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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2753 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2753

 To require a program to improve the provision of caregiver assistance 
                         services for veterans.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 4, 2006

   Mr. Akaka introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To require a program to improve the provision of caregiver assistance 
                         services for veterans.

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

SECTION 1. IMPROVEMENT OF SERVICES FOR CAREGIVERS OF VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out 
a program to expand and improve the services that assist caregivers of 
veterans, including veterans of the Global War on Terrorism.
    (b) Caregiver Assistance Services.--For purposes of this section, 
the term ``caregiver assistance services'' includes the following:
            (1) Adult-day health care services.
            (2) Coordination of services needed by veterans, including 
        services for readjustment and rehabilitation.
            (3) Transportation services.
            (4) Caregiver support services, including education, 
        training, and certification of family members in caregiver 
        activities.
            (5) Home care services.
            (6) Respite care.
            (7) Hospice services.
            (8) Any modalities of non-institutional long-term care.
    (c) Funding.--
            (1) Source of funds.--In carrying out the program required 
        by subsection (a), the Secretary shall identify, from funds 
        available to the Department of Veterans Affairs for medical 
        care, an amount not less than $10,000,000 to be available to 
        carry out the program and to be allocated to facilities of the 
        Department pursuant to subsection (d).
            (2) Minimum allocation of funds.--In identifying available 
        amounts pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure 
        that, after the allocation of funds under subsection (d), the 
        total expenditure for programs in support of caregiver 
        assistance services for veterans is not less than $10,000,000 
        in excess of the baseline amount.
            (3) Baseline amount.--For purposes of paragraph (2), the 
        baseline amount is the amount of the total expenditures on 
        programs in support of caregiver assistance services for 
        veterans for the most recent fiscal year for which final 
        expenditure amounts are known, adjusted to reflect any 
        subsequent increase in applicable costs to support such 
        services through the Veterans Health Administration.
    (d) Allocation of Funds to Facilities.--The Secretary shall 
allocate funds identified pursuant to subsection (c)(1) to individual 
medical facilities of the Department in such amounts as the Secretary 
determines appropriate based upon proposals submitted by such 
facilities for the use of such funds for improvements to the support of 
the provision of caregiver assistance services for veterans. Special 
consideration should be given to rural facilities, including those 
without a long-term care facility of the Department.
    (e) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
of the House of Representatives a report on the implementation of this 
section. The report shall include information on the allocation of 
funds to facilities of the Department under subsection (d) and a 
description of the improvements made with funds so allocated to the 
support of the provision of caregiver assistance services for veterans.
                                 <all>
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