I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1429

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the organization

and administration of the Readjustment Counseling Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to improve eligibility for veterans’ readjustment counseling and related counseling, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 6, 1995

Mr. EVANS (for himself, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts,

Mr. WILLIAMS, and Mr. DOYLE) introduced the following bill; which was

referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the

organization and administration of the Readjustment

Counseling Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to improve eligibility for veterans’ readjustment

counseling and related counseling, 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’ Readjust5 ment Counseling Service Amendments of 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ORGANIZATION OF THE READJUSTMENT COUNSEL2 ING SERVICE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF VET3 ERANS AFFAIRS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7305 of title 38, United

5 States Code, is amended—

6 (1) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para7 graph (8); and

8 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the follow9 ing new paragraph (7):

10 ‘‘(7) A Readjustment Counseling Service.’’.

11 (b) ORGANIZATION.—The Readjustment Counseling

12 Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall have

13 the organizational structure and administrative structure

14 of that service as such structures were in existence on Jan15 uary 1, 1993.

16 (c) REVISION OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE.—

17 (1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not alter or

18 revise the organizational structure or the administrative

19 structure of the Readjustment Counseling Service until—

20 (A) the Secretary has submitted to the Commit21 tees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House

22 of Representatives a report containing a full and

23 complete statement of the proposed alteration or re24 vision; and
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1 (B) a period of 60 days has elapsed after the

2 date on which the report is received by the commit3 tees.

4 (2) In the computation of the 60-day period under

5 paragraph (1)(B), there shall be excluded any day on

6 which either House of Congress is not in session because

7 of an adjournment of more than 3 calendar days to a day

8 certain.

9 (d) BUDGET INFORMATION RELATING TO THE SERV10 ICE.—Each budget submitted to Congress by the Presi11 dent under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code,

12 shall set forth the amount requested in the budget for the

13 operation of the Readjustment Counseling Service in the

14 fiscal year covered by the budget and shall set forth sepa15 rately the amount requested for administrative oversight

16 of the activities of the service (including the amount re17 quested for funding of the Advisory Committee on Read18 justment of Veterans).

19 SEC. 3. DIRECTOR OF THE READJUSTMENT COUNSELING

20 SERVICE.

21 (a) DIRECTOR.—Section 7306(b) of title 38, United

22 States Code, is amended—

23 (1) by striking out ‘‘and’’ at the end of para24 graph (2);
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1 (2) by striking out the period at the end of

2 paragraph (3) and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘; and’’;

3 and

4 (3) by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(4) one shall be a person who (A)(i) is a quali6 fied psychiatrist, (ii) is a qualified psychologist hold7 ing a diploma as a doctorate in clinical or counseling

8 psychology from an authority approved by the Amer9 ican Psychological Association and has successfully

10 undergone an internship approved by that associa11 tion, (iii) is a qualified holder of a master in social

12 work degree, (iv) is a registered nurse holding a

13 master of science in nursing degree in psychiatric

14 nursing or any other mental-health related degree

15 approved by the Secretary, or (v) holds any other

16 advanced mental-health related degree approved by

17 the Secretary, and (B) has at least three years of

18 clinical experience and two years of administrative

19 experience in the Readjustment Counseling Service

20 or other comparable mental health care counseling

21 service (as determined by the Secretary), who shall

22 be the director of the Readjustment Counseling

23 Service.’’.
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1 (b) STATUS OF DIRECTOR.—Section 7306(a)(3) of

2 such title is amended by striking out ‘‘eight’’ and inserting

3 in lieu thereof ‘‘nine’’.

4 (c) ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENT.—The Director

5 of the Readjustment Counseling Service shall report to the

6 Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veter7 ans Affairs through the Associate Deputy Under Secretary

8 for Health for Clinical Programs.

9 SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR READJUSTMENT

10 COUNSELING AND CERTAIN RELATED COUN11 SELING SERVICES.

12 (a) READJUSTMENT COUNSELING.—(1) Subsection

13 (a) of section 1712A of title 38, United States Code, is

14 amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(a)(1)(A) Upon the request of any veteran referred

16 to in subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall furnish coun17 seling to the veteran to assist the veteran in readjusting

18 to civilian life.

