79–006 

111TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 111–165 

WOMEN VETERANS HEALTH CARE IMPROVEMENT ACT 

JUNE 18, 2009.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. FILNER, from the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1211] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 1211) to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand 

and improve health care services available to women veterans, especially those serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and 

for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably 

thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Amendment .............................................................................................................. 2 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 2 

Background and Need for Legislation .................................................................... 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 4 

Subcommittee Consideration .................................................................................. 4 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 5 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 5 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 5 

Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives .................................... 5 

New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures ............. 5 

Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits .................................................................. 5 

Committee Cost Estimate ....................................................................................... 5 

Congressional Budget Office Estimate ................................................................... 6 

Federal Mandates Statement ................................................................................. 8 

Advisory Committee Statement .............................................................................. 8 

Constitutional Authority Statement ...................................................................... 8 

Applicability to Legislative Branch ........................................................................ 8 

Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation ...................................................... 8 


tjames on PRODPC75 with REPORTS
2 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill as Reported ...................................... 10 

AMENDMENT

The amendment is as follows: 

The amendments (stated in terms of the page and line numbers 

of the introduced bill) are as follows: 

Page 10, strike line 17 and all that follows through the end of 

line 19, and insert the following: 

‘‘ ‘§ 1786. Hospital care and medical services for newborn 

children of women veterans receiving maternity 

care’’. 

Page 11, line 1, strike ‘‘14-day’’ and insert ‘‘seven-day’’. 

Page 15, line 22, strike ‘‘(a)(2)(a)’’ and insert ‘‘(a)(2)(A)’’. 

Page 16, line 8, strike ‘‘(a)(2)(a)’’ and insert ‘‘(a)(2)(A)’’. 

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 1211 was introduced on February 26, 2009, by Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota, Chairwoman of 

the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity of the Committee on 

Veterans’ Affairs. This legislation would expand and improve 

health care services available to women veterans, especially those 

who served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi 

Freedom (OEF/OIF). H.R. 1211 would require the Department of 

Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a study on health care barriers 

and to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the VA’s health care 

programs for women veterans. H.R. 1211, as amended, would provide medical care for newborn children of women veterans receiving maternity care; require training and certification for VA mental 

health care providers who provide care for veterans suffering from 

sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder; authorize a pilot 

program for child care assistance to certain veterans receiving 

health care services at VA facilities; and, mandate the addition of 

recently separated women and minority veterans to serve on VA 

advisory committees. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The VA is facing a growing challenge to provide equal access and 

high quality health care to the ever-increasing population of women 

veterans. Today, there are approximately 1.7 million women veterans, or seven percent of the nearly 25 million veterans. Assuming 

that current enrollment rates remain the same, the number of female veterans who use the VA system will double in the next five 

years, making female veterans one of the fastest growing subgroups of veterans. 

The Committee recognizes that the VA has made many improvements over the past two decades to the services offered to women 

veterans. For example, Public Law 98–160 (97 Stat. 994) mandated 

the establishment of the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans 

and over a decade later, Public Law 103–446 (108 Stat. 4668) established the Center for Women Veterans. These two entities have 

been instrumental in furthering the awareness of the needs and 

challenges women veterans face. While there have been some legisVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:15 Jun 19, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR165.XXX HR165

tjames on PRODPC75 with REPORTS
3 

lative changes, VA remains largely a male-dominated physical environment. 

Today’s women veterans face unique challenges and barriers 

when seeking health care through the VA. For example, many 

physical VA facilities still do not provide proper accommodations 

for women veterans and often lack changing tables in the bathrooms or spaces to ensure privacy for women. In addition, the lack 

of child care, newborn care, and gender-sensitive care for military 

sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may 

hinder women veterans from seeking VA health care services. 

To better understand the barriers women veterans face when accessing health care, the VA has taken steps to initiate gender-specific research studies focused on women veterans. The VA is currently conducting a study to identify the changing health care 

needs of the growing women veteran population and the barriers 

they experience within the VA health care system. The Committee 

is concerned that the sample size of this study, about 3,500 women 

veterans from a universe of about 1.7 million women veterans, may 

be both insufficient and not entirely representative of the overall 

population of women veterans. H.R. 1211 would require the VA to 

build on this study by requiring a larger sample size and ensuring 

representation of women veterans from each Veterans Integrated 

Service Network (VISN). In addition, H.R. 1211 would require the 

VA to conduct a comprehensive assessment of women’s health care 

programs at each VA medical facility. This includes an assessment 

of specialized programs for women with PTSD, homeless women, 

women who require care for substance abuse or mental illnesses, 

and women who require obstetric and gynecologic care. With a 

more complete understanding of the health care barriers and the 

current offering of special programs geared toward women veterans, the VA will be better equipped to meet the needs of the 

growing women veteran population. 

