II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 681 

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

provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to women veterans, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 21, 2017 

Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. KAINE, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. NELSON, Ms. HASSAN, 

and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

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

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

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Deborah Sampson Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—PEER-TO-PEER ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 101. Pilot program on peer-to-peer assistance for women veterans. 

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

text messaging. 

Sec. 103. Provision of reintegration and readjustment services to veterans and 

family members in group retreat settings. 

TITLE II—LEGAL AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES 

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

services for women veterans. 

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

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

TITLE III—NEWBORN CARE 

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

the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 302. Source of amounts for medically necessary travel paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs in connection with care for newborn 

children. 

TITLE IV—ELIMINATING BARRIERS TO ACCESS 

Sec. 401. Women Veterans Retrofit Initiative. 

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

Sec. 403. Staffing of Women Veteran Program Manager program at medical 

centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 404. Additional funding for primary care and emergency care clinicians in 

Women Veterans Health Care Mini-Residency Program. 

TITLE V—DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING 

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

Veterans Affairs benefits and services and disaggregation of 

such data by sex and minority status. 

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

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

provide information on services available to women veterans. 

Sec. 504. Sense of Congress on changing motto of Department of Veterans Affairs to be more inclusive. 


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1 TITLE I—PEER-TO-PEER 

2 ASSISTANCE 

3 SEC. 101. PILOT PROGRAM ON PEER-TO-PEER ASSISTANCE 

4 FOR WOMEN VETERANS. 

5 (a) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIRED.—Commencing not 

6 later than January 1, 2018, the Secretary of Veterans Af7 fairs shall carry out a pilot program to assess the feasi8 bility and advisability of facilitating peer-to-peer assist9 ance for women veterans, including those who are sepa10 rating or newly separated from service in the Armed 

11 Forces. 

12 (b) PEER-TO-PEER ASSISTANCE.—Peer-to-peer as13 sistance under the pilot program shall consist of the fol14 lowing: 

15 (1) Provision of information about services and 

16 benefits provided under laws administered by the 

17 Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

18 (2) Employment mentoring. 

19 (c) DURATION.—The Secretary shall carry out the 

20 pilot program during the three-year period beginning on 

21 the date of the commencement of the pilot program. 

22 (d) EMPHASIS.—In carrying out the pilot program, 

23 the Secretary shall emphasize facilitating peer-to-peer as24 sistance for women described in subsection (a) who suf25 fered sexual trauma while serving in the Armed Forces, 


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1 have post-traumatic stress disorder or suffer from another 

2 mental health condition, or are otherwise at risk of becom3 ing homeless. 

4 (e) OUTREACH.—As part of the pilot program, the 

5 Secretary shall conduct a program of outreach to inform 

6 women veterans about the pilot program and the assist7 ance available under the pilot program. 

8 (f) TRAINING.—As part of the pilot program, the 

9 Secretary may conduct training for peer counselors and 

10 develop training materials for peer counselors. 

11 (g) COORDINATION.— 

12 (1) WITH GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY OR13 GANIZATIONS.—Under the pilot program, the Sec14 retary shall facilitate engagement and coordination 

15 with such community organizations, State and local 

16 governments, institutions of higher education, cham17 bers of commerce, local business organizations, orga18 nizations that provide legal assistance, and other or19 ganizations as the Secretary considers appropriate to 

20 facilitate the transition of women described in sub21 section (a) into their communities. 

22 (2) WITH TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PRO23 GRAM.—To the degree practicable, the Secretary 

24 shall coordinate facilitation of assistance under the 


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1 pilot program with the program carried out under 

2 section 1144 of title 10, United States Code. 

3 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 

5 funds as may be necessary to carry out the pilot program. 

6 SEC. 102. EXPANSION OF CAPABILITIES OF WOMEN VET7 ERANS CALL CENTER TO INCLUDE TEXT MES8 SAGING. 

9 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall expand the 

10 capabilities of the Women Veterans Call Center of the De11 partment of Veterans Affairs to include a text messaging 

12 capability. 

