which the Under Secretary for 

21 Health receives the recommendation. 

22 ‘‘(2) Each notification under paragraph (1) relating 

23 to a determination with respect to a recommendation shall 

24 include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The reasoning of the Under Secretary for 

2 Health in making the determination. 

3 ‘‘(B) An alternative, if one is selected, to the rec4 ommendation that the Under Secretary for Health 

5 will carry out to fulfill the health care needs of 

6 women veterans. 

7 ‘‘(d) STANDARDS OF CARE.—For purposes of carrying 

8 out the functions of the Office under this section, the stand9 ards of care for the provision of health care for women vet10 erans from the Department shall include, at a minimum, 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) A requirement for— 

13 ‘‘(A) at least one designated women’s health 

14 primary care provider at each medical center of 

15 the Department whose duties include, to the ex16 tent practicable, providing training to other 

17 health care providers of the Department with re18 spect to the needs of women veterans; and 

19 ‘‘(B) at least one designated women’s health 

20 primary care provider at each community-based 

21 outpatient clinic of the Department who may 

22 serve women patients as a percentage of the total 

23 duties of the provider. 

24 ‘‘(2) Other requirements as determined by the 

25 Under Secretary for Health. 


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1 ‘‘(e) OUTREACH.—The Chief Officer shall ensure 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(1) not less frequently than biannually, each 

4 medical facility of the Department holds a public 

5 forum for women veterans that occurs outside of reg6 ular business hours; and 

7 ‘‘(2) not less frequently than quarterly, each 

8 medical facility of the Department convenes a focus 

9 group of women veterans that includes a discussion of 

10 harassment occurring at such facility. 

11 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) The term ‘appropriate congressional com13 mittees’ has the meaning given that term in section 

14 7310A(h) of this title. 

15 ‘‘(2) The term ‘facility of the Department’ has 

16 the meaning given the term ‘facilities of the Depart17 ment’ in section 1701(3) of this title. 

18 ‘‘(3) The term ‘Veterans Equitable Resource Allo19 cation system’ means the resource allocation system 

20 established pursuant to section 429 of the Depart21 ments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban 

22 Development, and Independent Agencies Appropria23 tions Act, 1997 (Public Law 104–204; 110 Stat. 

24 2929). 


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1 ‘‘§ 7310A. Annual reports on women’s health 

2 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than December 1 

3 of each year, the Chief Officer of Women’s Health shall sub4 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 

5 containing the matters under subsections (b) through (g). 

6 ‘‘(b) OFFICE OF WOMEN’S HEALTH.—Each report 

7 under subsection (a) shall include a description of— 

8 ‘‘(1) actions taken by the Office of Women’s 

9 Health established under section 7310 of this title in 

10 the preceding fiscal year to improve the provision of 

11 health care by the Department to women veterans; 

12 ‘‘(2) any identified deficiencies related to the 

13 provision of health care by the Department to women 

14 veterans and the standards of care established in such 

15 section and the plan of the Department to address 

16 such deficiencies; 

17 ‘‘(3) the funding and personnel provided to the 

18 Office and whether additional funding or personnel 

19 are needed to meet the requirements of such section; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(4) other information that would be of interest 

22 to the appropriate congressional committees with re23 spect to oversight of the provision of health care by 

24 the Department to women veterans. 

25 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO GENDER-SPECIFIC SERVICES.—(1) 

26 Each report under subsection (a) shall include an analysis 


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1 of the access of women veterans to gender-specific services 

2 under contracts, agreements, or other arrangements with 

3 non-Department medical providers entered into by the Sec4 retary for the provision of hospital care or medical services 

5 to veterans. 

6 ‘‘(2) The analysis under paragraph (1) shall include 

7 data and performance measures for the availability of gen8 der-specific services described in such paragraph, includ9 ing— 

10 ‘‘(A) the average wait time between the preferred 

11 appointment date of the veteran and the date on 

12 which the appointment is completed; 

13 ‘‘(B) the average driving time required for vet14 erans to attend appointments; and 

15 ‘‘(C) reasons why appointments could not be 

16 scheduled with non-Department medical providers. 

17 ‘‘(d) LOCATIONS WHERE WOMEN VETERANS ARE

18 USING HEALTH CARE.—Each report under subsection (a) 

19 shall include an analysis of the use by women veterans of 

20 health care from the Department, including the following 

21 information: 

22 ‘‘(1) The number of women veterans who reside 

23 in each State. 

24 ‘‘(2) The number of women veterans in each 

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1 ment of the Department established and operated 

2 under section 1705(a) of this title. 

3 ‘‘(3) Of the women veterans who are so enrolled, 

4 the number who have received health care under the 

5 laws administered by the Secretary at least one time 

6 during the one-year period preceding the submittal of 

7 the report. 

8 ‘‘(4) The number of women veterans who have 

9 been seen at a medical facility of the Department 

10 during such year, disaggregated by facility. 

11 ‘‘(5) The number of appointments that women 

12 veterans have had at a medical facility of the Depart13 ment during such year, disaggregated by— 

14 ‘‘(A) facility; and 

15 ‘‘(B) appointments for— 

16 ‘‘(i) primary care; 

17 ‘‘(ii) specialty care; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) mental health care. 

19 ‘‘(6) For each appointment type specified in 

20 paragraph (5)(B), the number of appointments com21 pleted face-to-face and the number completed via tele22 health. 

23 ‘‘(7) If known, an identification of the medical 

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1 crease in patient population of women veterans as 

2 measured by the increase in unique women veteran 

3 patient use. 

4 ‘‘(8) If known, an identification of the medical 

5 facility of the Department in each Veterans Inte6 grated Service Network with the largest rate of de7 crease in patient population of women veterans as 

8 measured by the decrease in unique women veteran 

9 patient use. 

10 ‘‘(e) MODELS OF CARE.—(1) Each report under sub11 section (a) shall include an analysis of the use by the De12 partment of general primary care clinics, separate but 

13 shared spaces, and women’s health centers as delivery of 

14 care models for women veterans. 

15 ‘‘(2) The analysis under paragraph (1) shall include 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) The number of facilities of the Department 

18 that fall into each delivery of care model described in 

19 such paragraph, disaggregated by Veterans Integrated 

20 Service Network and State. 

21 ‘‘(B) A description of the criteria used by the De22 partment to determine which such model is most ap23 propriate for each facility of the Department. 


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1 ‘‘(C) An assessment of how the Department de2 cides to make investments to modify facilities to a dif3 ferent model. 

4 ‘‘(D) A description of what, if any, plans the De5 partment has to modify facilities from general pri6 mary care clinics to another model. 

7 ‘‘(E) An assessment of whether any facilities 

8 could be modified to a separate but shared space for 

9 a women’s health center within planned investments 

10 under the strategic capital investment planning proc11 ess of the Department. 

12 ‘‘(F) An assessment of whether any facilities 

13 could be modified to a separate or shared space or a 

14 women’s health center with minor modifications to 

15 existing plans under the strategic capital investment 

16 planning process of the Department. 

17 ‘‘(G) An assessment of whether the Department 

18 has a goal for how many facilities should fall into 

19 each such model. 

20 ‘‘(f) STAFFING.—Each report under subsection (a) 

21 shall include an analysis of the staffing of the Department 

22 relating to the treatment of women, including the following, 

23 disaggregated by Veterans Integrated Service Network and 

24 State (except with respect to paragraph (4)): 

25 ‘‘(1) The number of women’s health centers. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The number of patient aligned care teams 

2 of the Department relating to women’s health. 

3 ‘‘(3) The number of full- and part-time gyne4 cologists of the Department. 

5 ‘‘(4) The number of designated women’s health 

6 care providers of the Department, disaggregated by 

7 facility of the Department. 

8 ‘‘(5) The number of health care providers of the 

9 Department who have completed a mini-residency for 

10 women’s health care through the Women Veterans 

11 Health Care Mini-Residency Program of the Depart12 ment during the one-year period preceding the sub13 mittal of the report and the number of mini-residency 

14 training slots for such program that are available 

15 during the one-year period following such date. 

16 ‘‘(6) The number of designated women’s health 

17 care providers of the Department who have sufficient 

18 women patient loads or case complexities to retain 

19 their competencies and proficiencies. 

20 ‘‘(g) ACCESSIBILITY AND TREATMENT OPTIONS.— 

21 Each report under subsection (a) shall include an analysis 

22 of the accessibility and treatment options for women vet23 erans, including the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) An assessment of wheelchair accessibility of 

25 women’s health centers of the Department, including, 


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1 with respect to each such center, an assessment of ac2 cessibility for each kind of treatment provided at the 

3 center, including with respect to radiology and mam4 mography, that addresses all relevant factors, includ5 ing door sizes, hoists, and equipment. 

6 ‘‘(2) The options for women veterans to access 

7 mental health providers and primary care providers 

8 who are women. 

9 ‘‘(3) The options for women veterans at medical 

10 facilities of the Department with respect to clothing 

11 sizes, including for gowns, drawstring pants, and pa12 jamas. 

13 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 ‘‘(1) The term ‘appropriate congressional com15 mittees’ means— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Appropriations and 

17 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations and 

20 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 

21 of Representatives. 

22 ‘‘(2) The term ‘gender-specific services’ means 

23 mammography, obstetric care, gynecological care, and 

24 such other services as the Secretary determines appro25 priate.’’. 


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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec2 tions for such chapter is amended by inserting after 

3 the item relating to section 7309A the following new 

4 items: 

‘‘7310. Office of Women’s Health. 