This growing women veteran population also includes a large 

subpopulation of women who are of childbearing age. In fact, of the 

OEF/OIF women veterans who are enrolled and access the VA 

health care system, almost all are under age 40. In fiscal year 

2008, the VA provided obstetric care to over 1,100 unique patients. 

While the VA provides prenatal and obstetric care to women veterans, they do not have the authority to treat or pay for the care 

of newborns. This is an inequity when compared to other Federal 

health care programs, since generous newborn care is provided 

through such programs as TRICARE Prime and CHAMPVA (Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs). H.R. 1211 would address this inequity by providing shortterm newborn care for women veterans who receive their maternity 

care through the VA. Specifically, this provision allows for seven 

days of newborn care. According to the VA, 94 percent of mothers 

and their infants are released from VA medical facilities within the 

first seven days. In addition, this far exceeds the 48 to 96 hours 

of routine newborn care provided by private group health insurance 

policies. With this provision, women veterans will have the opportunity to make alternate arrangements and secure private health 

insurance for their newborns or enroll the infants in public insurance programs such as Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. 


tjames on PRODPC75 with REPORTS
4 

Related to the issue of newborns, the lack of child care is often 

cited as a key barrier to accessing health care by women veterans 

with young children. This is especially an issue for those who receive regular mental health or other intensive health care services. 

Without the assurance of proper child care, these women veterans 

are foregoing important services which are crucial to their wellbeing. To address this problem, H.R. 1211 would authorize the VA 

to implement a two-year pilot program providing child care in a 

minimum of three VISNs. The VA would have flexibility in designing the pilot program and would be required to provide a report 

which includes recommendations for the continuation or the expansion of this demonstration. 

Another issue facing the growing women veteran population is 

sexual trauma and PTSD. This is especially magnified by the 

changing role of women servicemembers in the current conflicts in 

Iraq and Afghanistan, as evidenced by Team Lioness who were the 

first female soldiers in U.S. history to be sent into direct ground 

combat. Because of the historical predominance of male veterans in 

VA health care settings, many VA providers have little or no exposure to women veterans. To address this, H.R. 1211 would require 

the VA to provide graduate medical education, training, certification, and continuing medical education for mental health professionals caring for veterans suffering from military sexual trauma 

and PTSD. 

To ensure that VA is responsive to the needs of OEF/OIF women 

veterans, who are accessing VA health care services at rates higher 

than women who served in previous conflicts, H.R. 1211 would require the VA to add recently separated women and minority veterans to serve on the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans and 

the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans. 

HEARINGS

On March 3, 2009, the Subcommittee on Health held a legislative 

hearing on several bills introduced during the 111th Congress, including H.R. 1211. 

The following witnesses testified: The Honorable Niki Tsongas of 

Massachusetts; The Honorable Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South 

Dakota; Joy J. Ilem, Assistant National Legislative Director, Disabled American Veterans; Joseph L. Wilson, Deputy Director, Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission, The American Legion; Eric A. Hilleman, Deputy Director, National Legislative Service, Veterans of Foreign Wars; Todd Bowers, Director of Government Affairs, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America; and Gerald M. Cross, M.D., FAAFP, Principal Deputy Under Secretary for 

Health, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, accompanied by Walter Hall, Assistant General Counsel, U.S. Department of Veterans 

Affairs. Those submitting statements for the record included: The 

Honorable Bob Filner of California; Thomas J. Berger, Ph.D., Senior Analyst for Veterans’ Benefits and Mental Health Issues, Vietnam Veterans of America; and, the Paralyzed Veterans of America. 

SUBCOMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On June 4, 2009, the Subcommittee on Health met in open markup session and ordered H.R. 1211, as amended, favorably forVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:15 Jun 19, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR165.XXX HR165

tjames on PRODPC75 with REPORTS
5 

warded to the full Committee by voice vote. During consideration 

of the bill, the following amendment was considered: 

An amendment by Mr. Michaud of Maine to amend the number of days of newborn care was agreed to by voice vote. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On June 10, 2009, the full Committee met in an open markup 

session, a quorum being present, and ordered H.R. 1211, as amended, reported favorably to the House of Representatives by voice 

vote. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes on the motion 

to report the legislation and amendments thereto. There were no 

record votes taken on amendments or in connection with ordering 

H.R. 1211 reported to the House. A motion by Mr. Stearns of Florida to order H.R. 1211, as amended, reported favorably to the 

House of Representatives was agreed to by voice vote. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 2(b)(1) 

of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee’s oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the 

descriptive portions of this report. 

STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee’s performance goals and 

objectives are reflected in the descriptive portions of this report. 

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX

EXPENDITURES

In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its own the estimate of new budget authority, entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or revenues contained in the cost estimate prepared by 

the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

EARMARKS AND TAX AND TARIFF BENEFITS

H.R. 1211 does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), 

or 9(f) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate on H.R. 1211 

prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 


tjames on PRODPC75 with REPORTS
6 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate for H.R. 1211 

provided by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, June 16, 2009. 

Hon. BOB FILNER, 

Chairman, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1211, the Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Sunita D’Monte. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 1211—Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act 

Summary: H.R. 1211 would authorize several programs for 

women veterans. CBO estimates that implementing the bill would 

cost about $160 million over the 2010–2014 period, assuming appropriation of the authorized and estimated amounts. Enacting the 

bill would not affect direct spending or revenues. 

H.R. 1211 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). 

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 1211 is shown in the following table. The costs 

of this legislation fall within budget function 700 (veterans benefits 

and services). 

Basis of estimate: The bill would authorize the appropriation of 

$10.5 million in 2010 and $1.5 million in 2011 for a comprehensive 

assessment of health care programs at the Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA), a study on women veterans, and a pilot program to 

provide child care. In addition to those specified amounts, CBO estimates that other programs authorized in the bill would require 

the appropriation of $152 million over the 2010–2014 period for 

care provided to newborns and certain training for mental health 

providers. In total, CBO estimates that implementing the bill 

would cost $160 million over the 2010–2014 period, assuming appropriation of the specified and estimated amounts. 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars.— 

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2010– 

2014 

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Care for Newborns: 

Estimated Authorization Level ............................................. 18 20 21 22 24 105 

Estimated Outlays ............................................................... 16 19 21 22 24 102 

Training for Mental Health Providers: 

Estimated Authorization Level ............................................. 10 9 9 9 10 47 

Estimated Outlays ............................................................... 9 9 9 9 10 46 


tjames on PRODPC75 with REPORTS
7 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars.— 

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2010– 

2014 

Assessment of Health Care Programs: 

Authorization Level .............................................................. 5 0 0 0 0 5 

Estimated Outlays ............................................................... 5 * * * 0 5 

Study on Women Veterans: 

Authorization Level .............................................................. 4 0 0 0 0 4 

Estimated Outlays ............................................................... 4 * * 0 0 4 

Pilot Program on Child Care: 

Authorization Level .............................................................. 2 2 0 0 0 3 

Estimated Outlays ............................................................... 1 2 * * 0 3 

Total Changes: 

Estimated Authorization Level .................................... 39 31 30 31 34 165 

Estimated Outlays ...................................................... 35 30 30 31 34 160 

Note: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding; * = less than $500,000. 

For this estimate, CBO assumes the legislation will be enacted 

near the start of fiscal year 2010, that the specified and estimated 

authorizations will be appropriated near the start of each fiscal 

year, and that outlays will follow historical patterns for similar and 

existing programs. 

Care for Newborns. Section 201 would authorize VA to provide 

care for up to seven days to the newborn children of female veterans who receive maternity care through the department. Based 

on data from VA, CBO estimates that about 6,600 babies would become eligible for such care in 2010 at an average cost of $2,770 per 

baby. After adjusting for inflation and population growth—the 

number of female veterans of childbearing age is expected to rise 

in future years—CBO estimates that implementing this provision 

would cost $102 million over the 2010–2014 period. 

Training for Mental Health Providers. Section 202 would require 

VA to educate, train, and certify mental health professionals who 

specialize in treating sexual trauma. Based on information from 

VA’s Office of Mental Health Services, CBO estimates that VA 

would need 66 employees a year to provide training at a cost of 

about $46 million over the 2010–2014 period. 

