In the Senate of the United States,

October 12 (legislative day, September 22), 2000.

Resolved, That the Senate agree to the amendments of

the House of Representatives to the bill (S. 1402) entitled

‘‘An Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance

programs providing education benefits for veterans, and for

other purposes.’’ with the following

SENATE AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE AMENDMENTS:

In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the

House amendment to the text of the bill, insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vet3 erans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. References to title 38, United States Code.

TITLE I—EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROVISIONS

Subtitle A—Montgomery GI Bill Educational Assistance

Sec. 101. Increase in rates of basic educational assistance under Montgomery GI

Bill.

Sec. 102. Uniform requirement for high school diploma or equivalency before application for Montgomery GI Bill benefits.

Sec. 103. Repeal of requirement for initial obligated period of active duty as condition of eligibility for Montgomery GI Bill benefits.

Sec. 104. Additional opportunity for certain VEAP participants to enroll in

basic educational assistance under Montgomery GI Bill.

Sec. 105. Increased active duty educational assistance benefit for contributing

members.

Subtitle B—Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance

Sec. 111. Increase in rates of survivors’ and dependents’ educational assistance.

Sec. 112. Election of certain recipients of commencement of period of eligibility

for survivors’ and dependents’ educational assistance.

Sec. 113. Adjusted effective date for award of survivors’ and dependents’ educational assistance.

Sec. 114. Availability under survivors’ and dependents’ educational assistance of

preparatory courses for college and graduate school entrance

exams.

Subtitle C—General Educational Assistance

Sec. 121. Revision of educational assistance interval payment requirements.

Sec. 122. Availability of education benefits for payment for licensing or certification tests.

Sec. 123. Increase for fiscal years 2001 and 2002 in aggregate annual amount

available for State approving agencies for administrative expenses.

TITLE II—HEALTH PROVISIONS

Subtitle A—Personnel Matters

Sec. 201. Annual national pay comparability adjustment for nurses employed by

Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sec. 202. Special pay for dentists.

Sec. 203. Exemption for pharmacists from ceiling on special salary rates.

Sec. 204. Temporary full-time appointments of certain medical personnel.

Sec. 205. Qualifications of social workers.

Sec. 206. Physician assistant adviser to Under Secretary for Health.

Sec. 207. Extension of voluntary separation incentive payments.
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Subtitle B—Military Service Issues

Sec. 211. Findings and sense of Congress concerning use of military histories of

veterans in Department of Veterans Affairs health care.

Sec. 212. Study of post-traumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans.

Subtitle C—Medical Administration

Sec. 221. Department of Veterans Affairs Fisher Houses.

Sec. 222. Exception to recapture rule.

Sec. 223. Sense of Congress concerning cooperation between the Department of

Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense in the procurement of medical items.

Sec. 224. Technical and conforming changes.

Subtitle D—Construction Authorization

Sec. 231. Authorization of major medical facility projects.

Sec. 232. Authorization of appropriations.

Subtitle E—Real Property Matters

Sec. 241. Change to enhanced use lease congressional notification period.

Sec. 242. Release of reversionary interest of the United States in certain real

property previously conveyed to the State of Tennessee.

Sec. 243. Demolition, environmental cleanup, and reversion of Department of

Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Allen Park, Michigan.

Sec. 244. Conveyance of certain property at the Carl Vinson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dublin, Georgia.

Sec. 245. Land conveyance, Miles City Department of Veterans Affairs Medical

Center complex, Miles City, Montana.

Sec. 246. Conveyance of Fort Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Colorado, to the State of Colorado.

Sec. 247. Effect of closure of Fort Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs Medical

Center on administration of health care for veterans.

TITLE III—COMPENSATION, INSURANCE, HOUSING, EMPLOYMENT,

AND MEMORIAL AFFAIRS PROVISIONS

Subtitle A—Compensation Program Changes

Sec. 301. Strokes and heart attacks incurred or aggravated by members of reserve

components in the performance of duty while performing inactive duty training to be considered to be service-connected.

Sec. 302. Special monthly compensation for women veterans who lose a breast as

a result of a service-connected disability.

Sec. 303. Benefits for persons disabled by participation in compensated work

therapy program.

Sec. 304. Revision to limitation on payments of benefits to incompetent institutionalized veterans.

Sec. 305. Review of dose reconstruction program of the Defense Threat Reduction

Agency.

Subtitle B—Life Insurance Matters

Sec. 311. Premiums for term Service Disabled Veterans’ Insurance for veterans

older than age 70.
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Sec. 312. Increase in automatic maximum coverage under Servicemembers’ Group

Life Insurance and Veterans’ Group Life Insurance.

Sec. 313. Eligibility of certain members of the Individual Ready Reserve for

Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance.

Subtitle C—Housing and Employment Programs

Sec. 321. Elimination of reduction in assistance for specially adapted housing for

disabled veterans for veterans having joint ownership of housing

units.

Sec. 322. Veterans employment emphasis under Federal contracts for recently separated veterans.

Sec. 323. Employers required to grant leave of absence for employees to participate in honor guards for funerals of veterans.

Subtitle D—Cemeteries and Memorial Affairs

Sec. 331. Eligibility for interment of certain Filipino veterans of World War II

in national cemeteries.

Sec. 332. Payment rate of certain burial benefits for certain Filipino veterans of

World War II.

Sec. 333. Plot allowance for burial in State veterans cemeteries.

TITLE IV—OTHER MATTERS

Sec. 401. Benefits for the children of women Vietnam veterans who suffer from

certain birth defects.

Sec. 402. Extension of certain expiring authorities.

Sec. 403. Preservation of certain reporting requirements.

Sec. 404. Technical amendments.

1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE.

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of

4 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision,

5 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or

6 other provision of title 38, United States Code.
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1 TITLE I—EDUCATIONAL

2 ASSISTANCE PROVISIONS

3 Subtitle A—Montgomery GI Bill

4 Educational Assistance

5 SEC. 101. INCREASE IN RATES OF BASIC EDUCATIONAL AS6 SISTANCE UNDER MONTGOMERY GI BILL.

7 (a) ACTIVE DUTY EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.—Sec8 tion 3015 is amended—

9 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘$528’’ and

10 inserting ‘‘$650’’; and

11 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘$429’’ and

12 inserting ‘‘$528’’.

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub14 section (a) shall take effect on November 1, 2000, and shall

15 apply with respect to educational assistance allowances

16 paid under chapter 30 of title 38, United States Code, for

17 months after October 2000.

18 SEC. 102. UNIFORM REQUIREMENT FOR HIGH SCHOOL DI19 PLOMA OR EQUIVALENCY BEFORE APPLICA20 TION FOR MONTGOMERY GI BILL BENEFITS.

21 (a) ACTIVE DUTY PROGRAM.—(1) Section 3011 is

22 amended—

23 (A) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (2)

24 and inserting the following new paragraph (2):
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1 ‘‘(2) who completes the requirements of a sec2 ondary school diploma (or equivalency certificate), or

3 successfully completes (or otherwise receives academic

4 credit for) the equivalent of 12 semester hours in a

5 program of education leading to a standard college

6 degree, before applying for benefits under this section;

7 and’’; and

8 (B) by striking subsection (e).

9 (2) Section 3017(a)(1)(A)(ii) is amended by striking

10 ‘‘clause (2)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (2)’’.

11 (b) SELECTED RESERVE PROGRAM.—Section 3012 is

12 amended—

13 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (2)

14 and inserting the following new paragraph (2):

15 ‘‘(2) who completes the requirements of a sec16 ondary school diploma (or equivalency certificate), or

17 successfully completes (or otherwise receives academic

18 credit for) the equivalent of 12 semester hours in a

19 program of education leading to a standard college

20 degree, before applying for benefits under this section;

21 and’’; and

22 (2) by striking subsection (f).

23 (c) WITHDRAWAL OF ELECTION NOT TO ENROLL.—

24 Paragraph (4) of section 3018(b) is amended to read as fol25 lows:
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1 ‘‘(4) before applying for benefits under this

2 section—

3 ‘‘(A) completes the requirements of a sec4 ondary school diploma (or equivalency certifi5 cate); or

6 ‘‘(B) successfully completes (or otherwise re7 ceives academic credit for) the equivalent of 12

8 semester hours in a program of education lead9 ing to a standard college degree; and’’.

10 (d) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR MEM11 BERS OF SELECTED RESERVE.—Paragraph (2) of section

12 16132(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read

13 as follows:

14 ‘‘(2) before applying for benefits under this sec15 tion, has completed the requirements of a secondary

16 school diploma (or an equivalency certificate);’’.

17 (e) DELIMITING PERIOD.—(1) In the case of an indi18 vidual described in paragraph (2), with respect to the time

19 limitation under section 3031 of title 38, United States

20 Code, for use of eligibility and entitlement of basic edu21 cational assistance under chapter 30 of such title, the 10-

22 year period applicable under such section shall begin on

23 the later of—

24 (A) the date of the enactment of this Act; or
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1 (B) the date of the individual’s last discharge or

2 release from active duty.

3 (2) An individual referred to in paragraph (1) is an

4 individual who—

5 (A) before the date of the enactment of this Act,

6 was not eligible for such basic educational assistance

7 by reason of the requirement of a secondary school di8 ploma (or equivalency certificate) as a condition of

9 eligibility for such assistance as in effect on the date

10 preceding the date of the enactment of this Act; and

11 (B) becomes entitled to basic educational assist12 ance under section 3011(a)(2), 3012(a)(2), or

13 3018(b)(4) of title 38, United States Code, by reason

14 of the amendments made by this section.

15 SEC. 103. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT FOR INITIAL OBLI16 GATED PERIOD OF ACTIVE DUTY AS CONDI17 TION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR MONTGOMERY GI

18 BILL BENEFITS.

19 (a) ACTIVE DUTY PROGRAM.—Section 3011 is

20 amended—

21 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A)—

22 (A) by striking clause (i) and inserting the

23 following new clause (i):

24 ‘‘(i) who serves an obligated period of

25 active duty of at least two years of contin-
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1 uous active duty in the Armed Forces; or’’;

2 and

3 (B) in clause (ii)(II), by striking ‘‘in the

4 case of an individual who completed not less

5 than 20 months’’ and all that follows through

6 ‘‘was at least three years’’ and inserting ‘‘if, in

7 the case of an individual with an obligated pe8 riod of service of two years, the individual com9 pletes not less than 20 months of continuous ac10 tive duty under that period of obligated service,

11 or, in the case of an individual with an obli12 gated period of service of at least three years, the

13 individual completes not less than 30 months of

14 continuous active duty under that period of obli15 gated service’’;

16 (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘individ17 ual’s initial obligated period of active duty’’ and in18 serting ‘‘obligated period of active duty on which an

19 individual’s entitlement to assistance under this sec20 tion is based’’;

21 (3) in subsection (h)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘during

22 an initial period of active duty,’’ and inserting ‘‘dur23 ing the obligated period of active duty on which enti24 tlement to assistance under this section is based,’’;

25 and
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1 (4) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘initial’’.

2 (b) SELECTED RESERVE PROGRAM.—Section 3012 is

3 amended—

4 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A)(i), by striking ‘‘, as

5 the individual’s’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Armed

6 Forces’’ and inserting ‘‘an obligated period of active

7 duty of at least two years of continuous active duty

8 in the Armed Forces’’; and

9 (2) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘initial’’.

10 (c) DURATION OF ASSISTANCE.—Section 3013 is

11 amended—

12 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘individ13 ual’s initial obligated period of active duty’’ and in14 serting ‘‘obligated period of active duty on which such

15 entitlement is based’’; and

16 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘individual’s

17 initial obligated period of active duty’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘obligated period of active duty on which such entitle19 ment is based’’.

20 (d) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—Section 3015 is

21 amended—

22 (1) in the second sentence of subsection (a), by

23 inserting before ‘‘a basic educational assistance allow24 ance’’ the following: ‘‘in the case of an individual en25 titled to an educational assistance allowance under
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1 this chapter whose obligated period of active duty on

2 which such entitlement is based is three years,’’;

3 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘and whose ini4 tial obligated period of active duty is two years,’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘whose obligated period of active duty on

6 which such entitlement is based is two years,’’; and

7 (3) in subsection (c)(2), by striking subpara8 graphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following new

9 subparagraphs (A) and (B):

10 ‘‘(A) whose obligated period of active duty on

11 which such entitlement is based is less than three

12 years;

13 ‘‘(B) who, beginning on the date of the com14 mencement of such obligated period of active duty,

15 serves a continuous period of active duty of not less

16 than three years; and’’.

17 (e) DELIMITING PERIOD.—(1) In the case of an indi18 vidual described in paragraph (2), with respect to the time

19 limitation under section 3031 of title 38, United States

20 Code, for use of eligibility and entitlement of basic edu21 cational assistance under chapter 30 of such title, the 10-

22 year period applicable under such section shall begin on

23 the later of—

24 (A) the date of the enactment of this Act; or
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1 (B) the date of the individual’s last discharge or

2 release from active duty.

3 (2) An individual referred to in paragraph (1) is an

4 individual who—

5 (A) before the date of the enactment of this Act,

6 was not eligible for basic educational assistance under

7 chapter 30 of such title by reason of the requirement

8 of an initial obligated period of active duty as condi9 tion of eligibility for such assistance as in effect on

10 the date preceding the date of the enactment of this

11 Act; and

12 (B) on or after such date becomes eligible for

13 such assistance by reason of the amendments made by

14 this section.

15 SEC. 104. ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR CERTAIN VEAP

16 PARTICIPANTS TO ENROLL IN BASIC EDU17 CATIONAL ASSISTANCE UNDER MONT18 GOMERY GI BILL.

19 (a) SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD.—Section 3018C

20 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub21 section:

22 ‘‘(e)(1) A qualified individual (described in paragraph

23 (2)) may make an irrevocable election under this subsection,

24 during the one-year period beginning on the date of the en25 actment of this subsection, to become entitled to basic edu-
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1 cational assistance under this chapter. Such an election

2 shall be made in the same manner as elections made under

3 subsection (a)(5).

4 ‘‘(2) A qualified individual referred to in paragraph

5 (1) is an individual who meets each of the following require6 ments:

7 ‘‘(A) The individual was a participant in the

8 educational benefits program under chapter 32 of this

9 title on or before October 9, 1996.

10 ‘‘(B) The individual has continuously served on

11 active duty since October 9, 1996 (excluding the peri12 ods referred to in section 3202(1)(C) of this title),

13 through at least April, 1, 2000.

14 ‘‘(C) The individual meets the requirements of

15 subsection (a)(3).

16 ‘‘(D) The individual, when discharged or re17 leased from active duty, is discharged or released

18 therefrom with an honorable discharge.