‘‘7310A. Annual reports on women’s health.’’. 

5 (c) INITIAL REPORT.—The Chief Officer of Women’s 

6 Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit 

7 the initial report under section 7310A of title 38, United 

8 States Code, as added by subsection (b), by not later than 

9 one year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 102. WOMEN VETERANS RETROFIT INITIATIVE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

12 shall prioritize the retrofitting of existing medical facilities 

13 of the Department of Veterans Affairs with fixtures, mate14 rials, and other outfitting measures to support the provision 

15 of care to women veterans at such facilities. 

16 (b) PLAN.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

19 shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

20 the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

21 the House of Representatives a plan to address defi22 ciencies in environment of care for women veterans at 

23 medical facilities of the Department. 


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1 (2) ELEMENTS.—The plan required by para2 graph (1) shall include the following: 

3 (A) An assessment of how the Secretary 

4 prioritizes retrofitting existing medical facilities 

5 to support provision of care to women veterans 

6 in comparison to other requirements. 

7 (B) A five-year strategic plan for retro8 fitting medical facilities of the Department to 

9 support the provision of care to women veterans 

10 as required under subsection (a). 

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

12 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $20,000,000 

13 to carry out subsection (a) in addition to amounts otherwise 

14 made available to the Secretary for the purposes set forth 

15 in such subsection. 

16 SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF ENVIRONMENT OF CARE 

17 STANDARDS AND INSPECTIONS AT DEPART18 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CEN19 TERS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

21 shall establish a policy under which the environment of care 

22 standards and inspections at medical centers of the Depart23 ment of Veterans Affairs include— 


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1 (1) an alignment of the requirements for such 

2 standards and inspections with the women’s health 

3 handbook of the Veterans Health Administration; 

4 (2) a requirement for the frequency of such in5 spections; 

6 (3) delineation of the roles and responsibilities of 

7 staff at each medical center who are responsible for 

8 compliance; 

9 (4) the requirement that each medical center sub10 mit to the Secretary and make publicly available a 

11 report on the compliance of the medical center with 

12 the standards; and 

13 (5) a remediation plan. 

14 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

16 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 

17 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa18 tives a report certifying in writing that the policy required 

19 by subsection (a) has been finalized and disseminated to 

20 all medical centers of the Department. 

21 SEC. 104. PROVISION OF REINTEGRATION AND READJUST22 MENT SERVICES TO VETERANS AND FAMILY 

23 MEMBERS IN GROUP RETREAT SETTINGS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1712A of title 38, United 

25 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B)— 

2 (A) in clause (ii), by redesignating sub3 clauses (I) and (II) as items (aa) and (bb); 

4 (B) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 

5 subclauses (I) and (II); 

6 (C) in the matter preceding subclause (I), 

7 as redesignated by subparagraph (B), by striking 

8 ‘‘Counseling’’ and inserting ‘‘(i) Counseling’’; 

9 and 

10 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

11 clause: 

12 ‘‘(ii)(I) Except as provided in subclause (IV), coun13 seling furnished to an individual under subparagraph (A) 

14 may include reintegration and readjustment services de15 scribed in subclause (II) furnished in group retreat settings. 

16 ‘‘(II) Reintegration and readjustment services de17 scribed in this subclause are the following: 

18 ‘‘(aa) Information on reintegration of the indi19 vidual into family, employment, and community. 

20 ‘‘(bb) Financial counseling. 

21 ‘‘(cc) Occupational counseling. 

22 ‘‘(dd) Information and counseling on stress re23 duction. 

24 ‘‘(ee) Information and counseling on conflict res25 olution. 


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1 ‘‘(ff) Such other information and counseling as 

2 the Secretary considers appropriate to assist the indi3 vidual in reintegration into family, employment, and 

4 community. 

5 ‘‘(III) In furnishing reintegration and readjustment 

6 services under subclause (I), the Secretary shall offer women 

7 the opportunity to receive such services in group retreat set8 tings in which the only participants are women. 

9 ‘‘(IV) An individual described in subparagraph (C)(v) 

10 may receive reintegration and readjustment services under 

11 subclause (I) only if the individual receives such services 

12 with a family member described in subclause (I) or (II) 

13 of such subparagraph.’’. 

14 (b) REQUEST FOR SERVICES.—Subsection (a)(2) of 

15 such section is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘Upon’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) 

17 Upon’’; 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)(i)’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub21 paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(B) Upon the request of an individual described in 

23 paragraph (1)(C), the Secretary shall furnish the indi24 vidual reintegration and readjustment services in group re25 treat settings under paragraph (1)(B)(ii) if the Secretary 


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1 determines the experience will be therapeutically appro2 priate.’’. 

3 SEC. 105. PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES FOR WOMEN VET4 ERANS. 

5 (a) AGREEMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Vet6 erans Affairs shall enter into one or more agreements with 

7 public or private entities to provide legal services to women 

8 veterans. 

9 (b) FOCUS.—The focus of an agreement entered into 

10 under subsection (a) shall be to address the following unmet 

11 needs of women veterans as set forth in the most recently 

12 completed Community Homelessness Assessment, Local 

13 Education and Networking Groups for Veterans 

14 (CHALENG for Veterans) survey: 

15 (1) Child support. 

16 (2) Prevention of eviction and foreclosure. 

17 (3) Discharge upgrades. 

18 (4) Financial guardianship. 

19 (5) Credit counseling. 

20 (6) Family reconciliation assistance. 

21 SEC. 106. COMPTROLLER GENERAL SURVEYS AND REPORT 

22 ON SUPPORTIVE SERVICES PROVIDED FOR 

23 VERY LOW-INCOME WOMEN VETERANS. 

24 (a) SURVEYS.— 


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1 (1) SURVEY OF WOMEN VETERANS.—The Comp2 troller General of the United States shall survey 

3 women veterans who have received or are receiving 

4 supportive services provided under section 2044 of 

5 title 38, United States Code, to determine satisfaction 

6 with the ability of such services to meet the specific 

7 needs of such veterans. 

8 (2) SURVEY OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Comp9 troller General shall survey eligible entities receiving 

10 financial assistance under such section and other 

11 partners of the Department of Veterans Affairs, in12 cluding veterans service organizations and the Na13 tional Coalition of Homeless Veterans, on the view of 

14 such entities and partners regarding— 

15 (A) whether the Department is meeting the 

16 needs of women veterans through the provision of 

17 supportive services under such section; and 

18 (B) any additional supportive services that 

19 may be required to meet such needs. 

20 (b) REPORT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp23 troller General of the United States shall submit to 

24 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

25 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 


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1 Representatives a report on the efforts of the Depart2 ment of Veterans Affairs to provide supportive serv3 ices to women veterans under section 2044 of title 38, 

4 United States. 

5 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para6 graph (1) shall include the following: 

7 (A) A review of how the Department deter8 mines which categories of supportive services 

9 would be beneficial to women veterans who re10 ceive services under such section. 

11 (B) A description of the challenges women 

12 veterans who have children face in accessing sup13 portive services under such section, including 

14 with respect to accessing— 

15 (i) homeless shelters with their chil16 dren; 

17 (ii) homeless shelters that have restric18 tions on male children; and 

19 (iii) affordable child care. 

20 (C) A description of how the Department 

21 identifies eligible entities under such section that 

22 can provide supportive services to meet the needs 

23 of women veterans, including eligible entities 

24 with experience in— 

25 (i) intimate partner violence; 


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1 (ii) legal matters pertaining especially 

2 to women veterans, including temporary re3 straining orders and child care orders; 

4 (iii) supportive services for children; 

5 and 

6 (iv) the evaluation of which categories 

7 of services would be beneficial to women vet8 erans who receive such services under such 

9 section. 

10 (D) A description of how much the Depart11 ment spends, from funds appropriated to carry 

12 out such section and funds provided under the 

13 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security 

14 Act (Public Law 116–136), on supportive serv15 ices specifically for women veterans, and in par16 ticular, on the services described in subpara17 graph (A). 

18 (E) The results of the surveys conducted 

19 under subsection (a). 

20 (F) A review of the resources and program21 ming offered to woman veterans under such sec22 tion. 

23 (G) An assessment of such other areas as the 

24 Comptroller General considers appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 107. PROGRAMS ON ASSISTANCE FOR CHILD CARE FOR 

2 CERTAIN VETERANS. 

3 (a) ASSISTANCE FOR CHILD CARE FOR CERTAIN VET4 ERANS RECEIVING HEALTH CARE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 17 of 

6 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding 

7 at the end the following new section: 

8 ‘‘§ 1709C. Assistance for child care for certain vet9 erans receiving health care 

10 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall carry 

11 out a program to provide, subject to subsection (b), assist12 ance to qualified veterans described in subsection (c) to ob13 tain child care so that such veterans can receive health care 

14 services described in subsection (c)(2). 

15 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON PERIOD OF PAYMENTS.—Assist16 ance may be provided to a qualified veteran under this sec17 tion for receipt of child care only during the period that 

18 the qualified veteran— 

19 ‘‘(1) receives the types of health care services de20 scribed in subsection (c)(2) at a facility of the De21 partment; and 

22 ‘‘(2) requires travel to and return from such fa23 cility for the receipt of such health care services. 

