I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3442

To amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance the rehabilitative services 

provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans with mental 

illnesses and other veterans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 5, 2003

Mrs. NAPOLITANO (for herself and Mr. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL

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

rehabilitative services provided by the Department of 

Veterans Affairs to veterans with mental illnesses and 

other veterans, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Mental 

5 Health and Back-to-Work Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) The statutory advisory committee of the 

2 Department of Veterans Affairs known as the Com3 mittee on Care of Veterans with Serious Mental Ill4 ness has underscored the need to integrate psycho5 social recovery in the treatment of mental illness. 

6 (2) In its report to the President dated July 22, 

7 2003, the President’s New Freedom Commision on 

8 Mental Health (established by Executive order No. 

9 13263 of April 29, 2002), identified the hope of re10 covery as the single most important goal of mental 

11 health service delivery. 

12 (3) The Surgeon General, in a report on mental 

13 health issued in 1999, stated that ‘‘state of the art 

14 care for severe mental illness is recovery oriented 

15 care which requires an array of services that include 

16 intensive case management, access to substance 

17 abuse treatment, peer support and psychosocial re18 habilitation such as pharmacologic treatment, hous19 ing, employment services, independent living and so20 cial skills training.’’. 

21 (4) During fiscal year 2002, the Department of 

22 Veterans Affairs treated 757,767 patients in spe23 cialty mental health settings, of whom 293,246 were 

24 seriously mentally ill. 
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1 (5) Approximately 21 percent of all patients 

2 seen by the Department of Veterans Affairs are seen 

3 for mental health treatment. 

4 (6) When veterans with mental illness do not 

5 receive comprehensive rehabilitative care, they are 

6 more likely to become homeless and, according to 

7 the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 45 

8 percent of homeless veterans suffer from at least one 

9 mental illness and need help finding a job. 

10 (7) A study of the program operations of the 

11 Department of Veterans Affairs during fiscal year 

12 2000 found that fewer than one percent of the 

13 82,000 veterans under the age of 55 who have schiz14 ophrenia participated in compensated work therapy 

15 programs. 

16 (8) The National Mental Health Information 

17 Center of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

18 Services Administration of the Department of 

19 Health and Human Services found a shocking 90 

20 percent unemployment rate among adults with seri21 ous mental illness, the worst level of unemployment 

22 of any group of people with disabilities. 

23 (9) A study by the National Mental Health In24 formation Center found that serious mental illness 

25 need not lead to unemployment when seriously men-
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1 tally ill individuals are given proper training and em2 ployment support services. 

3 SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF REHABILITATIVE SERVICES FOR 

4 VETERANS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AND 

5 OTHER VETERANS. 

6 (a) REHABILITATIVE SERVICES THROUGH MEDICAL

7 CARE AUTHORITY.—Section 1701(8) is amended by strik8 ing ‘‘(other than those types of vocational rehabilitation 

9 services provided under chapter 31 of this title)’’. 

10 (b) EXPANSION OF AUTHORIZED REHABILITATIVE

11 SERVICES.—Section 1718 is amended—

12 (1) in subsection (c)(1)—

13 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (b) of this sec14 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b) or (d)’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘paragraph (2) of such 

16 subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)(2)’’; 

17 (2) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and 

18 (f) as subsections (e), (f), and (g), respectively; and 

19 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol20 lowing new subsection (d): 

21 ‘‘(d) In providing to a veteran rehabilitative services 

22 under this chapter, the Secretary may furnish the veteran 

23 with the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) Work skills training and development serv25 ices. 
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1 ‘‘(2) Employment support services. 

2 ‘‘(3) Job development and placement services.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. COMMITTEE ON CARE OF VETERANS WITH SERIOUS 

4 MENTAL ILLNESS. 

5 (a) NAME OF COMMITTEE.—The committee of the 

6 Department of Veterans Affairs established under section 

7 7321 of title 38, United States Code, shall be known and 

8 designated as the ‘‘Committee on Care of Veterans with 

9 Serious Mental Illness’’. 

10 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED IN ANNUAL RE11 PORT.—Section 7321 of title 38, United States Code, is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(e) The committee shall include in its annual report 

15 to the Secretary its assessment of how the programs of 

16 the Department under section 1718 of this title are serv17 ing veterans with mental illness. The committee shall in18 clude such recommendations for improving services to vet19 erans with mental illness under such programs as the com20 mittee considers appropriate.’’. 

21 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Subsection (a) 

22 of such section is amended by striking ‘‘Committee on 

23 Care of Severely Chronically Mentally Ill Veterans’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘Committee on Care of Veterans with Serious 

25 Mental Illness’’. 
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1 (2) The heading of such section is amended to read 

2 as follows: 

3 ‘‘§ 7321. Committee on Care of Veterans with Serious 

4 Mental Illness’’. 

5 (3) The item relating to such section in the table of 

6 sections at the beginning of chapter 73 of such title is 

7 amended to read as follows:

‘‘7321. Committee on Care of Veterans with Serious Mental Illness.’’.

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