19 ‘‘(3)(A) Subject to the succeeding provisions of this

20 paragraph, with respect to a qualified individual who

21 makes an election under paragraph (1) to become entitled

22 to basic education assistance under this chapter—

23 ‘‘(i) the basic pay of the qualified individual

24 shall be reduced (in a manner determined by the Sec-
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1 retary concerned) until the total amount by which

2 such basic pay is reduced is $2,700; and

3 ‘‘(ii) to the extent that basic pay is not so re4 duced before the qualified individual’s discharge or re5 lease from active duty as specified in subsection

6 (a)(4), at the election of the qualified individual—

7 ‘‘(I) the Secretary concerned shall collect

8 from the qualified individual; or

9 ‘‘(II) the Secretary concerned shall reduce

10 the retired or retainer pay of the qualified indi11 vidual by,

12 an amount equal to the difference between $2,700 and

13 the total amount of reductions under clause (i), which

14 shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States

15 as miscellaneous receipts.

16 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary concerned shall provide for an

17 18-month period, beginning on the date the qualified indi18 vidual makes an election under paragraph (1), for the

19 qualified individual to pay that Secretary the amount due

20 under subparagraph (A).

21 ‘‘(ii) Nothing in clause (i) shall be construed as modi22 fying the period of eligibility for and entitlement to basic

23 education assistance under this chapter applicable under

24 section 3031 of this title.
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1 ‘‘(C) The provisions of subsection (c) shall apply to

2 qualified individuals making elections under this subsection

3 in the same manner as they applied to individuals making

4 elections under subsection (a)(5).

5 ‘‘(4) With respect to qualified individuals referred to

6 in paragraph (3)(A)(ii), no amount of educational assist7 ance allowance under this chapter shall be paid to the quali8 fied individual until the earlier of the date on which—

9 ‘‘(A) the Secretary concerned collects the applica10 ble amount under subclause (I) of such paragraph; or

11 ‘‘(B) the retired or retainer pay of the qualified

12 individual is first reduced under subclause (II) of

13 such paragraph.

14 ‘‘(5) The Secretary, in conjunction with the Secretary

15 of Defense, shall provide for notice to participants in the

16 educational benefits program under chapter 32 of this title

17 of the opportunity under this subsection to elect to become

18 entitled to basic educational assistance under this chapter.’’.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3018C(b) is

20 amended by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub21 section (a) or (e)’’.

22 (c) COORDINATION PROVISIONS.—(1) If this Act is en23 acted before the provisions of the Floyd D. Spence National

24 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 are enacted

25 into law, section 1601 of that Act, including the amend-
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1 ments made by that section, shall not take effect. If this

2 Act is enacted after the provisions of the Floyd D. Spence

3 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001

4 are enacted into law, then as of the enactment of this Act,

5 the amendments made by section 1601 of that Act shall be

6 deemed for all purposes not to have taken effect and that

7 section shall cease to be in effect.

8 (2) If the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 is

9 enacted before the provisions of the Floyd D. Spence Na10 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 are

11 enacted into law, section 1611 of the Floyd D. Spence Na12 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, in13 cluding the amendments made by that section, shall not

14 take effect. If the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000

15 is enacted after the provisions of the Floyd D. Spence Na16 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 are

17 enacted into law, then as of the enactment of the Veterans

18 Claims Assistance Act of 2000, the amendments made by

19 section 1611 of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Au20 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 shall be deemed for

21 all purposes not to have taken effect and that section shall

22 cease to be in effect.
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1 SEC. 105. INCREASED ACTIVE DUTY EDUCATIONAL ASSIST2 ANCE BENEFIT FOR CONTRIBUTING MEM3 BERS.

4 (a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS FOR IN5 CREASED ASSISTANCE AMOUNT.—(1) Section 3011, as

6 amended by section 102(a)(1)(B), is amended by inserting

7 after subsection (d) the following new subsection (e):

8 ‘‘(e)(1) Any individual eligible for educational assist9 ance under this section who does not make an election under

10 subsection (c)(1) may contribute amounts for purposes of

11 receiving an increased amount of basic educational assist12 ance as provided for under section 3015(g) of this title.

13 Such contributions shall be in addition to any reductions

14 in the basic pay of such individual under subsection (b).

15 ‘‘(2) An individual covered by paragraph (1) may

16 make the contributions authorized by that paragraph at

17 any time while on active duty.

18 ‘‘(3) The total amount of the contributions made by

19 an individual under paragraph (1) may not exceed $600.

20 Such contributions shall be made in multiples of $4.

21 ‘‘(4) Contributions under this subsection shall be made

22 to the Secretary. The Secretary shall deposit any amounts

23 received by the Secretary as contributions under this sub24 section into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.’’.
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1 (2) Section 3012, as amended by section 102(b)(2), is

2 amended by inserting after subsection (e) the following new

3 subsection (f):

4 ‘‘(f)(1) Any individual eligible for educational assist5 ance under this section who does not make an election under

6 subsection (d)(1) may contribute amounts for purposes of

7 receiving an increased amount of basic educational assist8 ance as provided for under section 3015(g) of this title.

9 Such contributions shall be in addition to any reductions

10 in the basic pay of such individual under subsection (c).

11 ‘‘(2) An individual covered by paragraph (1) may

12 make the contributions authorized by that paragraph at

13 any time while on active duty.

14 ‘‘(3) The total amount of the contributions made by

15 an individual under paragraph (1) may not exceed $600.

16 Such contributions shall be made in multiples of $4.

17 ‘‘(4) Contributions under this subsection shall be made

18 to the Secretary. The Secretary shall deposit any amounts

19 received by the Secretary as contributions under this sub20 section into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.’’.

21 (b) INCREASED ASSISTANCE AMOUNT.—Section 3015

22 is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘subsection (g)’’ each place it ap24 pears in subsections (a)(1) and (b)(1) and inserting

25 ‘‘subsection (h)’’;
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1 (2) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection

2 (h); and

3 (3) by inserting after subsection (f) the following

4 new subsection (g):

5 ‘‘(g) In the case of an individual who has made con6 tributions authorized by section 3011(e) or 3012(f) of this

7 title, the monthly amount of basic educational assistance

8 allowance applicable to such individual under subsection

9 (a), (b), or (c) shall be the monthly rate otherwise provided

10 for under the applicable subsection increased by—

11 ‘‘(1) an amount equal to $1 for each $4 contrib12 uted by such individual under section 3011(e) or

13 3012(f), as the case may be, for an approved program

14 of education pursued on a full-time basis; or

15 ‘‘(2) an appropriately reduced amount based on

16 the amount so contributed, as determined under regu17 lations which the Secretary shall prescribe, for an ap18 proved program of education pursued on less than a

19 full-time basis.’’.

20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this

21 section shall take effect on May 1, 2001.

22 (d) TRANSITIONAL PROVISION FOR INDIVIDUALS DIS23 CHARGED BETWEEN ENACTMENT AND EFFECTIVE DATE.—

24 (1) During the period beginning on May 1, 2001, and end25 ing on July 31, 2001, an individual described in paragraph
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1 (2) may make contributions under section 3011(e) or

2 3012(f) of title 38, United States Code (as added by sub3 section (a)), whichever is applicable to that individual,

4 without regard to paragraph (2) of that section and other5 wise in the same manner as an individual eligible for edu6 cational assistance under chapter 30 of such title who is

7 on active duty.

8 (2) Paragraph (1) applies in the case of an individual

9 who—

10 (A) is discharged or released from active duty

11 during the period beginning on the date of the enact12 ment of this Act and ending on April 30, 2001; and

13 (B) is eligible for educational assistance under

14 chapter 30 of title 38, United States Code.

15 Subtitle B—Survivors’ and Depend16 ents’ Educational Assistance

17 SEC. 111. INCREASE IN RATES OF SURVIVORS’ AND DE18 PENDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.

19 (a) SURVIVORS’ AND DEPENDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL AS20 SISTANCE.—Section 3532 is amended—

21 (1) in subsection (a)(1)—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘$485’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘$588’’;

24 (B) by striking ‘‘$365’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘$441’’; and
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1 (C) by striking ‘‘$242’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘$294’’;

3 (2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘$485’’ and

4 inserting ‘‘$588’’;

5 (3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘$485’’ and in6 serting ‘‘$588’’; and

7 (4) in subsection (c)(2)—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘$392’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘$475’’;

10 (B) by striking ‘‘$294’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘$356’’; and

12 (C) by striking ‘‘$196’’ and inserting

13 ‘‘$238’’.

14 (b) CORRESPONDENCE COURSE.—Section 3534(b) is

15 amended by striking ‘‘$485’’ and inserting ‘‘$588’’.

16 (c) SPECIAL RESTORATIVE TRAINING.—Section

17 3542(a) is amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘$485’’ and inserting ‘‘$588’’;

19 (2) by striking ‘‘$152’’ each place it appears and

20 inserting ‘‘$184’’; and

21 (3) by striking ‘‘$16.16’’ and all that follows and

22 inserting ‘‘such increased amount of allowance that is

23 equal to one-thirtieth of the full-time basic monthly

24 rate of special training allowance.’’.
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1 (d) APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING.—Section 3687(b)(2)

2 is amended—

3 (1) by striking ‘‘$353’’ and inserting ‘‘$428’’;

4 (2) by striking ‘‘$264’’ and inserting ‘‘$320’’;

5 (3) by striking ‘‘$175’’ and inserting ‘‘$212’’;

6 and

7 (4) by striking ‘‘$88’’ and inserting ‘‘$107’’.

8 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub9 sections (a) through (d) shall take effect on November 1,

10 2000, and shall apply with respect to educational assistance

11 allowances paid under chapter 35 of title 38, United States

12 Code, for months after October 2000.

13 (f) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS TO AMOUNTS OF ASSIST14 ANCE.—

15 (1) CHAPTER 35.—(A) Subchapter VI of chapter

16 35 is amended by adding at the end the following new

17 section:

18 ‘‘§ 3564. Annual adjustment of amounts of educational

19 assistance

20 ‘‘With respect to any fiscal year, the Secretary shall

21 provide a percentage increase (rounded to the nearest dol22 lar) in the rates payable under sections 3532, 3534(b), and

23 3542(a) of this title equal to the percentage by which—

24 ‘‘(1) the Consumer Price Index (all items, United

25 States city average) for the 12-month period ending
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1 on the June 30 preceding the beginning of the fiscal

2 year for which the increase is made, exceeds

3 ‘‘(2) such Consumer Price Index for the 12-

4 month period preceding the 12-month period described

5 in paragraph (1).’’.

6 (B) The table of sections at the beginning of

7 chapter 35 is amended by inserting after the item re8 lating to section 3563 the following new item:

‘‘3564. Annual adjustment of amounts of educational assistance.’’.

9 (2) CHAPTER 36.—Section 3687 is amended by

10 adding at the end the following new subsection:

11 ‘‘(d) With respect to any fiscal year, the Secretary

12 shall provide a percentage increase (rounded to the nearest

13 dollar) in the rates payable under subsection (b)(2) equal

14 to the percentage by which—

15 ‘‘(1) the Consumer Price Index (all items, United

16 States city average) for the 12-month period ending

17 on the June 30 preceding the beginning of the fiscal

18 year for which the increase is made, exceeds

19 ‘‘(2) such Consumer Price Index for the 12-

20 month period preceding the 12-month period described

21 in paragraph (1).’’.

22 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Sections 3654 and

23 3687(d) of title 38, United States Code, as added by

24 this subsection, shall take effect on October 1, 2001.
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1 SEC. 112. ELECTION OF CERTAIN RECIPIENTS OF COM2 MENCEMENT OF PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY FOR

3 SURVIVORS’ AND DEPENDENTS’ EDU4 CATIONAL ASSISTANCE.

5 Section 3512(a)(3) is amended by striking ‘‘8 years

6 after,’’ and all that follows through the end and inserting

7 ‘‘8 years after the date that is elected by that person to be

8 the beginning date of entitlement under section 3511 of this

9 title or subchapter V of this chapter if—

10 ‘‘(A) the Secretary approves that beginning

11 date;

12 ‘‘(B) the eligible person makes that election

13 after the person’s eighteenth birthday but before

14 the person’s twenty-sixth birthday; and

15 ‘‘(C) that beginning date—

16 ‘‘(i) in the case of a person whose eligi17 bility is based on a parent who has a serv18 ice-connected total disability permanent in

19 nature, is between the dates described in

20 subsection (d); and

21 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a person whose eli22 gibility is based on the death of a parent,

23 is between—

24 ‘‘(I) the date of the parent’s death;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(II) the date of the Secretary’s

2 decision that the death was service-con3 nected;’’.

4 SEC. 113. ADJUSTED EFFECTIVE DATE FOR AWARD OF SUR5 VIVORS’ AND DEPENDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL

6 ASSISTANCE.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5113 is amended—

8 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection

9 (c);

10 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘subsection (b)

11 of this section’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (b) and

12 (c)’’; and

13 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following

14 new subsection:

15 ‘‘(b)(1) When determining the effective date of an

16 award under chapter 35 of this title for an individual de17 scribed in paragraph (2) based on an original claim, the

18 Secretary may consider the individual’s application as hav19 ing been filed on the eligibility date of the individual if

20 that eligibility date is more than one year before the date

21 of the initial rating decision.

22 ‘‘(2) An individual referred to in paragraph (1) is an

23 eligible person who—

24 ‘‘(A) submits to the Secretary an original appli25 cation for educational assistance under chapter 35 of
26

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1 this title within one year of the date that the Sec2 retary makes the rating decision;

3 ‘‘(B) claims such educational assistance for pur4 suit of an approved program of education during a

5 period preceding the one-year period ending on the

6 date on which the application was received by the

7 Secretary; and

8 ‘‘(C) would have been entitled to such edu9 cational assistance for such course pursuit if the indi10 vidual had submitted such an application on the in11 dividual’s eligibility date.

12 ‘‘(3) In this subsection:

13 ‘‘(A) The term ‘eligibility date’ means the date

14 on which an individual becomes an eligible person.

15 ‘‘(B) The term ‘eligible person’ has the meaning

16 given that term under section 3501(a)(1) of this title

17 under subparagraph (A)(i), (A)(ii), (B), or (D) of

18 such section by reason of either (i) the service-con19 nected death or (ii) service-connected total disability

20 permanent in nature of the veteran from whom such

21 eligibility is derived.

22 ‘‘(C) The term ‘initial rating decision’ means

23 with respect to an eligible person a decision made by

24 the Secretary that establishes (i) service connection for

25 such veteran’s death or (ii) the existence of such vet-
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1 eran’s service-connected total disability permanent in

2 nature, as the case may be.’’.

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub4 section (a) shall apply to applications first made under sec5 tion 3513 of title 38, United States Code, that—

6 (1) are received on or after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act; or

8 (2) on the date of the enactment of this Act, are

9 pending (A) with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or

10 (B) exhaustion of available administrative and judi11 cial remedies.

12 SEC. 114. AVAILABILITY UNDER SURVIVORS’ AND DEPEND13 ENTS’ EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE OF PRE14 PARATORY COURSES FOR COLLEGE AND

15 GRADUATE SCHOOL ENTRANCE EXAMS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3501(a)(5) is amended by

17 adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘Such term

18 also includes any preparatory course described in section

19 3002(3)(B) of this title.’’.