24 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED VETERANS.—For purposes of this sec25 tion, a qualified veteran is a veteran who— 


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1 ‘‘(1) is the primary caretaker of a child or chil2 dren; and 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) receives from the Department— 

4 ‘‘(i) regular mental health care services; 

5 ‘‘(ii) intensive mental health care services; 

6 or 

7 ‘‘(iii) such other intensive health care serv8 ices that the Secretary determines that provision 

9 of assistance to the veteran to obtain child care 

10 would improve access to such health care services 

11 by the veteran; or 

12 ‘‘(B) is in need of regular or intensive mental 

13 health care services from the Department, and but for 

14 lack of child care services, would receive such health 

15 care services from the Department. 

16 ‘‘(d) LOCATIONS.—Not later than five years after the 

17 date of the enactment of the Deborah Sampson Act, the Sec18 retary shall carry out the program at each medical center 

19 of the Department. 

20 ‘‘(e) FORMS OF CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE.—(1) Child 

21 care assistance under this section may include the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(A) Stipends for the payment of child care of24 fered by a licensed child care center (either directly 

25 or through a voucher program) that shall be, to the 


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1 extent practicable, modeled after the Department of 

2 Veterans Affairs Child Care Subsidy Program estab3 lished pursuant to section 630 of the Treasury and 

4 General Government Appropriations Act, 2002 (Pub5 lic Law 107–67; 115 Stat. 552). 

6 ‘‘(B) Direct provision of child care at an on-site 

7 facility of the Department. 

8 ‘‘(C) Payments to private child care agencies. 

9 ‘‘(D) Collaboration with facilities or programs of 

10 other Federal agencies. 

11 ‘‘(E) Such other forms of assistance as the Sec12 retary considers appropriate. 

13 ‘‘(2) In providing child care assistance under this sec14 tion, the child care needs of the local area shall be consid15 ered and the head of each medical center may select the type 

16 of care that is most appropriate or feasible for such medical 

17 center. 

18 ‘‘(3) In the case that child care assistance under this 

19 section is provided as a stipend under paragraph (1)(A), 

20 such stipend shall cover the full cost of such child care.’’. 

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 205(e) 

22 of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Serv23 ices Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–163; 38 U.S.C. 

24 1710 note) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 


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1 2020’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of the enactment of the 

2 Deborah Sampson Act’’. 

3 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec4 tions at the beginning of chapter 17 of such title is 

5 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec6 tion 1709B the following new item: 

‘‘1709C. Assistance for child care for certain veterans receiving health care,’’. 

7 (b) PILOT PROGRAM ON ASSISTANCE FOR CHILD CARE

8 FOR CERTAIN VETERANS RECEIVING READJUSTMENT

9 COUNSELING AND RELATED MENTAL HEALTH SERV10 ICES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Af12 fairs shall carry out a pilot program to assess the fea13 sibility and advisability of providing, subject to para14 graph (2), assistance to qualified veterans described 

15 in paragraph (3) to obtain child care so that such 

16 veterans can receive readjustment counseling and re17 lated mental health services. 

18 (2) LIMITATION ON PERIOD OF PAYMENTS.—As19 sistance may be provided to a qualified veteran under 

20 the pilot program for receipt of child care only during 

21 the period that the qualified veteran receives readjust22 ment counseling and related health care services at a 

23 Vet Center. 

24 (3) QUALIFIED VETERANS.—For purposes of this 

25 subsection, a qualified veteran is a veteran who— 


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1 (A) is the primary caretaker of a child or 

2 children; and 

3 (B)(i) receives from the Department regular 

4 readjustment counseling and related mental 

5 health services; or 

6 (ii) is in need of regular readjustment coun7 seling and related mental health services from 

8 the Department, and but for lack of child care 

9 services, would receive such counseling and serv10 ices from the Department. 

11 (4) LOCATIONS.—The Secretary shall carry out 

12 the pilot program in not fewer than three Readjust13 ment Counseling Service Regions selected by the Sec14 retary for purposes of the pilot program. 

15 (5) FORMS OF CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Child care assistance 

17 under the pilot program may include the fol18 lowing: 

19 (i) Stipends for the payment of child 

20 care offered by a licensed child care center 

21 (either directly or through a voucher pro22 gram) that shall be, to the extent prac23 ticable, modeled after the Department of 

24 Veterans Affairs Child Care Subsidy Pro25 gram established pursuant to section 630 of 


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1 the Treasury and General Government Ap2 propriations Act, 2002 (Public Law 107– 

3 67; 115 Stat. 552). 

4 (ii) Payments to private child care 

5 agencies. 

6 (iii) Collaboration with facilities or 

7 programs of other Federal agencies. 

8 (iv) Such other forms of assistance as 

9 the Secretary considers appropriate. 

10 (B) LOCAL AREA.—In providing child care 

11 assistance under the pilot program, the child 

12 care needs of the local area shall be considered 

13 and the head of each Vet Center may select the 

14 type of care that is most appropriate or feasible 

15 for such Vet Center. 

16 (C) USE OF STIPEND.—In the case that 

17 child care assistance under the pilot program is 

18 provided as a stipend under subparagraph 

19 (A)(i), such stipend shall cover the full cost of 

20 such child care. 

21 (6) DURATION.—The pilot program shall be car22 ried out during the two-year period beginning on the 

23 date of the commencement of the pilot program. 

24 (7) REPORT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the completion of the pilot program, the 

3 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on 

4 the pilot program. 

5 (B) ELEMENTS.—The report required by 

6 subparagraph (A) shall include the findings and 

7 conclusions of the Secretary regarding the pilot 

8 program, and shall include such recommenda9 tions for the continuation or expansion of the 

10 pilot program as the Secretary considers appro11 priate. 

12 (8) VET CENTER DEFINED.—In this subsection, 

13 the term ‘‘Vet Center’’ has the meaning given that 

14 term in section 1712A(h) of title 38, United States 

15 Code. 

16 SEC. 108. AVAILABILITY OF PROSTHETICS FOR WOMEN VET17 ERANS FROM DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF18 FAIRS. 

19 (a) ACCESS AT EACH MEDICAL FACILITY.—Section 

20 1714(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) Any veteran’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘(a)(1) Any veteran’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following new para24 graph: 


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1 ‘‘(2) In furnishing prosthetic appliances under para2 graph (1), the Secretary shall ensure women veterans are 

3 able to access clinically appropriate prosthetic appliances 

4 through each medical facility of the Department.’’. 

5 (b) REPORT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

8 Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on 

9 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

10 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a re11 port on the availability from the Department of Vet12 erans Affairs of prosthetics made for women veterans, 

13 including an assessment of the availability of such 

14 prosthetics at medical facilities of the Department. 

15 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para16 graph (1) shall include— 

17 (A) a list of all devices classified by the De18 partment as prosthetic devices, including a 

19 breakdown of whether a device is considered gen20 der-neutral or gender-specific; 

21 (B) for gender-neutral devices, a breakdown 

22 of sizing; 

23 (C) the average time it takes for a woman 

24 veteran to receive a prosthetic device after it is 

25 prescribed, disaggregated by Veterans Integrated 


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1 Service Network and medical center of the De2 partment; 

3 (D) the total number of women veterans uti4 lizing the Department for prosthetic services, 

5 disaggregated by facility of the Department; 

6 (E) an assessment of efforts by the Depart7 ment on research, development, and employment 

8 of additive manufacture technology (commonly 

9 referred to as 3D printing) to provide prosthetic 

10 items for women veterans; 

11 (F) the results of a survey with a represent12 ative sample of not fewer than 50,000 veterans 

13 (of which women shall be overrepresented) in an 

14 amputee care program on satisfaction with pros15 thetics furnished or procured by the Department 

16 that replace appendages or their function; and 

17 (G) such other information as the Secretary 

18 considers appropriate. 

19 SEC. 109. REQUIREMENT TO IMPROVE DEPARTMENT OF 

20 VETERANS AFFAIRS WOMEN VETERANS CALL 

21 CENTER. 

22 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enhance the ca23 pabilities of the women veterans call center of the Depart24 ment of Veterans Affairs— 


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1 (1) to respond to requests by women veterans for 

2 assistance with accessing health care and benefits fur3 nished under the laws administered by the Secretary; 

4 and 

5 (2) to refer such veterans to resources provided 

6 by the Federal Government and the community to ob7 tain assistance with services not furnished by the De8 partment. 

9 SEC. 110. FACILITATION OF REPRODUCTION AND INFER10 TILITY RESEARCH. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 

12 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following new section: 

14 ‘‘§ 7330D. Facilitation of reproduction and infertility 

15 research 

16 ‘‘(a) FACILITATION OF RESEARCH REQUIRED.—The 

17 Secretary shall facilitate research conducted collaboratively 

18 by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Health and 

19 Human Services to improve the ability of the Department 

20 of Veterans Affairs to meet the long-term reproductive 

21 health care needs of veterans who have a genitourinary serv22 ice-connected disability or a condition that was incurred 

23 or aggravated in line of duty in the active military, naval, 

24 or air service, such as a spinal cord injury, that affects the 

25 ability of the veteran to reproduce. 


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1 ‘‘(b) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec2 retary shall ensure that information produced by the re3 search facilitated under this section that may be useful for 

4 other activities of the Veterans Health Administration is 

5 disseminated throughout the Veterans Health Administra6 tion.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

8 the beginning of chapter 73 of such title is amended by in9 serting after the item relating to section 7330C the following 

10 new item: 

‘‘7330D. Facilitation of reproduction and infertility research.’’. 

