104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H.R. 2353

AMENDMENTS

TO

SENATE AMENDMENTS
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

January 25, 1996.

Resolved, That the House agree to the amendments of

the Senate to the bill (H.R. 2353) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend

title 38, United States Code, to extend certain expiring authorities of the Department of Veterans Affairs relating to

delivery of health and medical care, and for other purposes’’,

with the following

AMENDMENTS:

In lieu of the matter inserted by said amendment, insert:

1 TITLE I—EXTENSIONS OF

2 AUTHORITY

3 SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITIES UNDER TITLE 38,

4 UNITED STATES CODE.

5 (a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE PRIORITY HEALTH CARE

6 FOR CERTAIN VETERANS EXPOSED TO TOXIC SUB7 STANCES.—(1) Section 1710(e)(3) of title 38, United States

8 Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘after June 30, 1995,’’

9 and all that follows through ‘‘December 31, 1995’’ and in10 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘after December 31, 1996’’.
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1 (2) Section 1712(a)(1)(D) of such title is amended by

2 striking out ‘‘December 31, 1995,’’ and inserting in lieu

3 thereof ‘‘December 31, 1996,’’.

4 (b) DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE AND DEPENDENCE.—

5 Section 1720A(e) of such title is amended by striking out

6 ‘‘December 31, 1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Decem7 ber 31, 1997’’.

8 (c) PILOT PROGRAM FOR NONINSTITUTIONAL ALTER9 NATIVES TO NURSING HOME CARE.—Section 1720C(a) of

10 such title is amended by striking out ‘‘September 30, 1995,’’

11 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31, 1997,’’.

12 (d) NEGOTIATED INTEREST RATES.—Section

13 3703(c)(4) of such title is amended by striking out subpara14 graph (D).

15 (e) MORTGAGES FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT IMPROVE16 MENTS.—Section 3710(d) of such title is amended by strik17 ing out paragraph (7).

18 (f) ENHANCED LOAN ASSET SALE AUTHORITY.—Sec19 tion 3720(h)(2) of such title is amended by striking out

20 ‘‘December 31, 1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Decem21 ber 31, 1996’’.

22 (g) AUTHORITY OF LENDERS OF AUTOMATICALLY

23 GUARANTEED LOANS TO REVIEW APPRAISALS.—Section

24 3731(f) of such title is amended by striking out paragraph

25 (3).
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1 (h) AGREEMENTS FOR HOUSING ASSISTANCE FOR

2 HOMELESS VETERANS.—Section 3735(c) of such title is

3 amended by striking out ‘‘December 31, 1995’’ and insert4 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31, 1997’’.

5 (i) USE OF DATA ON COMPENSATION FOR CERTIFIED

6 REGISTERED NURSE ANESTHETISTS.—Section

7 7451(d)(3)(C)(iii) of such title is amended by striking out

8 ‘‘April 1, 1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘January 1,

9 1998’’.

10 (j) HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SCHOLARSHIP PRO11 GRAM.—Section 7618 of such title is amended by striking

12 out ‘‘December 31, 1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘De13 cember 31, 1997’’.

14 (k) ENHANCED-USE LEASES OF REAL PROPERTY.—

15 Section 8169 of such title is amended by striking out ‘‘De16 cember 31, 1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December

17 31, 1997’’.

18 SEC. 102. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITIES UNDER OTHER PRO19 VISIONS OF LAW.

20 (a) AUTHORITY FOR COMMUNITY-BASED RESIDENTIAL

21 CARE FOR HOMELESS CHRONICALLY MENTALLY ILL VET22 ERANS AND OTHER VETERANS.—Section 115(d) of the Vet23 erans’ Benefits and Services Act of 1988 (38 U.S.C. 1712

24 note) is amended by striking out ‘‘September 30, 1995’’ and

25 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31, 1997’’.
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1 (b) DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM OF COMPENSATED

2 WORK THERAPY.—Section 7(a) of Public Law 102–54 (38

3 U.S.C. 1718 note) is amended by striking out ‘‘fiscal years

4 1991 through 1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the pe5 riod beginning on October 1, 1991, and ending on December

6 31, 1997,’’.

7 (c) SERVICES AND ASSISTANCE TO HOMELESS VETER8 ANS.—The Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Service Pro9 grams Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–590; 38 U.S.C. 7721

10 note) is amended—

11 (1) in section 2, by striking out ‘‘September 30,

12 1995,’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘September 30,

13 1997,’’;

14 (2) in section 3(a)—

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Subject to’’;

16 (B) by striking out ‘‘fiscal years 1993,

17 1994, and 1995,’’; and

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

19 paragraph:

20 ‘‘(2) The authority of the Secretary to make grants

21 under this section expires on September 30, 1997.’’; and

22 (3) in section 12, by striking out ‘‘each of the fis23 cal years 1993, 1994, and 1995’’ and inserting in lieu

24 thereof ‘‘each of fiscal years 1993 through 1997’’.
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1 (d) HOMELESS VETERANS’ REINTEGRATION

2 PROJECTS.—(1) Section 738(e)(1) of the Stewart B.

3 McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11448(e)(1))

4 is amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(D) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1996.’’.

6 (2) Section 741 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 11450) is

7 amended by striking out ‘‘October 1, 1995’’ and inserting

8 in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31, 1997’’.