20 (b) SCOPE OF AVAILABILITY.—Section 3512(a) is

21 amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (5);

23 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause (6)

24 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

25 (3) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(7) if the person is pursuing a preparatory

2 course described in section 3002(3)(B) of this title,

3 such period may begin on the date that is the first

4 day of such course pursuit, notwithstanding that such

5 date may be before the person’s eighteenth birthday,

6 except that in no case may such person be afforded

7 educational assistance under this chapter for pursuit

8 of secondary schooling unless such course pursuit

9 would otherwise be authorized under this subsection.’’.

10 Subtitle C—General Educational

11 Assistance

12 SEC. 121. REVISION OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE INTER13 VAL PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subclause (C) of the third sentence

15 of section 3680(a) is amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(C) during periods between school terms where

17 the educational institution certifies the enrollment of

18 the eligible veteran or eligible person on an individual

19 term basis if (i) the period between those terms does

20 not exceed eight weeks, and (ii) both the terms pre21 ceding and following the period are not shorter in

22 length than the period.’’.

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub24 section (a) shall apply with respect to payments of edu25 cational assistance under title 38, United States Code, for
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1 months beginning on or after the date of the enactment of

2 this Act.

3 SEC. 122. AVAILABILITY OF EDUCATION BENEFITS FOR PAY4 MENT FOR LICENSING OR CERTIFICATION

5 TESTS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Sections 3452(b) and 3501(a)(5)

7 (as amended by section 114(a)) are each amended by add8 ing at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘Such term also

9 includes licensing or certification tests, the successful com10 pletion of which demonstrates an individual’s possession of

11 the knowledge or skill required to enter into, maintain, or

12 advance in employment in a predetermined and identified

13 vocation or profession, provided such tests and the licensing

14 or credentialing organizations or entities that offer such

15 tests are approved by the Secretary in accordance with sec16 tion 3689 of this title.’’.

17 (b) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—

18 (1) CHAPTER 30.—Section 3032 is amended by

19 adding at the end the following new subsection:

20 ‘‘(f)(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the amount of edu21 cational assistance payable under this chapter for a licens22 ing or certification test described in section 3452(b) of this

23 title is the lesser of $2,000 or the fee charged for the test.

24 ‘‘(2) The number of months of entitlement charged in

25 the case of any individual for such licensing or certification
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1 test is equal to the number (including any fraction) deter2 mined by dividing the total amount of educational assist3 ance paid such individual for such test by the full-time

4 monthly institutional rate of educational assistance which,

5 except for paragraph (1), such individual would otherwise

6 be paid under subsection (a)(1), (b)(1), (d), or (e)(1) of sec7 tion 3015 of this title, as the case may be.

8 ‘‘(3) In no event shall payment of educational assist9 ance under this subsection for such a test exceed the amount

10 of the individual’s available entitlement under this chap11 ter.’’.

12 (2) CHAPTER 32.—Section 3232 is amended by

13 adding at the end the following new subsection:

14 ‘‘(c)(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the amount of edu15 cational assistance payable under this chapter for a licens16 ing or certification test described in section 3452(b) of this

17 title is the lesser of $2,000 or the fee charged for the test.

18 ‘‘(2) The number of months of entitlement charged in

19 the case of any individual for such licensing or certification

20 test is equal to the number (including any fraction) deter21 mined by dividing the total amount paid to such individual

22 for such test by the full-time monthly institutional rate of

23 the educational assistance allowance which, except for para24 graph (1), such individual would otherwise be paid under

25 this chapter.
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1 ‘‘(3) In no event shall payment of educational assist2 ance under this subsection for such a test exceed the amount

3 of the individual’s available entitlement under this chap4 ter.’’.

5 (3) CHAPTER 34.—Section 3482 is amended by

6 adding at the end the following new subsection:

7 ‘‘(h)(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the amount of edu8 cational assistance payable under this chapter for a licens9 ing or certification test described in section 3452(b) of this

10 title is the lesser of $2,000 or the fee charged for the test.

11 ‘‘(2) The number of months of entitlement charged in

12 the case of any individual for such licensing or certification

13 test is equal to the number (including any fraction) deter14 mined by dividing the total amount paid to such individual

15 for such test by the full-time monthly institutional rate of

16 the educational assistance allowance which, except for para17 graph (1), such individual would otherwise be paid under

18 this chapter.

19 ‘‘(3) In no event shall payment of educational assist20 ance under this subsection for such a test exceed the amount

21 of the individual’s available entitlement under this chap22 ter.’’.

23 (4) CHAPTER 35.—Section 3532 is amended by

24 adding at the end the following new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(f)(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the amount of edu2 cational assistance payable under this chapter for a licens3 ing or certification test described in section 3501(a)(5) of

4 this title is the lesser of $2,000 or the fee charged for the

5 test.

6 ‘‘(2) The number of months of entitlement charged in

7 the case of any individual for such licensing or certification

8 test is equal to the number (including any fraction) deter9 mined by dividing the total amount paid to such individual

10 for such test by the full-time monthly institutional rate of

11 the educational assistance allowance which, except for para12 graph (1), such individual would otherwise be paid under

13 this chapter.

14 ‘‘(3) In no event shall payment of educational assist15 ance under this subsection for such a test exceed the amount

16 of the individual’s available entitlement under this chap17 ter.’’.

18 (c) REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSING AND

19 CREDENTIALING TESTING.—(1) Chapter 36 is amended by

20 inserting after section 3688 the following new section:

21 ‘‘§ 3689. Approval requirements for licensing and cer22 tification testing

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) No payment may be made for

24 a licensing or certification test described in section 3452(b)

25 or 3501(a)(5) of this title unless the Secretary determines
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1 that the requirements of this section have been met with

2 respect to such test and the organization or entity offering

3 the test. The requirements of approval for tests and organi4 zations or entities offering tests shall be in accordance with

5 the provisions of this chapter and chapters 30, 32, 34, and

6 35 of this title and with regulations prescribed by the Sec7 retary to carry out this section.

8 ‘‘(2) To the extent that the Secretary determines prac9 ticable, State approving agencies may, in lieu of the Sec10 retary, approve licensing and certification tests, and orga11 nizations and entities offering such tests, under this section.

12 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR TESTS.—(1) Subject to

13 paragraph (2), a licensing or certification test is approved

14 for purposes of this section only if—

15 ‘‘(A) the test is required under Federal, State, or

16 local law or regulation for an individual to enter

17 into, maintain, or advance in employment in a pre18 determined and identified vocation or profession; or

19 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines that the test is

20 generally accepted, in accordance with relevant gov21 ernment, business, or industry standards, employment

22 policies, or hiring practices, as attesting to a level of

23 knowledge or skill required to qualify to enter into,

24 maintain, or advance in employment in a predeter25 mined and identified vocation or profession.
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1 ‘‘(2) A licensing or certification test offered by a State,

2 or a political subdivision of a State, is deemed approved

3 by the Secretary for purposes of this section.

4 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR ORGANIZATIONS OR ENTI5 TIES OFFERING TESTS.—(1) Each organization or entity

6 that is not an entity of the United States, a State, or polit7 ical subdivision of a State, that offers a licensing or certifi8 cation test for which payment may be made under chapter

9 30, 32, 34, or 35 of this title and that meets the following

10 requirements, shall be approved by the Secretary to offer

11 such test:

12 ‘‘(A) The organization or entity certifies to the

13 Secretary that the licensing or certification test of14 fered by the organization or entity is generally ac15 cepted, in accordance with relevant government, busi16 ness, or industry standards, employment policies, or

17 hiring practices, as attesting to a level of knowledge

18 or skill required to qualify to enter into, maintain, or

19 advance in employment in a predetermined and iden20 tified vocation or profession.

21 ‘‘(B) The organization or entity is licensed, char22 tered, or incorporated in a State and has offered the

23 test for a minimum of two years before the date on

24 which the organization or entity first submits to the
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1 Secretary an application for approval under this sec2 tion.

3 ‘‘(C) The organization or entity employs, or

4 consults with, individuals with expertise or substan5 tial experience with respect to all areas of knowledge

6 or skill that are measured by the test and that are re7 quired for the license or certificate issued.

8 ‘‘(D) The organization or entity has no direct fi9 nancial interest in—

10 ‘‘(i) the outcome of the test; or

11 ‘‘(ii) organizations that provide the edu12 cation or training of candidates for licenses or

13 certificates required for vocations or professions.

14 ‘‘(E) The organization or entity maintains ap15 propriate records with respect to all candidates who

16 take the test for a period prescribed by the Secretary,

17 but in no case for a period of less than three years.

18 ‘‘(F)(i) The organization or entity promptly

19 issues notice of the results of the test to the candidate

20 for the license or certificate.

21 ‘‘(ii) The organization or entity has in place a

22 process to review complaints submitted against the or23 ganization or entity with respect to the test or the

24 process for obtaining a license or certificate required

25 for vocations or professions.
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1 ‘‘(G) The organization or entity furnishes to the

2 Secretary such information with respect to the test as

3 the Secretary requires to determine whether payment

4 may be made for the test under chapter 30, 32, 34,

5 or 35 of this title, including personal identifying in6 formation, fee payment, and test results. Such infor7 mation shall be furnished in the form prescribed by

8 the Secretary.

9 ‘‘(H) The organization or entity furnishes to the

10 Secretary the following information:

11 ‘‘(i) A description of the licensing or certifi12 cation test offered by the organization or entity,

13 including the purpose of the test, the vocational,

14 professional, governmental, and other entities

15 that recognize the test, and the license of certifi16 cate issued upon successful completion of the test.

17 ‘‘(ii) The requirements to take the test, in18 cluding the amount of the fee charged for the test

19 and any prerequisite education, training, skills,

20 or other certification.

21 ‘‘(iii) The period for which the license or

22 certificate awarded upon successful completion of

23 the test is valid, and the requirements for main24 taining or renewing the license or certificate.
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1 ‘‘(I) Upon request of the Secretary, the organiza2 tion or entity furnishes such information to the Sec3 retary that the Secretary determines necessary to per4 form an assessment of—

5 ‘‘(i) the test conducted by the organization

6 or entity as compared to the level of knowledge

7 or skills that a license or certificate attests; and

8 ‘‘(ii) the applicability of the test over such

9 periods of time as the Secretary determines ap10 propriate.

11 ‘‘(2) With respect to each organization or entity that

12 is an entity of the United States, a State, or political sub13 division of a State, that offers a licensing or certification

14 test for which payment may be made under 30, 32, 34, or

15 35 of this title, the following provisions of paragraph (1)

16 shall apply to the entity: subparagraphs (E), (F), (G), and

17 (H).

18 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION.—Except as otherwise specifi19 cally provided in this section or chapter 30, 32, 34, or 35

20 of this title, in implementing this section and making pay21 ment under any such chapter for a licensing or certification

22 test, the test is deemed to be a ‘course’ and the organization

23 or entity that offers such test is deemed to be an ‘institution’

24 or ‘educational institution’, respectively, as those terms are

25 applied under and for purposes of sections 3671, 3673,
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1 3674, 3678, 3679, 3681, 3682, 3683, 3685, 3690, and 3696

2 of this title.

3 ‘‘(e) PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION AND LICENSURE

4 ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—(1) There is established within the

5 Department a committee to be known as the Professional

6 Certification and Licensure Advisory Committee (herein7 after in this section referred to as the ‘Committee’).

8 ‘‘(2) The Committee shall advise the Secretary with re9 spect to the requirements of organizations or entities offer10 ing licensing and certification tests to individuals for which

11 payment for such tests may be made under chapter 30, 32,

12 34, or 35 of this title, and such other related issues as the

13 Committee determines to be appropriate.

14 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary shall appoint seven individuals

15 with expertise in matters relating to licensing and certifi16 cation tests to serve as members of the Committee.

17 ‘‘(B) The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of De18 fense shall serve as ex officio members of the Committee.

19 ‘‘(C) A vacancy in the Committee shall be filled in the

20 manner in which the original appointment was made.

21 ‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall appoint the chairman of

22 the Committee.

23 ‘‘(B) The Committee shall meet at the call of the chair24 man.
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1 ‘‘(5) The Committee shall terminate December 31,

2 2006.’’.

3 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

4 36 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section

5 3688 the following new item:

‘‘3689. Approval requirements for licensing and certification testing.’’.

6 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this

7 section shall take effect on March 1, 2001, and shall apply

8 with respect to licensing and certification tests approved

9 by the Secretary on Veterans Affairs on or after such date.

10 (e) STARTUP FUNDING.—From amounts appropriated

11 to the Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2001

12 for readjustment benefits, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

13 shall use an amount not to exceed $3,000,000 to develop

14 the systems and procedures required to make payments

15 under chapters 30, 32, 34, and 35 of title 38, United States

16 Code, for licensing and certification tests.

17 SEC. 123. INCREASE FOR FISCAL YEARS 2001 AND 2002 IN

18 AGGREGATE ANNUAL AMOUNT AVAILABLE

19 FOR STATE APPROVING AGENCIES FOR AD20 MINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.

21 Section 3674(a)(4) is amended—

22 (1) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘or, for

23 each of fiscal years 2001 and 2002, $14,000,000’’

24 after ‘‘$13,000,000’’; and
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1 (2) in the second sentence, by striking

2 ‘‘$13,000,000’’ both places it appears and inserting

3 ‘‘the amount applicable to that fiscal year under the

4 preceding sentence’’.

5 TITLE II—HEALTH PROVISIONS

6 Subtitle A—Personnel Matters

7 SEC. 201. ANNUAL NATIONAL PAY COMPARABILITY ADJUST8 MENT FOR NURSES EMPLOYED BY DEPART9 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

10 (a) REVISED PAY ADJUSTMENT PROCEDURES.—(1)

11 Subsection (d) of section 7451 is amended—

12 (A) in paragraph (1)—

13 (i) by striking ‘‘The rates’’ and inserting

14 ‘‘Subject to subsection (e), the rates’’; and

15 (ii) in subparagraph (A)—

16 (I) by striking ‘‘section 5305’’ and in17 serting ‘‘section 5303’’; and

18 (II) by inserting ‘‘and to be by the

19 same percentage’’ after ‘‘to have the same ef20 fective date’’;

21 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Such’’ in the

22 second sentence and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in

23 paragraph (1)(A), such’’;

24 (C) in paragraph (3)(B)—
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1 (i) by inserting after the first sentence the

2 following new sentence: ‘‘To the extent prac3 ticable, the director shall use third-party indus4 try wage surveys to meet the requirements of the

5 preceding sentence.’’;

6 (ii) by inserting before the penultimate sen7 tence the following new sentence: ‘‘To the extent

8 practicable, all surveys conducted pursuant to

9 this subparagraph or subparagraph (A) shall in10 clude the collection of salary midpoints, actual

11 salaries, lowest and highest salaries, average sal12 aries, bonuses, incentive pays, differential pays,

13 actual beginning rates of pay, and such other in14 formation needed to meet the purpose of this sec15 tion.’’; and

16 (iii) in the penultimate sentence, by insert17 ing ‘‘or published’’ after ‘‘completed’’; and

18 (D) by striking clause (iii) of paragraph (3)(C).