11 (c) REPORT.—Not later than three years after the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Af13 fairs shall submit to Congress a report on the research ac14 tivities conducted by the Secretary under section 7330D of 

15 title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 

16 SEC. 111. INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 

17 FORCES REGARDING AVAILABILITY OF SERV18 ICES PROVIDED BY DEPARTMENT OF VET19 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall in21 form members of the Armed Forces, using mechanisms 

22 available to the Secretary, of the eligibility of such members 

23 for services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

24 (b) INFORMATION FROM SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE

25 COORDINATORS.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure 


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1 that Sexual Assault Response Coordinators of the Depart2 ment of Defense advise members of the Armed Forces who 

3 have experienced physical assault of a sexual nature, bat4 tery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment regarding the 

5 eligibility of such members for services provided by the De6 partment of Veterans Affairs. 

7 SEC. 112. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ACCESS TO FACILITIES 

8 OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS BY 

9 RESERVISTS FOR COUNSELING AND TREAT10 MENT RELATING TO MILITARY SEXUAL TRAU11 MA. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress that 

13 members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces, in14 cluding members of the National Guard, should be able to 

15 access all health care facilities of the Department of Vet16 erans Affairs, not just Vet Centers, to receive counseling and 

17 treatment relating to military sexual trauma. 

18 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA.—The term 

20 ‘‘military sexual trauma’’ means a condition de21 scribed in section 1720D(a)(1) of title 38, United 

22 States Code. 

23 (2) VET CENTER.—The term ‘‘Vet Center’’ has 

24 the meaning given that term in section 1712A(h) of 

25 such title. 


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1 TITLE II—INCREASING STAFF 

2 CULTURAL COMPETENCY 

3 SEC. 201. STAFFING OF WOMEN’S HEALTH PRIMARY CARE 

4 PROVIDERS AT MEDICAL FACILITIES OF DE5 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

6 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that 

7 each medical facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

8 has not fewer than one full-time or part-time women’s 

9 health primary care provider whose duties include, to the 

10 extent possible, providing training to other health care pro11 viders of the Department on the needs of women veterans. 

12 SEC. 202. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR PRIMARY CARE AND 

13 EMERGENCY CARE CLINICIANS IN WOMEN 

14 VETERANS HEALTH CARE MINI-RESIDENCY 

15 PROGRAM. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro17 priated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs $1,000,000 for 

18 each fiscal year for the Women Veterans Health Care Mini19 Residency Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

20 to provide opportunities for participation in such program 

21 for primary care and emergency care clinicians. 

22 (b) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS.—The amounts author23 ized to be appropriated under subsection (a) shall be in ad24 dition to amounts otherwise made available to the Secretary 

25 for the purposes set forth in such subsection. 


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1 SEC. 203. ESTABLISHMENT OF WOMEN VETERAN TRAINING 

2 MODULE FOR NON-DEPARTMENT OF VET3 ERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 

6 Affairs shall establish and make available to community 

7 providers a training module that is specific to women vet8 erans. 

9 (b) TRAINING MATERIALS PROVIDED.—Under the 

10 training module established and made available to commu11 nity providers under subsection (a), the Secretary shall pro12 vide to community providers the same training materials 

13 relating to treatment of women veterans that is provided 

14 to health care providers of the Department of Veterans Af15 fairs to ensure that all health care providers treating women 

16 veterans have access to the same materials to support com17 petency throughout the community. 

18 (c) ADMINISTRATION OF TRAINING MODULE.—The 

19 Secretary shall administer the training module established 

20 under subsection (a) to community providers through an 

21 internet website of the Department. 

22 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after 

23 the establishment of the training module under subsection 

24 (a), and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 

25 Congress a report on— 


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1 (1) the utilization by community providers of the 

2 training module; and 

3 (2) the effectiveness of the training module. 

4 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) COMMUNITY PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘commu6 nity provider’’ means a non-Department of Veterans 

7 Affairs health care provider who provides 

8 preauthorized health care to veterans under the laws 

9 administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

10 (2) PREAUTHORIZED HEALTH CARE.—The term 

11 ‘‘preauthorized health care’’ means health care pro12 vided to a veteran that is authorized by the Secretary 

13 before being provided. 

14 SEC. 204. STUDY ON STAFFING OF WOMEN VETERAN PRO15 GRAM MANAGER PROGRAM AT MEDICAL CEN16 TERS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF17 FAIRS AND TRAINING OF STAFF. 

18 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

19 conduct a study on the use of the Women Veteran Program 

20 Manager program of the Department of Veterans Affairs to 

21 determine— 

22 (1) if the program is appropriately staffed at 

23 each medical center of the Department; 


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1 (2) whether each medical center of the Depart2 ment is staffed with a Women Veteran Program Man3 ager; and 

4 (3) whether it would be feasible and advisable to 

5 have a Women Veteran Program Ombudsman at each 

6 medical center of the Department. 

7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

9 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 

10 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa11 tives a report on the study conducted under subsection (a). 

12 (c) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall ensure that all 

13 Women Veteran Program Managers and Women Veteran 

14 Program Ombudsmen receive the proper training to carry 

15 out their duties. 

16 SEC. 205. STUDY ON WOMEN VETERAN COORDINATOR PRO17 GRAM. 

18 (a) STUDY AND REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 

19 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

20 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 

21 (1) complete a study on the Women Veteran Co22 ordinator program of the Veterans Benefits Adminis23 tration of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and 

24 (2) submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

25 of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 


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1 of the House of Representatives a report on the find2 ings of the Secretary with respect to the study com3 pleted under paragraph (1). 

4 (b) ELEMENTS.—The study required by subsection 

5 (a)(1) shall identify the following: 

6 (1) If the program described in such subsection 

7 is appropriately staffed at each regional benefits office 

8 of the Department. 

9 (2) Whether each regional benefits office of the 

10 Department is staffed with a Women Veteran Coordi11 nator. 

12 (3) The position description of the Women Vet13 eran Coordinator. 

14 (4) Whether an individual serving in the Women 

15 Veteran Coordinator position concurrently serves in 

16 any other position, and if so, the allocation of time 

17 the individual spends in each such position. 

18 (5) A description of the metrics the Secretary 

19 uses to determine the job performance and effective20 ness of the Women Veteran Coordinator. 

21 SEC. 206. STAFFING IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR PEER SPE22 CIALISTS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF23 FAIRS WHO ARE WOMEN. 

24 (a) ASSESSMENT OF CAPACITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

3 Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Inspector 

4 General of the Department of Veterans Affairs, shall 

5 commence an assessment of the capacity of peer spe6 cialists of the Department of Veterans Affairs who are 

7 women. 

8 (2) ELEMENTS.—The assessment required by 

9 paragraph (1) shall include an assessment of the fol10 lowing: 

11 (A) The geographical distribution of peer 

12 specialists of the Department who are women. 

13 (B) The geographical distribution of women 

14 veterans. 

15 (C) The number and proportion of women 

16 peer specialists who specialize in peer counseling 

17 on mental health or suicide prevention. 

18 (D) The number and proportion of women 

19 peer specialists who specialize in peer counseling 

20 on non-mental health related matters. 

21 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the assess22 ment required by subsection (a) has commenced, the Sec23 retary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

24 of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 


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1 the House of Representatives a report detailing the findings 

2 of the assessment. 

3 (c) STAFFING IMPROVEMENT PLAN.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

5 submitting the report under subsection (b), the Sec6 retary, in consultation with the Inspector General, 

7 shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

8 the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

9 the House of Representatives a plan, based on the re10 sults of the assessment required by subsection (a), to 

11 hire additional qualified peer specialists who are 

12 women, with special consideration for areas that lack 

13 peer specialists who are women. 

14 (2) ELEMENTS.—The peer specialist positions 

15 included in the plan required by paragraph (1)— 

16 (A) shall be non-volunteer, paid positions; 

17 and 

18 (B) may be part-time positions. 


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1 TITLE III—ELIMINATING 

2 HARASSMENT AND ASSAULT 

3 SEC. 301. EXPANSION OF COVERAGE BY DEPARTMENT OF 

4 VETERANS AFFAIRS OF COUNSELING AND 

5 TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL TRAUMA. 

6 (a) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR COUNSELING AND

7 TREATMENT.—Section 1720D of title 38, United States 

8 Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘active 

11 duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty 

12 training’’ and inserting ‘‘duty, regardless of duty 

13 status or line of duty determination (as that 

14 term is used in section 12323 of title 10)’’; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘ac16 tive duty, active duty for training, or inactive 

17 duty training’’ and inserting ‘‘duty, regardless of 

18 duty status or line of duty determination (as 

19 that term is used in section 12323 of title 10)’’; 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘veteran’’ each place it appears 

21 and inserting ‘‘former member of the Armed Forces’’; 

22 (3) by striking ‘‘veterans’’ each place it appears 

23 and inserting ‘‘former members of the Armed Forces’’; 

24 and 


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1 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section: 

3 ‘‘(g) In this section, the term ‘former member of the 

4 Armed Forces’ includes the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) A veteran. 

6 ‘‘(2) An individual described in section 1720I(b) 

7 of this title.’’. 