13 SEC. 103. PROVISION OF REINTEGRATION AND READJUST14 MENT SERVICES TO VETERANS AND FAMILY 

15 MEMBERS IN GROUP RETREAT SETTINGS. 

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

17 States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B)— 

19 (A) in clause (ii), by redesignating sub20 clauses (I) and (II) as items (aa) and (bb); 

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

22 subclauses (I) and (II); 

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

24 as redesignated by subparagraph (B), by strikVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Mar 24, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S681.IS S681

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1 ing ‘‘Counseling’’ and inserting ‘‘(i) Coun2 seling’’; and 

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

4 clause: 

5 ‘‘(ii)(I) Except as provided in subclause (IV), coun6 seling furnished to an individual under subparagraph (A) 

7 may include reintegration and readjustment services de8 scribed in subclause (II) furnished in group retreat set9 tings. 

10 ‘‘(II) Reintegration and readjustment services de11 scribed in this subclause are the following: 

12 ‘‘(aa) Information on reintegration of the indi13 vidual into family, employment, and community. 

14 ‘‘(bb) Financial counseling. 

15 ‘‘(cc) Occupational counseling. 

16 ‘‘(dd) Information and counseling on stress re17 duction. 

18 ‘‘(ee) Information and counseling on conflict 

19 resolution. 

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

21 the Secretary considers appropriate to assist the in22 dividual in reintegration into family, employment, 

23 and community. 

24 ‘‘(III) In furnishing reintegration and readjustment 

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


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1 women the opportunity to receive such services in group 

2 retreat settings in which the only participants are women. 

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

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

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

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

7 or (II) of such subparagraph.’’. 

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

9 such section is amended— 

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

11 Upon’’; 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)(i)’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub15 paragraph: 

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

17 paragraph (1)(C), the Secretary shall furnish the indi18 vidual reintegration and readjustment services in group 

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


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1 TITLE II—LEGAL AND 

2 SUPPORTIVE SERVICES 

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

5 FOR WOMEN VETERANS. 

6 (a) PARTNERSHIP REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 

7 Veterans Affairs shall establish a partnership with at least 

8 one nongovernmental organization to provide legal services 

9 to women veterans. 

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

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

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

13 completed Community Homelessness Assessment, Local 

14 Education and Networking Groups for Veterans 

15 (CHALENG for Veterans) survey. 

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

19 HAVE A FOCUS ON PROVIDING ASSISTANCE 

20 TO WOMEN VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES. 

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

22 amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

25 ‘‘2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2016’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

2 subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(F) $340,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

4 2017 and 2018.’’; and 

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

6 paragraph: 

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

8 under paragraph (1)(F) for the provision of financial as9 sistance under subsection (a) to organizations that have 

10 a focus on providing assistance to women veterans and 

11 their families.’’. 

12 TITLE III—NEWBORN CARE 

13 SEC. 301. EXTENSION OF PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY FOR 

14 CARE FOR NEWBORN CHILDREN FROM THE 

15 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

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

17 amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by strik18 ing ‘‘seven days’’ and inserting ‘‘14 days’’. 

19 SEC. 302. SOURCE OF AMOUNTS FOR MEDICALLY NEC20 ESSARY TRAVEL PAID BY THE DEPARTMENT 

21 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS IN CONNECTION 

22 WITH CARE FOR NEWBORN CHILDREN. 

23 Section 1786 of title 38, United States Code, is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following new sub25 section: 


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1 ‘‘(c) SOURCE OF AMOUNTS FOR TRAVEL.—Amounts 

2 paid by the Department for medically necessary travel in 

3 connection with health care services furnished under this 

4 section shall be derived from the Medical Services appro5 priations account of the Department.’’. 

6 TITLE IV—ELIMINATING 

7 BARRIERS TO ACCESS 

8 SEC. 401. WOMEN VETERANS RETROFIT INITIATIVE. 

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

10 shall retrofit existing medical facilities of the Department 

11 of Veterans Affairs with fixtures, materials, and other out12 fitting measures to support the provision of care to women 

13 veterans at such facilities. 

