I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5689 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a national survey 

of veterans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2020 

Ms. BROWNLEY of California introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct 

a national survey of veterans. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Every Veteran Counts 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs pro9 vides a variety of benefits and services to over 

10 20,000,000 veterans who have served the Nation. 


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1 (2) Pursuant to section 527 of title 38, United 

2 States Code, the Department of Veterans Affairs 

3 has conducted the National Survey of Veterans to 

4 assess the status of all veterans. 

5 (3) The Department of Veterans Affairs has 

6 conducted this National Survey of Veterans in the 

7 late 1970s, 1987, 1993, 2001, and 2010. 

8 (4) The last survey conducted in 2010 included 

9 veterans and other beneficiary groups such as mem10 bers of the Armed Forces serving on active duty, de11 mobilized National Guard and Reserve members, 

12 spouses, and surviving spouses. 

13 (5) The 2010 survey included information on 

14 demographics, awareness and utilization of benefits, 

15 health status, military service, and employment. 

16 (6) These surveys provide the Department of 

17 Veterans Affairs, Congress, State and local govern18 ments, and various organizations that serve veterans 

19 valuable information on the veteran population. 

20 (7) This information is utilized to inform pol21 icymaking efforts and to ensure the needs of the 

22 ever-changing veteran population are met. 

23 (8) As the data from the 2010 survey is nearly 

24 a decade old, conducting a new survey will provide 


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1 more current and accurate data on veterans and 

2 other beneficiaries. 

3 SEC. 3. NATIONAL SURVEY OF VETERANS. 

4 (a) SURVEY.—Not later than 365 days after the date 

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

6 Affairs shall conduct a national survey of veterans in a 

7 manner to include a statistically valid sample of veterans 

8 by— 

9 (1) gender identity (including male, woman, 

10 transgender, gender diverse); 

11 (2) age; 

12 (3) educational level; 

13 (4) race and ethnicity; 

14 (5) sexual orientation; 

15 (6) marital status; 

16 (7) whether the veteran has dependent children; 

17 (8) income amount and source of income; 

18 (9) living arrangement; 

19 (10) employment; 

20 (11) reasons for not seeking employment, if ap21 plicable; 

22 (12) branch of service; 

23 (13) period of service; 

24 (14) whether the veteran served in the National 

25 Guard or a reserve component; 


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1 (15) whether the veteran served in a combat 

2 theater of operations or war zone; 

3 (16) whether the veteran was exposed to dead, 

4 dying, or wounded people while serving on active 

5 duty; 

6 (17) prisoner of war status; 

7 (18) whether the veteran was definitely or prob8 ably exposed to environment hazards while in mili9 tary service; 

10 (19) whether the veteran is enrolled in the pa11 tient enrollment system of the Department of Vet12 erans Affairs under section 1705 of title 38, United 

13 States Code; 

14 (20) whether the veteran is in receipt of De15 partment of Veterans Affairs benefits and services 

16 and if not, why; 

17 (21) whether the veteran has participated in 

18 veterans treatment courts; 

19 (22) whether the veteran is a justice-involved 

20 veteran; 

21 (23) disability rating; and 

22 (24) whether the veteran experienced military 

23 sexual trauma. 


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1 (b) GROUPS OF VETERANS.—The survey conducted 

2 pursuant to subsection (a) shall include the following 

3 groups: 

4 (1) World War II veterans. 

5 (2) Korean conflict era veterans. 

6 (3) Vietnam era veterans. 

7 (4) Persian Gulf era veterans. 

8 (5) Veterans of the conflicts in Lebanon in 

9 1982 and 1983, Grenada in 1983, and Panama in 

10 1989 and 1990. 

11 (6) Post-9/11 era veterans. 

12 (7) Veterans who served during peacetime. 

13 (8) Members of the Armed Forces serving on 

14 active duty. 

15 (9) National Guard and Reserve members acti16 vated under title 10, United States Code. 

17 (10) Family members and survivors of veterans 

18 and members of the Armed Forces. 

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the com20 pletion of the survey conducted pursuant to subsection (a), 

21 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 

22 (1) submit to Congress a report on the results 

23 of the survey; and 


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1 (2) publish such report on a publicly accessible 

2 website of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Æ 


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