8 (b) INCLUSION OF TREATMENT FOR PHYSICAL

9 HEALTH CONDITIONS.—Such section is further amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

12 (i) by inserting ‘‘, to include care for 

13 physical health conditions, as appropriate,’’ 

14 after ‘‘counseling and appropriate care and 

15 services’’; 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘overcome psycho17 logical trauma’’ and inserting ‘‘treat a con18 dition’’; and 

19 (iii) by striking ‘‘mental health profes20 sional’’ and inserting ‘‘health care profes21 sional’’; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘over23 come psychological trauma’’ and inserting ‘‘treat 

24 a condition’’; and 

25 (2) in subsection (d)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and 

2 other health care professionals’’ after ‘‘mental 

3 health professionals’’; and 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ‘‘and 

5 other health care professionals’’ after ‘‘mental 

6 health professionals’’. 

7 SEC. 302. ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF INTIMATE PARTNER 

8 VIOLENCE ON WOMEN VETERANS BY ADVI9 SORY COMMITTEE ON WOMEN VETERANS. 

10 Section 542(c)(1) of title 38, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

13 the end; 

14 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub15 paragraph (D); and 

16 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol17 lowing new subparagraph (C): 

18 ‘‘(C) an assessment of the effects of intimate 

19 partner violence on women veterans; and’’. 

20 SEC. 303. ANTI-HARASSMENT AND ANTI-SEXUAL ASSAULT 

21 POLICY OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF22 FAIRS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 

24 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

25 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 533. Anti-harassment and anti-sexual assault pol2 icy 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) The Secretary, acting 

4 through the Office of Assault and Prevention of the Veterans 

5 Health Administration, shall establish a comprehensive pol6 icy to end harassment and sexual assault, including sexual 

7 harassment and gender-based harassment, throughout the 

8 Department. 

9 ‘‘(2) The policy required by paragraph (1) shall in10 clude the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) A process for employees and contractors of 

12 the Department to respond to reported incidents of 

13 harassment and sexual assault committed by any 

14 non-Department individual within a facility of the 

15 Department, including with respect to accountability 

16 or disciplinary measures. 

17 ‘‘(B) A process for employees and contractors of 

18 the Department to respond to reported incidents of 

19 harassment and sexual assault of any non-Depart20 ment individual within a facility of the Department. 

21 ‘‘(C) A process for any non-Department indi22 vidual to report harassment and sexual assault de23 scribed in subparagraph (A), including an option for 

24 confidential reporting, and for the Secretary to re25 spond to and address such reports. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Clear mechanisms for non-Department in2 dividuals to readily identify to whom and how to re3 port incidents of harassment and sexual assault com4 mitted by another non-Department individual. 

5 ‘‘(E) Clear mechanisms for employees and con6 tractors of the Department to readily identify to 

7 whom and how to report incidents of harassment and 

8 sexual assault and how to refer non-Department indi9 viduals with respect to reporting an incident of har10 assment or sexual assault. 

11 ‘‘(F) A process for, and mandatory reporting re12 quirement applicable to, any employee or contractor 

13 of the Department who witnesses harassment or sex14 ual assault described in subparagraph (A) or (B) 

15 within a facility of the Department, regardless of 

16 whether the individual affected by such harassment or 

17 sexual assault wants to report such harassment or 

18 sexual assault. 

19 ‘‘(G) The actions possible, including disciplinary 

20 actions, for employees or contractors of the Depart21 ment who fail to report incidents of harassment and 

22 sexual assault described in subparagraph (A) or (B) 

23 that the employees or contractors witness. 

24 ‘‘(H) On an annual or more frequent basis, 

25 mandatory training for employees and contractors of 


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1 the Department regarding how to report and address 

2 harassment and sexual assault described in subpara3 graphs (A) and (B), including bystander intervention 

4 training. 

5 ‘‘(I) On an annual or more frequent basis, the 

6 distribution of the policy under this subsection and 

7 anti-harassment and anti-sexual assault educational 

8 materials by mail or email to each individual receiv9 ing a benefit under a law administered by the Sec10 retary. 

11 ‘‘(J) The prominent display of anti-harassment 

12 and anti-sexual assault messages in each facility of 

13 the Department, including how non-Department indi14 viduals may report harassment and sexual assault de15 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) at such facility 

16 and the points of contact under subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(K) The posting on internet websites of the De18 partment, including the main internet website regard19 ing benefits of the Department and the main internet 

20 website regarding health care of the Department, of 

21 anti-harassment and anti-sexual assault banners spe22 cifically addressing harassment and sexual assault de23 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

24 ‘‘(b) POINTS OF CONTACT.—The Secretary shall des25 ignate, as a point of contact to receive reports of harassment 


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1 and sexual assault described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

2 of subsection (a)(2)— 

3 ‘‘(1) at least one individual, in addition to law 

4 enforcement, at each facility of the Department (in5 cluding Vet Centers under section 1712A of this title), 

6 with regard to that facility; 

7 ‘‘(2) at least one individual employed in each 

8 Veterans Integrated Service Network, with regard to 

9 facilities in that Veterans Integrated Service Network; 

10 ‘‘(3) at least one individual employed in each re11 gional benefits office; 

12 ‘‘(4) at least one individual employed at each lo13 cation of the National Cemetery Administration; and 

14 ‘‘(5) at least one individual employed at the Cen15 tral Office of the Department to track reports of such 

16 harassment and sexual assault across the Department, 

17 disaggregated by facility. 

18 ‘‘(c) ACCOUNTABILITY.—(1) The Secretary shall estab19 lish a policy to ensure that each facility of the Department 

20 and each director of a Veterans Integrated Service Network 

21 is responsible for addressing harassment and sexual assault 

22 at the facility and the Network. 

23 ‘‘(2) The policy required by paragraph (1) shall in24 clude— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a remediation plan for facilities that expe2 rience five or more incidents of sexual harassment, 

3 sexual assault, or combination thereof, during any 

4 single fiscal year; and 

5 ‘‘(B) taking appropriate actions under chapter 7 

6 or subchapter V of chapter 74 of this title. 

7 ‘‘(d) DATA.—The Secretary shall ensure that the in8 take process for veterans at medical facilities of the Depart9 ment includes a survey to collect the following information: 

10 ‘‘(1) Whether the veteran feels safe at the facility 

11 and whether any events occurred at the facility that 

12 affect such feeling. 

13 ‘‘(2) Whether the veteran wants to be contacted 

14 later by the Department with respect to such safety 

15 issues. 

16 ‘‘(e) WORKING GROUP.—(1) The Secretary shall estab17 lish a working group to assist the Secretary in imple18 menting policies to carry out this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) The working group established under paragraph 

20 (1) shall consist of representatives from— 

21 ‘‘(A) veterans service organizations; 

22 ‘‘(B) State, local, and Tribal veterans agencies; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(C) other persons the Secretary determines ap25 propriate. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The working group established under paragraph 

2 (1) shall develop, and the Secretary shall carry out— 

3 ‘‘(A) an action plan for addressing changes at 

4 the local level to reduce instances of harassment and 

5 sexual assault; 

6 ‘‘(B) standardized media for veterans service or7 ganizations and other persons to use in print and on 

8 the internet with respect to reducing harassment and 

9 sexual assault; and 

10 ‘‘(C) bystander intervention training for vet11 erans. 

12 ‘‘(4) The working group established under paragraph 

13 (1) shall not be subject to the requirements of the Federal 

14 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

15 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORTS.—(1) The Secretary shall sub16 mit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

17 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep18 resentatives an annual report on harassment and sexual as19 sault described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection 

20 (a)(2) in facilities of the Department. 

21 ‘‘(2) Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall 

22 include the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) Results of harassment and sexual assault 

24 programming, including the End Harassment pro25 gram. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Results of studies from the Women’s Health 

2 Practice-Based Research Network of the Department 

3 relating to harassment and sexual assault. 

4 ‘‘(C) Data collected on incidents of sexual har5 assment and sexual assault. 

6 ‘‘(D) A description of any actions taken by the 

7 Secretary during the year preceding the date of the 

8 report to stop harassment and sexual assault at facili9 ties of the Department. 

10 ‘‘(E) An assessment of the implementation of the 

11 training required in subsection (a)(2)(H). 

12 ‘‘(F) A list of resources the Secretary determines 

13 necessary to prevent harassment and sexual assault at 

14 facilities of the Department. 

15 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) The term ‘non-Department individual’ 

17 means any individual present at a facility of the De18 partment who is not an employee or contractor of the 

19 Department. 

20 ‘‘(2) The term ‘sexual harassment’ means unso21 licited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature 

22 which is threatening in character.’’. 

23 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

24 the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding after 

25 the item relating to section 532 the following new item: 

‘‘533. Anti-harassment and anti-sexual assault policy.’’. 


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1 (c) DEFINITION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—Section 

2 1720D(f) of such title is amended by striking ‘‘repeated,’’. 

3 (d) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall commence car4 rying out section 533 of such title, as added by subsection 

5 (a), not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act. 

7 SEC. 304. PILOT PROGRAM ON ASSISTING VETERANS WHO 

8 EXPERIENCE INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE 

9 OR SEXUAL ASSAULT. 

10 (a) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 

11 Veterans Affairs shall carry out a pilot program to assess 

12 the feasibility and advisability of assisting former members 

13 of the Armed Forces who have experienced or are experi14 encing intimate partner violence or sexual assault in access15 ing benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, in16 cluding coordinating access to medical treatment centers, 

17 housing assistance, and other benefits from the Department. 

18 (b) DURATION.—The Secretary shall carry out the 

19 pilot program under subsection (a) during the two-year pe20 riod beginning on the date of the commencement of the pilot 

21 program. 