19 (2) Subsection (e) of such section is amended to read

20 as follows:

21 ‘‘(e)(1) An adjustment in a rate of basic pay under

22 subsection (d) may not reduce the rate of basic pay applica23 ble to any grade of a covered position.

24 ‘‘(2) The director of a Department health-care facility,

25 in determining whether to carry out a wage survey under
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1 subsection (d)(3) with respect to rates of basic pay for a

2 grade of a covered position, may not consider as a factor

3 in such determination the absence of a current recruitment

4 or retention problem for personnel in that grade of that po5 sition. The director shall make such a determination based

6 upon whether, in accordance with criteria established by

7 the Secretary, there is a significant pay-related staffing

8 problem at that facility in any grade for a position. If the

9 director determines that there is such a problem, or that

10 such a problem is likely to exist in the near future, the Di11 rector shall provide for a wage survey in accordance with

12 subsection (d)(3).

13 ‘‘(3) The Under Secretary for Health may, to the ex14 tent necessary to carry out the purposes of subsection (d),

15 modify any determination made by the director of a De16 partment health-care facility with respect to adjusting the

17 rates of basic pay applicable to covered positions. If the de18 termination of the director would result in an adjustment

19 in rates of basic pay applicable to covered positions, any

20 action by the Under Secretary under the preceding sentence

21 shall be made before the effective date of such pay adjust22 ment. Upon such action by the Under Secretary, any ad23 justment shall take effect on the first day of the first pay

24 period beginning after such action. The Secretary shall en-
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1 sure that the Under Secretary establishes a mechanism for

2 the timely exercise of the authority in this paragraph.

3 ‘‘(4) Each director of a Department health-care facility

4 shall provide to the Secretary, not later than July 31 each

5 year, a report on staffing for covered positions at that facil6 ity. The report shall include the following:

7 ‘‘(A) Information on turnover rates and vacancy

8 rates for each grade in a covered position, including

9 a comparison of those rates with the rates for the pre10 ceding three years.

11 ‘‘(B) The director’s findings concerning the re12 view and evaluation of the facility’s staffing situa13 tion, including whether there is, or is likely to be, in

14 accordance with criteria established by the Secretary,

15 a significant pay-related staffing problem at that fa16 cility for any grade of a covered position and, if so,

17 whether a wage survey was conducted, or will be con18 ducted with respect to that grade.

19 ‘‘(C) In any case in which the director conducts

20 such a wage survey during the period covered by the

21 report, information describing the survey and any ac22 tions taken or not taken based on the survey, and the

23 reasons for taking (or not taking) such actions.

24 ‘‘(D) In any case in which the director, after

25 finding that there is, or is likely to be, in accordance
44

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1 with criteria established by the Secretary, a signifi2 cant pay-related staffing problem at that facility for

3 any grade of a covered position, determines not to

4 conduct a wage survey with respect to that position,

5 a statement of the reasons why the director did not

6 conduct such a survey.

7 ‘‘(5) Not later than September 30 of each year, the Sec8 retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs

9 of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on

10 staffing for covered positions at Department health care fa11 cilities. Each such report shall include the following:

12 ‘‘(A) A summary and analysis of the informa13 tion contained in the most recent reports submitted

14 by facility directors under paragraph (4).

15 ‘‘(B) The information for each such facility spec16 ified in paragraph (4).’’.

17 (3) Subsection (f) of such section is amended—

18 (A) by striking ‘‘February 1 of 1991, 1992, and

19 1993’’ and inserting ‘‘March 1 of each year’’; and

20 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (d)(1)(A)’’ and in21 serting ‘‘subsection (d)’’.

22 (4) Such section is further amended by striking sub23 section (g) and redesignating subsection (h) as subsection

24 (g).
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1 (b) REQUIRED CONSULTATIONS WITH NURSES.—(1)

2 Subchapter II of chapter 73 is further amended by adding

3 at the end the following new section:

4 ‘‘§ 7323. Required consultations with nurses

5 ‘‘The Under Secretary for Health shall ensure that—

6 ‘‘(1) the director of a geographic service area, in

7 formulating policy relating to the provision of patient

8 care, shall consult regularly with a senior nurse exec9 utive or senior nurse executives; and

10 ‘‘(2) the director of a medical center shall in11 clude a registered nurse as a member of any com12 mittee used at that medical center to provide rec13 ommendations or decisions on medical center oper14 ations or policy affecting clinical services, clinical

15 outcomes, budget, or resources.’’.

16 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chap17 ter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section

18 7322 the following new item:

‘‘7323. Required consultations with nurses.’’.

19 SEC. 202. SPECIAL PAY FOR DENTISTS.

20 (a) FULL-TIME STATUS PAY.—Paragraph (1) of sec21 tion 7435(b) is amended by striking ‘‘$3,500’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘$9,000’’.

23 (b) TENURE PAY.—The table in paragraph (2)(A) of

24 that section is amended to read as follows:
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‘‘Length of Service

Rate

Minimum Maximum

1 year but less than 2 years .................................. $1,000 $2,000

2 years but less than 4 years ................................ 4,000 5,000

4 years but less than 8 years ................................ 5,000 8,000

8 years but less than 12 years .............................. 8,000 12,000

12 years but less than 20 years ............................ 12,000 15,000

20 years or more .................................................... 15,000 18,000.’’.

1 (c) SCARCE SPECIALTY PAY.—Paragraph (3)(A) of

2 that section is amended by striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘$30,000’’.

4 (d) RESPONSIBILITY PAY.—(1) The table in paragraph

5 (4)(A) of that section is amended to read as follows:

‘‘Position

Rate

Minimum Maximum

Chief of Staff or in an Executive Grade .............. $14,500 $25,000

Director Grade ....................................................... 0 25,000

Service Chief (or in a comparable position as

determined by the Secretary) ............................ 4,500 15,000.’’.

6 (2) The table in paragraph (4)(B) of that section is

7 amended to read as follows:

‘‘Position Rate

Deputy Service Director ................................................................ $20,000

Service Director .............................................................................. 25,000

Deputy Assistant Under Secretary for Health ............................ 27,500

Assistant Under Secretary for Health (or in a comparable position as determined by the Secretary) .................................... 30,000.’’.

8 (e) GEOGRAPHIC PAY.—Paragraph (6) of that section

9 is amended by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$12,000’’.

10 (f) SPECIAL PAY FOR POST-GRADUATE TRAINING.—

11 Such section is further amended by adding at the end the

12 following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(8) For a dentist who has successfully completed

2 a post-graduate year of hospital-based training in a

3 program accredited by the American Dental Associa4 tion, an annual rate of $2,000 for each of the first

5 two years of service after successful completion of that

6 training.’’.

7 (g) CREDITING OF INCREASED TENURE PAY FOR CIVIL

8 SERVICE RETIREMENT.—Section 7438(b) is amended—

9 (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para10 graph (6); and

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol12 lowing new paragraph (5):

13 ‘‘(5) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), a den14 tist employed as a dentist in the Veterans Health Adminis15 tration on the date of the enactment of the Veterans Benefits

16 and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000 shall be entitled

17 to have special pay paid to the dentist under section

18 7435(b)(2)(A) of this title (referred to as ‘tenure pay’) con19 sidered basic pay for the purposes of chapter 83 or 84, as

20 appropriate, of title 5 only as follows:

21 ‘‘(A) In an amount equal to the amount that

22 would have been so considered under such section on

23 the day before such date based on the rates of special

24 pay the dentist was entitled to receive under that sec25 tion on the day before such date.
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1 ‘‘(B) With respect to any amount of special pay

2 received under that section in excess of the amount

3 such dentist was entitled to receive under such section

4 on the day before such date, in an amount equal to

5 25 percent of such excess amount for each two years

6 that the physician or dentist has completed as a phy7 sician or dentist in the Veterans Health Administra8 tion after such date.’’.

9 (h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this

10 section shall apply with respect to agreements entered into

11 by dentists under subchapter III of chapter 74 of title 38,

12 United States Code, on or after the date of the enactment

13 of this Act.

14 (i) TRANSITION.—In the case of an agreement entered

15 into by a dentist under subchapter III of chapter 74 of title

16 38, United States Code, before the date of the enactment

17 of this Act that expires after that date, the Secretary of Vet18 erans Affairs and the dentist concerned may agree to termi19 nate that agreement as of the date of the enactment of this

20 Act in order to permit a new agreement in accordance with

21 section 7435 of such title, as amended by this section, to

22 take effect as of that date.
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1 SEC. 203. EXEMPTION FOR PHARMACISTS FROM CEILING

2 ON SPECIAL SALARY RATES.

3 Section 7455(c)(1) is amended by inserting ‘‘, phar4 macists,’’ after ‘‘anesthetists’’.

5 SEC. 204. TEMPORARY FULL-TIME APPOINTMENTS OF CER6 TAIN MEDICAL PERSONNEL.

7 (a) PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS AWAITING CERTIFICATION

8 OR LICENSURE.—Paragraph (2) of section 7405(c) is

9 amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘(2) A temporary full-time appointment may not be

11 made for a period in excess of two years in the case of a

12 person who—

13 ‘‘(A) has successfully completed—

14 ‘‘(i) a full course of nursing in a recognized

15 school of nursing, approved by the Secretary; or

16 ‘‘(ii) a full course of training for any cat17 egory of personnel described in paragraph (3) of

18 section 7401 of this title, or as a physician as19 sistant, in a recognized education or training in20 stitution approved by the Secretary; and

21 ‘‘(B) is pending registration or licensure in a

22 State or certification by a national board recognized

23 by the Secretary.’’.

24 (b) MEDICAL SUPPORT PERSONNEL.—That section is

25 further amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para2 graph (4); and

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol4 lowing new paragraph (3):

5 ‘‘(3)(A) Temporary full-time appointments of persons

6 in positions referred to in subsection (a)(1)(D) shall not ex7 ceed three years.

8 ‘‘(B) Temporary full-time appointments under this

9 paragraph may be renewed for one or more additional peri10 ods not in excess of three years each.’’.

11 SEC. 205. QUALIFICATIONS OF SOCIAL WORKERS.

12 Section 7402(b)(9) is amended by striking ‘‘a person

13 must’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘a person must—

14 ‘‘(A) hold a master’s degree in social work from

15 a college or university approved by the Secretary; and

16 ‘‘(B) be licensed or certified to independently

17 practice social work in a State, except that the Sec18 retary may waive the requirement of licensure or cer19 tification for an individual social worker for a rea20 sonable period of time recommended by the Under

21 Secretary for Health.’’.

22 SEC. 206. PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT ADVISER TO UNDER SEC23 RETARY FOR HEALTH.

24 Section 7306(a) is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para2 graph (10); and

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol4 lowing new paragraph (9):

5 ‘‘(9) The Advisor on Physician Assistants, who

6 shall be a physician assistant with appropriate expe7 rience and who shall advise the Under Secretary for

8 Health on all matters relating to the utilization and

9 employment of physician assistants in the Adminis10 tration.’’.

11 SEC. 207. EXTENSION OF VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCEN12 TIVE PAYMENTS.

13 The Department of Veterans Affairs Employment Re14 duction Assistance Act of 1999 (title XI of Public Law 106–

15 117; 5 U.S.C. 5597 note) is amended as follows:

16 (1) Section 1102(c) is amended to read as fol17 lows:

18 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION.—The plan under subsection (a) shall

19 be limited to a total of 7,734 positions within the Depart20 ment, allocated among the elements of the Department as

21 follows:

22 ‘‘(1) The Veterans Health Administration, 6,800

23 positions.

24 ‘‘(2) The Veterans Benefits Administration, 740

25 positions.
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1 ‘‘(3) Department of Veterans Affairs Staff Of2 fices, 156 positions.

3 ‘‘(4) The National Cemetery Administration, 38

4 positions.’’.

5 (2) Section 1105(a) is amended by striking ‘‘26

6 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘15 percent’’.

7 (3) Section 1109(a) is amended by striking ‘‘De8 cember 31, 2000’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2002’’.

9 Subtitle B—Military Service Issues

10 SEC. 211. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS CON11 CERNING USE OF MILITARY HISTORIES OF

12 VETERANS IN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

13 AFFAIRS HEALTH CARE.

14 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings:

15 (1) Pertinent military experiences and exposures

16 may affect the health status of Department of Vet17 erans Affairs patients who are veterans.

18 (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs has

19 begun to implement a Veterans Health Initiative to

20 develop systems to ensure that both patient care and

21 medical education in the Veterans Health Adminis22 tration are specific to the special needs of veterans

23 and should be encouraged to continue these efforts.

24 (3) Protocols eliciting pertinent information re25 lating to the military history of veterans may be ben-
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1 eficial to understanding certain conditions for which

2 veterans may be at risk and thereby facilitate the

3 treatment of veterans for those conditions.

4 (4) The Department of Veterans Affairs is in the

5 process of developing a Computerized Patient Record

6 System that offers the potential to aid in the care and

7 monitoring of such conditions.

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—Congress—

9 (1) urges the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to as10 sess the feasibility and desirability of using a com11 puter-based system to conduct clinical evaluations rel12 evant to military experiences and exposures; and

13 (2) recommends that the Secretary accelerate ef14 forts within the Department of Veterans Affairs to en15 sure that relevant military histories of veterans are

16 included in Department medical records.

17 SEC. 212. STUDY OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

18 IN VIETNAM VETERANS.

19 (a) STUDY ON POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DIS20 ORDER.—Not later than 10 months after the date of the en21 actment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall

22 enter into a contract with an appropriate entity to carry

23 out a study on post-traumatic stress disorder.

24 (b) FOLLOW-UP STUDY.—The contract under sub25 section (a) shall provide for a follow-up study to the study
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1 conducted in accordance with section 102 of the Veterans

2 Health Care Amendments of 1983 (Public Law 98–160).

3 Such follow-up study shall use the data base and sample

4 of the previous study.

5 (c) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED.—The study con6 ducted pursuant to this section shall be designed to yield

7 information on—

8 (1) the long-term course of post-traumatic stress

9 disorder;

10 (2) any long-term medical consequences of post11 traumatic stress disorder;

12 (3) whether particular subgroups of veterans are

13 at greater risk of chronic or more severe problems

14 with such disorder; and

15 (4) the services used by veterans who have post16 traumatic stress disorder and the effect of those serv17 ices on the course of the disorder.

