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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 356 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 356

 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and publish an 
 action plan for improving the vocational rehabilitation services and 
       assistance provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 14, 2015

Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York (for himself, Mr. Takano, and Mr. 
   Mullin) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and publish an 
 action plan for improving the vocational rehabilitation services and 
       assistance provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Wounded Warrior Employment 
Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Despite an improving economy, a recent study indicates 
        that among veterans with service-connected disabilities who 
        served in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001 
        (hereinafter referred to as ``wounded warriors'') the 
        unemployment rate is nearly 17.8 percent.
            (2) Wounded warriors should receive the tools, skills, 
        education, resources, and support needed to find work and 
        thrive economically.
            (3) Designed to provide the expert counseling and other 
        services and supports vital to achieving economic empowerment, 
        the vocational rehabilitation and employment program of the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs should be the premier program 
        assisting wounded warriors to realize their economic goals.
            (4) Only 20 percent of wounded warriors pursuing an 
        education in 2013 chose to pursue vocational rehabilitation, 
        while 54 percent chose to use their entitlement to educational 
        assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program 
        of the Department of Veterans Affairs, thereby foregoing 
        counseling and other supports.
            (5) Wounded warriors who elect to pursue an education 
        through the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program rather 
        than vocational rehabilitation and education report choosing 
        the such program because of its relatively easier, more 
        expeditious application process, and the far greater freedom it 
        affords the veteran to pursue his or her career or educational 
        goals.
            (6) The Department of Veterans Affairs continues to face 
        challenges with the program's workload management, particularly 
        with staff and resource allocation models, decentralized 
        program administration, and staff training, resulting in some 
        regional offices struggling with average caseloads as high as 
        175 per counselor, all of which are affecting the delivery and 
        quality of services to veterans, according to the Government 
        Accountability Office.

SEC. 3. VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AND EDUCATION ACTION PLAN.

     Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop and publish an 
action plan for improving the services and assistance provided under 
chapter 31 of title 38, United States Code. Such plan shall include 
each of the following:
            (1) A comprehensive analysis of, and recommendations and a 
        proposed implementation plan for remedying workload management 
        challenges at regional offices of the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs, including steps to reduce counselor caseloads of 
        veterans participating in a rehabilitation program under such 
        chapter, particularly for counselors who are assisting veterans 
        with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder 
        and counselors with educational and vocational counseling 
        workloads.
            (2) A comprehensive analysis of the reasons for the 
        disproportionately low percentage of veterans with service-
        connected disabilities who served in the Armed Forces after 
        September 11, 2001, who opt to participate in a rehabilitation 
        program under such chapter relative to the percentage of such 
        veterans who use their entitlement to educational assistance 
        under chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code, including an 
        analysis of barriers to timely enrollment in rehabilitation 
        programs under chapter 31 of such title and of any barriers to 
        a veteran enrolling in the program of that veteran's choice.
            (3) Recommendations and a proposed implementation plan for 
        encouraging more veterans with service-connected disabilities 
        who served in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001, to 
        participate in rehabilitation programs under chapter 31 of such 
        title.
            (4) A national staff training program for vocational 
        rehabilitation counselors of the Department that includes the 
        provision of--
                    (A) training to assist counselors in understanding 
                the very profound disorientation experienced by 
                warriors whose lives and life-plans have been upended 
                and out of their control because of their injury;
                    (B) training to assist counselors in working in 
                partnership with veterans on individual rehabilitation 
                plans; and
                    (C) training on post-traumatic stress disorder and 
                other mental health conditions and on moderate to 
                severe traumatic brain injury that is designed to 
                improve the ability of such counselors to assist 
                veterans with these conditions, including by providing 
                information on the broad spectrum of such conditions 
                and the effect of such conditions on an individual's 
                abilities and functional limitations.
                                 <all>
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