22 (c) COLLABORATION.—The Secretary shall carry out 

23 the pilot program under subsection (a) in collaboration 

24 with— 


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1 (1) intimate partner violence shelters and pro2 grams; 

3 (2) rape crisis centers; 

4 (3) State intimate partner violence and sexual 

5 assault coalitions; and 

6 (4) such other health care or other service pro7 viders that serve intimate partner violence or sexual 

8 assault victims as determined by the Secretary, par9 ticularly those providing emergency services or hous10 ing assistance. 

11 (d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the 

12 pilot program under subsection (a), the Secretary may con13 duct the following activities: 

14 (1) Training for community-based intimate 

15 partner violence or sexual assault service providers 

16 on— 

17 (A) identifying former members of the 

18 Armed Forces who have been victims of, or are 

19 currently experiencing, intimate partner violence 

20 or sexual assault; 

21 (B) coordinating with local service pro22 viders of the Department; and 

23 (C) connecting former members of the 

24 Armed Forces with appropriate housing, mental 


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1 health, medical, and other financial assistance or 

2 benefits from the Department. 

3 (2) Assistance to service providers to ensure ac4 cess of veterans to intimate partner violence and sex5 ual assault emergency services, particularly in under6 served areas, including services for Native American 

7 veterans (as defined in section 3765 of title 38, 

8 United States Code). 

9 (3) Such other outreach and assistance as the 

10 Secretary determines necessary for the provision of 

11 assistance under subsection (a). 

12 (e) INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL AS13 SAULT OUTREACH COORDINATORS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to effectively assist 

15 veterans who have experienced intimate partner vio16 lence or sexual assault, the Secretary may establish 

17 local coordinators to provide outreach under the pilot 

18 program required by subsection (a). 

19 (2) LOCAL COORDINATOR KNOWLEDGE.—The 

20 Secretary shall ensure that each coordinator estab21 lished under paragraph (1) is knowledgeable about— 

22 (A) the dynamics of intimate partner vio23 lence and sexual assault, including safety con24 cerns, legal protections, and the need for the pro25 vision of confidential services; 


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1 (B) the eligibility of veterans for services 

2 and benefits from the Department that are rel3 evant to recovery from intimate partner violence 

4 and sexual assault, particularly emergency hous5 ing assistance, mental health care, other health 

6 care, and disability benefits; and 

7 (C) local community resources addressing 

8 intimate partner violence and sexual assault. 

9 (3) LOCAL COORDINATOR ASSISTANCE.—Each co10 ordinator established under paragraph (1) shall assist 

11 intimate partner violence shelters and rape crisis cen12 ters in providing services to veterans. 

13 (f) REPORT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

15 the completion of the pilot program under subsection 

16 (a), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

17 on the pilot program. 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required by para19 graph (1) shall include the following: 

20 (A) The findings and conclusions of the Sec21 retary with respect to the pilot program. 

22 (B) Such recommendations for continuing 

23 or expanding the pilot program as the Secretary 

24 considers appropriate. 

25 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) INTIMATE PARTNER.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘intimate 

3 partner’’ means a person with whom one has a 

4 close personal relationship that may be charac5 terized by the partners’ emotional connectedness, 

6 regular contact, ongoing physical contact and 

7 sexual behavior, identity as a couple, and famili8 arity and knowledge about each other’s lives. 

9 (B) CLOSE PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS.—In 

10 this paragraph, the term ‘‘close personal rela11 tionships’’ includes the following: 

12 (i) A relationship between married 

13 spouses. 

14 (ii) A relationship between common15 law spouses. 

16 (iii) A relationship between civil union 

17 spouses. 

18 (iv) A relationship between domestic 

19 partners. 

20 (v) A relationship between dating part21 ners. 

22 (vi) A relationship between ongoing 

23 sexual partners. 

24 (2) INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE.—The term 

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1 lence, sexual violence, stalking, and psychological ag2 gression, including coercive tactics by a current or 

3 former intimate partner. 

4 SEC. 305. STUDY AND TASK FORCE ON VETERANS EXPERI5 ENCING INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE OR 

6 SEXUAL ASSAULT. 

7 (a) NATIONAL BASELINE STUDY.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

10 Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Attorney 

11 General, shall conduct a national baseline study to 

12 examine the scope of the problem of intimate partner 

13 violence and sexual assault among veterans and 

14 spouses and intimate partners of veterans. 

15 (2) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The study under 

16 paragraph (1) shall— 

17 (A) include a literature review of all rel18 evant research on intimate partner violence and 

19 sexual assault among veterans and spouses and 

20 intimate partners of veterans; 

21 (B) examine the prevalence of the experience 

22 of intimate partner violence among— 

23 (i) women veterans; 

24 (ii) veterans who are minority group 

25 members (as defined in section 544 of title 


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1 38, United States Code, and including other 

2 minority populations as the Secretary de3 termines appropriate); 

4 (iii) urban and rural veterans; 

5 (iv) veterans who are enrolled in a 

6 program under section 1720G of title 38, 

7 United States Code; 

8 (v) veterans who are in intimate rela9 tionships with other veterans; and 

10 (vi) veterans who are described in more 

11 than one clause of this subparagraph; 

12 (C) examine the prevalence of the perpetra13 tion of intimate partner violence by veterans; 

14 and 

15 (D) include recommendations to address the 

16 findings of the study. 

17 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the 

18 date on which the Secretary completes the study 

19 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to 

20 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

21 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

22 Representatives a report on such study. 

23 (b) TASK FORCE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

25 the date on which the Secretary completes the study 


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1 under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation 

2 with the Attorney General and the Secretary of 

3 Health and Human Services, shall establish a na4 tional task force (in this section referred to as the 

5 ‘‘Task Force’’) to develop a comprehensive national 

6 program, including by integrating facilities, services, 

7 and benefits of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

8 into existing networks of community-based intimate 

9 partner violence and sexual assault services, to ad10 dress intimate partner violence and sexual assault 

11 among veterans. 

12 (2) LEADERSHIP.—The Secretary of Veterans Af13 fairs shall lead the Task Force in collaboration with 

14 the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and 

15 Human Services. 

16 (c) CONSULTATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.—In car17 rying out this section, the Task Force shall consult with— 

18 (1) representatives from veteran service organiza19 tions and military service organizations; 

20 (2) representatives from not fewer than three na21 tional organizations or State coalitions with dem22 onstrated expertise in intimate partner violence pre23 vention, response, or advocacy; and 

24 (3) representatives from not fewer than three na25 tional organizations or State coalitions, particularly 


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1 those representing underserved and ethnic minority 

2 communities, with demonstrated expertise in sexual 

3 assault prevention, response, or advocacy. 

4 (d) DUTIES.—The duties of the Task Force shall in5 clude the following: 

6 (1) To review existing services and policies of the 

7 Department and develop a comprehensive national 

8 program to be carried out by the Secretary of Vet9 erans Affairs, in collaboration with the heads of rel10 evant Federal agencies, to address intimate partner 

11 violence and sexual assault prevention, response, and 

12 treatment. 

13 (2) To review the feasibility and advisability of 

14 establishing an expedited process to secure emergency, 

15 temporary benefits, including housing or other bene16 fits, for veterans who are experiencing intimate part17 ner violence or sexual assault. 

18 (3) To review and make recommendations re19 garding the feasibility and advisability of establishing 

20 dedicated, temporary housing assistance for veterans 

21 experiencing intimate partner violence or sexual as22 sault. 

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1 partment and make recommendations on how the De2 partment can meet such requirements. 

3 (5) To review and make recommendations re4 garding the feasibility and advisability of providing 

5 direct services or contracting for community-based 

6 services for veterans in response to a sexual assault, 

7 including through the use of sexual assault nurse ex8 aminers, particularly in underserved or remote areas, 

9 including services for Native American veterans. 

10 (6) To review the availability of counseling serv11 ices provided by the Department and through peer 

12 network support, and to provide recommendations for 

13 the enhancement of such services, to address— 

14 (A) the perpetration of intimate partner vi15 olence and sexual assault; and 

16 (B) the recovery of veterans, particularly 

17 women veterans, from intimate partner violence 

18 and sexual assault. 

19 (7) To review and make recommendations to ex20 pand services available for veterans at risk of perpe21 trating intimate partner violence. 

22 (e) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

23 of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than 

24 annually thereafter by October 1 of each year, the Task 

25 Force shall submit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and 


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1 Congress a report on the activities of the Task Force, includ2 ing any recommendations for legislative or administrative 

3 action. 

4 (f) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Task Force 

5 shall not be subject to the requirements of the Federal Advi6 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

7 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) NATIVE AMERICAN VETERAN.—The term 

9 ‘‘Native American veteran’’ has the meaning given 

10 that term in section 3765 of title 38, United States 

11 Code. 

12 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning 

13 given that term in section 101 of title 38, United 

14 States Code. 

15 TITLE IV—DATA COLLECTION 

16 AND REPORTING 

17 SEC. 401. REQUIREMENT FOR COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 

18 OF DATA ON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF19 FAIRS BENEFITS AND SERVICES AND 

20 DISAGGREGATION OF SUCH DATA BY GEN21 DER, RACE, AND ETHNICITY. 

22 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 

23 (1) collect and analyze data on each program of 

24 the Department of Veterans Affairs that provides a 

25 service or benefit to a veteran, including the program 


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1 carried out under section 1144 of title 10, United 

2 States Code; 

3 (2) disaggregate such data by gender, race, and 

4 ethnicity, when the data lends itself to such 

5 disaggregation; and 

6 (3) publish the data collected and analyzed 

7 under paragraph (1), except for such cases in which 

8 the Secretary determines that some portions of the 

9 data would undermine the anonymity of a veteran. 

