II 

Calendar No. 540 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2694 

[Report No. 109–297] 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to remove certain limitations on 

attorney representation of claimants for veterans benefits in administrative proceedings before the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 2, 2006 

Mr. CRAIG (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. 

CHAMBLISS, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

JULY 27 (legislative day, JULY 26), 2006 

Reported by Mr. CRAIG, with an amendment and an amendment to the title 

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

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to remove certain 

limitations on attorney representation of claimants for 

veterans benefits in administrative proceedings before the 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans’ Choice of 

3 Representation Act of 2006’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ATTORNEY REPRESENTATION IN VETERANS BENE5 FITS CLAIMS CASES BEFORE THE DEPART6 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

7 (a) QUALIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

8 FOR INDIVIDUALS RECOGNIZED AS AGENTS OR ATTOR9 NEYS.— 

10 (1) ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS AND STAND11 ARDS FOR AGENTS AND ATTORNEYS GENERALLY.— 

12 Subsection (a) of section 5904 of title 38, United 

13 States Code, is amended— 

14 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; 

15 (B) by striking the second sentence; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraphs: 

18 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may prescribe in regulations 

19 qualifications and standards of conduct for individuals rec20 ognized under this section, including the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) A requirement that, before being recog22 nized, an individual— 

23 ‘‘(i) show that such individual is of good 

24 moral character and in good repute, is qualified 

25 to render claimants valuable service, and is othVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:00 Jul 28, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2694.RS S2694

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1 erwise competent to assist claimants in pre2 senting claims; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) has such level of experience and spe4 cialized training as the Secretary shall specify. 

5 ‘‘(B) A requirement that the individual follow 

6 such standards of conduct as the Secretary shall 

7 specify. 

8 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may prescribe in regulations re9 strictions on the amount of fees that an agent or attorney 

10 may charge a claimant for services rendered in the prepa11 ration, presentation, and prosecution of a claim before the 

12 Department. 

13 ‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary may, on a periodic basis, col14 lect from individuals recognized as agents or attorneys 

15 under this section a registration fee. 

16 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall prescribe the amount and 

17 frequency of collection of such fees. The amount of such 

18 fees may include an amount, as specified by the Secretary, 

19 necessary to defray the costs of the Department in recog20 nizing individuals under this section, in administering the 

21 collection of such fees, in administering the payment of 

22 fees under subsection (d), and in conducting oversight of 

23 agents or attorneys. 

24 ‘‘(C) Amounts so collected shall be deposited in the 

25 account from which amounts for such costs were derived, 


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1 merged with amounts in such account, and available for 

2 the same purpose, and subject to the same conditions and 

3 limitations, as amounts in such account.’’. 

4 (2) APPLICABILITY TO REPRESENTATIVES OF

5 VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 

6 5902(b) of such title is amended— 

7 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

8 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; 

9 (B) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; and 

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

11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(2) An individual recognized under this section shall 

13 be subject to suspension under section 5904(b) of this title 

14 on the same basis as an individual recognized under sec15 tion 5904(a) of this title.’’. 

16 (3) APPLICABILITY TO INDIVIDUALS RECOG17 NIZED FOR PARTICULAR CLAIMS.—Section 5903 of 

18 such title is amended— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ be20 fore ‘‘The Secretary’’; and 

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

22 subsection: 

23 ‘‘(b) SUSPENSION.—An individual recognized under 

24 this section shall be subject to suspension under section 


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1 5904(b) of this title on the same basis as an individual 

2 recognized under section 5904(a) of this title.’’. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL BASES FOR SUSPENSION OF INDI4 VIDUALS.—Subsection (b) of section 5904 of such title is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘and sections 5902 and 5903 

7 of this title’’ after ‘‘under this section’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

9 end; 

10 (3) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and 

11 inserting a semicolon; and 

12 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

13 paragraphs: 

14 ‘‘(6) has failed to conduct himself or herself 

15 with due regard for the non-adversarial nature of 

16 any proceeding before the Department; 

17 ‘‘(7) has presented frivolous claims, issues, or 

18 arguments to the Department; or 

19 ‘‘(8) has failed to comply with any other condi20 tion specified by the Secretary in regulations pre21 scribed by the Secretary for purposes of this sub22 section.’’. 

23 (c) REPEAL OF LIMITATION ON HIRING AGENTS OR

24 ATTORNEYS.—Subsection (c) of section 5904 of such title 

25 is amended by striking paragraph (1). 


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1 (d) MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS TO FILE AT2 TORNEY FEE AGREEMENTS.—Such subsection is further 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para5 graph (1); and 

6 (2) in that paragraph, as so redesignated— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘in a case referred to in 

8 paragraph (1) of this subsection’’; 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘after the Board first 

10 makes a final decision in the case’’; 

11 (C) by striking ‘‘with the Board at such 

12 time as may be specified by the Board’’ and in13 serting ‘‘with the Secretary pursuant to regula14 tions prescribed by the Secretary’’; and 

15 (D) by striking the second and third sen16 tences. 

17 (e) ATTORNEY FEES.—Such subsection is further 

18 amended by inserting after paragraph (1), as redesignated 

19 by subsection (d)(1) of this section, the following new 

20 paragraph (2): 

21 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary, upon the Secretary’s own mo22 tion or at the request of the claimant, may review a fee 

23 agreement filed pursuant to paragraph (1) and may order 

24 a reduction in the fee called for in the agreement if the 

25 Secretary finds that the fee is excessive or unreasonable. 


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1 ‘‘(B) A finding or order of the Secretary under sub2 paragraph (A) may be reviewed by the Board of Veterans’ 

3 Appeals under section 7104 of this title.’’. 

4 (f) REPEAL OF PENALTY FOR CERTAIN ACTS.—Sec5 tion 5905 of such title is amended by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and 

6 all that follows through ‘‘(2)’’. 

7 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

9 this section shall take effect six months after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall pre12 scribe the regulations, if any, to be prescribed under 

13 the amendments made by subsection (a) not later 

14 than the date specified in paragraph (1). 

15 (3) CLAIMS.—The amendments made by sub16 sections (b), (c), (d), and (e) shall apply to claims 

17 submitted on or after the date specified in para18 graph (1). 

19 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

20 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vet21 erans’ Choice of Representation and Benefits Enhancement 

22 Act of 2006’’. 

23 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this 

24 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—VETERANS’ REPRESENTATION 

Sec. 101. Attorney representation in veterans benefits cases before the Department 

of Veterans Affairs. 

TITLE II—MEMORIAL AFFAIRS 

Sec. 201. Eligibility of Indian tribal organizations for grants for the establishment of veterans cemeteries on trust lands. 

Sec. 202. Removal of remains of Russell Wayne Wagner from Arlington National 

Cemetery. 

Sec. 203. Provision of government markers for marked graves of veterans at private cemeteries. 

TITLE III—EDUCATION MATTERS 

Sec. 301. Expansion of education programs eligible for accelerated payment of 

educational assistance under the Montgomery GI bill. 

Sec. 302. Accelerated payment of survivors’ and dependents’ educational assistance for certain programs of education. 

Sec. 303. Reimbursement of expenses for State approving agencies in the administration of educational benefits. 

Sec. 304. Modification of requirement for reporting on educational assistance program. 

TITLE IV—HEALTH MATTERS 

Sec. 401. Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education, Clinical Centers, and Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence. 

Sec. 402. Repeal of term of office for the Under Secretary for Health and the 

Under Secretary for Benefits. 

Sec. 403. Modifications to existing State home authorities. 

Sec. 404. Office of Rural Health. 

Sec. 405. Pilot program on improvement of caregiver assistance services. 

TITLE V—HOMELESS VETERANS ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 501. Reaffirmation of National goal to end homelessness among veterans. 

Sec. 502. Sense of Congress on the response of the Federal Government to the 

needs of homeless veterans. 

Sec. 503. Authority to make grants for comprehensive service programs for homeless veterans. 

Sec. 504. Extension of treatment and rehabilitation for seriously mentally ill and 

homeless veterans. 

Sec. 505. Extension of authority for transfer of properties obtained through foreclosure of home mortgages. 

Sec. 506. Extension of funding for grant program for homeless veterans with special needs. 

Sec. 507. Extension of funding for homeless veteran service provider technical assistance program. 

Sec. 508. Additional element in annual report on assistance to homeless veterans. 

Sec. 509. Advisory committee on homeless veterans. 

Sec. 510. Rental assistance vouchers for Veterans Affairs supported housing program. 

Sec. 511. Financial assistance for supportive services for very low-income veteran 

families in permanent housing. 


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TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS BENEFITS 

Sec. 601. Residential cooperative housing units. 

Sec. 602. Increase in supplemental insurance for totally disabled veterans. 

Sec. 603. Reauthorization of use of certain information from other agencies. 

Sec. 604. Clarification of correctional facilities covered by certain provisions of 

law. 

1 TITLE I—VETERANS’ 

2 REPRESENTATION 

3 SEC. 101. ATTORNEY REPRESENTATION IN VETERANS BEN4 EFITS CASES BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF 

5 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

6 (a) QUALIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

7 FOR INDIVIDUALS RECOGNIZED AS AGENTS OR ATTOR8 NEYS.— 

9 (1) ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS AND STAND10 ARDS FOR AGENTS AND ATTORNEYS GENERALLY.— 

11 Subsection (a) of section 5904 of title 38, United 

12 States Code, is amended— 

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; 

14 (B) by striking the second sentence; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

16 paragraphs: 

17 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may prescribe in regulations quali18 fications and standards of conduct for individuals recog19 nized under this section, including a requirement that, be20 fore being recognized, an individual— 

21 ‘‘(A) show that such individual is of good moral 

22 character and in good repute, is qualified to render 


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1 claimants valuable service, and is otherwise com2 petent to assist claimants in presenting claims; 

3 ‘‘(B) has such level of experience and specialized 

4 training as the Secretary shall specify; and 

5 ‘‘(C) certifies to the Secretary that the individual 

6 has satisfied any qualifications and standards pre7 scribed by the Secretary under this section. 