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

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

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

17 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep18 resentatives a plan to address deficiencies in environment 

19 of care for women veterans at medical facilities of the De20 partment. 

21 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

22 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

23 $20,000,000 to carry out subsection (a) in addition to 

24 amounts otherwise made available to the Secretary for the 

25 purposes set forth in such subsection. 


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

2 PROVIDERS AT MEDICAL FACILITIES OF THE 

3 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that 

5 each medical facility of the Department of Veterans Af6 fairs has not fewer than one full-time or part-time wom7 en’s health primary care provider whose duties include, to 

8 the extent possible, providing training to other health care 

9 providers of the Department on the needs of women vet10 erans. 

11 SEC. 403. STAFFING OF WOMEN VETERAN PROGRAM MAN12 AGER PROGRAM AT MEDICAL CENTERS OF 

13 THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

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

15 shall ensure that the Women Veteran Program Manager 

16 program of the Department of Veterans Affairs is sup17 ported at each medical center of the Department with a 

18 Women Veteran Program Manager and a Women Veteran 

19 Program Ombudsman. 

20 (b) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall ensure that the 

21 staff required under subsection (a) receive the proper 

22 training to carry out their duties. 


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1 SEC. 404. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR PRIMARY CARE AND 

2 EMERGENCY CARE CLINICIANS IN WOMEN 

3 VETERANS HEALTH CARE MINI-RESIDENCY 

4 PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro6 priated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs $1,000,000 

7 for each fiscal year for the Women Veterans Health Care 

8 Mini-Residency Program of the Department of Veterans 

9 Affairs to provide opportunities for participation in such 

10 program for primary care and emergency care clinicians. 

11 (b) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS.—The amounts au12 thorized to be appropriated under subsection (a) shall be 

13 in addition to amounts otherwise made available to the 

14 Secretary for the purposes set forth in such subsection. 

15 TITLE V—DATA COLLECTION 

16 AND REPORTING 

17 SEC. 501. REQUIREMENT FOR COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 

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

20 DISAGGREGATION OF SUCH DATA BY SEX 

21 AND MINORITY STATUS. 

22 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 

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

24 the Department of Veterans Affairs that provides a 

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1 gram carried out under section 1144 of title 10, 

2 United States Code; 

3 (2) disaggregate such data by sex and minority 

4 status, when the data lends itself to such 

5 disaggregation; and 

6 (3) publish the data collected and analyzed 

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

8 the Secretary determines that some portions of the 

9 data would undermine the anonymity of a veteran. 

10 SEC. 502. REPORT ON AVAILABILITY OF PROSTHETICS FOR 

11 WOMEN VETERANS FROM THE DEPARTMENT 

12 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

13 Not later than one year after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

15 submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen16 ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 

17 of Representatives a report on the availability from the 

18 Department of Veterans Affairs of prosthetics made for 

19 women veterans, including an assessment of the avail20 ability of such prosthetics at each medical facility of the 

21 Department. 


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1 SEC. 503. REQUIREMENT FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

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

4 WOMEN VETERANS. 

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

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

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

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

12 under laws administered by the Secretary. 

13 (b) ELEMENTS.—The Internet website published 

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

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

20 (1) the name and contact information of each 

21 women’s health coordinator; 

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

23 available from the Veterans Benefits Administration, 

24 the National Cemetery Administration, and such 

25 other entities as the Secretary considers appropriate; 

26 and 


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1 (3) such other information as the Secretary 

2 considers appropriate. 

3 (c) UPDATED INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall 

4 ensure that the information described in subsection (b) 

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

7 90 days. 

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

9 Secretary shall ensure that the outreach conducted under 

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

11 information regarding the Internet website required by 

12 subsection (a). 

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

14 Secretary to carry out this section shall be derived from 

15 amounts made available to the Secretary to publish Inter16 net websites of the Department. 

17 SEC. 504. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CHANGING MOTTO OF 

18 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO BE 

19 MORE INCLUSIVE. 

20 In is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Vet21 erans Affairs should change the motto of the Department 

22 of Veterans Affairs to be more inclusive. 

Æ 


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