Assessment of Health Care Programs. Section 102 would require 

the Secretary to undertake a comprehensive assessment of VA’s 

health care programs for women and would authorize the appropriation of $5 million for that purpose. 

Study on Women Veterans. Section 101 would require the Secretary to conduct a study on the barriers faced by women veterans 

in receiving VA health care and would authorize the appropriation 

of $4 million for that purpose. 

Pilot Program for Child Care. Section 203 would require VA to 

implement a pilot program providing child care for certain female 

veterans who use VA medical facilities, and would authorize annual appropriations of $1.5 million for 2010 and 2011 for that purpose. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact. H.R. 1211 contains 

no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in 

UMRA. Any costs to state or local governments or public entities 

would be incurred voluntarily. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Sunita D’Monte; Impact on 

State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Shannon Fairchild; Impact 

on the Private Sector: Elizabeth Bass. 


tjames on PRODPC75 with REPORTS
8 

Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal mandates regarding H.R. 1211 prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act would be created by H.R. 1211. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee finds that the Constitutional authority for H.R. 1211 is provided by Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United States. 

APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the 

terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or 

accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 101. Study of barriers for women veterans to health care 

from the Department of Veterans Affairs 

This section authorizes the VA to conduct a comprehensive 

study, building on the work of the existing VA study (the National 

Survey of Women Veterans in Fiscal Year 2007–2008) on the barriers faced by women veterans in accessing care in the VA health 

care system. The Study is to include a survey of women veterans 

who use the VA for their health care and those who do not use the 

VA. This survey is to be administered to a representative sample 

of women veterans from each VISN which is of sufficient sample 

size for the study results to be statistically significant. Required 

elements of the study include perceived stigma with seeking mental health care services; effect of driving distance or availability of 

transportation to the nearest medical facility; availability of child 

care; acceptability of integrated primary care and women’s health 

clinics; understanding of eligibility requirements for and scope of 

services available at the medical center; perceptions of personal 

safety; gender sensitivity of health care providers and staff; effectiveness of outreach; location and operating hours of health care facilities; and, other significant barriers identified by the Secretary 

of VA. 

This section also requires the VA to submit to Congress an implementation report no later than six months after the date the VA 

publishes a final report on its current study and a report no later 

than 30 months after the date of the VA publishing a final report 

on the study. 


tjames on PRODPC75 with REPORTS
9 

This section authorizes appropriations of $4 million to carry out 

the study. 

Section 102. Comprehensive assessment of women’s health care programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

This section requires the VA to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the women’s health care programs at each VA medical center. The assessment is to include information on demographics of 

the women veterans population; frequency with which health care 

services are available and provided for women veterans; sites 

where such services are available and provided; and, the impact of 

waiting lists, geographic distance, and, other factors in obstructing 

the receipt of services. Upon conclusion of this comprehensive assessment, the VA is to develop a plan to improve services for 

women veterans at each VA medical center. 

This section requires the VA to submit to Congress a report no 

later than one year after the date of the enactment of the Act and 

a GAO report is required no later than six months after the VA 

submits the report, and authorizes $5 million in appropriations to 

carry out the assessment. 

Section 201. Medical care for newborn children of women veterans 

receiving maternity care 

This section authorizes the VA to provide medical care for newborn children of women veterans receiving maternity care for a period of seven days beginning on the date of the birth of the child. 

Section 202. Training and certification for mental health care providers of the Department of Veterans Affairs on care for veterans suffering from sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress 

disorder 

This section mandates the VA to carry out a program to provide 

graduate medical education, training, certification, and continuing 

medical education for mental health professionals at the VA caring 

for veterans suffering from military sexual trauma and PTSD. 

This section requires an annual report to Congress covering the 

number of mental health professionals, graduate medical education 

trainees, and primary care providers certified under the program 

required by this provision; number of women veterans who received 

counseling, care, and services; number of graduate medical education, training, certification, and continuing medical education 

courses provided; number of trained full-time employees required 

at each VA facility to meet the needs of sexual trauma and PTSD; 

and any recommended improvements for treating women veterans 

with sexual trauma and PTSD. 