8 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may prescribe in regulations rea9 sonable restrictions on the amount of fees that an agent or 

10 attorney may charge a claimant for services rendered in 

11 the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of a claim 

12 before the Department. 

13 ‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary may, on a periodic basis, collect 

14 a registration fee from individuals recognized as agents or 

15 attorneys under this section. 

16 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall prescribe the amount and fre17 quency of collection of such fees. The amount of such fees 

18 may include an amount, as specified by the Secretary, nec19 essary to defray the costs to the Department in recognizing 

20 individuals under this section, in administering the collec21 tion of such fees, in administering the payment of fees under 

22 subsection (d), and in conducting oversight of agents or at23 torneys. 

24 ‘‘(C) Amounts so collected shall be deposited in the ac25 count from which amounts for such costs were derived, 


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1 merged with amounts in such account, and available for 

2 the same purpose, and subject to the same conditions and 

3 limitations, as amounts in such account.’’. 

4 (2) APPLICABILITY TO REPRESENTATIVES OF

5 VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 

6 5902(b) of such title is amended— 

7 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

8 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; 

9 (B) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; and 

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

11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(2) An individual recognized under this section shall 

13 be subject to the provisions of section 5904(b) of this title 

14 on the same basis as an individual recognized under section 

15 5904(a) of this title.’’. 

16 (3) APPLICABILITY TO INDIVIDUALS RECOGNIZED

17 FOR PARTICULAR CLAIMS.—Section 5903 of such title 

18 is amended— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ be20 fore ‘‘The Secretary’’; and 

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

22 subsection: 

23 ‘‘(b) SUSPENSION.—An individual recognized under 

24 this section shall be subject to the provisions of section 


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1 5904(b) of this title on the same basis as an individual rec2 ognized under section 5904(a) of this title.’’. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL BASES FOR SUSPENSION OF INDIVID4 UALS.—Subsection (b) of section 5904 of such title is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

7 end; 

8 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and 

9 inserting a semicolon; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following new para11 graphs: 

12 ‘‘(6) has presented frivolous claims, issues, or ar13 guments to the Department; or 

14 ‘‘(7) has failed to comply with any other condi15 tion specified by the Secretary in regulations pre16 scribed by the Secretary for purposes of this sub17 section.’’. 

18 (c) REPEAL OF LIMITATION ON HIRING AGENTS OR

19 ATTORNEYS.—Subsection (c) of section 5904 of such title 

20 is amended by striking paragraph (1). 

21 (d) MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS TO FILE AT22 TORNEY FEE AGREEMENTS.—Such subsection is further 

23 amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para25 graph (1); and 


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1 (2) in that paragraph, as so redesignated— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘in a case referred to in 

3 paragraph (1) of this subsection’’; 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘after the Board first makes 

5 a final decision in the case’’; 

6 (C) by striking ‘‘with the Board at such 

7 time as may be specified by the Board’’ and in8 serting ‘‘with the Secretary pursuant to regula9 tions prescribed by the Secretary’’; and 

10 (D) by striking the second and third sen11 tences. 

12 (e) ATTORNEY FEES.—Such subsection is further 

13 amended by inserting after paragraph (1), as redesignated 

14 by subsection (d)(1) of this section, the following new para15 graph (2): 

16 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary, upon the Secretary’s own mo17 tion or at the request of the claimant, may review a fee 

18 agreement filed pursuant to paragraph (1) and may order 

19 a reduction in the fee called for in the agreement if the Sec20 retary finds that the fee is excessive or unreasonable. 

21 ‘‘(B) A finding or order of the Secretary under sub22 paragraph (A) may be reviewed by the Board of Veterans’ 

23 Appeals under section 7104 of this title.’’. 


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1 (f) REPEAL OF PENALTY FOR CERTAIN ACTS.—Section 

2 5905 of such title is amended by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and all that 

3 follows through ‘‘(2)’’. 

4 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall take effect six months after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act. 

8 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall pre9 scribe the regulations, if any, to be prescribed under 

10 the amendments made by subsection (a) not later 

11 than the date specified in paragraph (1). 

12 (3) CLAIMS.—The amendments made by sub13 sections (b), (c), (d), and (e) shall apply to claims 

14 submitted on or after the date specified in paragraph 

15 (1). 

16 TITLE II—MEMORIAL AFFAIRS 

17 SEC. 201. ELIGIBILITY OF INDIAN TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS 

18 FOR GRANTS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 

19 VETERANS CEMETERIES ON TRUST LANDS. 

20 Section 2408 of title 38, United States Code, is amend21 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary may make grants under this sub23 section to any tribal organization to assist the tribal orga24 nization in establishing, expanding, or improving veterans’ 


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1 cemeteries on trust land owned by, or held in trust for, the 

2 tribal organization. 

3 ‘‘(2) Grants under this subsection shall be made in the 

4 same manner, and under the same conditions, as grants 

5 to States are made under the preceding provisions of this 

6 section. 

7 ‘‘(3) In this subsection: 

8 ‘‘(A) The term ‘tribal organization’ has the 

9 meaning given that term in section 3765(4) of this 

10 title. 

11 ‘‘(B) The term ‘trust land’ has the meaning 

12 given that term in section 3765(1) of this title.’’. 

13 SEC. 202. REMOVAL OF REMAINS OF RUSSELL WAYNE WAG14 NER FROM ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEME15 TERY. 

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

17 (1) Arlington National Cemetery is a National 

18 Shrine that memorializes the honorable service of men 

19 and women who have defended the freedoms that all 

20 the people of the United States enjoy. 

21 (2) The inclusion among the honored dead of the 

22 remains of persons who have committed particularly 

23 notorious, heinous acts brings dishonor to the deceased 

24 and disrespect to their loved ones. 


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1 (3) The removal of the remains of a person who 

2 has committed a heinous act would not be an act of 

3 punishment against that person, but rather an act 

4 that would preserve the sacredness of cemetery 

5 grounds. 

6 (4) In November of 1997, section 2411 of title 38, 

7 United States Code, was enacted to, among other 

8 things, deny burial eligibility in Arlington National 

9 Cemetery to any person convicted of a State capital 

10 crime for which the person was sentenced to death or 

11 life imprisonment without parole. In January of 

12 2006, section 2411 of such title was amended by sec13 tion 662 of the National Defense Authorization Act 

14 for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public Law 109–163) to remove 

15 parole eligibility as a loophole through which con16 victed capital offenders could retain eligibility for in17 terment at Arlington National Cemetery. 

18 (5) According to Arlington National Cemetery 

19 officials, the remains of only one capital offender, 

20 Russell Wayne Wagner, have been interred in Arling21 ton National Cemetery since November of 1997. 

22 (b) REMOVAL OF REMAINS.— 

23 (1) REMOVAL.—The Secretary of the Army shall 

24 remove the remains of Russell Wayne Wagner from 

25 Arlington National Cemetery. 


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1 (2) NOTIFICATION OF NEXT-OF-KIN.—The Sec2 retary of the Army shall— 

3 (A) notify the next-of-kin of record for Rus4 sell Wayne Wagner of the impending removal of 

5 his remains; and 

6 (B) upon removal, relinquish the remains to 

7 the next-of-kin of record for Russell Wayne Wag8 ner or, if the next-of-kin of record for Russell 

9 Wayne Wagner is unavailable, arrange for an 

10 appropriate disposition of the remains. 

11 SEC. 203. PROVISION OF GOVERNMENT MARKERS FOR 

12 MARKED GRAVES OF VETERANS AT PRIVATE 

13 CEMETERIES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 502(d) of the Veterans Edu15 cation and Benefits Expansion Act of 2001 (Public Law 

16 107–103; 38 U.S.C. 2306 note), as amended by section 203 

17 of the Veterans Benefits Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–330), 

18 is amended by striking ‘‘September 11, 2001’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘November 1, 1990’’. 

20 (b) REPEAL OF EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY.—Sub21 section (d) of section 2306 of title 38, United States Code, 

22 is amended by striking paragraph (3). 

23 (c) PROVISION OF HEADSTONE OR MARKER.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (d) of such section 

25 2306 is further amended— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

3 ‘‘Government marker’’ and inserting ‘‘Gov4 ernment headstone or marker’’; and 

5 (ii) in the second sentence, by inserting 

6 ‘‘headstone or’’ before ‘‘marker’’ each place 

7 it appears; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘head9 stone or’’ before ‘‘marker’’. 

10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection 

11 (g)(3) of such section 2306 is amended by inserting 

12 ‘‘headstone or’’ before ‘‘marker’’. 

13 (d) PLACEMENT OF HEADSTONE OR MARKER.—The 

14 second sentence of subsection (d)(1) of such section 2306, 

15 as amended by subsection (c)(1)(A)(ii) of this section, is 

16 further amended by inserting before the period the fol17 lowing: ‘‘, or, if placement on the grave is impossible or 

18 impracticable, as close as possible to the grave within the 

19 grounds of the cemetery in which the grave is located’’. 