18 (d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the Com19 mittees of Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep20 resentatives a report on the results of the study under this

21 section. The report shall be submitted no later than October

22 1, 2004.
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1 Subtitle C—Medical Administration

2 SEC. 221. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FISHER

3 HOUSES.

4 (a) AUTHORITY.—Subchapter I of chapter 17 is

5 amended by adding at the end the following new section:

6 ‘‘§ 1708. Temporary lodging

7 ‘‘(a) The Secretary may furnish persons described in

8 subsection (b) with temporary lodging in a Fisher house

9 or other appropriate facility in connection with the exam10 ination, treatment, or care of a veteran under this chapter

11 or, as provided for under subsection (e)(5), in connection

12 with benefits administered under this title.

13 ‘‘(b) Persons to whom the Secretary may provide lodg14 ing under subsection (a) are the following:

15 ‘‘(1) A veteran who must travel a significant dis16 tance to receive care or services under this title.

17 ‘‘(2) A member of the family of a veteran and

18 others who accompany a veteran and provide the

19 equivalent of familial support for such veteran.

20 ‘‘(c) In this section, the term ‘Fisher house’ means a

21 housing facility that—

22 ‘‘(1) is located at, or in proximity to, a Depart23 ment medical facility;
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1 ‘‘(2) is available for residential use on a tem2 porary basis by patients of that facility and others

3 described in subsection (b)(2); and

4 ‘‘(3) is constructed by, and donated to the Sec5 retary by, the Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher

6 Armed Services Foundation.

7 ‘‘(d) The Secretary may establish charges for providing

8 lodging under this section. The proceeds from such charges

9 shall be credited to the medical care account and shall be

10 available until expended for the purposes of providing such

11 lodging.

12 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to carry

13 out this section. Such regulations shall include provisions—

14 ‘‘(1) limiting the duration of lodging provided

15 under this section;

16 ‘‘(2) establishing standards and criteria under

17 which charges are established for such lodging under

18 subsection (d);

19 ‘‘(3) establishing criteria for persons considered

20 to be accompanying a veteran under subsection (b)(2);

21 ‘‘(4) establishing criteria for the use of the prem22 ises of temporary lodging facilities under this section;

23 and
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1 ‘‘(5) establishing any other limitations, condi2 tions, and priorities that the Secretary considers ap3 propriate with respect to lodging under this section.’’.

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

5 the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after

6 the item relating to section 1707 the following new item:

‘‘1708. Temporary lodging.’’.

7 SEC. 222. EXCEPTION TO RECAPTURE RULE.

8 Section 8136 is amended—

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ at the beginning of the

10 text of the section; and

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub12 section:

13 ‘‘(b) The establishment and operation by the Secretary

14 of an outpatient clinic in facilities described in subsection

15 (a) shall not constitute grounds entitling the United States

16 to any recovery under that subsection.’’.

17 SEC. 223. SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING COOPERA18 TION BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF VET19 ERANS AFFAIRS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF

20 DEFENSE IN THE PROCUREMENT OF MED21 ICAL ITEMS.

22 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings:

23 (1) The procurement and distribution of medical

24 items, including prescription drugs, is a multibillion-
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1 dollar annual business for both the Department of De2 fense and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

3 (2) Those departments prescribe common high4 use drugs to many of their 12,000,000 patients who

5 have similar medical profiles.

6 (3) The health care systems of those departments

7 should have management systems that can share and

8 communicate clinical and management information

9 useful for both systems.

10 (4) The institutional barriers separating the two

11 departments have begun to be overcome in the area of

12 medical supplies, in part as a response to rec13 ommendations by the General Accounting Office and

14 the Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans

15 Transition Assistance.

16 (5) There is significant potential for improved

17 savings and services by improving cooperation be18 tween the two departments in the procurement and

19 management of prescription drugs, while remaining

20 mindful that the two departments have different mis21 sions.

22 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress

23 that the Department of Defense and the Department of Vet24 erans Affairs should increase, to the maximum extent con25 sistent with their respective missions, their level of coopera-
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1 tion in the procurement and management of prescription

2 drugs.

3 SEC. 224. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING CHANGES.

4 (a) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE CARE.—Section

5 1710A(a) is amended by inserting ‘‘(subject to section

6 1710(a)(4) of this title)’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’ the first place

7 it appears.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 1710(a)(4)

9 is amended—

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘the requirement in section

11 1710A(a) of this title that the Secretary provide nurs12 ing home care,’’ after ‘‘medical services,’’; and

13 (2) by striking the comma after ‘‘extended care

14 services’’.

15 (c) OUTPATIENT TREATMENT.—Section 201 of the Vet16 erans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act (Public

17 Law 106–117; 113 Stat. 1561) is amended by adding at

18 the end the following new subsection:

19 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

20 subsection (b) shall apply with respect to medical services

21 furnished under section 1710(a) of title 38, United States

22 Code, on or after the effective date of the regulations pre23 scribed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the

24 amounts required to be established under paragraphs (1)
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1 and (2) of section 1710(g) of that title, as amended by sub2 section (b).’’.

3 (d) RATIFICATION.—Any action taken by the Secretary

4 of Veterans Affairs under section 1710(g) of title 38, United

5 States Code, during the period beginning on November 30,

6 1999, and ending on the date of the enactment of this Act

7 is hereby ratified.

8 Subtitle D—Construction

9 Authorization

10 SEC. 231. AUTHORIZATION OF MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY

11 PROJECTS.

12 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2001 PROJECTS.—The Secretary of

13 Veterans Affairs may carry out the following major medical

14 facility projects, with each project to be carried out in an

15 amount not to exceed the amount specified for that project:

16 (1) Construction of a 120-bed gero-psychiatric

17 facility at the Department of Veterans Affairs Palo

18 Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park Division, Cali19 fornia, $26,600,000.

20 (2) Construction of a nursing home at the De21 partment of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Beckley,

22 West Virginia, $9,500,000.

23 (3) Seismic corrections, clinical consolidation,

24 and other improvements at the Department of Vet-
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1 erans Affairs Medical Center, Long Beach, California,

2 $51,700,000.

3 (4) Construction of a utility plant and electrical

4 vault at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical

5 Center, Miami, Florida, $23,600,000.

6 (b) ADDITIONAL FISCAL YEAR 2000 PROJECT.—The

7 Secretary is authorized to carry out a project for the ren8 ovation of psychiatric nursing units at the Department of

9 Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Murfreesboro, Tennessee,

10 in an amount not to exceed $14,000,000.

11 SEC. 232. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro13 priated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the Con14 struction, Major Projects, account—

15 (1) for fiscal years 2001 and 2002, a total of

16 $87,800,000 for the projects authorized in paragraphs

17 (1), (2), and (3) of section 231(a);

18 (2) for fiscal year 2001, an additional amount

19 of $23,600,000 for the project authorized in para20 graph (4) of that section; and

21 (3) for fiscal year 2002, an additional amount

22 of $14,500,000 for the project authorized in section

23 401(1) of the Veterans Millennium Health Care and

24 Benefits Act (Public Law 106–117; 113 Stat. 1572).
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1 (b) LIMITATION.—The projects authorized in section

2 231(a) may only be carried out using—

3 (1) funds appropriated for fiscal year 2001 or

4 fiscal year 2002 (or, in the case of the project author5 ized in section 231(a)(4), for fiscal year 2001) pursu6 ant to the authorization of appropriations in sub7 section (a);

8 (2) funds appropriated for Construction, Major

9 Projects, for a fiscal year before fiscal year 2001 that

10 remain available for obligation; and

11 (3) funds appropriated for Construction, Major

12 Projects, for fiscal year 2001 or fiscal year 2002 (or,

13 in the case of the project authorized in section

14 231(a)(4), for fiscal year 2001) for a category of ac15 tivity not specific to a project.

16 (c) REVISION TO PRIOR LIMITATION.—Notwith17 standing the limitation in section 403(b) of the Veterans

18 Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act (Public Law

19 106–117; 113 Stat. 1573), the project referred to in sub20 section (a)(3) may be carried out using—

21 (1) funds appropriated for fiscal year 2002 pur22 suant to the authorization of appropriations in sub23 section (a)(3);
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1 (2) funds appropriated for Construction, Major

2 Projects, for fiscal year 2001 that remain available

3 for obligation; and

4 (3) funds appropriated for Construction, Major

5 Projects, for fiscal year 2001 or fiscal year 2002 for

6 a category of activity not specific to a project.

7 Subtitle E—Real Property Matters

8 SEC. 241. CHANGE TO ENHANCED USE LEASE CONGRES9 SIONAL NOTIFICATION PERIOD.

10 Paragraph (2) of section 8163(c) is amended to read

11 as follows:

12 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not enter into an enhanced

13 use lease until the end of the 90-day period beginning on

14 the date of the submission of notice under paragraph (1).’’.

15 SEC. 242. RELEASE OF REVERSIONARY INTEREST OF THE

16 UNITED STATES IN CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY

17 PREVIOUSLY CONVEYED TO THE STATE OF

18 TENNESSEE.

19 (a) RELEASE OF INTEREST.—The Secretary of Vet20 erans Affairs shall execute such legal instruments as nec21 essary to release the reversionary interest of the United

22 States described in subsection (b) in a certain parcel of real

23 property conveyed to the State of Tennessee pursuant to the

24 Act entitled ‘‘An Act authorizing the transfer of certain

25 property of the Veterans’ Administration (in Johnson City,
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1 Tennessee) to the State of Tennessee’’, approved June 6,

2 1953 (67 Stat. 54).

3 (b) SPECIFIED REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—Subsection

4 (a) applies to the reversionary interest of the United States

5 required under section 2 of the Act referred to in subsection

6 (a), requiring use of the property conveyed pursuant to that

7 Act to be primarily for training of the National Guard and

8 for other military purposes.

9 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2 of such Act

10 is repealed.

11 SEC. 243. DEMOLITION, ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP, AND

12 REVERSION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

13 AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER, ALLEN PARK,

14 MICHIGAN.

15 (a) AUTHORITY.—(1) The Secretary of Veterans Af16 fairs shall enter into a multiyear contract with the Ford

17 Motor Land Development Corporation (hereinafter in this

18 section referred to as the ‘‘Corporation’’) to undertake

19 project management responsibility to—

20 (A) demolish the buildings and auxiliary struc21 tures comprising the Department of Veterans Affairs

22 Medical Center, Allen Park, Michigan; and

23 (B) remediate the site of all hazardous material

24 and environmental contaminants found on the site.
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1 (2) The contract under paragraph (1) may be entered

2 into notwithstanding sections 303 and 304 of the Federal

3 Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41

4 U.S.C. 253, 254). The contract shall be for a period speci5 fied in the contract not to exceed seven years.

6 (b) CONTRACT COST AND SOURCE OF FUNDING.—(1)

7 The Secretary may expend no more than $14,000,000 for

8 the contract required by subsection (a). The contract shall

9 provide that all costs for the demolition and site remedi10 ation under the contract in excess of $14,000,000 shall be

11 borne by the Corporation.

12 (2) Payments by the Secretary under the contract shall

13 be made in annual increments of no more than $2,000,000,

14 beginning with fiscal year 2001, for the duration of the con15 tract. Such payments shall be made from the nonrecurring

16 maintenance portion of the annual Department of Veterans

17 Affairs medical care appropriation.

18 (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

19 amount obligated upon the award of the contract may not

20 exceed $2,000,000 and the amount obligated with respect

21 to any succeeding fiscal year may not exceed $2,000,000.

22 Any funds obligated for the contact shall be subject to the

23 availability of appropriated funds.

24 (c) REVERSION OF PROPERTY.—Upon completion of

25 the demolition and remediation project under the contract
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1 to the satisfaction of the Secretary, the Secretary shall, on

2 behalf of the United States, formally abandon the Allen

3 Park property (title to which will then revert in accordance

4 with the terms of the 1937 deed conveying such property

5 to the United States).

6 (d) FLAGPOLE AND MEMORIAL.—The contract under

7 subsection (a) shall require that the Corporation shall erect

8 and maintain on the property abandoned by the United

9 States under subsection (c) a flagpole and suitable memo10 rial identifying the property as the location of the former

11 Allen Park Medical Center. The Secretary and the Corpora12 tion shall jointly determine the placement of the memorial

13 and flagpole and the form of, and appropriate inscription

14 on, the memorial.

15 (e) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Sec16 retary may require such additional terms and conditions

17 with regard to the contract with the Corporation under sub18 section (a) and with the reversion of the property under

19 subsection (c) as the Secretary considers appropriate to pro20 tect the interest of the United States.
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1 SEC. 244. CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY AT THE

2 CARL VINSON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

3 AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER, DUBLIN, GEOR4 GIA.

5 (a) CONVEYANCE TO STATE BOARD OF REGENTS.—

6 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall convey, without con7 sideration, to the Board of Regents of the State of Georgia

8 all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to

9 two tracts of real property, including any improvements

10 thereon, at the Carl Vinson Department of Veterans Affairs

11 Medical Center, Dublin, Georgia, consisting of 39 acres,

12 more or less, in Laurens County, Georgia.

13 (b) CONVEYANCE TO COMMUNITY SERVICE BOARD OF

14 MIDDLE GEORGIA.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall

15 convey, without consideration, to the Community Service

16 Board of Middle Georgia all right, title, and interest of the

17 United States in and to three tracts of real property, in18 cluding any improvements thereon, at the Carl Vinson De19 partment of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dublin, Geor20 gia, consisting of 58 acres, more or less, in Laurens County,

21 Georgia.

22 (c) CONDITIONS ON CONVEYANCE.—The conveyance

23 under subsection (a) shall be subject to the condition that

24 the real property conveyed under that subsection be used

25 in perpetuity solely for education purposes. The conveyance

26 under subsection (b) shall be subject to the condition that
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1 the real property conveyed under that subsection be used

2 in perpetuity solely for education and health care purposes.

3 (d) SURVEY.—The exact acreage and legal description

4 of the real property to be conveyed under this section shall

5 be determined by a survey or surveys satisfactory to the

6 Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The cost of any such survey

7 shall not be borne by the Secretary.

8 (e) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Sec9 retary of Veterans Affairs may require such additional

10 terms and conditions in connection with the conveyances

11 under this section as the Secretary considers appropriate

12 to protect the interests of the United States.

13 SEC. 245. LAND CONVEYANCE, MILES CITY DEPARTMENT OF

14 VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER COM15 PLEX, MILES CITY, MONTANA.

16 (a) CONVEYANCE REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Vet17 erans Affairs shall convey, without consideration, to Custer

18 County, Montana (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Coun19 ty’’), all right, title, and interest of the United States in

20 and to the parcels of real property consisting of the Miles

21 City Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center com22 plex, which has served as a medical and support complex

23 for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Miles City, Mon24 tana.
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1 (b) TIMING OF CONVEYANCE.—The conveyance re2 quired by subsection (a) shall be made as soon as prac3 ticable after the date of the enactment of this Act.

4 (c) CONDITIONS OF CONVEYANCE.—The conveyance re5 quired by subsection (a) shall be subject to the condition

6 that the County—

7 (1) use the parcels conveyed, whether directly or

8 through an agreement with a public or private entity,

9 for veterans activities, community and economic de10 velopment, or such other public purposes as the Coun11 ty considers appropriate; or

12 (2) convey the parcels to an appropriate public

13 or private entity for use for the purposes specified in

14 paragraph (1).

