In the Senate of the United States, 

November 17, 2016. 

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 3471) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend title 38, United 

States Code, to make certain improvements in the provision 

of automobiles and adaptive equipment by the Department of 

Veterans Affairs.’’, do pass with the following 

AMENDMENT: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 

following: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Mobility Safety 

3 Act of 2016’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PERSONAL SELECTIONS OF AUTOMOBILES AND 

5 ADAPTIVE EQUIPMENT. 

6 Section 3903(b) of title 38, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘Except’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) Ex9 cept’’; and 
2 

† HR 3471 EAS 

1 (2) by adding at the end the following new para2 graph: 

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that to the extent prac4 ticable an eligible person who is provided an automobile 

5 or other conveyance under this chapter is given the oppor6 tunity to make personal selections relating to such auto7 mobile or other conveyance.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY FOR THE AUTOMOBILES 

9 ADAPTIVE EQUIPMENT PROGRAM. 

10 (a) COMPREHENSIVE POLICY.—The Secretary of Vet11 erans Affairs shall develop a comprehensive policy regard12 ing quality standards for providers who provide modifica13 tion services to veterans under the automobile adaptive 

14 equipment program. 

15 (b) SCOPE.—The policy developed under subsection (a) 

16 shall cover each of the following: 

17 (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs-wide 

18 management of the automobile adaptive equipment 

19 program. 

20 (2) The development of standards for safety and 

21 quality of equipment and installation of equipment 

22 through the automobile adaptive equipment program, 

23 including with respect to the defined differentiations 

24 in levels of modification complexity. 
3 

† HR 3471 EAS 

1 (3) The consistent application of standards for 

2 safety and quality of both equipment and installation 

3 throughout the Department. 

4 (4) In accordance with subsection (c)(1), the cer5 tification of a provider by a manufacturer if the Sec6 retary designates the quality standards of such manu7 facturer as meeting or exceeding the standards devel8 oped under this section. 

9 (5) In accordance with subsection (c)(2), the cer10 tification of a provider by a third party, nonprofit 

11 organization if the Secretary designates the quality 

12 standards of such organization as meeting or exceed13 ing the standards developed under this section. 

14 (6) The education and training of personnel of 

15 the Department who administer the automobile 

16 adaptive equipment program. 

17 (7) The compliance of the provider with the 

18 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

19 12101 et seq.) when furnishing automobile adaptive 

20 equipment at the facility of the provider. 

21 (8) The allowance, where technically appro22 priate, for veterans to receive modifications at their 

23 residence or location of choice, including standards 

24 that ensure such receipt and notification to veterans 

25 of the availability of such receipt. 
4 

† HR 3471 EAS 

1 (c) CERTIFICATION OF MANUFACTURERS AND THIRD

2 PARTY, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.— 

3 (1) CERTIFICATION OF MANUFACTURERS.—The 

4 Secretary shall approve a manufacturer as a certi5 fying manufacturer for purposes of subsection (b)(4), 

6 if the manufacturer demonstrates that its certification 

7 standards meet or exceed the quality standards devel8 oped under this section. 

9 (2) CERTIFICATION OF THIRD PARTY, NONPROFIT

10 ORGANIZATIONS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may ap12 prove two or more private, nonprofit organiza13 tions as third party, nonprofit certifying organi14 zations for purposes of subsection (b)(5). 

15 (B) LIMITATION.—If at any time there is 

16 only one third party, nonprofit certifying orga17 nization approved by the Secretary for purposes 

18 of subsection (b)(5), such organization shall not 

19 be permitted to provide certifications under such 

20 subsection until such time as the Secretary ap21 proves a second third party, nonprofit certifying 

22 organization for purposes of such subsection. 

23 (d) UPDATES.— 

24 (1) INITIAL UPDATES.—Not later than 1 year 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
5 

† HR 3471 EAS 

1 retary shall update Veterans Health Administration 

2 Handbook 1173.4, or any successor handbook or direc3 tive, in accordance with the policy developed under 

4 subsection (a). 

5 (2) SUBSEQUENT UPDATES.—Not less frequently 

6 than once every 6 years thereafter, the Secretary shall 

7 update such handbook, or any successor handbook or 

8 directive. 

9 (e) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall develop the 

10 policy under subsection (a), and revise such policy under 

11 subsection (d), in consultation with veterans service organi12 zations, the National Highway Transportation Administra13 tion, industry representatives, manufacturers of automobile 

14 adaptive equipment, and other entities with expertise in in15 stalling, repairing, replacing, or manufacturing mobility 

16 equipment or developing mobility accreditation standards 

17 for automobile adaptive equipment. 

18 (f) CONFLICTS.—In developing and implementing the 

19 policy under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

20 (1) minimize the possibility of conflicts of inter21 est, to the extent practicable; and 

22 (2) establish procedures that ensure against the 

23 use of a certifying organization referred to in sub24 section (b)(5) that has a financial conflict of interest 

25 regarding the certification of an eligible provider. 
6 

† HR 3471 EAS 

1 (g) BIENNIAL REPORT.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

3 the date on which the Secretary updates Veterans 

4 Health Administration Handbook 1173.4, or any suc5 cessor handbook or directive, under subsection (d), 

6 and not less frequently than once every other year 

7 thereafter through 2022, the Secretary shall submit to 

8 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

9 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

10 Representatives a report on the implementation and 

11 facility compliance with the policy developed under 

12 subsection (a). 

