I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2190 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs to establish the Advisory Committee on Rural Veterans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2007 

Mr. DONNELLY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the Advisory Committee on Rural Veterans. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advisory Committee 

5 on Rural Veterans Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON RURAL VETERANS. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE.—Subchapter 

8 III of chapter 5 of title 38, United States Code, is amend9 ed by adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 546. Advisory Committee on Rural Veterans 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) The Secretary shall es3 tablish an advisory committee to be known as the ‘Advi4 sory Committee on Rural Veterans’ (hereinafter in this 

5 section referred to as ‘the Committee’). 

6 ‘‘(2)(A) The Committee shall consist of members ap7 pointed by the Secretary from the general public, includ8 ing— 

9 ‘‘(i) representatives of rural veterans; 

10 ‘‘(ii) individuals who are recognized authorities 

11 in fields pertinent to the needs of rural veterans, in12 cluding specific or unique health-care needs of rural 

13 veterans and access issues of rural veterans; 

14 ‘‘(iii) individuals who have expertise in the de15 livery of mental health care in rural areas; 

16 ‘‘(iv) individuals who have expertise in the deliv17 ery of long-term care in rural areas; 

18 ‘‘(v) at least one veterans service organization 

19 representative from a rural State; and 

20 ‘‘(vi) representatives of rural veterans with 

21 service-connected disabilities. 

22 ‘‘(B) The Committee shall include, as ex officio mem23 bers— 

24 ‘‘(i) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv25 ices (or a representative of the Secretary of Health 

26 and Human Services designated by that Secretary); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Director of the Indian Health Service 

2 (or a representative of that Director); and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the Under Secretary for Health and the 

4 Under Secretary for Benefits, or their designees. 

5 ‘‘(C) The Secretary may invite representatives of 

6 other departments and agencies of the United States to 

7 participate in the meetings and other activities of the 

8 Committee. 

9 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall determine the number, 

10 terms of service, and pay and allowances of members of 

11 the Committee appointed by the Secretary, except that a 

12 term of service of any such member may not exceed three 

13 years. The Secretary may reappoint any such member for 

14 additional terms of service. 

15 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMITTEE.—The Sec16 retary shall, on a regular basis, consult with and seek the 

17 advice of the Committee with respect to the administration 

18 of benefits by the Department for rural veterans, reports 

19 and studies pertaining to rural veterans, and the needs 

20 of rural veterans with respect to primary care, mental 

21 health care, and long-term care needs of rural veterans. 

22 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—(1) Not later than September 1 of 

23 each odd-numbered year until 2013, the Committee shall 

24 submit to the Secretary a report on the programs and acVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:36 May 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2190.IH H2190

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1 tivities of the Department that pertain to rural veterans. 

2 Each such report shall include— 

3 ‘‘(A) an assessment of the needs of rural vet4 erans with respect to primary care, mental health 

5 care, and long-term care needs of rural veterans and 

6 other benefits and programs administered by the 

7 Department; 

8 ‘‘(B) a review of the programs and activities of 

9 the Department designed to meet such needs; and 

10 ‘‘(C) such recommendations (including rec11 ommendations for administrative and legislative ac12 tion) as the Committee considers appropriate. 

13 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, within 60 days after receiv14 ing each report under paragraph (1), submit to Congress 

15 a copy of the report, together with any comments con16 cerning the report that the Secretary considers appro17 priate. 

18 ‘‘(3) The Committee may also submit to the Sec19 retary such other reports and recommendations as the 

20 Committee considers appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall submit with each annual re22 port submitted to Congress pursuant to section 529 of this 

23 title a summary of all reports and recommendations of the 

24 Committee submitted to the Secretary since the previous 


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1 annual report of the Secretary submitted pursuant to that 

2 section.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘546. Advisory Committee on Rural Veterans.’’. 

Æ 


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