20 (e) DELIVERY OF HEADSTONE OR MARKER.—Sub21 section (d)(2) of such section 2306, as amended by sub22 section (c)(1)(B) of this section, is further amended by in23 serting before the period the following: ‘‘or to a receiving 

24 agent for delivery to the cemetery’’. 


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1 (f) REPEAL OF OBSOLETE REPORT REQUIREMENT.— 

2 Subsection (d) of such section 2306 is further amended by 

3 striking paragraph (4). 

4 (g) SCOPE OF HEADSTONES AND MARKERS FUR5 NISHED.—Subsection (d) of such section 2306 is further 

6 amended by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new 

7 paragraph (3): 

8 ‘‘(3) In furnishing headstones and markers under this 

9 subsection, the Secretary shall permit the individual mak10 ing the request for a headstone or marker to select among 

11 any headstone or marker in the complete product line of 

12 Government headstones and markers.’’. 

13 (h) RETROACTIVE EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amend14 ments made by subsections (a) through (g) shall take effect 

15 as if included in the enactment of section 502 of the Vet16 erans Education and Benefits Expansion Act of 2001 (Pub17 lic Law 107–103; 115 Stat. 976). 

18 TITLE III—EDUCATION MATTERS 

19 SEC. 301. EXPANSION OF EDUCATION PROGRAMS ELIGIBLE 

20 FOR ACCELERATED PAYMENT OF EDU21 CATIONAL ASSISTANCE UNDER THE MONT22 GOMERY GI BILL. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 3014A of 

24 title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking para25 graph (1) and inserting the following new paragraph (1): 


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1 ‘‘(1) enrolled in either— 

2 ‘‘(A) an approved program of education 

3 that leads to employment in a high technology 

4 occupation in a high technology industry (as de5 termined pursuant to regulations prescribed by 

6 the Secretary); or 

7 ‘‘(B) an approved program of education 

8 lasting less than two years that (as so deter9 mined) leads to employment in— 

10 ‘‘(i) the transportation sector of the 

11 economy; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the construction sector of the 

13 economy; 

14 ‘‘(iii) the hospitality sector of the econ15 omy; or 

16 ‘‘(iv) the energy sector of the econ17 omy.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) HEADING AMENDMENT.—The heading of such 

20 section is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘§ 3014A. Accelerated payment of basic educational 

22 assistance’’. 

23 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

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1 ning of chapter 30 of such title is amended to read 

2 as follows: 

‘‘3014A. Accelerated payment of basic educational assistance.’’. 

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

4 section shall take effect on October 1, 2007. Such amend5 ments shall only apply to enrollments that begin on or after 

6 such date. 

7 (d) SUNSET.—The amendments made by this section 

8 shall expire on September 30, 2011. 

9 SEC. 302. ACCELERATED PAYMENT OF SURVIVORS’ AND DE10 PENDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR 

11 CERTAIN PROGRAMS OF EDUCATION. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 35 of title 

13 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after sec14 tion 3532 the following new section: 

15 ‘‘§ 3532A. Accelerated payment of educational assist16 ance allowance 

17 ‘‘(a) The educational assistance allowance payable 

18 under section 3531 of this title with respect to an eligible 

19 person described in subsection (b) may, upon the election 

20 of such eligible person, be paid on an accelerated basis in 

21 accordance with this section. 

22 ‘‘(b) An eligible person described in this subsection is 

23 an individual who is— 

24 ‘‘(1) enrolled in either— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an approved program of education 

2 that leads to employment in a high technology 

3 occupation in a high technology industry (as de4 termined pursuant to regulations prescribed by 

5 the Secretary); or 

6 ‘‘(B) an approved program of education 

7 lasting less than two years that (as so deter8 mined) leads to employment in the— 

9 ‘‘(i) transportation sector of the econ10 omy; 

11 ‘‘(ii) construction sector of the econ12 omy; 

13 ‘‘(iii) hospitality sector of the economy; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(iv) energy sector of the economy; and 

16 ‘‘(2) charged tuition and fees for the program of 

17 education that, when divided by the number of 

18 months (and fractions thereof) in the enrollment pe19 riod, exceeds the amount equal to 200 percent of the 

20 monthly rate of educational assistance allowance oth21 erwise payable with respect to the individual under 

22 section 3531 of this title. 

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1 son making an election under subsection (a) for a program 

2 of education shall be the lesser of— 

3 ‘‘(A) the amount equal to 60 percent of the estab4 lished charges for the program of education; or 

5 ‘‘(B) the aggregate amount of educational assist6 ance allowance to which the individual remains enti7 tled under this chapter at the time of the payment. 

8 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘established charges’, 

9 in the case of a program of education, means the actual 

10 charges (as determined pursuant to regulations prescribed 

11 by the Secretary) for tuition and fees which similarly 

12 circumstanced nonveterans enrolled in the program of edu13 cation would be required to pay. Established charges shall 

14 be determined on the following basis: 

15 ‘‘(A) In the case of an individual enrolled in a 

16 program of education offered on a term, quarter, or 

17 semester basis, the tuition and fees charged the indi18 vidual for the term, quarter, or semester. 

19 ‘‘(B) In the case of an individual enrolled in a 

20 program of education not offered on a term, quarter, 

21 or semester basis, the tuition and fees charged the in22 dividual for the entire program of education. 

23 ‘‘(3) The educational institution providing the pro24 gram of education for which an accelerated payment of edu25 cational assistance allowance is elected by an eligible person 


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1 under subsection (a) shall certify to the Secretary the 

2 amount of the established charges for the program of edu3 cation. 

4 ‘‘(d) An accelerated payment of educational assistance 

5 allowance made with respect to an eligible person under this 

6 section for a program of education shall be made not later 

7 than the last day of the month immediately following the 

8 month in which the Secretary receives a certification from 

9 the educational institution regarding— 

10 ‘‘(1) the person’s enrollment in and pursuit of 

11 the program of education; and 

12 ‘‘(2) the amount of the established charges for the 

13 program of education. 

14 ‘‘(e)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for each 

15 accelerated payment of educational assistance allowance 

16 made with respect to an eligible person under this section, 

17 the person’s entitlement to educational assistance under this 

18 chapter shall be charged the number of months (and any 

19 fraction thereof) determined by dividing the amount of the 

20 accelerated payment by the full-time monthly rate of edu21 cational assistance allowance otherwise payable with re22 spect to the person under section 3531 of this title as of 

23 the beginning date of the enrollment period for the program 

24 of education for which the accelerated payment is made. 


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1 ‘‘(2) If the monthly rate of educational assistance al2 lowance otherwise payable with respect to an eligible person 

3 under section 3531 of this title increases during the enroll4 ment period of a program of education for which an acceler5 ated payment of educational assistance allowance is made 

6 under this section, the charge to the person’s entitlement 

7 to educational assistance under this chapter shall be deter8 mined by prorating the entitlement chargeable, in the man9 ner provided for under paragraph (1), for the periods cov10 ered by the initial rate and increased rate, respectively, in 

11 accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(f) The Secretary may not make an accelerated pay13 ment of educational assistance allowance under this section 

14 for a program of education with respect to an eligible per15 son who has received an advance payment under section 

16 3680(d) of this title for the same enrollment period. 

17 ‘‘(g) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to carry 

18 out this section. The regulations shall include requirements, 

19 conditions, and methods for the request, issuance, delivery, 

20 certification of receipt and use, and recovery of overpay21 ment of an accelerated payment of educational assistance 

22 allowance under this section. The regulations may include 

23 such elements of the regulations prescribed under section 

24 3014A of this title as the Secretary considers appropriate 

25 for purposes of this section.’’. 


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

2 the beginning of chapter 35 of such title is amended by in3 serting after the item relating to section 3532 the following 

4 new item: 

‘‘3532A. Accelerated payment of educational assistance allowance.’’. 

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

6 section shall take effect on October 1, 2007. Such amend7 ments shall only apply to enrollments that begin on or after 

8 such date. 

9 (d) SUNSET.—The amendments made by this section 

10 shall expire on September 30, 2011. 

11 SEC. 303. REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES FOR STATE AP12 PROVING AGENCIES IN THE ADMINISTRATION 

13 OF EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS. 

14 Section 3674(a) of title 38, United States Code, is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ‘‘and is 

17 authorized to make additional payments subject to the 

18 availability of appropriations,’’ after ‘‘readjustment 

19 benefits,’’; and 

20 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the first sen21 tence and inserting ‘‘The total amount authorized and 

22 available under this section for any fiscal year may 

23 not exceed $19,000,000, except that the total amount 

24 made available for purposes of this section from 

25 amounts available for the payment of readjustment 


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1 benefits may not exceed $19,000,000 for fiscal years 

2 2006 and 2007, $13,000,000 for fiscal years 2008 and 

3 2009, $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 

4 2013, and $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2014 and each 

5 subsequent fiscal year.’’. 

6 SEC. 304. MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT7 ING ON EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PRO8 GRAM. 

9 (a) EXTENSION.—Subsection (d) of section 3036 of 

10 title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Janu11 ary 1, 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2011’’. 

12 (b) DATE OF SUBMITTAL.—Subsection (a) of such sec13 tion is amended by inserting ‘‘, on January 1,’’ after ‘‘two 

14 years’’. 

