I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3408 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to educate certain staff of the 

Department of Veterans Affairs and to inform veterans about the Injured 

and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 30, 2013 

Mrs. ELLMERS (for herself, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. COBLE, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, and Mr. PITTENGER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to educate certain 

staff of the Department of Veterans Affairs and to inform veterans about the Injured and Amputee Veterans 

Bill of Rights, 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 ‘‘Injured and Amputee 

5 Veterans Bill of Rights’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INJURED AND AMPUTEE VETERANS BILL OF 

2 RIGHTS. 

3 (a) DISPLAY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

4 shall ensure that the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill 

5 of Rights described in subsection (d) is printed on signage 

6 in accessible formats and displayed prominently and con7 spicuously in each prosthetics and orthotics clinic of the 

8 Department of Veterans Affairs. 

9 (b) EDUCATION OF DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES.— 

10 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that em11 ployees of the Department of Veterans Affairs who work 

12 at prosthetics and orthotics clinics and who work as pa13 tient advocates with veterans who receive care at such clin14 ics, including Federal recovery coordinators and case man15 agers, receive training on the Injured and Amputee Vet16 erans Bill of Rights described in subsection (d). 

17 (c) OUTREACH TO VETERANS.—The Secretary of 

18 Veterans Affairs shall conduct outreach to inform veterans 

19 about the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights 

20 described in subsection (d) by— 

21 (1) ensuring that such Bill of Rights is avail22 able on the Internet Web site of the Department of 

23 Veterans Affairs; and 

24 (2) conducting other types of outreach targeted 

25 at specific groups of veterans, which may include 


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1 outreach conducted on other Internet Web sites or 

2 through veterans service organizations. 

3 (d) INJURED AND AMPUTEE VETERANS BILL OF

4 RIGHTS.—The Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of 

5 Rights described in this subsection is a statement that in6 jured and amputee veterans should have, at a minimum, 

7 the following rights: 

8 (1) The right to access the highest quality pros9 thetic and orthotic care, including the right to the 

10 most appropriate technology and best qualified prac11 titioners. 

12 (2) The right to continuity of care in the transi13 tion from the Department of Defense health pro14 gram to the Department of Veterans Affairs health 

15 care system, including comparable benefits relating 

16 to prosthetic and orthotic services. 

17 (3) The right to select the practitioner that best 

18 meets their orthotic and prosthetic needs, whether or 

19 not that practitioner is an employee of the Depart20 ment of Veterans Affairs, a private practitioner who 

21 has entered into a contract with the Secretary of 

22 Veterans Affairs to provide prosthetic and orthotic 

23 services, or a private practitioner with specialized ex24 pertise. 


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1 (4) The right to consistent and portable health 

2 care, including the right to obtain comparable serv3 ices and technology at any medical facility of the 

4 Department of Veterans Affairs across the country. 

5 (5) The right to timely and efficient prosthetic 

6 and orthotic care, including a speedy authorization 

7 process with expedited authorization available for 

8 veterans visiting from another area of the country. 

9 (6) The right to play a meaningful role in reha10 bilitation decisions, including the right to receive a 

11 second opinion regarding prosthetic and orthotic 

12 treatment options. 

13 (7) The right to receive appropriate treatment, 

14 including the right to receive both a primary pros15 thesis or orthosis and a functional spare. 

16 (8) The right to be treated with respect and 

17 dignity and have an optimal quality of life both dur18 ing and after rehabilitation. 

19 (9) The right to transition and readjust to civil20 ian life in an honorable manner, including by having 

21 ample access to vocational rehabilitation, employ22 ment programs, and housing assistance. 

23 (e) MONITORING AND RESOLUTION OF COM24 PLAINTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 

2 Affairs, acting through the veteran liaison at each 

3 medical center of the Department of Veterans Af4 fairs, shall collect information relating to the alleged 

5 mistreatment of injured and amputee veterans. 

6 (2) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—For each fiscal 

7 quarter, the veteran liaison at each medical center of 

8 the Department shall submit to the Chief Consultant 

9 of Prosthetics and Sensory Aids of the Department 

10 a report on any information collected under para11 graph (1) during that quarter. 

12 (3) INVESTIGATION AND ADDRESSING OF COM13 PLAINTS.—The Chief Consultant, in cooperation 

14 with appropriate employees of a medical center of 

15 the Department, shall investigate and address any 

16 information collected under paragraph (1) at that 

17 medical center. 

Æ 


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