15 (d) CONVEYANCE OF IMPROVEMENTS.—(1) As part of

16 the conveyance required by subsection (a), the Secretary

17 may also convey to the County any improvements, equip18 ment, fixtures, and other personal property located on the

19 parcels conveyed under that subsection that are not required

20 by the Secretary.

21 (2) Any conveyance under this subsection shall be

22 without consideration.

23 (e) USE PENDING CONVEYANCE.—Until such time as

24 the real property to be conveyed under subsection (a) is con25 veyed by deed under this section, the Secretary may con-
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1 tinue to lease the real property, together with any improve2 ments thereon, under the terms and conditions of the cur3 rent lease of the real property.

4 (f) MAINTENANCE PENDING CONVEYANCE.—The Sec5 retary shall be responsible for maintaining the real prop6 erty to be conveyed under subsection (a), and any improve7 ments, equipment, fixtures, and other personal property to

8 be conveyed under subsection (d), in its condition as of the

9 date of the enactment of this Act until such time as the

10 real property, and such improvements, equipment, fixtures,

11 and other personal property are conveyed by deed under

12 this section.

13 (g) LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—The exact acreage and legal

14 description of the real property to be conveyed under sub15 section (a) shall be determined by a survey satisfactory to

16 the Secretary.

17 (h) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Sec18 retary may require such additional terms and conditions

19 in connection with the conveyance under this section as the

20 Secretary determines appropriate to protect the interests of

21 the United States.
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1 SEC. 246. CONVEYANCE OF FORT LYON DEPARTMENT OF

2 VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER, COLO3 RADO, TO THE STATE OF COLORADO.

4 (a) CONVEYANCE AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Vet5 erans Affairs may convey, without consideration, to the

6 State of Colorado all right, title, and interest of the United

7 States in and to a parcel of real property, including im8 provements thereon, consisting of approximately 512 acres

9 and comprising the Fort Lyon Department of Veterans Af10 fairs Medical Center. The purpose of the conveyance is to

11 permit the State of Colorado to use the property for pur12 poses of a correctional facility.

13 (b) PUBLIC ACCESS.—(1) The Secretary may not make

14 the conveyance of real property authorized by subsection (a)

15 unless the State of Colorado agrees to provide appropriate

16 public access to Kit Carson Chapel (located on that real

17 property) and the cemetery located adjacent to that real

18 property.

19 (2) The State of Colorado may satisfy the condition

20 specified in paragraph (1) with respect to Kit Carson Chap21 el by relocating the chapel to Fort Lyon National Cemetery,

22 Colorado, or another appropriate location approved by the

23 Secretary.

24 (c) PLAN REGARDING CONVEYANCE.—(1) The Sec25 retary may not make the conveyance authorized by sub-
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1 section (a) before the date on which the Secretary imple2 ments a plan providing the following:

3 (A) Notwithstanding sections 1720(a)(3) and

4 1741 of title 38, United States Code, that veterans

5 who are receiving inpatient or institutional long-term

6 care at Fort Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs

7 Medical Center as of the date of the enactment of this

8 Act are provided appropriate inpatient or institu9 tional long-term care under the same terms and con10 ditions as such veterans are receiving inpatient or in11 stitutional long-term care as of that date.

12 (B) That the conveyance of the Fort Lyon De13 partment of Veterans Affairs Medical Center does not

14 result in a reduction of health care services available

15 to veterans in the catchment area of the Medical Cen16 ter.

17 (C) Improvements in veterans’ overall access to

18 health care in the catchment area through, for exam19 ple, the opening of additional outpatient clinics.

20 (2) The Secretary shall prepare the plan referred to

21 in paragraph (1) in consultation with appropriate rep22 resentatives of veterans service organizations and other ap23 propriate organizations.
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1 (3) The Secretary shall publish a copy of the plan re2 ferred to in paragraph (1) before implementation of the

3 plan.

4 (d) ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION.—The Secretary

5 may not make the conveyance authorized by subsection (a)

6 until the Secretary completes the evaluation and perform7 ance of any environmental restoration activities required

8 by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa9 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.),

10 and by any other provision of law.

11 (e) PERSONAL PROPERTY.—As part of the conveyance

12 authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary may convey,

13 without consideration, to the State of Colorado any fur14 niture, fixtures, equipment, and other personal property as15 sociated with the property conveyed under that subsection

16 that the Secretary determines is not required for purposes

17 of the Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities

18 to be established by the Secretary in southern Colorado or

19 for purposes of Fort Lyon National Cemetery.

20 (f) LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—The exact acreage and legal

21 description of the real property to be conveyed under sub22 section (a) shall be determined by a survey satisfactory to

23 the Secretary. Any costs associated with the survey shall

24 be borne by the State of Colorado.
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1 (g) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Sec2 retary may require such other terms and conditions in con3 nection with the conveyances authorized by subsections (a)

4 and (e) as the Secretary considers appropriate to protect

5 the interests of the United States.

6 SEC. 247. EFFECT OF CLOSURE OF FORT LYON DEPART7 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CEN8 TER ON ADMINISTRATION OF HEALTH CARE

9 FOR VETERANS.

10 (a) PAYMENT FOR NURSING HOME CARE.—Notwith11 standing any limitation under section 1720 or 1741 of title

12 38, United States Code, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

13 may pay the State of Colorado, or any private nursing

14 home care facility, for costs incurred in providing nursing

15 home care to any veteran who is relocated from the Fort

16 Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Colo17 rado, to a facility of the State of Colorado or such private

18 facility, as the case may be, as a result of the closure of

19 the Fort Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Cen20 ter.

21 (b) OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE EXTENDED CARE SERV22 ICES.—Nothing in section 246 or this section may be con23 strued to alter or otherwise affect the obligation of the Sec24 retary to meet the requirements of section 1710B(b) of title
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1 38, United States Code, relating to staffing and levels of

2 extended care services in fiscal years after fiscal year 1998.

3 (c) REPORT ON VETERANS HEALTH CARE IN SOUTH4 ERN COLORADO.—Not later than one year after the convey5 ance, if any, authorized by section 246, the Under Secretary

6 for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs, acting

7 through the Director of Veterans Integrated Service Network

8 (VISN) 19, shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af9 fairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a re10 port on the status of the health care system for veterans

11 under that Network in southern Colorado. The report shall

12 describe any improvements to the system in southern Colo13 rado that have been put into effect in the period beginning

14 on the date of the conveyance and ending on the date of

15 the report.
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1 TITLE III—COMPENSATION, IN2 SURANCE, HOUSING, EMPLOY3 MENT, AND MEMORIAL AF4 FAIRS PROVISIONS

5 Subtitle A—Compensation Program

6 Changes

7 SEC. 301. STROKES AND HEART ATTACKS INCURRED OR AG8 GRAVATED BY MEMBERS OF RESERVE COM9 PONENTS IN THE PERFORMANCE OF DUTY

10 WHILE PERFORMING INACTIVE DUTY TRAIN11 ING TO BE CONSIDERED TO BE SERVICE-CON12 NECTED.

13 (a) SCOPE OF TERM ‘‘ACTIVE MILITARY, NAVAL, OR

14 AIR SERVICE’’.—Section 101(24) is amended to read as fol15 lows:

16 ‘‘(24) The term ‘active military, naval, or air service’

17 includes—

18 ‘‘(A) active duty;

19 ‘‘(B) any period of active duty for training dur20 ing which the individual concerned was disabled or

21 died from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated

22 in line of duty; and

23 ‘‘(C) any period of inactive duty training during

24 which the individual concerned was disabled or

25 died—
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1 ‘‘(i) from an injury incurred or aggravated

2 in line of duty; or

3 ‘‘(ii) from an acute myocardial infarction,

4 a cardiac arrest, or a cerebrovascular accident

5 occurring during such training.’’.

6 (b) TRAVEL TO OR FROM TRAINING DUTY.—Section

7 106(d) is amended—

8 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’;

9 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as

10 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;

11 (3) by inserting ‘‘or covered disease’’ after ‘‘in12 jury’’ each place it appears;

13 (4) by designating the second sentence as para14 graph (2);

15 (5) by designating the third sentence as para16 graph (3); and

17 (6) by adding at the end the following new para18 graph:

19 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘covered

20 disease’ means any of the following:

21 ‘‘(A) Acute myocardial infarction.

22 ‘‘(B) A cardiac arrest.

23 ‘‘(C) A cerebrovascular accident.’’.
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1 SEC. 302. SPECIAL MONTHLY COMPENSATION FOR WOMEN

2 VETERANS WHO LOSE A BREAST AS A RESULT

3 OF A SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY.

4 Section 1114(k) is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘or has suffered’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘has suffered’’; and

7 (2) by inserting after ‘‘air and bone conduction,’’

8 the following: ‘‘or, in the case of a woman veteran,

9 has suffered the anatomical loss of one or both breasts

10 (including loss by mastectomy),’’.

11 SEC. 303. BENEFITS FOR PERSONS DISABLED BY PARTICI12 PATION IN COMPENSATED WORK THERAPY

13 PROGRAM.

14 Section 1151(a)(2) is amended—

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘proximately

16 caused’’; and

17 (2) by inserting before the period at the end the

18 following: ‘‘, or (B) by participation in a program

19 (known as a ‘compensated work therapy program’)

20 under section 1718 of this title’’.

21 SEC. 304. REVISION TO LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS OF BEN22 EFITS TO INCOMPETENT INSTITUTIONALIZED

23 VETERANS.

24 Section 5503(b)(1) is amended—

25 (1) in subparagraph (A)—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘$1,500’’ and inserting ‘‘the

2 amount equal to five times the section 1114(j)

3 rate’’; and

4 (B) by striking ‘‘$500’’ and inserting ‘‘one5 half that amount’’; and

6 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub7 paragraph:

8 ‘‘(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘section

9 1114(j) rate’ means the monthly rate of compensation in

10 effect under section 1114(j) of this title for a veteran with

11 a service-connected disability rated as total.’’.

12 SEC. 305. REVIEW OF DOSE RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM

13 OF THE DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGEN14 CY.

15 (a) REVIEW BY NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.—

16 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of

17 this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall enter into a contract

18 with the National Academy of Sciences to carry out peri19 odic reviews of the program of the Defense Threat Reduction

20 Agency of the Department of Defense known as the ‘‘dose

21 reconstruction program’’.

22 (b) REVIEW ACTIVITIES.—The periodic reviews of the

23 dose reconstruction program under the contract under sub24 section (a) shall consist of the periodic selection of random
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1 samples of doses reconstructed by the Defense Threat Reduc2 tion Agency in order to determine—

3 (1) whether or not the reconstruction of the sam4 pled doses is accurate;

5 (2) whether or not the reconstructed dosage num6 ber is accurately reported;

7 (3) whether or not the assumptions made regard8 ing radiation exposure based upon the sampled doses

9 are credible; and

10 (4) whether or not the data from nuclear tests

11 used by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency as part

12 of the reconstruction of the sampled doses is accurate.

13 (c) DURATION OF REVIEW.—The periodic reviews

14 under the contract under subsection (a) shall occur over a

15 period of 24 months.

16 (d) REPORT.—(1) Not later than 60 days after the con17 clusion of the period referred to in subsection (c), the Na18 tional Academy of Sciences shall submit to Congress a re19 port on its activities under the contract under this section.

20 (2) The report shall include the following:

21 (A) A detailed description of the activities of the

22 National Academy of Sciences under the contract.

23 (B) Any recommendations that the National

24 Academy of Sciences considers appropriate regarding

25 a permanent system of review of the dose reconstruc-
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1 tion program of the Defense Threat Reduction Agen2 cy.

3 Subtitle B—Life Insurance Matters

4 SEC. 311. PREMIUMS FOR TERM SERVICE DISABLED VET5 ERANS’ INSURANCE FOR VETERANS OLDER

6 THAN AGE 70.

7 (a) CAP ON PREMIUMS.—Section 1922 is amended by

8 adding at the end the following new subsection:

9 ‘‘(c) The premium rate of any term insurance issued

10 under this section shall not exceed the renewal age 70 pre11 mium rate.’’.

12 (b) REPORT.—Not later than September 30, 2001, the

13 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a re14 port setting forth a plan to liquidate the unfunded liability

15 under the life insurance program under section 1922 of title

16 38, United States Code, not later than October 1, 2011.

17 SEC. 312. INCREASE IN AUTOMATIC MAXIMUM COVERAGE

18 UNDER SERVICEMEMBERS’ GROUP LIFE IN19 SURANCE AND VETERANS’ GROUP LIFE IN20 SURANCE.

21 (a) MAXIMUM UNDER SERVICEMEMBERS’ GROUP LIFE

22 INSURANCE.—Section 1967 is amended in subsections (a),

23 (c), and (d) by striking ‘‘$200,000’’ each place it appears

24 and inserting ‘‘$250,000’’.
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1 (b) MAXIMUM UNDER VETERANS’ GROUP LIFE INSUR2 ANCE.—Section 1977(a) is amended by striking ‘‘$200,000’’

3 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘$250,000’’.

4 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this

5 section shall take effect on the first day of the first month

6 that begins more than 120 days after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act.

8 SEC. 313. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE INDI9 VIDUAL READY RESERVE FOR

10 SERVICEMEMBERS’ GROUP LIFE INSURANCE.

11 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 1965(5) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara13 graph (B);

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) a person who volunteers for assign19 ment to a mobilization category in the Indi20 vidual Ready Reserve, as defined in section

21 12304(i)(1) of title 10; and’’.

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Sections 1967(a),

23 1968(a), and 1969(a)(2)(A) are amended by striking ‘‘sec24 tion 1965(5)(B) of this title’’ each place it appears and in-
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1 serting ‘‘subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 1965(5) of this

2 title’’.

3 Subtitle C—Housing and

4 Employment Programs

5 SEC. 321. ELIMINATION OF REDUCTION IN ASSISTANCE FOR

6 SPECIALLY ADAPTED HOUSING FOR DIS7 ABLED VETERANS FOR VETERANS HAVING

8 JOINT OWNERSHIP OF HOUSING UNITS.

9 Section 2102 is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing new subsection:

11 ‘‘(c) The amount of assistance afforded under sub12 section (a) for a veteran authorized assistance by section

13 2101(a) of this title shall not be reduced by reason that title

14 to the housing unit, which is vested in the veteran, is also

15 vested in any other person, if the veteran resides in the

16 housing unit.’’.

17 SEC. 322. VETERANS EMPLOYMENT EMPHASIS UNDER FED18 ERAL CONTRACTS FOR RECENTLY SEPA19 RATED VETERANS.

20 (a) EMPLOYMENT EMPHASIS.—Subsection (a) of sec21 tion 4212 is amended in the first sentence by inserting ‘‘re22 cently separated veterans,’’ after ‘‘veterans of the Vietnam

23 era,’’.