15 (c) INTERIM REPORT.—The Secretary of Defense and 

16 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall each submit to Con17 gress a report containing the information required by sec18 tion 3036 of title 38, United States Code, not later than 

19 six months after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

20 TITLE IV—HEALTH MATTERS 

21 SEC. 401. PARKINSON’S DISEASE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, 

22 CLINICAL CENTERS, AND MULTIPLE SCLE23 ROSIS CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE. 

24 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF CEN25 TERS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 73 of 

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

3 at the end the following new section: 

4 ‘‘§ 7329. Parkinson’s disease research, education, and 

5 clinical centers and multiple sclerosis 

6 centers of excellence 

7 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary, upon the rec8 ommendation of the Under Secretary for Health and pursu9 ant to the provisions of this section, shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) designate— 

11 ‘‘(A) at least 6 Department health care fa12 cilities as the locations for centers of Parkinson’s 

13 disease research, education, and clinical activi14 ties and (subject to the appropriation of suffi15 cient funds for such purpose); and 

16 ‘‘(B) at least 2 Department health care fa17 cilities as the locations for Multiple Sclerosis 

18 Centers of Excellence (subject to the appropria19 tion of sufficient funds for such purpose); and 

20 ‘‘(2) establish and operate such centers at such 

21 locations in accordance with this section. 

22 ‘‘(b) EXISTING FACILITIES; GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBU23 TION.—In designating locations for centers under sub24 section (a), the Secretary, upon the recommendation of the 

25 Under Secretary for Health, shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) designate each Department health care facil2 ity that, as of January 1, 2005, was operating a Par3 kinson’s Disease Research, Education, and Clinical 

4 Center or a Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence 

5 unless the Secretary, on the recommendation of the 

6 Under Secretary for Health, determines that such fa7 cility— 

8 ‘‘(A) does not meet the requirements of sub9 section (c); 

10 ‘‘(B) has not demonstrated effectiveness in 

11 carrying out the established purposes of such cen12 ter; or 

13 ‘‘(C) has not demonstrated the potential to 

14 carry out such purposes effectively in the reason15 ably foreseeable future; and 

16 ‘‘(2) assure appropriate geographic distribution 

17 of such facilities. 

18 ‘‘(c) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may 

19 not designate a health care facility as a location for a center 

20 under subsection (a) unless— 

21 ‘‘(1) the peer review panel established under sub22 section (d) determines that the proposal submitted by 

23 such facility is among those proposals which meet the 

24 highest competitive standards of scientific and clin25 ical merit; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the Secretary, upon the recommendation of 

2 the Under Secretary for Health, determines that the 

3 facility has (or may reasonably be anticipated to de4 velop)— 

5 ‘‘(A) an arrangement with an accredited 

6 medical school which provides education and 

7 training in neurology and with which such facil8 ity is affiliated under which residents receive 

9 education and training in innovative diagnosis 

10 and treatment of chronic neurodegenerative dis11 eases and movement disorders, including Parkin12 son’s disease, or in the case of Multiple Sclerosis 

13 Centers, multiple sclerosis disease; 

14 ‘‘(B) the ability to attract the participation 

15 of scientists who are capable of ingenuity and 

16 creativity in health-care research efforts; 

17 ‘‘(C) a policymaking advisory committee 

18 composed of consumers and appropriate health 

19 care and research representatives of the facility 

20 and of the affiliated school or schools to advise 

21 the directors of such facility and such center on 

22 policy matters pertaining to the activities of 

23 such center during the period of the operation of 

24 such center; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the capability to conduct effectively 

2 evaluations of the activities of such center; 

3 ‘‘(E) the capability to coordinate, as part of 

4 an integrated national system, education, clin5 ical, and research activities within all facilities 

6 with such centers; 

7 ‘‘(F) the capability to jointly develop a con8 sortium of providers with interest in treating 

9 neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkin10 son’s disease, and other movement disorders, or 

11 multiple sclerosis in the case of Multiple Scle12 rosis Centers, at facilities without such centers in 

13 order to ensure better access to state of the art 

14 diagnosis, care, and education for 

15 neurodegenerative disorders, or in the case of 

16 Multiple Sclerosis Centers, autoimmune disease 

17 affecting the central nervous system throughout 

18 the health care system; and 

19 ‘‘(G) the capability to develop a national 

20 repository in the health care system for the col21 lection of data on health services delivered to vet22 erans seeking care for neurodegenerative diseases, 

23 including Parkinson’s disease, and other move24 ment disorders, or in the case of Multiple ScleVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:00 Jul 28, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2694.RS S2694

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1 rosis Centers, autoimmune disease affecting the 

2 central nervous system. 

3 ‘‘(d) PANEL.—(1) The Under Secretary for Health 

4 shall establish a panel to assess the scientific and clinical 

5 merit of proposals that are submitted to the Secretary for 

6 the establishment of new centers under this section. 

7 ‘‘(2)(A) The membership of the panel shall consist of 

8 experts in neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkin9 son’s disease and other movement disorders, and, in the case 

10 of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, experts in autoimmune dis11 ease affecting the central nervous system. 

12 ‘‘(B) Members of the panel shall serve as consultants 

13 to the Department for a period of no longer than 2 years 

14 except in the case of panelists asked to serve on the initial 

15 panel as specified in subparagraph (C). 

16 ‘‘(C) In order to ensure panel continuity, half of the 

17 members of the first panel shall be appointed for a period 

18 of 3 years and half for a period of 2 years. 

19 ‘‘(3) The panel shall review each proposal submitted 

20 to the panel by the Under Secretary and shall submit its 

21 views on the relative scientific and clinical merit of each 

22 such proposal to the Under Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(4) The panel shall not be subject to the Federal Advi24 sory Committee Act. 


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1 ‘‘(e) ADEQUATE FUNDING.—Before providing funds for 

2 the operation of any such center at a health care facility 

3 other than a health care facility designated under subsection 

4 (b)(1), the Secretary shall ensure that— 

5 ‘‘(1) the Parkinson’s disease center at each facil6 ity designated under subsection (b)(1) is receiving 

7 adequate funding to enable such center to function ef8 fectively in the areas of Parkinson’s disease research, 

9 education, and clinical activities; and 

10 ‘‘(2) in the case of a new Multiple Sclerosis Cen11 ter, that existing centers are receiving adequate fund12 ing to enable such centers to function effectively in the 

13 areas of multiple sclerosis research, education, and 

14 clinical activities. 

15 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—(1) There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec17 essary for the support of the research and education activi18 ties of the centers established under subsection (a). 

19 ‘‘(2) The Under Secretary for Health shall allocate to 

20 such centers from other funds appropriated generally for the 

21 Department medical services account and medical and 

22 prosthetics research account, as appropriate, such amounts 

23 as the Under Secretary for Health determines appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(g) FUNDING ELIGIBILITY AND PRIORITY FOR PAR25 KINSON’S DISEASE RESEARCH.—Activities of clinical and 


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1 scientific investigation at each center established under sub2 section (a) for Parkinson’s disease shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) be eligible to compete for the award of fund4 ing from funds appropriated for the Department med5 ical and prosthetics research account; and 

6 ‘‘(2) receive priority in the award of funding 

7 from such account to the extent funds are awarded to 

8 projects for research in Parkinson’s disease and other 

9 movement disorders. 

10 ‘‘(h) FUNDING ELIGIBILITY AND PRIORITY FOR MUL11 TIPLE SCLEROSIS RESEARCH.—Activities of clinical and 

12 scientific investigation at each center established under sub13 section (a) for multiple sclerosis shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) be eligible to compete for the award of fund15 ing from funds appropriated for the Department med16 ical and prosthetics research account; and 

17 ‘‘(2) receive priority in the award of funding 

18 from such account to the extent funds are awarded to 

19 projects for research in multiple sclerosis and other 

20 movement disorders.’’. 

21 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec22 tions at the beginning of chapter 73 of title 38, 

23 United States Code, is amended by inserting after the 

24 item relating to section 7328 the following new item: 

‘‘7329. Parkinson’s disease research, education, and clinical centers and multiple 

sclerosis centers of excellence.’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub2 section (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2006. 

3 SEC. 402. REPEAL OF TERM OF OFFICE FOR THE UNDER 

4 SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND THE UNDER 

5 SECRETARY FOR BENEFITS. 

6 (a) UNDER SECRETARY FOR HEALTH.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 305 of title 38, 

8 United States Code, is amended by striking subsection 

9 (c). 

10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (d) 

11 of such section is redesignated as subsection (c). 

12 (b) UNDER SECRETARY FOR BENEFITS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 306 of title 38, 

14 United States Code, is amended by striking subsection 

15 (c). 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (d) 

17 of such section is redesignated as subsection (c). 

18 SEC. 403. MODIFICATIONS TO EXISTING STATE HOME AU19 THORITIES. 

20 (a) NURSING HOME CARE AND PRESCRIPTION MEDI21 CATIONS IN STATE HOMES FOR VETERANS WITH SERVICE22 CONNECTED DISABILITIES.— 

23 (1) NURSING HOME CARE.—Subchapter V of 

24 chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 

25 by adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 1745. Nursing home care and medications for vet2 erans with service-connected disabilities 

3 ‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary shall pay each State home for 

4 nursing home care at the rate determined under paragraph 

5 (2), where such care is provided to any veteran as follows: 

6 ‘‘(A) Any veteran in need of such care for a serv7 ice-connected disability. 

8 ‘‘(B) Any veteran who— 

9 ‘‘(i) has a service-connected disability rated 

10 at 70 percent or more; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) is in need of such care. 