9 SEC. 103. RATIFICATION OF ACTIONS TAKEN DURING PE10 RIOD OF EXPIRED AUTHORITY.

11 Any action taken by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

12 before the date of the enactment of this Act under a provi13 sion of law amended by this title that was taken during

14 the period beginning on the date on which the authority

15 of the Secretary under that provision of law expired and

16 ending on the date of the enactment of this Act shall be

17 considered to have the same force and effect as if the amend18 ment to that provision of law made by this title had been

19 in effect at the time of that action.

20 TITLE II—OTHER PROVISIONS

21 SEC. 201. CODIFICATION OF HOUSING REPORTING RE22 QUIREMENTS AND CHANGES IN THEIR FRE23 QUENCY.

24 (a) CODIFICATION OF HOUSING RELATED REPORTING

25 REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Chapter 37 of title 38, United States
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1 Code, is amended by adding after section 3735 the following

2 new section:

3 ‘‘§ 3736. Reporting requirements

4 ‘‘The annual report required by section 529 of this title

5 shall include a discussion of the activities under this chap6 ter. Beginning with the report submitted at the close of fis7 cal year 1996, and every second year thereafter, this discus8 sion shall include information regarding the following:

9 ‘‘(1) Loans made to veterans whose only qualify10 ing service was in the Selected Reserve.

11 ‘‘(2) Interest rates and discount points which

12 were negotiated between the lender and the veteran

13 pursuant to section 3703(c)(4)(A)(i) of this title.

14 ‘‘(3) The determination of reasonable value by

15 lenders pursuant to section 3731(f) of this title.

16 ‘‘(4) Loans that include funds for energy effi17 ciency improvements pursuant to section 3710(a)(10)

18 of this title.

19 ‘‘(5) Direct loans to Native American veterans

20 made pursuant to subchapter V of this chapter.’’.

21 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chap22 ter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section

23 3735 the following new item:

‘‘3736. Reporting requirements.’’.

24 (b) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED REPORTING REQUIRE25 MENTS.—The Veterans Home Loan Program Amendments
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1 of 1992 (Public Law 102–547; 106 Stat. 3633) is amended

2 by striking out sections 2(c), 3(b), 8(d), 9(c), and 10(b).

3 SEC. 202. OTHER REPORT REQUIREMENTS.

4 (a) REPORT ON CONSOLIDATION OF CERTAIN PRO5 GRAMS.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to

6 Congress, not later than March 1, 1997, a report on the

7 advantages and disadvantages of consolidating into one

8 program the following three programs:

9 (1) The alcohol and drug abuse contract care

10 program under section 1720A of title 38, United

11 States Code.

12 (2) The program to provide community-based

13 residential care to homeless chronically mentally ill

14 veterans under section 115 of the Veterans’ Benefits

15 and Services Act of 1988 (38 U.S.C. 1712 note).

16 (3) The demonstration program under section 7

17 of Public Law 102–54 (38 U.S.C. 1718 note).

18 (b) HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SCHOLARSHIP PRO19 GRAM.—(1) The Secretary shall submit to Congress, not

20 later than March 31, 1997, a report setting forth the results

21 of a study evaluating the operation of the health profes22 sional scholarship program under subchapter II of chapter

23 76 of title 38, United States Code. The study shall evaluate

24 the efficacy of the program with respect to recruitment and

25 retention of health care personnel for the Department of Vet-
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1 erans Affairs and shall compare the costs and benefits of

2 the program with the costs and benefits of alternative meth3 ods of ensuring adequate recruitment and retention of such

4 personnel.

5 (2) The Secretary shall carry out the study under this

6 paragraph through a private contractor. The report under

7 paragraph (1) shall include the report of the contractor and

8 the comments, if any, of the Secretary on that report.

9 (c) ENHANCED USE LEASES.—The Secretary shall

10 submit to Congress, not later than March 31, 1997, a report

11 evaluating the operation of the program under subchapter

12 V of chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code.

13 SEC. 203. CONTRACTS FOR UTILITIES, AUDIE L. MURPHY

14 MEMORIAL HOSPITAL.

15 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT.—Subject to subsection

16 (b), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may enter into con17 tracts for the provision of utilities (including steam and

18 chilled water) to the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Hospital

19 in San Antonio, Texas. Each such contract may—

20 (1) be for a period not to exceed 35 years;

21 (2) provide for the construction and operation of

22 a production facility on or near property under the

23 jurisdiction of the Secretary;

24 (3) require capital contributions by the parties

25 involved for the construction of such a facility, such
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1 contribution to be in the form of cash, equipment, or

2 other in-kind contribution; and

3 (4) provide for a predetermined formula to com4 pute the cost of providing such utilities to the parties

5 for the duration of the contract.

6 (b) FUNDS.—A contract may be entered into under

7 subsection (a) only to the extent as provided for in advance

8 in appropriations Acts.

9 (c) ADDITIONAL TERMS.—The Secretary may include

10 in a contract under subsection (a) such additional provi11 sions as the Secretary considers necessary to secure the pro12 vision of utilities and to protect the interests of the United

13 States.

In lieu of the Senate amendment to the title of the bill,

amend the title so as to read: ‘‘An Act to amend title 38,

United States Code, to extend the authority of the Secretary

of Veterans Affairs to carry out certain programs and activities, to require certain reports from the Secretary of Veterans

Affairs, and for other purposes.’’.

Attest:

Clerk.