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subsection (d)(1) of

25 that section is amended by inserting ‘‘recently separated
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1 veterans,’’ after ‘‘veterans of the Vietnam era,’’ each place

2 it appears in subparagraphs (A) and (B).

3 (c) RECENTLY SEPARATED VETERAN DEFINED.—Sec4 tion 4211 is amended by adding at the end the following

5 new paragraph:

6 ‘‘(6) The term ‘recently separated veteran’ means any

7 veteran during the one-year period beginning on the date

8 of such veteran’s discharge or release from active duty.’’.

9 SEC. 323. EMPLOYERS REQUIRED TO GRANT LEAVE OF AB10 SENCE FOR EMPLOYEES TO PARTICIPATE IN

11 HONOR GUARDS FOR FUNERALS OF VET12 ERANS.

13 (a) DEFINITION OF SERVICE IN THE UNIFORMED

14 SERVICES.—Section 4303(13) is amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘National Guard

16 duty’’; and

17 (2) by inserting before the period at the end ‘‘,

18 and a period for which a person is absent from em19 ployment for the purpose of performing funeral hon20 ors duty as authorized by section 12503 of title 10 or

21 section 115 of title 32.’’.

22 (b) REQUIRED LEAVE OF ABSENCE.—Section 4316 is

23 amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

24 ‘‘(e)(1) An employer shall grant an employee who is

25 a member of a reserve component an authorized leave of
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1 absence from a position of employment to allow that em2 ployee to perform funeral honors duty as authorized by sec3 tion 12503 of title 10 or section 115 of title 32.

4 ‘‘(2) For purposes of section 4312(e)(1) of this title,

5 an employee who takes an authorized leave of absence under

6 paragraph (1) is deemed to have notified the employer of

7 the employee’s intent to return to such position of employ8 ment.’’.

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub10 sections (a) and (b) shall take effect 180 days after the date

11 of the enactment of this Act.

12 Subtitle D—Cemeteries and

13 Memorial Affairs

14 SEC. 331. ELIGIBILITY FOR INTERMENT OF CERTAIN FILI15 PINO VETERANS OF WORLD WAR II IN NA16 TIONAL CEMETERIES.

17 (a) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN COMMONWEALTH ARMY

18 VETERANS.—Section 2402 is amended by adding at the end

19 the following new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(8) Any individual whose service is described in

21 section 107(a) of this title if such individual at the

22 time of death—

23 ‘‘(A) was a citizen of the United States or

24 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi25 dence in the United States; and
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1 ‘‘(B) resided in the United States.’’.

2 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 107(a)(3) is

3 amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(3) chapters 11, 13 (except section 1312(a)), 23,

5 and 24 (to the extent provided for in section 2402(8))

6 of this title.’’.

7 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this

8 section shall apply with respect to deaths occurring on or

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

10 SEC. 332. PAYMENT RATE OF CERTAIN BURIAL BENEFITS

11 FOR CERTAIN FILIPINO VETERANS OF WORLD

12 WAR II.

13 (a) PAYMENT RATE.—Section 107 is amended—

14 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Payments’’

15 and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (c), payments’’;

16 and

17 (2) by adding at the end the following new sec18 tion:

19 ‘‘(c)(1) In the case of an individual described in para20 graph (2), the second sentence of subsection (a) shall not

21 apply.

22 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) applies to any individual whose

23 service is described in subsection (a) and who dies after the

24 date of the enactment of this subsection if the individual,

25 on the individual’s date of death—
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1 ‘‘(A) is a citizen of, or an alien lawfully admit2 ted for permanent residence in, the United States;

3 ‘‘(B) is residing in the United States; and

4 ‘‘(C) either—

5 ‘‘(i) is receiving compensation under chap6 ter 11 of this title; or

7 ‘‘(ii) if the individual’s service had been

8 deemed to be active military, naval, or air serv9 ice, would have been paid pension under section

10 1521 of this title without denial or discontinu11 ance by reason of section 1522 of this title.’’.

12 (b) APPLICABILITY.—No benefits shall accrue to any

13 person for any period before the date of the enactment of

14 this Act by reason of the amendments made by subsection

15 (a).

16 SEC. 333. PLOT ALLOWANCE FOR BURIAL IN STATE VET17 ERANS CEMETERIES.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2303(b)(1)(A) is amended

19 to read as follows: ‘‘(A) is used solely for the interment of

20 persons who are (i) eligible for burial in a national ceme21 tery, and (ii) members of a reserve component of the Armed

22 Forces not otherwise eligible for such burial or former mem23 bers of such a reserve component not otherwise eligible for

24 such burial who are discharged or released from service

25 under conditions other than dishonorable, and’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub2 section (a) shall apply with respect to the burial of persons

3 dying on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

4 TITLE IV—OTHER MATTERS

5 SEC. 401. BENEFITS FOR THE CHILDREN OF WOMEN VIET6 NAM VETERANS WHO SUFFER FROM CERTAIN

7 BIRTH DEFECTS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 18 is amended by adding

9 at the end the following new subchapter:

10 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—CHILDREN OF WOMEN VIET11 NAM VETERANS BORN WITH CERTAIN BIRTH

12 DEFECTS

13 ‘‘§ 1811. Definitions

14 ‘‘In this subchapter:

15 ‘‘(1) The term ‘eligible child’ means an indi16 vidual who—

17 ‘‘(A) is the child (as defined in section

18 1821(1) of this title) of a woman Vietnam vet19 eran; and

20 ‘‘(B) was born with one or more covered

21 birth defects.

22 ‘‘(2) The term ‘covered birth defect’ means a

23 birth defect identified by the Secretary under section

24 1812 of this title.
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1 ‘‘§ 1812. Covered birth defects

2 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall identify

3 the birth defects of children of women Vietnam veterans

4 that—

5 ‘‘(1) are associated with the service of those vet6 erans in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam

7 era; and

8 ‘‘(2) result in permanent physical or mental dis9 ability.

10 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—(1) The birth defects identified

11 under subsection (a) may not include birth defects resulting

12 from the following:

13 ‘‘(A) A familial disorder.

14 ‘‘(B) A birth-related injury.

15 ‘‘(C) A fetal or neonatal infirmity with well-es16 tablished causes.

17 ‘‘(2) In any case where affirmative evidence establishes

18 that a covered birth defect of a child of a woman Vietnam

19 veteran results from a cause other than the active military,

20 naval, or air service of that veteran in the Republic of Viet21 nam during the Vietnam era, no benefits or assistance may

22 be provided the child under this subchapter.

23 ‘‘§ 1813. Health care

24 ‘‘(a) NEEDED CARE.—The Secretary shall provide an

25 eligible child such health care as the Secretary determines
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1 is needed by the child for that child’s covered birth defects

2 or any disability that is associated with those birth defects.

3 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY FOR CARE TO BE PROVIDED DI4 RECTLY OR BY CONTRACT.—The Secretary may provide

5 health care under this section directly or by contract or

6 other arrangement with a health care provider.

7 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

8 definitions in section 1803(c) of this title shall apply with

9 respect to the provision of health care under this section,

10 except that for such purposes—

11 ‘‘(1) the reference to ‘specialized spina bifida

12 clinic’ in paragraph (2) of that section shall be treat13 ed as a reference to a specialized clinic treating the

14 birth defect concerned under this section; and

15 ‘‘(2) the reference to ‘vocational training under

16 section 1804 of this title’ in paragraph (8) of that sec17 tion shall be treated as a reference to vocational

18 training under section 1814 of this title.

19 ‘‘§ 1814. Vocational training

20 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may provide a pro21 gram of vocational training to an eligible child if the Sec22 retary determines that the achievement of a vocational goal

23 by the child is reasonably feasible.

24 ‘‘(b) APPLICABLE PROVISIONS.—Subsections (b)

25 through (e) of section 1804 of this title shall apply with
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1 respect to any program of vocational training provided

2 under subsection (a).

3 ‘‘§ 1815. Monetary allowance

4 ‘‘(a) MONETARY ALLOWANCE.—The Secretary shall

5 pay a monthly allowance to any eligible child for any dis6 ability resulting from the covered birth defects of that child.

7 ‘‘(b) SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES.—(1) The

8 amount of the monthly allowance paid under this section

9 shall be based on the degree of disability suffered by the

10 child concerned, as determined in accordance with a sched11 ule for rating disabilities resulting from covered birth de12 fects that is prescribed by the Secretary.

13 ‘‘(2) In prescribing a schedule for rating disabilities

14 for the purposes of this section, the Secretary shall establish

15 four levels of disability upon which the amount of the allow16 ance provided by this section shall be based. The levels of

17 disability established may take into account functional lim18 itations, including limitations on cognition, communica19 tion, motor abilities, activities of daily living, and employ20 ability.

21 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF MONTHLY ALLOWANCE.—The amount

22 of the monthly allowance paid under this section shall be

23 as follows:
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1 ‘‘(1) In the case of a child suffering from the low2 est level of disability prescribed in the schedule for

3 rating disabilities under subsection (b), $100.

4 ‘‘(2) In the case of a child suffering from the

5 lower intermediate level of disability prescribed in the

6 schedule for rating disabilities under subsection (b),

7 the greater of—

8 ‘‘(A) $214; or

9 ‘‘(B) the monthly amount payable under

10 section 1805(b)(3) of this title for the lowest level

11 of disability prescribed for purposes of that sec12 tion.

13 ‘‘(3) In the case of a child suffering from the

14 higher intermediate level of disability prescribed in

15 the schedule for rating disabilities under subsection

16 (b), the greater of—

17 ‘‘(A) $743; or

18 ‘‘(B) the monthly amount payable under

19 section 1805(b)(3) of this title for the inter20 mediate level of disability prescribed for purposes

21 of that section.

22 ‘‘(4) In the case of a child suffering from the

23 highest level of disability prescribed in the schedule

24 for rating disabilities under subsection (b), the greater

25 of—
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1 ‘‘(A) $1,272; or

2 ‘‘(B) the monthly amount payable under

3 section 1805(b)(3) of this title for the highest

4 level of disability prescribed for purposes of that

5 section.

6 ‘‘(d) INDEXING TO SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFIT IN7 CREASES.—Amounts under paragraphs (1), (2)(A), (3)(A),

8 and (4)(A) of subsection (c) shall be subject to adjustment

9 from time to time under section 5312 of this title.

10 ‘‘§ 1816. Regulations

11 ‘‘The Secretary shall prescribe regulations for purposes

12 of the administration of this subchapter.’’.

13 (b) CONSOLIDATION OF PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO

14 BOTH SUBCHAPTERS.—Chapter 18 is further amended by

15 adding after subchapter II, as added by subsection (a), the

16 following new subchapter:

17 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—GENERAL PROVISIONS

18 ‘‘§ 1821. Definitions

19 ‘‘In this chapter:

20 ‘‘(1) The term ‘child’ means an individual, re21 gardless of age or marital status, who—

22 ‘‘(A) is the natural child of a Vietnam vet23 eran; and
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1 ‘‘(B) was conceived after the date on which

2 that veteran first entered the Republic of Viet3 nam during the Vietnam era.

4 ‘‘(2) The term ‘Vietnam veteran’ means an indi5 vidual who performed active military, naval, or air

6 service in the Republic of Vietnam during the Viet7 nam era, without regard to the characterization of

8 that individual’s service.

9 ‘‘(3) The term ‘Vietnam era’ with respect to—

10 ‘‘(A) subchapter I of this chapter, means the

11 period beginning on January 9, 1962, and end12 ing on May 7, 1975; and

13 ‘‘(B) subchapter II of this chapter, means

14 the period beginning on February 28, 1961, and

15 ending on May 7, 1975.

16 ‘‘§ 1822. Applicability of certain administrative provi17 sions

18 ‘‘(a) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS RELAT19 ING TO COMPENSATION.—The provisions of this title speci20 fied in subsection (b) apply with respect to benefits and as21 sistance under this chapter in the same manner as those

22 provisions apply to compensation paid under chapter 11

23 of this title.

24 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIED PROVISIONS.—The provisions of this

25 title referred to in subsection (a) are the following:
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1 ‘‘(1) Section 5101(c).

2 ‘‘(2) Subsections (a), (b)(2), (g), and (i) of sec3 tion 5110.

4 ‘‘(3) Section 5111.

5 ‘‘(4) Subsection (a) and paragraphs (1), (6), (9),

6 and (10) of subsection (b) of section 5112.

7 ‘‘§ 1823. Treatment of receipt of monetary allowance

8 and other benefits

9 ‘‘(a) COORDINATION WITH OTHER BENEFITS PAID TO

10 THE RECIPIENT.—Notwithstanding any other provision of

11 law, receipt by an individual of a monetary allowance

12 under this chapter shall not impair, infringe, or otherwise

13 affect the right of the individual to receive any other benefit

14 to which the individual is otherwise entitled under any law

15 administered by the Secretary.

16 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION WITH BENEFITS BASED ON RELA17 TIONSHIP OF RECIPIENTS.—Notwithstanding any other

18 provision of law, receipt by an individual of a monetary

19 allowance under this chapter shall not impair, infringe, or

20 otherwise affect the right of any other individual to receive

21 any benefit to which such other individual is entitled under

22 any law administered by the Secretary based on the rela23 tionship of such other individual to the individual who re24 ceives such monetary allowance.
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1 ‘‘(c) MONETARY ALLOWANCE NOT TO BE CONSIDERED

2 AS INCOME OR RESOURCES FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—

3 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a monetary

4 allowance paid an individual under this chapter shall not

5 be considered as income or resources in determining eligi6 bility for, or the amount of benefits under, any Federal or

7 federally assisted program.

8 ‘‘§ 1824. Nonduplication of benefits

9 ‘‘(a) MONETARY ALLOWANCE.—In the case of an eligi10 ble child under subchapter II of this chapter whose only

11 covered birth defect is spina bifida, a monetary allowance

12 shall be paid under subchapter I of this chapter. In the case

13 of an eligible child under subchapter II of this chapter who

14 has spina bifida and one or more additional covered birth

15 defects, a monetary allowance shall be paid under sub16 chapter II of this chapter.

17 ‘‘(b) VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION.—An individual

18 may only be provided one program of vocational training

19 under this chapter.’’.

20 (c) REPEAL OF RECODIFIED PROVISIONS.—The fol21 lowing provisions are repealed:

22 (1) Section 1801.

23 (2) Subsections (c) and (d) of section 1805.

24 (3) Section 1806.
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1 (d) DESIGNATION OF SUBCHAPTER I.—Chapter 18 is

2 further amended by inserting before section 1802 the fol3 lowing:

4 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—CHILDREN OF VIETNAM

5 VETERANS BORN WITH SPINA BIFIDA’’.

6 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 1802 is

7 amended by striking ‘‘this chapter’’ and inserting ‘‘this sub8 chapter’’.

9 (2) Section 1805(a) is amended by striking ‘‘this chap10 ter’’ and inserting ‘‘this section’’.