12 ‘‘(2) The rate determined under this paragraph with 

13 respect to a State home is the lesser of— 

14 ‘‘(A) the applicable or prevailing rate payable in 

15 the geographic area in which the State home is lo16 cated, as determined by the Secretary, for nursing 

17 home care furnished in a non-Department nursing 

18 home (as that term is defined in section 1720(e)(2)); 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(B) a rate not to exceed the daily cost of care, 

21 as determined by the Secretary, following a report to 

22 the Secretary by the director of the State home. 

23 ‘‘(3) Payment by the Secretary under paragraph (1) 

24 to a State home for nursing home care provided to a veteran 

25 described in that paragraph constitutes payment in full to 

26 the State home for such care furnished to that veteran.’’. 


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1 (2) PROVISION OF PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES.— 

2 Such section, as so added, is further amended by add3 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

4 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall furnish such drugs and medi5 cines as may be ordered on prescription of a duly licensed 

6 physician as specific therapy in the treatment of illness or 

7 injury to any veteran as follows: 

8 ‘‘(1) Any veteran who— 

9 ‘‘(A) is not being provided nursing home 

10 care for which payment is payable under sub11 section (a); and 

12 ‘‘(B) is in need of such drugs and medicines 

13 for a service-connected disability. 

14 ‘‘(2) Any veteran who— 

15 ‘‘(A) has a service-connected disability rated 

16 at 50 percent or more; 

17 ‘‘(B) is not being provided nursing home 

18 care for which payment is payable under sub19 section (a); and 

20 ‘‘(C) is in need of such drugs and medi21 cines.’’. 

22 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (A) CRITERIA FOR PAYMENT.—Section 

24 1741(a)(1) of such title is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘The’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sec2 tion 1745 of this title, the’’. 

3 (B) ELIGIBILITY FOR NURSING HOME

4 CARE.—Section 1710(a)(4) of such title is 

5 amended— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘the re7 quirement in section 1710B of this title’’; 

8 and 

9 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and the require10 ment in section 1745 of this title to provide 

11 nursing home care and prescription medi12 cines to veterans with service-connected dis13 abilities in State homes’’ after ‘‘a program 

14 of extended care services’’. 

15 (4) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec16 tions at the beginning of chapter 17 of such title is 

17 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec18 tion 1744 the following new item: 

‘‘1745. Nursing home care and medications for veterans with service-connected 

disabilities.’’. 

19 (5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

20 by this subsection shall take effect 90 days after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act. 

22 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF VETERANS IN STATE

23 HOMES.—Such chapter is further amended— 


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1 (1) in section 1745, as added by subsection 

2 (a)(1) of this section, by adding at the end the fol3 lowing new subsection: 

4 ‘‘(c) Any State home that requests payment or reim5 bursement for services provided to a veteran under this sec6 tion shall provide to the Secretary such information as the 

7 Secretary considers necessary to identify each individual 

8 veteran eligible for payment under such section.’’; and 

9 (2) in section 1741, by adding at the end the fol10 lowing new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(f) Any State home that requests payment or reim12 bursement for services provided to a veteran under this sec13 tion shall provide to the Secretary such information as the 

14 Secretary considers necessary to identify each individual 

15 veteran eligible for payment under such section.’’. 

16 (c) AUTHORITY TO TREAT CERTAIN HEALTH FACILI17 TIES AS STATE HOMES.— 

18 (1) AUTHORITY.—Subchapter III of chapter 81 

19 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding 

20 at the end the following new section: 

21 ‘‘§ 8138. Treatment of certain health facilities as State 

22 homes 

23 ‘‘(a) The Secretary may treat a health facility, or cer24 tain beds in a health facility, as a State home for purposes 


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1 of subchapter V of chapter 17 of this title if the following 

2 requirements are met: 

3 ‘‘(1) The facility, or certain beds in such facility, 

4 meets the standards for the provision of nursing home 

5 care that is applicable to State homes, as prescribed 

6 by the Secretary under section 8134(b) of this title, 

7 and such other standards relating to the facility, or 

8 certain beds in such facility, as the Secretary may re9 quire. 

10 ‘‘(2) The facility, or certain beds in such facility, 

11 is licensed or certified by the appropriate State and 

12 local agencies charged with the responsibility of li13 censing or otherwise regulating or inspecting State 

14 home facilities. 

15 ‘‘(3) The State demonstrates in an application to 

16 the Secretary that, but for the treatment of a facility 

17 (or certain beds in such facility), as a State home 

18 under this subsection, a substantial number of vet19 erans residing in the geographic area in which the fa20 cility is located who require nursing home care will 

21 not have access to such care. 

22 ‘‘(4) The Secretary determines that the treatment 

23 of the facility, or certain beds in such facility, as a 

24 State home best meets the needs of veterans for nursVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:00 Jul 28, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2694.RS S2694

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1 ing home care in the geographic area in which the fa2 cility is located. 

3 ‘‘(5) The Secretary approves the application sub4 mitted by the State with respect to the facility, or cer5 tain beds in such facility. 

6 ‘‘(b) The Secretary may not treat a health facility, or 

7 certain beds in a health facility, as a State home under 

8 subsection (a) if the Secretary determines that such treat9 ment would increase the number of beds allocated to the 

10 State in excess of the limit on the number of beds provided 

11 for by regulations prescribed under section 8134(a) of this 

12 title. 

13 ‘‘(c) The number of beds occupied by veterans in a 

14 health facility for which payment may be made under sub15 chapter V of chapter 17 of this title by reason of subsection 

16 (a) shall not exceed— 

17 ‘‘(1) 100 beds in the aggregate for all States; and 

18 ‘‘(2) in the case of any State, the difference be19 tween— 

20 ‘‘(A) the number of veterans authorized to 

21 be in beds in State homes in such State under 

22 regulations prescribed under section 8134(a) of 

23 this title; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the number of veterans actually in 

25 beds in State homes (other than facilities or cerVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:00 Jul 28, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2694.RS S2694

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1 tain beds treated as State homes under sub2 section (a)) in such State under regulations pre3 scribed under such section. 

4 ‘‘(d) The number of beds in a health facility in a State 

5 that has been treated as a State home under subsection (a) 

6 shall be taken into account in determining the unmet need 

7 for beds for State homes for the State under section 

8 8134(d)(1) of this title. 

9 ‘‘(e) The Secretary may not treat any new health fa10 cilities, or any new certain beds in a health facility, as a 

11 State home under subsection (a) after September 30, 2009.’’. 

12 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec13 tions at the beginning of chapter 81 of such title is 

14 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec15 tion 8137 the following new item: 

‘‘8138. Treatment of certain health facilities as State homes.’’. 

16 SEC. 404. OFFICE OF RURAL HEALTH. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the De18 partment of Veterans Affairs within the Office of the Under19 secretary for Health an office to be known as the ‘‘Office 

20 of Rural Health’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Of21 fice’’). 

22 (b) HEAD.—The Director of the Office of Rural Health 

23 shall be the head of the Office. The Director of the Office 

24 of Rural Health shall be appointed by the Under Secretary 


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1 of Health from among individuals qualified to perform the 

2 duties of the position. 

3 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Office are as fol4 lows: 

5 (1) In cooperation with the medical, rehabilita6 tion, health services, and cooperative studies research 

7 programs in the Office of Policy and the Office of Re8 search and Development of the Veterans Health Ad9 ministration, to assist the Under Secretary for Health 

10 in conducting, coordinating, promoting, and dissemi11 nating research into issues affecting veterans living in 

12 rural areas. 

13 (2) To work with all personnel and offices of the 

14 Department of Veterans Affairs to develop, refine, and 

15 promulgate policies, best practices, lessons learned, 

16 and innovative and successful programs to improve 

17 care and services for veterans who reside in rural 

18 areas of the United States. 

19 (3) To designate in each Veterans Integrated 

20 Service Network (VISN) an individual who shall con21 sult on and coordinate the discharge in such Network 

22 of programs and activities of the Office for veterans 

23 who reside in rural areas of the United States. 

24 (4) To assess, in accordance with subsection (d), 

25 the effects of the implementation of the fee-basis health 


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1 care program of the Veterans Health Administration 

2 on the delivery of health care services to veterans who 

3 reside in rural areas of the United States. 

4 (5) To perform such other functions and duties 

5 as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the Under Sec6 retary for Health consider appropriate. 

7 (d) ASSESSMENT OF FEE-BASIS HEALTH CARE PRO8 GRAM.—The Director of the Office shall, in consultation 

9 with the individuals designated under subsection (c)(3), 

10 conduct an assessment of the effects of the implementation 

11 of the fee-basis health care program of the Veterans Health 

12 Administration on the delivery of health care services to vet13 erans who reside in rural areas of the United States. In 

14 conducting the assessment, the Director shall— 

15 (1) evaluate the effects of the fee-basis health care 

16 program on the delivery of health care services to vet17 erans who reside in rural areas of the United States; 

18 (2) identify various mechanisms for expanding 

19 the program in order to enhance and improve health 

20 care services for such veterans and determine the fea21 sibility and advisability of implementing such mecha22 nisms; and 

23 (3) for each mechanism determined under para24 graph (2) to be feasible and advisable to implement, 


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1 make recommendations to the Under Secretary for 

2 Health on the implementation of such mechanism. 

3 SEC. 405. PILOT PROGRAM ON IMPROVEMENT OF CARE4 GIVER ASSISTANCE SERVICES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Commencing not later than 120 

6 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec7 retary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out a pilot program 

8 to assess the feasibility and advisability of various mecha9 nisms to expand and improve caregiver assistance services. 