19 ‘‘(B) A veteran referred to in subparagraph (A) is

20 any veteran who—

21 ‘‘(i) served on active duty during the Vietnam

22 era; or

23 ‘‘(ii) served on active military, naval, or air

24 service in a theater of combat operations (as deter25 mined by the Secretary, in consultation with the
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1 Secretary of Defense) during a period of war or in

2 any other area during a period in which hostilities

3 (as defined in subparagraph (D)) occurred in such

4 area.

5 ‘‘(C) Upon the request of any veteran other than a

6 veteran referred to in subparagraph (A), the Secretary

7 may furnish counseling to the veteran to assist the veteran

8 in readjusting to civilian life.

9 ‘‘(D) For the purposes of subparagraph (A), the term

10 ‘hostilities’ means an armed conflict in which the members

11 of the Armed Forces are subjected to danger comparable

12 to the danger or stress to which members of the Armed

13 Forces have been subjected in combat with enemy armed

14 forces during a period of war, as determined by the Sec15 retary in consultation with the Secretary of Defense.

16 ‘‘(2) The counseling referred to in paragraph (1)

17 shall include a general mental and psychological assess18 ment of a covered veteran to ascertain whether such vet19 eran has mental or psychological problems associated with

20 readjustment to civilian life.’’.

21 (2) Subsection (c) of such section is repealed.

22 (b) OTHER COUNSELING.—Such section is further

23 amended by inserting after subsection (b) the following

24 new subsection (c):
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1 ‘‘(c)(1) The Secretary shall provide the counseling

2 services described in section 1701(6)(B)(ii) of this title to

3 the surviving parents, spouse, and children of any member

4 of the Armed Forces who is killed during service on active

5 military, naval, or air service in a theater of combat oper6 ations (as determined by the Secretary, in consultation

7 with the Secretary of Defense) during a period of war or

8 in any other area during a period in which hostilities (as

9 defined in subsection (a)(1)(D)) occurred in such area.

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may provide the counseling serv11 ices referred to in paragraph (1) to the surviving parents,

12 spouse, and children of any member of the Armed Forces

13 who dies while serving on active duty or from a condition

14 (as determined by the Secretary) incurred in or aggra15 vated by such service.’’.

16 (c) AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT FOR COUNSELING

17 SERVICES.—Subsection (e) of such section is amended by

18 striking out ‘‘subsections (a) and (b)’’ each place it ap19 pears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsections (a), (b),

20 and (c)’’.

21 SEC. 5. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE READJUSTMENT OF

22 VETERANS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Subchapter II of chapter 17

24 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting

25 after section 1712B the following:
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1 ‘‘§ 1712C. Advisory Committee on the Readjustment

2 of Veterans

3 ‘‘(a)(1) There is in the Department the Advisory

4 Committee on the Readjustment of Veterans (hereinafter

5 in this section referred to as the ‘Committee’).

6 ‘‘(2) The Committee shall consist of not more than

7 18 members appointed by the Secretary from among vet8 erans who—

9 ‘‘(A) have demonstrated significant civic or pro10 fessional achievement; and

11 ‘‘(B) have experience with, or knowledge of, the

12 provision of veterans benefits and services by the

13 Department.

14 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall seek to ensure that members

15 appointed to the Committee include persons from a wide

16 variety of geographic areas and ethnic backgrounds, per17 sons from veterans service organizations, and women.

18 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall determine the terms of serv19 ice and pay and allowances of the members of the Commit20 tee, except that a term of service may not exceed two

21 years. The Secretary may reappoint any member for addi22 tional terms of service.

23 ‘‘(b)(1) The Secretary shall, on a regular basis, con24 sult with and seek the advice of the Committee with re25 spect to the provision by the Department of benefits and
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1 services to veterans in order to assist veterans in the read2 justment to civilian life.

3 ‘‘(2)(A) In providing advice to the Secretary under

4 this subsection, the Committee shall—

5 ‘‘(i) assemble and review information relating to

6 the needs of veterans in readjusting to civilian life;

7 ‘‘(ii) provide information relating to the nature

8 and character of psychological problems arising from

9 service in the Armed Forces;

10 ‘‘(iii) provide an on-going assessment of the ef11 fectiveness of the policies, organizational structures,

12 and services of the Department in assisting veterans

13 in readjusting to civilian life; and

14 ‘‘(iv) provide on-going advice on the most ap15 propriate means of responding to the readjustment

16 needs of veterans in the future.