11 (f) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—(1) The chapter heading

12 of chapter 18 is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘CHAPTER 18—BENEFITS FOR CHILDREN

14 OF VIETNAM VETERANS’’.

15 (2) The tables of chapters before part I, and at the be16 ginning of part II, are each amended by striking the item

17 relating to chapter 18 and inserting the following new item:

‘‘18. Benefits for Children of Vietnam Veterans ............................................ 1802’’.

18 (3) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

19 18 is amended—

20 (A) by inserting at the beginning the following:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS BORN WITH

SPINA BIFIDA’’;

21 (B) by striking the items relating to sections

22 1801 and 1806; and

23 (C) by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—CHILDREN OF WOMEN VIETNAM VETERANS

BORN WITH CERTAIN BIRTH DEFECTS

‘‘1811. Definitions.

‘‘1812. Covered birth defects.

‘‘1813. Health care.

‘‘1814. Vocational training.

‘‘1815. Monetary allowance.

‘‘1816. Regulations.

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—GENERAL PROVISIONS

‘‘1821. Definitions.

‘‘1822. Applicability of certain administrative provisions.

‘‘1823. Treatment of receipt of monetary allowance and other benefits.

‘‘1824. Nonduplication of benefits.’’.

1 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—(1) Except as provided in

2 paragraph (2), the amendments made by this section shall

3 take effect on the first day of the first month beginning more

4 than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

5 (2) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall identify

6 birth defects under section 1812 of title 38, United States

7 Code (as added by subsection (a) of this section), and shall

8 prescribe the regulations required by subchapter II of chap9 ter 18 of that title (as so added), not later than the effective

10 date specified in paragraph (1).

11 SEC. 402. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN EXPIRING AUTHORITIES.

12 (a) ENHANCED LOAN ASSET SALE AUTHORITY.—Sec13 tion 3720(h)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘December 31,

14 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2008’’.

15 (b) HOME LOAN FEES.—Section 3729 is amended by

16 striking everything after the section heading and inserting

17 the following:
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1 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT OF FEE.—(1) Except as provided

2 in subsection (c), a fee shall be collected from each person

3 obtaining a housing loan guaranteed, insured, or made

4 under this chapter, and each person assuming a loan to

5 which section 3714 of this title applies. No such loan may

6 be guaranteed, insured, made, or assumed until the fee pay7 able under this section has been remitted to the Secretary.

8 ‘‘(2) The fee may be included in the loan and paid

9 from the proceeds thereof.

10 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF FEE.—(1) The amount of the

11 fee shall be determined from the loan fee table in paragraph

12 (2). The fee is expressed as a percentage of the total amount

13 of the loan guaranteed, insured, or made, or, in the case

14 of a loan assumption, the unpaid principal balance of the

15 loan on the date of the transfer of the property.

16 ‘‘(2) The loan fee table referred to in paragraph (1)

17 is as follows:

‘‘LOAN FEE TABLE

Type of loan Active duty

veteran Reservist Other obligor

(A)(i) Initial loan described in section 3710(a)

to purchase or construct a dwelling with 0-

down, or any other initial loan described in

section 3710(a) other than with 5-down or

10-down (closed before October 1, 2008) ......... 2.00 2.75 NA

(A)(ii) Initial loan described in section 3710(a)

to purchase or construct a dwelling with 0-

down, or any other initial loan described in

section 3710(a) other than with 5-down or

10-down (closed on or after October 1, 2008) 1.25 2.00 NA
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‘‘LOAN FEE TABLE—Continued

Type of loan Active duty

veteran Reservist Other obligor

(B)(i) Subsequent loan described in section

3710(a) to purchase or construct a dwelling

with 0-down, or any other subsequent loan

described in section 3710(a) (closed before

October 1, 2008) ............................................... 3.00 3.00 NA

(B)(ii) Subsequent loan described in section

3710(a) to purchase or construct a dwelling

with 0-down, or any other subsequent loan

described in section 3710(a) (closed on or

after October 1, 2008) ...................................... 1.25 2.00 NA

(C)(i) Loan described in section 3710(a) to

purchase or construct a dwelling with 5-

down (closed before October 1, 2008) .............. 1.50 2.25 NA

(C)(ii) Loan described in section 3710(a) to

purchase or construct a dwelling with 5-

down (closed on or after October 1, 2008) ...... .75 1.50 NA

(D)(i) Initial loan described in section 3710(a)

to purchase or construct a dwelling with 10-

down (closed before October 1, 2008) .............. 1.25 2.00 NA

(D)(ii) Initial loan described in section 3710(a)

to purchase or construct a dwelling with 10-

down (closed on or after October 1, 2008) ...... .50 1.25 NA

(E) Interest rate reduction refinancing loan ..... 0.50 0.50 NA

(F) Direct loan under section 3711 .................... 1.00 1.00 NA

(G) Manufactured home loan under section

3712 (other than an interest rate reduction

refinancing loan) .............................................. 1.00 1.00 NA

(H) Loan to Native American veteran under

section 3762 (other than an interest rate reduction refinancing loan) ................................ 1.25 1.25 NA

(I) Loan assumption under section 3714 ........... 0.50 0.50 0.50

(J) Loan under section 3733(a) .......................... 2.25 2.25 2.25’’.

1 ‘‘(3) Any reference to a section in the ‘Type of loan’

2 column in the loan fee table in paragraph (2) refers to a

3 section of this title.

4 ‘‘(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2):
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1 ‘‘(A) The term ‘active duty veteran’ means any

2 veteran eligible for the benefits of this chapter other

3 than a Reservist.

4 ‘‘(B) The term ‘Reservist’ means a veteran de5 scribed in section 3701(b)(5)(A) of this title.

6 ‘‘(C) The term ‘other obligor’ means a person

7 who is not a veteran, as defined in section 101 of this

8 title or other provision of this chapter.

9 ‘‘(D) The term ‘initial loan’ means a loan to a

10 veteran guaranteed under section 3710 or made under

11 section 3711 of this title if the veteran has never ob12 tained a loan guaranteed under section 3710 or made

13 under section 3711 of this title.

14 ‘‘(E) The term ‘subsequent loan’ means a loan to

15 a veteran, other than an interest rate reduction refi16 nancing loan, guaranteed under section 3710 or made

17 under section 3711 of this title if the veteran has pre18 viously obtained a loan guaranteed under section

19 3710 or made under section 3711 of this title.

20 ‘‘(F) The term ‘interest rate reduction refi21 nancing loan’ means a loan described in section

22 3710(a)(8), 3710(a)(9)(B)(i), 3710(a)(11),

23 3712(a)(1)(F), or 3762(h) of this title.
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1 ‘‘(G) The term ‘0-down’ means a downpayment,

2 if any, of less than 5 percent of the total purchase

3 price or construction cost of the dwelling.

4 ‘‘(H) The term ‘5-down’ means a downpayment

5 of at least 5 percent or more, but less than 10 percent,

6 of the total purchase price or construction cost of the

7 dwelling.

8 ‘‘(I) The term ‘10-down’ means a downpayment

9 of 10 percent or more of the total purchase price or

10 construction cost of the dwelling.

11 ‘‘(c) WAIVER OF FEE.—A fee may not be collected

12 under this section from a veteran who is receiving com13 pensation (or who, but for the receipt of retirement pay,

14 would be entitled to receive compensation) or from a sur15 viving spouse of any veteran (including a person who died

16 in the active military, naval, or air service) who died from

17 a service-connected disability.’’.

18 (c) PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO LIQUIDATION SALES

19 ON DEFAULTED HOME LOANS GUARANTEED BY THE DE20 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.—Section 3732(c)(11) is

21 amended by striking ‘‘October 1, 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘Oc22 tober 1, 2008’’.

23 (d) INCOME VERIFICATION AUTHORITY.—Section

24 5317(g) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 2002’’ and

25 inserting ‘‘September 30, 2008’’.
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1 (e) LIMITATION ON PENSION FOR CERTAIN RECIPI2 ENTS OF MEDICAID-COVERED NURSING HOME CARE.—Sec3 tion 5503(f)(7) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30,

4 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2008’’.

5 (f) ANNUAL REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON MENTALLY

6 ILL VETERANS.—Section 7321(d)(2) is amended by striking

7 ‘‘three’’ and inserting ‘‘six’’.

8 (g) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH RESEARCH AND EDU9 CATION CORPORATIONS.—Section 7368 is amended by

10 striking ‘‘December 31, 2000’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31,

11 2003’’.

12 SEC. 403. PRESERVATION OF CERTAIN REPORTING RE13 QUIREMENTS.

14 (a) INAPPLICABILITY OF PRIOR REPORTS TERMI15 NATION PROVISION TO CERTAIN REPORTS OF THE DEPART16 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.—Section 3003(a)(1) of the

17 Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 (31

18 U.S.C. 1113 note) does not apply to any report required

19 to be submitted under any of the following: sections 503(c),

20 529, 541(c), 542(c), 3036, and 7312(d) of title 38, United

21 States Code.

22 (b) REPEAL OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS TERMI23 NATED BY PRIOR LAW.—Sections 8111A(f) and 8201(h) are

24 repealed.
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1 (c) SUNSET OF CERTAIN REPORTING REQUIRE2 MENTS.—

3 (1) ANNUAL REPORT ON EQUITABLE RELIEF

4 CASES.—Section 503(c) is amended by adding at the

5 end the following new sentence: ‘‘No report shall be re6 quired under this subsection after December 31,

7 2004.’’.

8 (2) BIENNIAL REPORT OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE

9 ON FORMER PRISONERS OF WAR.—Section 541(c)(1)

10 is amended by inserting ‘‘through 2003’’ after ‘‘each

11 odd-numbered year’’.

12 (3) BIENNIAL REPORT OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE

13 ON WOMEN VETERANS.—Section 542(c)(1) is amended

14 by inserting ‘‘through 2004’’ after ‘‘each even-num15 bered year’’.

16 (4) BIENNIAL REPORTS ON MONTGOMERY GI

17 BILL.—Subsection (d) of section 3036 is amended to

18 read as follows:

19 ‘‘(d) No report shall be required under this section

20 after January 1, 2005.’’.

21 (5) ANNUAL REPORT OF SPECIAL MEDICAL ADVI22 SORY GROUP.—Section 7312(d) is amended by adding

23 at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘No report

24 shall be required under this subsection after December

25 31, 2004.’’.
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1 (d) COST INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED WITH EACH

2 REPORT REQUIRED BY CONGRESS.—(1)(A) Chapter 1 is

3 amended by adding at the end the following new section:

4 ‘‘§ 116. Reports to Congress: cost information

5 ‘‘Whenever the Secretary submits to Congress, or any

6 committee of Congress, a report that is required by law or

7 by a joint explanatory statement of a committee of con8 ference of the Congress, the Secretary shall include with the

9 report—

10 ‘‘(1) a statement of the cost of preparing the re11 port; and

12 ‘‘(2) a brief explanation of the methodology used

13 in preparing that cost statement.’’.

14 (B) The table of sections at the beginning of such chap15 ter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

‘‘116. Reports to Congress: cost information.’’.

16 (2) Section 116 of title 38, United States Code, as

17 added by paragraph (1) of this subsection, shall apply with

18 respect to any report submitted by the Secretary of Veterans

19 Affairs after the end of the 90–day period beginning on the

20 date of the enactment of this Act.

21 SEC. 404. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

22 (a) TITLE 38.—Title 38, United States Code, is

23 amended as follows:

24 (1) Section 1116(a)(2)(F) is amended by insert25 ing ‘‘of disability’’ after ‘‘to a degree’’
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1 (2) Section 1318(b)(3) is amended by striking

2 ‘‘not later than’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than’’.

3 (3) Section 1712(a)(4)(A) is amended by striking

4 ‘‘subsection (a) of this section (other than paragraphs

5 (3)(B) and (3)(C) of that subsection)’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘this subsection’’.

7 (4) Section 1720A(c)(1) is amended by striking

8 ‘‘for such disability’’ and all that follows through ‘‘to

9 such member’’ and inserting ‘‘for such disability.

10 Care and services provided to a member so trans11 ferred’’.

12 (5) Section 2402(7) is amended by striking

13 ‘‘chapter 67 of title 10’’ and inserting ‘‘chapter 1223

14 of title 10’’.

15 (6) Section 3012(g)(2) is amended by striking

16 ‘‘subparagraphs’’ both places it appears and inserting

17 ‘‘subparagraph’’.

18 (7) Section 3684(c) is amended by striking ‘‘cal19 ender’’ and inserting ‘‘calendar’’.

20 (8) The table of sections at the beginning of

21 chapter 41 is amended by inserting after the item re22 lating to section 4110A the following new item:

‘‘4110B. Coordination and nonduplication.’’.

23 (9) The text of section 4213 is amended to read

24 as follows:
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1 ‘‘(a) Amounts and periods of time specified in sub2 section (b) shall be disregarded in determining eligibility

3 under any of the following:

4 ‘‘(1) Any public service employment program.

5 ‘‘(2) Any emergency employment program.

6 ‘‘(3) Any job training program assisted under

7 the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.

8 ‘‘(4) Any employment or training program car9 ried out under title I of the Workforce Investment Act

10 of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.).

11 ‘‘(5) Any other employment or training (or re12 lated) program financed in whole or in part with

13 Federal funds.

14 ‘‘(b) Subsection (a) applies with respect to the fol15 lowing amounts and periods of time:

16 ‘‘(1) Any amount received as pay or allowances

17 by any person while serving on active duty.

18 ‘‘(2) Any period of time during which such per19 son served on active duty.

20 ‘‘(3) Any amount received under chapters 11, 13,

21 30, 31, 32, and 36 of this title by an eligible veteran.

22 ‘‘(4) Any amount received by an eligible person

23 under chapters 13 and 35 of this title.

24 ‘‘(5) Any amount received by an eligible member

25 under chapter 106 of title 10.’’.
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1 (10) Section 7603(a)(1) is amended by striking

2 ‘‘subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘subchapter’’.

3 (b) OTHER LAWS.—

4 (1) Effective November 30, 1999, and as if in5 cluded therein as originally enacted, section 208(c)(2)

6 of the Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits

7 Act (Public Law 106–117; 113 Stat. 1568) is amend8 ed by striking ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub9 section (c)(3)’’.

10 (2) Effective November 21, 1977, and as if in11 cluded therein as originally enacted, section 402(e) of

12 the Veterans’ Benefits Act of 1997 (Public Law 105–

13 114; 111 Stat. 2294) is amended by striking ‘‘second

14 sentence’’ and inserting ‘‘third sentence’’.

Amend the amendment of the House to the title so

as to read: ‘‘An Act to amend title 38, United States

Code, to increase the rates of educational assistance

under the Montgomery GI Bill, to improve procedures for

the adjustment of rates of pay for nurses employed by

the Department of Veterans Affairs, to make other improvements in veterans educational assistance, health

care, and benefits programs, and for other purposes.’’.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1402

SENATE AMENDMENTS TO

HOUSE AMENDMENTS
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