Section 203. Pilot program for provision of child care assistance to 

certain veterans receiving certain types of health care services at 

department facilities 

This section authorizes appropriations of $1.5 million annually 

for FY 2010 and FY 2011 for the VA to conduct a child care pilot 

program in at least three VISNs. Covered veterans include those 

receiving regular mental health care services, intensive mental 

health care services, and any other intensive health care services 

deemed appropriate by the Secretary. Child care assistance may inVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:15 Jun 19, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR165.XXX HR165

tjames on PRODPC75 with REPORTS
10 

clude stipends for child care offered by licensed child care centers 

either directly to the providers or through a voucher program; development of partnerships with private agencies; collaboration with 

facilities or programs of other Federal agencies; and, the arrangement of after-school care. 

Section 204. Addition of recently separated women and minority 

veterans to serve on advisory committees 

This section requires the VA to add recently-separated women 

and minority veterans to serve on the Advisory Committee on 

Women Veterans and the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans, respectively. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE 

* * * * * * * 

PART I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 5—AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF THE 

SECRETARY 

* * * * * * * 

SUBCHAPTER III—ADVISORY COMMITTEES 

* * * * * * * 

§ 542. Advisory Committee on Women Veterans 

(a)(1) * * * 

(2)(A) The Committee shall consist of members appointed by the 

Secretary from the general public, including— 

(i) * * * 

(ii) individuals who are recognized authorities in fields pertinent to the needs of women veterans, including the gender-specific health-care needs of women; øand¿ 

(iii) representatives of both female and male veterans with 

service-connected disabilities, including at least one female veteran with a service-connected disability and at least one male 

veteran with a service-connected disabilityø.¿; and 

(iv) women who are recently separated veterans. 

* * * * * * * 

§ 544. Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans 

(a)(1) * * * 

(2)(A) The Committee shall consist of members appointed by the 

Secretary from the general public, including— 


tjames on PRODPC75 with REPORTS
11 

(i) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(iii) veterans who are minority group members and who have 

experience in a military theater of operations; øand¿ 

(iv) veterans who are minority group members and who do 

not have such experienceø.¿; and 

(v) recently separated veterans who are minority group members. 

* * * * * * * 

PART II—GENERAL BENEFITS 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 17—HOSPITAL, NURSING HOME, 

DOMICILIARY, AND MEDICAL CARE 

Sec. 

1701. Definitions. 

* * * * * * * 

1786. Hospital care and medical services for newborn children of women veterans receiving maternity care. 

* * * * * * * 

SUBCHAPTER II—HOSPITAL, NURSING HOME, OR 

DOMICILIARY CARE AND MEDICAL TREATMENT 

* * * * * * * 

§ 1720D. Counseling and treatment for sexual trauma 

(a) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(d) The Secretary shall carry out a program to provide graduate 

medical education, training, certification, and continuing medical 

education for mental health professionals who provide counseling, 

care, and services under subsection (a). In carrying out such program, the Secretary shall ensure that all such mental health professionals have been trained in a consistent manner and that such 

training includes principles of evidence-based treatment and care 

for sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

(e) The Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual report on 

the counseling, care, and services provided to veterans pursuant to 

this section. Each report shall include data for the year covered by 

the report with respect to each of the following: 

(1) The number of mental health professionals, graduate medical education trainees, and primary care providers who have 

been certified under the program required by subsection (d) and 

the amount and nature of continuing medical education provided under such program to such professionals, trainees, and 

providers who are so certified. 

(2) The number of women veterans who received counseling 

and care and services under subsection (a) from professionals 

and providers who received training under subsection (d). 


tjames on PRODPC75 with REPORTS
12 

(3) The number of graduate medical education, training, certification, and continuing medical education courses provided 

by reason of subsection (d). 

(4) The number of trained full-time equivalent employees required in each facility of the Department to meet the needs of 

veterans requiring treatment and care for sexual trauma and 

post-traumatic stress disorder. 

(5) Any recommended improvements for treating women veterans with sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

(6) Such other information as the Secretary determines to be 

appropriate. 

ø(d)¿ (f) In this section, the term ‘‘sexual harassment’’ means repeated, unsolicited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature 

which is threatening in character. 

* * * * * * * 

SUBCHAPTER VIII—HEALTH CARE OF PERSONS OTHER 

THAN VETERANS 

* * * * * * * 

§ 1786. Hospital care and medical services for newborn children of women veterans receiving maternity care 

In the case of a child of a woman veteran who is receiving hospital care or medical services at a Department facility (or in another 

facility pursuant to a contract entered into by the Secretary) relating 

to the birth of that child, the Secretary may furnish hospital care 

and medical services to that child at that facility during the sevenday period beginning on the date of the birth of the child. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


tjames on PRODPC75 with REPORTS