17 ‘‘(B) In carrying out its duties under subparagraph

18 (A), the Committee shall take into special account veter19 ans of the Vietnam era, and the readjustment needs of

20 such veterans.

21 ‘‘(c)(1) Not later than March 31 of each year, the

22 Committee shall submit to the Secretary a report on the

23 programs and activities of the Department that relate to

24 the readjustment of veterans to civilian life. Each such

25 report shall include—
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1 ‘‘(A) an assessment of the needs of veterans

2 with respect to readjustment to civilian life;

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

4 the Department designed to meet such needs; and

5 ‘‘(C) such recommendations (including rec6 ommendations for administrative and legislative ac7 tion) as the Committee considers appropriate.

8 ‘‘(2) Not later than 90 days after the receipt of each

9 report under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall transmit

10 to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and

11 House of Representatives a copy of the report, together

12 with any comments and recommendations concerning the

13 report that the Secretary considers appropriate.

14 ‘‘(3) The Committee may also submit to the Sec15 retary such other reports and recommendations as the

16 Committee considers appropriate.

17 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall submit with each annual re18 port submitted to the Congress pursuant to section 529

19 of this title a summary of all reports and recommendations

20 of the Committee submitted to the Secretary since the pre21 vious annual report of the Secretary submitted pursuant

22 to that section.

23 ‘‘(d)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the pro24 visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.
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1 App.) shall apply to the activities of the Committee under

2 this section.

3 ‘‘(2) Section 14 of such Act shall not apply to the

4 Committee.’’.

5 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

6 17 of such title is amended by inserting after the item

7 relating to section 1712B the following:

‘‘1712C. Advisory Committee on the Readjustment of Veterans.’’.

8 (b) ORIGINAL MEMBERS.—(1) Notwithstanding sub9 section (a)(2) of section 1712C of title 38, United States

10 Code (as added by subsection (a)), the members of the

11 Advisory Committee on the Readjustment of Vietnam and

12 Other War Veterans on the date of the enactment of this

13 Act shall be the original members of the advisory commit14 tee recognized under such section.

15 (2) The original members shall so serve until the Sec16 retary of Veterans Affairs carries out appointments under

17 such subsection (a)(2). The Secretary shall carry out such

18 appointments as soon after such date as is practicable.

19 The Secretary may make such appointments from among

20 such original members.

21 SEC. 6. PLAN FOR EXPANSION OF VIETNAM VETERAN RE22 SOURCE CENTER PILOT PROGRAM.

23 (a) REQUIREMENT.—(1) The Secretary of Veterans

24 Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af25 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a plan
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1 for the expansion of the Vietnam Veteran Resource Center

2 program established pursuant to the amendment made by

3 section 105 of the Veterans’ Administration Health-Care

4 Amendments of 1985 (Public Law 99–166; 99 Stat. 944).

5 The plan shall include a schedule for, and an assessment

6 of the cost of, the implementation of the program at or

7 through all Department of Veterans Affairs readjustment

8 counseling centers.

9 (2) The plan shall be submitted not later than four

10 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

11 (b) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section,

12 the term ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs readjustment

13 counseling centers’’ has the same meaning given the term

14 ‘‘center’’ in section 1712A(i)(1) of title 38, United States

15 Code.

16 SEC. 7. REPORT ON COLLOCATION OF VET CENTERS AND

17 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OUT18 PATIENT CLINICS.

19 (a) REQUIREMENT.—(1) The Secretary of Veterans

20 Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af21 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report

22 on the feasibility and desirability of the collocation of Vet

23 Centers and outpatient clinics (including rural mobile clin24 ics) of the Department of Veterans Affairs as current

25 leases for such centers and clinics expire.
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1 (2) The report shall be submitted not later than six

2 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

3 (b) COVERED MATTERS.—The report under this sec4 tion shall include an assessment of the following:

5 (1) The results of any collocation of Vet Cen6 ters and outpatient clinics carried out by the Sec7 retary before the date of the enactment of this Act,

8 including the effects of such collocation on the qual9 ity of care provided at such centers and clinics.