13 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required by para14 graph (1) shall include the following: 

15 (A) A description of the implementation 

16 plan for the policy developed under subsection 

17 (a) and any revisions to such policy under sub18 section (d). 

19 (B) A description of the performance meas20 ures used to determine the effectiveness of such 

21 policy in ensuring the safety of veterans enrolled 

22 in the automobile adaptive equipment program. 

23 (C) An assessment of safety issues due to 

24 improper installations based on a survey of re-
7 

† HR 3471 EAS 

1 cipients of adaptive equipment from the Depart2 ment. 

3 (D) An assessment of the adequacy of the 

4 adaptive equipment services of the Department 

5 based on a survey of recipients of adaptive 

6 equipment from the Department. 

7 (E) An assessment of the training provided 

8 to the personnel of the Department with respect 

9 to administering the program. 

10 (F) An assessment of the certified providers 

11 of the Department of adaptive equipment with 

12 respect to meeting the minimum standards devel13 oped under subsection (b)(2). 

14 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) AUTOMOBILE ADAPTIVE EQUIPMENT PRO16 GRAM.—The term ‘‘automobile adaptive equipment 

17 program’’ means the program administered by the 

18 Secretary of Veterans Affairs pursuant to chapter 39 

19 of title 38, United States Code. 

20 (2) VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATION.—The 

21 term ‘‘veterans service organization’’ means any orga22 nization recognized by the Secretary for the represen23 tation of veterans under section 5902 of title 38, 

24 United States Code. 
8 

† HR 3471 EAS 

1 SEC. 4. APPOINTMENT OF LICENSED HEARING AID SPE2 CIALISTS IN VETERANS HEALTH ADMINIS3 TRATION. 

4 (a) LICENSED HEARING AID SPECIALISTS.— 

5 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Section 7401(3) of title 38, 

6 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘licensed 

7 hearing aid specialists,’’ after ‘‘Audiologists,’’. 

8 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Section 7402(b)(14) of 

9 such title is amended by inserting ‘‘, hearing aid spe10 cialist’’ after ‘‘dental technologist’’. 

11 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—With respect to appointing 

12 hearing aid specialists under sections 7401 and 7402 of title 

13 38, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a), and 

14 providing services furnished by such specialists, the Sec15 retary shall ensure that— 

16 (1) a hearing aid specialist may only perform 

17 hearing services consistent with the hearing aid spe18 cialist’s State license related to the practice of fitting 

19 and dispensing hearing aids without excluding other 

20 qualified professionals, including audiologists, from 

21 rendering services in overlapping practice areas; 

22 (2) services provided to veterans by hearing aid 

23 specialists shall be provided as part of the non-med24 ical treatment plan developed by an audiologist; and 

25 (3) the medical facilities of the Department of 

26 Veterans Affairs provide to veterans access to the full 
9 

† HR 3471 EAS 

1 range of professional services provided by an audiol2 ogist. 

3 (c) CONSULTATION.—In determining the qualifications 

4 required for hearing aid specialists and in carrying out 

5 subsection (b), the Secretary shall consult with veterans 

6 service organizations, audiologists, otolaryngologists, hear7 ing aid specialists, and other stakeholder and industry 

8 groups as the Secretary determines appropriate. 

9 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

12 thereafter during the 5-year period beginning on the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet14 erans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on the 

15 following: 

16 (A) Timely access of veterans to hearing 

17 health services through the Department of Vet18 erans Affairs. 

19 (B) Contracting policies of the Department 

20 with respect to providing hearing health services 

21 to veterans in facilities that are not facilities of 

22 the Department. 

23 (2) TIMELY ACCESS TO SERVICES.—Each report 

24 shall, with respect to the matter specified in para-
10 

† HR 3471 EAS 

1 graph (1)(A) for the 1-year period preceding the sub2 mittal of such report, include the following: 

3 (A) The staffing levels of audiologists, hear4 ing aid specialists, and health technicians in 

5 audiology in the Veterans Health Administra6 tion. 

7 (B) A description of the metrics used by the 

8 Secretary in measuring performance with respect 

9 to appointments and care relating to hearing 

10 health. 

11 (C) The average time that a veteran waits 

12 to receive an appointment, beginning on the date 

13 on which the veteran makes the request, for the 

14 following: 

15 (i) A disability rating evaluation for a 

16 hearing-related disability. 

17 (ii) A hearing aid evaluation. 

18 (iii) Dispensing of hearing aids. 

19 (iv) Any follow-up hearing health ap20 pointment. 

21 (D) The percentage of veterans whose total 

22 wait time for appointments described in sub23 paragraph (C), including an initial and follow24 up appointment, if applicable, is more than 30 

25 days. 
11 

† HR 3471 EAS 

1 (3) CONTRACTING POLICIES.—Each report shall, 

2 with respect to the matter specified in paragraph 

3 (1)(B) for the 1-year period preceding the submittal 

4 of such report, include the following: 

5 (A) The number of veterans that the Sec6 retary refers to non-Department audiologists for 

7 hearing health care appointments. 

8 (B) The number of veterans that the Sec9 retary refers to non-Department hearing aid spe10 cialists for follow-up appointments for a hearing 

11 aid evaluation, the dispensing of hearing aids, or 

12 any other purpose relating to hearing health. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H.R. 3471 

AMENDMENT