10 SEC. 402. STUDY ON BARRIERS FOR WOMEN VETERANS TO 

11 RECEIPT OF HEALTH CARE FROM DEPART12 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

13 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Veterans Af14 fairs shall conduct a comprehensive study of the barriers 

15 to the provision of comprehensive health care by the Depart16 ment of Veterans Affairs encountered by women who are 

17 veterans. 

18 (b) SURVEY.—In conducting the study required by 

19 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

20 (1) survey women veterans who seek or receive 

21 hospital care or medical services provided by the De22 partment as well as women veterans who do not seek 

23 or receive such care or services; 


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1 (2) administer the survey to a representative 

2 sample of women veterans from each Veterans Inte3 grated Service Network; and 

4 (3) ensure that the sample of women veterans 

5 surveyed is of sufficient size for the study results to 

6 be statistically significant and is a larger sample 

7 than that of the study specified in subsection (c)(1). 

8 (c) USE OF PREVIOUS STUDIES.—In conducting the 

9 study required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall build 

10 on the work of the studies of the Department titled— 

11 (1) ‘‘National Survey of Women Veterans in Fis12 cal Year 2007–2008’’; and 

13 (2) ‘‘Study of Barriers for Women Veterans to 

14 VA Health Care 2015’’. 

15 (d) ELEMENTS OF STUDY.—In conducting the study 

16 required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall conduct re17 search on the effects of the following on the women veterans 

18 surveyed in the study: 

19 (1) The barriers associated with seeking mental 

20 health care services, including with respect to pro21 vider availability, telehealth access, and family, work, 

22 and school obligations. 

23 (2) The effect of driving distance or availability 

24 of other forms of transportation to the nearest medical 

25 facility on access to care. 


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1 (3) The effect of access to care from non-Depart2 ment providers. 

3 (4) The availability of child care. 

4 (5) The satisfaction of such veterans with the 

5 provision by the Department of integrated primary 

6 care, women’s health clinics, or both, including per7 ceptions of quality of care, safety, and comfort. 

8 (6) The understanding and perceived accessi9 bility among such veterans of eligibility requirements 

10 for, and the scope of services available under, hospital 

11 care and medical services. 

12 (7) The perception of such veterans of personal 

13 safety and comfort in inpatient, outpatient, and be14 havioral health facilities. 

15 (8) The gender sensitivity of health care pro16 viders and staff to issues that particularly affect 

17 women. 

18 (9) The effectiveness of outreach for health care 

19 services available to women veterans. 

20 (10) The location and operating hours of health 

21 care facilities that provide services to women veterans. 

22 (11) The perception of such veterans of the motto 

23 of the Department. 

24 (12) Such other significant barriers as the Sec25 retary considers appropriate. 


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1 (e) DISCHARGE BY CONTRACT.—The Secretary shall 

2 enter into a contract with a qualified independent entity 

3 or organization to carry out the study and research re4 quired under this section. 

5 (f) MANDATORY REVIEW OF DATA BY CERTAIN DE6 PARTMENT DIVISIONS.— 

7 (1) REVIEW.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall en9 sure that the head of each division of the Depart10 ment of Veterans Affairs specified in paragraph 

11 (2) reviews the results of the study conducted 

12 under this section. 

13 (B) SUBMITTAL OF FINDINGS.—The head of 

14 each division specified in paragraph (2) shall 

15 submit findings with respect to the study under 

16 this section to the Under Secretary of the De17 partment with responsibilities relating to health 

18 care services for women veterans. 

19 (2) SPECIFIED DIVISIONS.—The divisions of the 

20 Department of Veterans Affairs specified in this para21 graph are the following: 

22 (A) The Office of the Under Secretary for 

23 Health. 


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1 (B) The Office of Women’s Health estab2 lished under section 7310 of title 38, United 

3 States Code. 

4 (C) The Center for Women Veterans under 

5 section 318 of such title. 

6 (D) The Advisory Committee on Women 

7 Veterans established under section 542 of such 

8 title. 

9 (g) REPORT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 months 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec12 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the study 

13 required under this section. 

14 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report under paragraph 

15 (1) shall include— 

16 (A) the findings of the head of each division 

17 of the Department specified under subsection 

18 (f)(2); and 

19 (B) recommendations for such administra20 tive and legislative action as the Secretary con21 siders appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 403. STUDY ON FEASIBILITY AND ADVISABILITY OF OF2 FERING PARENTING STAIR PROGRAM AT ALL 

3 MEDICAL CENTERS OF DEPARTMENT OF VET4 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

6 shall conduct a study on the feasibility and advisability of 

7 expanding the Parenting STAIR program to all medical 

8 centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs and including 

9 such program as part of care for military sexual trauma 

10 for affected members and former members of the Armed 

11 Forces. 

12 (b) ELEMENTS.—In conducting the study under sub13 section (a), the Secretary shall assess— 

14 (1) staffing needed to offer the Parenting STAIR 

15 program at all medical centers of the Department; 

16 (2) any additional infrastructure or resources 

17 (such as child care during the program) needed for 

18 the expansion of the program; and 

19 (3) such other factors relevant to the expansion 

20 of the program as the Secretary considers appro21 priate. 

22 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

23 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than one year 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec25 retary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af26 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ 


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1 Affairs of the House of Representatives a report de2 tailing— 

3 (A) the current number and locations of all 

4 facilities of the Department offering the Par5 enting STAIR program; and 

6 (B) the number of veterans served by such 

7 program in the most recent fiscal year or cal8 endar year for which data is available. 

9 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than three years 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec11 retary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af12 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ 

13 Affairs of the House of Representatives a report de14 tailing— 

15 (A) the results of the study conducted under 

16 subsection (a); 

17 (B) an update on how many veterans have 

18 used the Parenting STAIR program since its de19 velopment in fiscal year 2017, disaggregated by 

20 year, including the locations in which veterans 

21 have used such program; and 

22 (C) a determination on the feasibility and 

23 advisability of expanding the Parenting STAIR 

24 program to all medical facilities of the Depart25 ment offering care for military sexual trauma. 


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1 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 (1) AFFECTED MEMBERS AND FORMER MEMBERS

3 OF THE ARMED FORCES.—The term ‘‘affected mem4 bers and former members of the Armed Forces’’ means 

5 members and former members of the Armed Forces 

6 who are parents and have experienced military sexual 

7 trauma. 

8 (2) MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA.—The term 

9 ‘‘military sexual trauma’’ means a condition de10 scribed in section 1720D(a)(1) of title 38, United 

11 States Code. 

12 (3) PARENTING STAIR PROGRAM.—The term 

13 ‘‘Parenting STAIR program’’ means the program of 

14 the Department of Veterans Affairs that consists of a 

15 five-session, parenting-specific treatment protocol 

16 based on skills training in affective and interpersonal 

17 regulation (commonly referred to as ‘‘STAIR’’), which 

18 is a cognitive behavioral therapy that has been identi19 fied as a promising practice for treating post-trau20 matic stress disorder, including chronic and com21 plicated forms, among individuals with co-occurring 

22 disorders. 


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1 SEC. 404. GAP ANALYSIS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

2 AFFAIRS PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE ASSIST3 ANCE TO WOMEN VETERANS WHO ARE HOME4 LESS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

6 shall complete an analysis of programs of the Department 

7 of Veterans Affairs that provide assistance to women vet8 erans who are homeless or precariously housed to identify 

9 the areas in which such programs are failing to meet the 

10 needs of such women. 

11 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

13 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 

14 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa15 tives a report on the analysis completed under subsection 

16 (a). 

17 TITLE V—BENEFITS MATTERS 

18 SEC. 501. STANDARD OF PROOF FOR SERVICE-CONNECTION 

19 OF MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS RELATED 

20 TO MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA. 

21 (a) STANDARD OF PROOF.—Section 1154 of title 38, 

22 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

23 following new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(c)(1)(A) In the case of any veteran who claims that 

25 a covered mental health condition was incurred or aggra26 vated by military sexual trauma during active military, 


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1 naval, or air service, the Secretary shall accept as sufficient 

2 proof of service-connection a diagnosis of such mental health 

3 condition by a mental health professional together with sat4 isfactory lay or other evidence of such trauma and an opin5 ion by the mental health professional that such covered men6 tal health condition is related to such military sexual trau7 ma, if consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or 

8 hardships of such service, notwithstanding the fact that 

9 there is no official record of such incurrence or aggravation 

10 in such service, and, to that end, shall resolve every reason11 able doubt in favor of the veteran. 

12 ‘‘(B) Service-connection of a covered mental health 

13 condition described in subparagraph (A) may be rebutted 

14 by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. 

15 ‘‘(C) The reasons for granting or denying service-con16 nection in each case shall be recorded in full. 

17 ‘‘(2) In this subsection: 

18 ‘‘(A) The term ‘covered mental health condition’ 

19 means post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depres20 sion, or other mental health diagnosis described in the 

21 current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical 

22 Manual of Mental Disorders published by the Amer23 ican Psychiatric Association that the Secretary deter24 mines to be related to military sexual trauma. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The term ‘military sexual trauma’ means, 

2 with respect to a veteran, a physical assault of a sex3 ual nature, battery of a sexual nature, technological 

4 abuse of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment during 

5 active military, naval, or air service.’’. 