10 (b) DURATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.—The pilot pro11 gram required by subsection (a) shall be carried out during 

12 the two-year period beginning on the date of the commence13 ment of the pilot program. 

14 (c) CAREGIVER ASSISTANCE SERVICES.—For purposes 

15 of this section, the term ‘‘caregiver assistance services’’ are 

16 services of the Department of Veterans Affairs that assist 

17 caregivers of veterans, including veterans of the Global War 

18 on Terrorism. Such services including the following: 

19 (1) Adult-day health care services. 

20 (2) Coordination of services needed by veterans, 

21 including services for readjustment and rehabilita22 tion. 

23 (3) Transportation services. 


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1 (4) Caregiver support services, including edu2 cation, training, and certification of family members 

3 in caregiver activities. 

4 (5) Home care services. 

5 (6) Respite care. 

6 (7) Hospice services. 

7 (8) Any modalities of non-institutional long8 term care. 

9 (d) FUNDING.— 

10 (1) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—In carrying out the 

11 program required by subsection (a), the Secretary 

12 shall identify, from funds available to the Department 

13 of Veterans Affairs for medical care, an amount not 

14 less than $5,000,000 to be available for the fiscal year 

15 that includes the date of the enactment of this Act, to 

16 carry out the pilot program and to be allocated to fa17 cilities of the Department pursuant to subsection (e). 

18 Such amount shall be available without fiscal year 

19 limitation. 

20 (2) MINIMUM ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—In iden21 tifying available amounts pursuant to paragraph (1), 

22 the Secretary shall ensure that, after the allocation of 

23 funds under subsection (e), the total expenditure for 

24 programs in support of caregiver assistance services is 


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1 not less than $5,000,000 in excess of the baseline 

2 amount. 

3 (3) BASELINE AMOUNT.—For purposes of para4 graph (2), the baseline amount is the amount of the 

5 total expenditures on programs in support of care6 giver assistance services for veterans for the most re7 cent fiscal year for which final expenditure amounts 

8 are known, adjusted to reflect any subsequent increase 

9 in applicable costs to support such services through 

10 the Veterans Health Administration. 

11 (e) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO FACILITIES.—The Sec12 retary shall allocate funds identified pursuant to subsection 

13 (d)(1) to individual medical facilities of the Department 

14 in such amounts as the Secretary determines appropriate, 

15 based upon proposals submitted by such facilities for the 

16 use of such funds for improvements to the support of the 

17 provision of caregiver assistance services. Special consider18 ation should be given to rural facilities, including those 

19 without a long-term care facility of the Department. 

20 (f) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

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

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

23 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa24 tives a report on the implementation of this section, includ25 ing— 


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1 (1) a description and assessment of the activities 

2 carried out under the pilot program; 

3 (2) information on the allocation of funds to fa4 cilities of the Department under subsection (d); and 

5 (3) a description of the improvements made with 

6 funds so allocated to the support of the provision of 

7 caregiver assistance services. 

8 TITLE V—HOMELESS VETERANS 

9 ASSISTANCE 

10 SEC. 501. REAFFIRMATION OF NATIONAL GOAL TO END 

11 HOMELESSNESS AMONG VETERANS. 

12 (a) REAFFIRMATION.—Congress reaffirms the national 

13 goal to end chronic homelessness among veterans within a 

14 decade of the enactment of the Homeless Veterans Com15 prehensive Assistance Act of 2001 (Public Law 107–95; 115 

16 Stat. 903). 

17 (b) REAFFIRMATION OF ENCOURAGEMENT OF COOPER18 ATIVE EFFORTS.—Congress reaffirms its encouragement, as 

19 specified in the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Assist20 ance Act of 2001 (Public Law 107–95; 115 Stat. 903), that 

21 all departments and agencies of the Federal, State, and 

22 local governments, quasi-governmental organizations, pri23 vate and public sector entities, including community-based 

24 organizations, faith-based organizations, and individuals, 


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1 work cooperatively to end chronic homelessness among vet2 erans. 

3 SEC. 502. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE RESPONSE OF THE 

4 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO THE NEEDS OF 

5 HOMELESS VETERANS. 

6 It is the sense of Congress that— 

7 (1) homelessness is a significant problem in the 

8 veterans community, and veterans are disproportion9 ately represented among the homeless population; 

10 (2) while many effective programs assist home11 less veterans to become, once again, productive and 

12 self-sufficient members of their communities and soci13 ety, all the essential services, assistance, and support 

14 that homeless veterans require are not currently pro15 vided; 

16 (3) federally funded programs for homeless vet17 erans should be held accountable for achieving clearly 

18 defined results; 

19 (4) Federal efforts to assist homeless veterans 

20 should include prevention of homelessness; 

21 (5) Federal efforts regarding homeless veterans 

22 should be particularly vigorous where women veterans 

23 have minor children in their care; 

24 (6) Federal agencies, particularly the Depart25 ment of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Labor, 


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1 and the Department of Housing and Urban Develop2 ment, should cooperate more fully to address the prob3 lem of homelessness among veterans; and 

4 (7) the programs reauthorized by this title pro5 vide important housing and services to homeless vet6 erans. 

7 SEC. 503. AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS FOR COMPREHEN8 SIVE SERVICE PROGRAMS FOR HOMELESS 

9 VETERANS. 

10 (a) PERMANENT AUTHORITY.—Section 2011(a) of title 

11 38, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) by striking paragraph (2); and 

13 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘(1)’’; and 

15 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

16 through (D) as paragraphs (1) through (4), re17 spectively. 

18 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—The text of 

19 section 2013 of such title is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated, to carry out this 

21 subchapter, $130,000,000 for fiscal year 2007 and each fis22 cal year thereafter.’’. 


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1 SEC. 504. EXTENSION OF TREATMENT AND REHABILITA2 TION FOR SERIOUSLY MENTALLY ILL AND 

3 HOMELESS VETERANS. 

4 (a) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR GENERAL TREAT5 MENT.—Section 2031(b) of title 38, United States Code, is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘2006’’ and inserting ‘‘2011’’. 

7 (b) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR ADDITIONAL

8 SERVICES.—Section 2033(d) of such title is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘2006’’ and inserting ‘‘2011’’. 

10 SEC. 505. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR TRANSFER OF 

11 PROPERTIES OBTAINED THROUGH FORE12 CLOSURE OF HOME MORTGAGES. 

13 Section 2041(c) of title 38, United States Code, is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘2008’’ and inserting ‘‘2011’’. 

15 SEC. 506. EXTENSION OF FUNDING FOR GRANT PROGRAM 

16 FOR HOMELESS VETERANS WITH SPECIAL 

17 NEEDS. 

18 Section 2061(c)(1) of title 38, United States Code, is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘2003, 2004, and 2005, $5,000,000’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘2007 through 2011, $7,000,000’’. 

21 SEC. 507. EXTENSION OF FUNDING FOR HOMELESS VET22 ERAN SERVICE PROVIDER TECHNICAL AS23 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

24 Subsection (b) of section 2064 of title 38, United States 

25 Code, is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for each of 

3 fiscal years 2007 through 2012 to carry out the program 

4 under this section.’’. 

5 SEC. 508. ADDITIONAL ELEMENT IN ANNUAL REPORT ON 

6 ASSISTANCE TO HOMELESS VETERANS. 

7 Section 2065(b) of title 38, United States Code, is 

8 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) Information on the efforts of the Secretary 

14 to coordinate the delivery of housing and services to 

15 homeless veterans with other Federal departments and 

16 agencies, including— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Department of Defense; 

18 ‘‘(B) the Department of Health and Human 

19 Services; 

20 ‘‘(C) the Department of Housing and Urban 

21 Development; 

22 ‘‘(D) the Department of Justice; 

23 ‘‘(E) the Department of Labor; 

24 ‘‘(F) the Interagency Council on Homeless25 ness; 


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1 ‘‘(G) the Social Security Administration; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(H) any other Federal department or 

4 agency with which the Secretary coordinates the 

5 delivery of housing and services to homeless vet6 erans.’’. 

7 SEC. 509. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HOMELESS VETERANS. 

8 (a) ADDITIONAL EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—Subsection 

9 (a)(3) of section 2066 of title 38, United States Code, is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following new subpara11 graphs: 

12 ‘‘(E) The Executive Director of the Interagency 

13 Council on Homelessness (or a representative of the 

14 Executive Director). 

15 ‘‘(F) The Under Secretary for Health (or a rep16 resentative of the Under Secretary after consultation 

17 with the Director of the Office of Homeless Veterans 

18 Programs). 

19 ‘‘(G) The Under Secretary for Benefits (or a rep20 resentative of the Under Secretary after consultation 

21 with the Director of the Office of Homeless Veterans 

22 Programs).’’. 

23 (b) EXTENSION.—Subsection (d) of such section is 

24 amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2006’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘September 30, 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 510. RENTAL ASSISTANCE VOUCHERS FOR VETERANS 

2 AFFAIRS SUPPORTED HOUSING PROGRAM. 

3 (a) FUNDING FOR VOUCHERS.—Section (8)(o)(19)(B) 

4 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

5 1437f(o)(19)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The amount specified in 

7 this subparagraph is— 

8 ‘‘(i) for fiscal year 2007, the amount 

9 necessary to provide 500 vouchers for rental 

10 assistance under this subsection; 

11 ‘‘(ii) for fiscal year 2008, the amount 

12 necessary to provide 1,000 vouchers for 

13 rental assistance under this subsection; 

14 ‘‘(iii) for fiscal year 2009, the amount 

15 necessary to provide 1,500 vouchers for 

16 rental assistance under this subsection; 

17 ‘‘(iv) for fiscal year 2010, the amount 

18 necessary to provide 2,000 vouchers for 

19 rental assistance under this subsection; and 

20 ‘‘(v) for fiscal year 2011, the amount 

21 necessary to provide 2,500 vouchers for 

22 rental assistance under this subsection.’’. 