10 (2) The effect of such collocation on the capac11 ity of such centers to carry out their primary mis12 sion.

13 (3) The extent to which such collocation will

14 impair the operational independence or administra15 tive integrity of such centers.

16 (4) The feasibility of combining the services

17 provided by such centers and clinics in the course of

18 the collocation of such centers and clinics.

19 (5) The advisability of the collocation of centers

20 and clinics of significantly different size.

21 (6) The effect of the locations (including urban

22 and rural locations) of the centers and clinics on the

23 feasibility and desirability of such collocation.
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1 (7) The amount of any costs savings to be

2 achieved by Department as a result of such colloca3 tion.

4 (8) The desirability of such collocation in light

5 of plans for the provision of health care services by

6 the Department under national health care reform.

7 (9) Any other matters that the Secretary deter8 mines appropriate.

9 SEC. 8. VET CENTER HEALTH CARE PILOT PROGRAM.

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

11 shall carry out a pilot program for the provision of health12 related services to eligible veterans at readjustment coun13 seling centers. The Secretary shall carry out the pilot pro14 gram in accordance with this section.

15 (b) SERVICES.—(1) In carrying out the pilot pro16 gram, the Secretary shall provide the services referred to

17 in paragraph (2) at not less than 10 readjustment counsel18 ing centers in existence on the date of the enactment of

19 this Act.

20 (2) The Secretary shall provide basic ambulatory

21 services and health care screening services by such person22 nel as the Secretary considers appropriate at each read23 justment counseling center under the pilot program. The

24 Secretary shall assign not less than one-half of a full-time
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1 employee equivalent at each such center in order to pro2 vide such services under the pilot program.

3 (3) In determining the location of the readjustment

4 counseling centers at which to provide services under the

5 pilot program, the Secretary shall select centers that are

6 located in a variety of geographic areas and that serve vet7 erans of a variety of economic, social, and ethnic back8 grounds.

9 (c) PERIOD OF OPERATION.—(1) The Secretary shall

10 commence the provision of health-related services at read11 justment counseling centers under the pilot program not

12 later than four months after the date of the enactment

13 of this Act.

14 (2) The pilot program shall terminate two years after

15 the date on which the Secretary commences the provision

16 of services under paragraph (1).

17 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the

18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub19 mit to Congress a report on the pilot program established

20 under this section. The report shall include the following:

21 (1) A description of the program, including in22 formation on—

23 (A) the number of veterans provided basic

24 ambulatory services and health care screening

25 services under the pilot program;
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1 (B) the number of such veterans referred

2 to Department of Veterans Affairs general

3 health-care facilities in order to provide such

4 services to such veterans; and

5 (C) the cost to the Department of Veterans

6 Affairs of the pilot program.

7 (2) An analysis of the effectiveness of the serv8 ices provided to veterans under the pilot program.

9 (3) The recommendations of the Secretary for

10 means of improving the pilot program, and an esti11 mate of the cost to the Department of implementing

12 such recommendations.

13 (4) An assessment of the desirability of expand14 ing the type or nature of services provided under the

15 pilot program in light of plans for the provision of

16 health care services by the Department under na17 tional health care reform.

18 (5) An assessment of the extent to which the

19 provision of services under the pilot program impairs

20 the operational or administrative independence of

21 the readjustment counseling centers at which such

22 services are provided.

23 (6) An assessment of the effect of the location

24 of the centers on the effectiveness for the Depart-
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1 ment and for veterans of the services provided under

2 the pilot program.

3 (7) Such other information as the Secretary

4 considers appropriate.

5 (e) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section:

6 (1) The term ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs

7 general health-care facility’’ has the meaning given

8 such term in section 1712A(i)(2) of title 38, United

9 States Code.

10 (2) The term ‘‘eligible veteran’’ means any vet11 eran eligible for outpatient services under paragraph

12 (1), (2), or (3) of section 1712(a) of such title.

13 (3) The term ‘‘readjustment counseling center’’

14 has the meaning given the term ‘‘center’’ in section

15 1712A(i)(1) of such title.

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