6 (b) USE OF EVIDENCE IN EVALUATING DISABILITY

7 CLAIMS INVOLVING MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter VI of chapter 11 

9 of such title is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing new section: 

11 ‘‘§ 1164. Evaluation of claims involving military sex12 ual trauma 

13 ‘‘(a) NONMILITARY SOURCES OF EVIDENCE.—(1) In 

14 carrying out section 1154(c) of this title, the Secretary shall 

15 ensure that if a claim for compensation under this chapter 

16 is received by the Secretary for a covered mental health con17 dition (as defined in such section) based on military sexual 

18 trauma experienced by a veteran during active military, 

19 naval, or air service, evidence from sources other than offi20 cial records of the Department of Defense regarding the vet21 eran’s service may corroborate the veteran’s account of the 

22 assault, battery, or harassment. 

23 ‘‘(2) Examples of evidence described in paragraph (1) 

24 include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Records from law enforcement authorities, 

2 rape crisis centers, mental health counseling centers, 

3 hospitals, and physicians. 

4 ‘‘(B) Pregnancy tests and tests for sexually 

5 transmitted diseases. 

6 ‘‘(C) Statements from family members, room7 mates, other members of the Armed Forces or vet8 erans, and clergy. 

9 ‘‘(b) BEHAVIOR CHANGES CORROBORATING EVI10 DENCE.—(1) In carrying out section 1154(c) of this title, 

11 the Secretary shall ensure that evidence of a behavior 

12 change following military sexual trauma is one type of rel13 evant evidence that may be found in sources described in 

14 such subsection. 

15 ‘‘(2) Examples of behavior changes that may be rel16 evant evidence of military sexual trauma include the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(A) A request for a transfer to another military 

19 duty assignment. 

20 ‘‘(B) Deterioration in work performance. 

21 ‘‘(C) Substance abuse. 

22 ‘‘(D) Episodes of depression, panic attacks, or 

23 anxiety without an identifiable cause. 

24 ‘‘(E) Unexplained economic or social behavior 

25 changes. 


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1 ‘‘(c) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPLY EVI2 DENCE.—The Secretary may not deny a claim of a veteran 

3 for compensation under this chapter for a covered mental 

4 health condition that is based on military sexual trauma 

5 without first— 

6 ‘‘(1) advising the veteran that evidence described 

7 in subsections (a) and (b) may constitute credible cor8 roborating evidence of the military sexual trauma; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(2) allowing the veteran an opportunity to fur11 nish such corroborating evidence or advise the Sec12 retary of potential sources of such evidence. 

13 ‘‘(d) REVIEW OF EVIDENCE.—In reviewing a claim for 

14 compensation described in subsection (a)(1), for any evi15 dence received with such claim that is described in sub16 section (a) or (b), the Secretary may submit such evidence 

17 to such medical or mental health professional as the Sec18 retary considers appropriate, including clinical and coun19 seling experts employed by the Department, to obtain a 

20 credible opinion as to whether the evidence indicates that 

21 military sexual trauma occurred. 

22 ‘‘(e) POINT OF CONTACT.—The Secretary shall ensure 

23 that each document provided to a veteran relating to a 

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1 cludes contact information for an appropriate point of con2 tact with the Department. 

3 ‘‘(f) SPECIALIZED TEAMS.—(1) The Secretary shall es4 tablish specialized teams to process claims for compensation 

5 described in subsection (a)(1). 

6 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that members of teams 

7 established under paragraph (1) are trained to identify 

8 markers indicating military sexual trauma. 

9 ‘‘(3) In any case in which the Secretary obtains con10 flicting evidence relating to the substantiation of a claim 

11 for compensation described in subsection (a)(1), the Sec12 retary shall give more credence to the evidence that is more 

13 beneficial to the claimant. 

14 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘covered 

15 mental health condition’ and ‘military sexual trauma’ have 

16 the meanings given such terms in section 1154(c) of this 

17 title.’’. 

18 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec19 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended by 

20 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘1164. Evaluation of claims involving military sexual trauma.’’. 

21 (c) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter VI of chapter 11 

23 of title 38, United States Code, as amended by sub24 section (b), is further amended by adding at the end 

25 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 1166. Annual reports on claims for disabilities in2 curred or aggravated by military sexual 

3 trauma 

4 ‘‘(a) REPORTS.—Not later than March 1, 2021, and 

5 not less frequently than once each year thereafter through 

6 2027, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on 

7 covered claims submitted during the previous fiscal year to 

8 identify and track the consistency of decisions across re9 gional offices. 

10 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—Each report under subsection (a) 

11 shall include the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) The number of covered claims submitted to 

13 or considered by the Secretary during the fiscal year 

14 covered by the report. 

15 ‘‘(2) Of the covered claims listed under para16 graph (1), the number and percentage of such 

17 claims— 

18 ‘‘(A) submitted by each sex; 

19 ‘‘(B) that were approved, including the 

20 number and percentage of such approved claims 

21 submitted by each sex; and 

22 ‘‘(C) that were denied, including the num23 ber and percentage of such denied claims sub24 mitted by each sex. 

25 ‘‘(3) Of the covered claims listed under para26 graph (1) that were approved, the number and perVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00097 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S514.RS S514

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1 centage, disaggregated by sex, of claims assigned to 

2 each rating percentage. 

3 ‘‘(4) Of the covered claims listed under para4 graph (1) that were denied— 

5 ‘‘(A) the three most common reasons given 

6 by the Secretary under section 5104(b)(1) of this 

7 title for such denials; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the number of denials that were based 

9 on the failure of a veteran to report for a med10 ical examination. 

11 ‘‘(5) The number of covered claims that, as of the 

12 end of the fiscal year covered by the report, are pend13 ing and, separately, the number of such claims on ap14 peal. 

15 ‘‘(6) For the fiscal year covered by the report, the 

16 average number of days that covered claims take to 

17 complete, beginning on the date on which the claim 

18 is submitted. 

19 ‘‘(7) A description of the training that the Sec20 retary provides to employees of the Veterans Benefits 

21 Administration, or such contractors or other individ22 uals as the Secretary considers appropriate, specifi23 cally with respect to covered claims, including the fre24 quency, length, and content of such training. 

25 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered claims’ means claims for 

2 disability compensation submitted to the Secretary 

3 based on a covered mental health condition alleged to 

4 have been incurred or aggravated by military sexual 

5 trauma. 

6 ‘‘(2) The terms ‘covered mental health condition’ 

7 and ‘military sexual trauma’ have the meanings 

8 given such terms in section 1154(c) of this title.’’. 

9 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec10 tions at the beginning of such chapter, as amended by 

11 subsection (b), is further amended by adding at the 

12 end the following new item: 

‘‘1166. Annual reports on claims for disabilities incurred or aggravated by military sexual trauma.’’. 

13 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (c) of section 1154 

14 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 

15 shall apply with respect to any claim for disability com16 pensation under laws administered by the Secretary of Vet17 erans Affairs for which no final decision has been made be18 fore the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 502. CHOICE OF SEX OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

2 AFFAIRS MEDICAL EXAMINER FOR ASSESS3 MENT OF CLAIMS FOR COMPENSATION RE4 LATING TO DISABILITY RESULTING FROM 

5 PHYSICAL ASSAULT OF A SEXUAL NATURE, 

6 BATTERY OF A SEXUAL NATURE, OR SEXUAL 

7 HARASSMENT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter VI of chapter 11 of title 

9 38, United States Code, as amended by section 501, is fur10 ther amended by inserting after section 1164, as added by 

11 section 501, the following new section: 

12 ‘‘§ 1165. Choice of sex of medical examiner for certain 

13 disabilities 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure that a 

15 veteran who requires a medical examination from a covered 

16 medical provider in support of a claim for compensation 

17 under this chapter for a mental or physical health condition 

18 that resulted from a physical assault of a sexual nature, 

19 battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment may des20 ignate the sex of the medical provider who provides such 

21 medical examination. 

22 ‘‘(b) COVERED MEDICAL PROVIDERS.—For purposes of 

23 this section, a covered medical provider is any medical pro24 vider who is employed by the Department or is under any 

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1 tions for the purpose of assessing a claim for compensation 

2 under this chapter. 

3 ‘‘(c) NOTICE.—Before providing any medical exam4 ination for a veteran in support for a claim described in 

5 subsection (a), the Secretary shall notify the veteran of the 

6 veteran’s rights under subsection (a).’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

8 the beginning of chapter 11 of such title, as amended by 

9 section 501, is further amended by inserting after the item 

10 relating to section 1164 the following new item: 

‘‘1165. Choice of sex of medical examiner for certain disabilities.’’. 

11 SEC. 503. SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS REPORT ON 

12 IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF IN13 SPECTOR GENERAL OF DEPARTMENT OF VET14 ERANS AFFAIRS IN CERTAIN REPORT ON DE15 NIED POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER 

16 CLAIMS RELATED TO MILITARY SEXUAL 

17 TRAUMA. 

18 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

19 of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 

20 to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

21 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House a report 

22 on the progress of the Secretary in implementing the rec23 ommendations from the report of the Inspector General of 

24 the Department of Veterans Affairs entitled ‘‘Denied 


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1 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Claims Related to Military 

2 Sexual Trauma’’ (17–05248–241). 


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Calendar No. 536 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 514 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve 

for other purposes. ment of Veterans Affairs to women veterans, and the benefits and services provided by the DepartSEPTEMBER 15, 2020 

Reported with an amendment 


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