23 (b) ELIMINATION OF FUNDING THROUGH INCRE24 MENTAL ASSISTANCE.—Subparagraph (C) of section 

25 8(o)(19) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

26 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)(C)) is repealed. 


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1 (c) STUDY OF EFFECTIVENESS OF VOUCHERS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal years 2007 and 

3 2008, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct 

4 a study of the effectiveness of the voucher program 

5 under section (8)(o)(19)(B) of the United States 

6 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)(B)), as 

7 amended by subsection (a), in meeting the housing 

8 and case management needs of homeless veterans 

9 who— 

10 (A) have a chronic mental illnesses or 

11 chronic substance use disorder; and 

12 (B) are participating in continuing treat13 ment for such mental illness or substance use 

14 disorder as a condition of receipt of such rental 

15 assistance. 

16 (2) COMPARISON.—As part of the study required 

17 by paragraph (1) the Secretary shall compare the re18 sults of the program described in that paragraph with 

19 other programs as follows: 

20 (A) Programs in which the Department of 

21 Veterans Affairs coordinates the delivery of hous22 ing and services to homeless veterans. 

23 (B) Programs for the provision of grants or 

24 per diem payments to providers of services that 


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1 are designed to meet the needs of homeless vet2 erans. 

3 (3) CRITERIA.—In conducting the comparison 

4 required by paragraph (2), the Secretary shall exam5 ine the following: 

6 (A) The satisfaction of veterans targeted by 

7 the programs described in paragraph (2). 

8 (B) The health status of such veterans. 

9 (C) For programs that address substance 

10 use disorders, the reduction in severity of such 

11 disorders in such veterans. 

12 (D) The housing provided such veterans 

13 under such programs. 

14 (E) The degree to which such veterans are 

15 encouraged to productive activity by such pro16 grams. 

17 (4) REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 2009, 

18 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Vet19 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

20 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a re21 port on the results of the study required by paragraph 

22 (1). 


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1 SEC. 511. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR SUPPORTIVE SERV2 ICES FOR VERY LOW-INCOME VETERAN FAMI3 LIES IN PERMANENT HOUSING. 

4 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to facili5 tate the provision of supportive services for very low-income 

6 veteran families in permanent housing. 

7 (b) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter V of chapter 20 of 

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

10 at the end the following new section: 

11 ‘‘§ 2044. Financial assistance for supportive services 

12 for very low-income veteran families in 

13 permanent housing 

14 ‘‘(a) DISTRIBUTION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—(1) 

15 The Secretary shall provide financial assistance to eligible 

16 entities approved under this section to provide and coordi17 nate the provision of supportive services described in sub18 section (b) for very low-income veteran families occupying 

19 permanent housing. 

20 ‘‘(2) Financial assistance under this section shall con21 sist of per diem payments for each such family for which 

22 an approved eligible entity is providing or coordinating the 

23 provision of supportive services. 

24 ‘‘(3)(A) Subject to the availability of appropriations 

25 provided for such purpose, the Secretary shall provide to 

26 each family for which an approved eligible entity is proVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:00 Jul 28, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2694.RS S2694

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1 viding or coordinating the provision of supportive services 

2 per diem payments in the amount of the daily cost of care 

3 estimated by such eligible entity (as adjusted by the Sec4 retary under subparagraph (C)). 

5 ‘‘(B) In no case may the amount of per diem paid 

6 under this paragraph exceed the rate of per diem authorized 

7 for State homes for domiciliary care under subsection 

8 (a)(1)(A) of section 1741 of this title, as adjusted by the 

9 Secretary under subsection (c) of such section. 

10 ‘‘(C) The Secretary may adjust the daily cost of care 

11 estimated by an eligible entity for purposes of this para12 graph to exclude other sources of income described in sub13 paragraph (E) that the eligible entity certifies to be correct. 

14 ‘‘(D) Each eligible entity shall provide to the Secretary 

15 such information with respect to other sources of income 

16 as the Secretary may require to make the adjustment under 

17 subparagraph (C). 

18 ‘‘(E) The other sources of income referred to in sub19 paragraphs (C) and (D) are payments to the eligible entity 

20 for furnishing services to homeless veterans under programs 

21 other than under this subchapter, including payments and 

22 grants from other departments and agencies of the Federal 

23 Government, from departments or agencies of State or local 

24 government, and from private entities or organizations. 


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1 ‘‘(4) In providing financial assistance under para2 graph (1), the Secretary shall give preference to entities pro3 viding or coordinating the provision of supportive services 

4 for very low-income veteran families who are transitioning 

5 from homelessness to permanent housing. 

6 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall ensure that, to the extent 

7 practicable, financial assistance under this subsection is eq8 uitably distributed across geographic regions, including 

9 rural communities and tribal lands. 

10 ‘‘(6) Each entity receiving financial assistance under 

11 this section to provide supportive services to a very low12 income veteran family shall notify that family that such 

13 services are being paid for, in whole or in part, by the De14 partment. 

15 ‘‘(7) The Secretary may require entities receiving fi16 nancial assistance under this section to submit a report to 

17 the Secretary that describes the projects carried out with 

18 such financial assistance. 

19 ‘‘(b) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—The supportive services 

20 referred to in subsection (a) are the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) Services provided by an eligible entity or 

22 subcontractors that address the needs of very low-in23 come veteran families occupying permanent housing, 

24 including— 

25 ‘‘(A) outreach services; 


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1 ‘‘(B) health care services, including diag2 nosis, treatment, and counseling for mental 

3 health and substance abuse disorders and for 

4 post-traumatic stress disorder, if such services 

5 are not readily available through the Depart6 ment medical center serving the geographic area 

7 in which the veteran family is housed; 

8 ‘‘(C) habilitation and rehabilitation serv9 ices; 

10 ‘‘(D) case management services; 

11 ‘‘(E) daily living services; 

12 ‘‘(F) personal financial planning; 

13 ‘‘(G) transportation services; 

14 ‘‘(H) vocational counseling; 

15 ‘‘(I) employment and training; 

16 ‘‘(J) educational services; 

17 ‘‘(K) assistance in obtaining veterans bene18 fits and other public benefits, including health 

19 care provided by the Department; 

20 ‘‘(L) assistance in obtaining income sup21 port; 

22 ‘‘(M) assistance in obtaining health insur23 ance; 

24 ‘‘(N) fiduciary and representative payee 

25 services; 


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1 ‘‘(O) legal services to assist the veteran fam2 ily with reconsiderations or appeals of veterans 

3 and public benefit claim denials and to resolve 

4 outstanding warrants that interfere with the 

5 family’s ability to obtain or retain housing or 

6 supportive services; 

7 ‘‘(P) child care; 

8 ‘‘(Q) housing counseling; 

9 ‘‘(R) other services necessary for maintain10 ing independent living; and 

11 ‘‘(S) coordination of services under this 

12 paragraph. 

13 ‘‘(2) Services described in paragraph (1) that are 

14 delivered to very low-income veteran families who are 

15 homeless and who are scheduled to become residents of 

16 permanent housing within 90 days pending the loca17 tion or development of housing suitable for permanent 

18 housing. 

19 ‘‘(3) Services described in paragraph (1) for very 

20 low-income veteran families who have voluntarily 

21 chosen to seek other housing after a period of tenancy 

22 in permanent housing, that are provided, for a period 

23 of 90 days after such families exit permanent housing 

24 or until such families commence receipt of other hous25 ing services adequate to meet their current needs, but 


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1 only to the extent that services under this paragraph 

2 are designed to support such families in their choice 

3 to transition into housing that is responsive to their 

4 individual needs and preferences. 

5 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—(1) 

6 An eligible entity seeking financial assistance under sub7 section (a) shall submit an application to the Secretary in 

8 such form, in such manner, and containing such commit9 ments and information as the Secretary determines to be 

10 necessary to carry out this section. 

11 ‘‘(2) Each application submitted by an eligible entity 

12 under paragraph (1) shall contain— 

13 ‘‘(A) a description of the supportive services pro14 posed to be provided by the eligible entity; 

15 ‘‘(B) a description of the types of very low-in16 come veteran families proposed to be provided such 

17 services; 

18 ‘‘(C) an estimate of the number of very low-in19 come veteran families proposed to be provided such 

20 services; 

21 ‘‘(D) evidence of the experience of the eligible en22 tity in providing supportive services to very low-in23 come veteran families; and 

24 ‘‘(E) a description of the managerial capacity of 

25 the eligible entity to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) coordinate the provision of supportive 

2 services with the provision of permanent hous3 ing, by the eligible entity or by other organiza4 tions; 

5 ‘‘(ii) continuously assess the needs of very 

6 low-income veteran families for supportive serv7 ices; 

8 ‘‘(iii) coordinate the provision of supportive 

9 services with the services of the Department; 

10 ‘‘(iv) tailor supportive services to the needs 

11 of very low-income veteran families; and 

12 ‘‘(v) continuously seek new sources of assist13 ance to ensure the long-term provision of sup14 portive services to very low-income veteran fami15 lies. 

16 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall establish criteria for the selec17 tion of eligible entities to be provided financial assistance 

18 under this section. 

19 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—(1) The Secretary 

20 shall provide training and technical assistance to partici21 pating eligible entities regarding the planning, develop22 ment, and provision of supportive services to very low-in23 come veteran families occupying permanent housing. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may provide the training described 

2 in paragraph (1) directly or through grants or contracts 

3 with appropriate public or nonprofit private entities. 

4 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.—(1) From amounts appropriated to 

5 the Department for Medical Care, there shall be available 

6 to carry out this section amounts as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

8 ‘‘(B) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

9 ‘‘(C) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

10 ‘‘(2) Not more than $750,000 may be available under 

11 paragraph (1) in any fiscal year to provide technical assist12 ance under subsection (d). 

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

14 ‘‘(1) The term ‘consumer cooperative’ has the 

15 meaning given such term in section 202 of the Hous16 ing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q). 

17 ‘‘(2) The term ‘eligible entity’ means— 

18 ‘‘(A) a private nonprofit organization; or 

19 ‘‘(B) a consumer cooperative. 

20 ‘‘(3) The term ‘homeless’ has the meaning given 

21 that term in section 103 of the McKinney-Vento 

22 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302). 

23 ‘‘(4) The term ‘permanent housing’ means com24 munity-based housing without a designated length of 

25 stay. 


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1 ‘‘(5) The term ‘private nonprofit organization’ 

2 means any of the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) Any incorporated private institution 

4 or foundation— 

5 ‘‘(i) no part of the net earnings of 

6 which inures to the benefit of any member, 

7 founder, contributor, or individual; 

8 ‘‘(ii) which has a governing board that 

9 is responsible for the operation of the sup10 portive services provided under this section; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(iii) which is approved by the Sec13 retary as to financial responsibility; 

14 ‘‘(B) A for-profit limited partnership, the 

15 sole general partner of which is an organization 

16 meeting the requirements of clauses (i), (ii), and 

17 (iii) of subparagraph (A). 

18 ‘‘(C) A corporation wholly owned and con19 trolled by an organization meeting the require20 ments of clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subpara21 graph (A). 

22 ‘‘(D) A tribally designated housing entity 

23 (as defined in section 4 of the Native American 

24 Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 

25 of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103)). 


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1 ‘‘(6)(A) Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), 

2 the term ‘very low-income veteran family’ means a 

3 veteran family whose income does not exceed 50 per4 cent of the median income for the area, as determined 

5 by the Secretary in accordance with this paragraph. 

6 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall make appropriate ad7 justments to the income requirement under subpara8 graph (A) based on family size. 

9 ‘‘(C) The Secretary may establish an income 

10 ceiling higher or lower than 50 percent of the median 

11 income for an area if the Secretary determines that 

12 such variations are necessary because the area has 

13 unusually high or low construction costs, fair market 

14 rents (as determined under section 8 of the United 

15 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f)), or 

16 family incomes. 

17 ‘‘(7) The term ‘veteran family’ includes a veteran 

18 who is a single person and a family in which the 

19 head of household or the spouse of the head of house20 hold is a veteran.’’. 

21 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec22 tions at the beginning of chapter 20 of such title is 

23 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec24 tion 2043 the following new item: 

‘‘2044. Financial assistance for supportive services for very low-income veteran 

families in permanent housing.’’. 


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1 (c) STUDY OF EFFECTIVENESS OF PERMANENT HOUS2 ING PROGRAM.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal years 2007 and 

4 2008, the Secretary shall conduct a study of the effec5 tiveness of the permanent housing program under sec6 tion 2044 of title 38, United States Code, as amended 

7 by subsection (b), in meeting the needs of very low8 income veteran families, as that term is defined in 

9 that section. 

10 (2) COMPARISON.—In the study required by 

11 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall compare the results 

12 of the program referred to in that subsection with 

13 other programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

14 dedicated to the delivery of housing and services to 

15 veterans. 

16 (3) CRITERIA.—In making the comparison re17 quired in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall examine 

18 the following: 

19 (A) The satisfaction of veterans targeted by 

20 the programs described in paragraph (2). 

21 (B) The health status of such veterans. 

22 (C) The housing provided such veterans 

23 under such programs. 


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1 (D) The degree to which such veterans are 

2 encouraged to productive activity by such pro3 grams. 

4 (4) REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 2009, 

5 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Vet6 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

7 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a re8 port on the results of the study required by paragraph 

9 (1). 

10 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS 

11 BENEFITS 

12 SEC. 601. RESIDENTIAL COOPERATIVE HOUSING UNITS. 

13 (a) HOUSING BENEFITS FOR COOPERATIVE APART14 MENT UNITS.—Subsection (a) of section 3710 of title 38, 

15 United States Code, is amended by inserting after para16 graph (11) the following new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(12) To purchase stock or membership in a co18 operative housing corporation for the purpose of enti19 tling the veteran to occupy for dwelling purposes a 

20 single family residential unit in a development, 

21 project, or structure owned or leased by such corpora22 tion, in accordance with subsection (h).’’. 

23 (b) CONDITIONS OF HOUSING BENEFITS FOR COOPER24 ATIVE APARTMENT UNITS.—Such section is further amend25 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(h)(1) A loan may not be guaranteed under sub2 section (a)(12) unless— 

3 ‘‘(A) the development, project, or structure of the 

4 cooperative housing corporation complies with such 

5 criteria as the Secretary prescribes in regulations; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) the dwelling unit that the purchase of stock 

8 or membership in the development, project, or struc9 ture of the cooperative housing corporation entitles 

10 the purchaser to occupy is a single family residential 

11 unit. 

12 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘cooperative housing 

13 corporation’ has the same meaning given such term in sec14 tion 216(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

15 ‘‘(3) When applying the term ‘value of the property’ 

16 to a loan guaranteed under subsection (a)(12), such term 

17 means the appraised value of the stock or membership enti18 tling the purchaser to the permanent occupancy of the 

19 dwelling unit in the development, project, or structure of 

20 the cooperative housing corporation.’’. 

21 SEC. 602. INCREASE IN SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE FOR 

22 TOTALLY DISABLED VETERANS. 

23 Section 1922A(a) of title 38, United States Code, is 

24 amended by striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$30,000, 


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1 during the period beginning on October 1, 2007, and ending 

2 on September 31, 2011, or $20,000 at any other time’’. 

3 SEC. 603. REAUTHORIZATION OF USE OF CERTAIN INFOR4 MATION FROM OTHER AGENCIES. 

5 (a) INFORMATION FROM SECRETARY OF THE TREAS6 URY OR COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY.—Section 

7 5317(g) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by strik8 ing ‘‘September 30, 2008’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 

9 2011’’. 

10 (b) TAX RETURNS AND TAX RETURN INFORMATION.— 

11 The last sentence of section 6103(l)(7) of the Internal Rev12 enue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 

13 2008’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2011’’. 

14 SEC. 604. CLARIFICATION OF CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES 

15 COVERED BY CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF LAW. 

16 (a) PAYMENT OF PENSION DURING CONFINEMENT IN

17 PENAL INSTITUTIONS.—Section 1505(a) of title 38, United 

18 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘or local penal institu19 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘local, or other penal institution or cor20 rectional facility’’. 

21 (b) ALLOWANCES FOR TRAINING AND REHABILITATION

22 FOR VETERANS WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABIL23 ITIES.—Section 3108(g)(1) of such title is amended by 

24 striking ‘‘or local penal institution’’ and inserting ‘‘local, 

25 or other penal institution or correctional facility’’. 


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•S 2694 RS

1 (c) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE BENEFITS FOR POST2 VIETNAM ERA VETERANS.—Section 3231(d)(1) of such title 

3 is amended by striking ‘‘or local penal institution’’ and in4 serting ‘‘local, or other penal institution or correctional fa5 cility’’. 

6 (d) COMPUTATION OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE AL7 LOWANCES FOR VETERANS GENERALLY.—Section 

8 3482(g)(1) of such title is amended by striking ‘‘or local 

9 penal institution’’ and inserting ‘‘local, or other penal in10 stitution or correctional facility’’. 

11 (e) COMPUTATION OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE AL12 LOWANCE FOR SURVIVORS AND DEPENDENTS.—Section 

13 3532(e) of such title is amended by striking ‘‘or local penal 

14 institution’’ and inserting ‘‘local, or other penal institution 

15 or correctional facility’’. 

16 (f) LIMITATION ON PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION AND

17 DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION.—Section 

18 5313 of such title is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘or local 

20 penal institution’’ and inserting ‘‘local, or other penal 

21 institution or correctional facility’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘or local 

23 penal institution’’ and inserting ‘‘local, or other penal 

24 institution or correctional facility’’; and 


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1 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘or local penal 

2 institution’’ and inserting ‘‘local, or other penal insti3 tution or correctional facility’’. 

4 (g) LIMITATION ON PAYMENT OF CLOTHING ALLOW5 ANCE.—Section 5313A of such title is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘or local penal institution’’ and inserting ‘‘local, or other 

7 penal institution or correctional facility’’. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘To amend title 38, 

United States Code, to remove certain limitations on attorney representation of claimants for veterans benefits 

in administrative proceedings before the Department of 

Veterans Affairs, to make certain improvements in the 

area of memorial affairs, and for other purposes.’’. 


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Calendar No. 540 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2694 

[Report No. 109

–297] 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to remove 

Affairs, and for other purposes. proceedings before the Department of Veterans claimants for veterans benefits in administrative certain limitations on attorney representation of 

JULY 27 (legislative day, JULY 26), 2006 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 


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