II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1991 

To eliminate the sunset date for the Choice Program of the Department 

of Veterans Affairs, to expand eligibility for such program, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2015 

Mr. MCCAIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To eliminate the sunset date for the Choice Program of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs, to expand eligibility 

for such program, 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 ‘‘Permanent Depart5 ment of Veterans Affairs Choice Card Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF CHOICE PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT 

7 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

8 (a) ELIMINATION OF SUNSET.— 


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•S 1991 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 101 of the Veterans 

2 Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 

3 (Public Law 113–146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is 

4 amended— 

5 (A) by striking subsection (p); and 

6 (B) by redesignating subsections (q), (r), 

7 (s), and (t) as subsections (p), (q), (r), and (s), 

8 respectively. 

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such section 

10 is amended— 

11 (A) in subsection (i)(2), by striking ‘‘dur12 ing the period in which the Secretary is author13 ized to carry out this section pursuant to sub14 section (p)’’; and 

15 (B) in subsection (p)(2), as redesignated 

16 by paragraph (1)(B), by striking subparagraph 

17 (F). 

18 (b) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of such sec20 tion is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE VETERANS.—A veteran is an eligible 

22 veteran for purposes of this section if the veteran is en23 rolled in the patient enrollment system of the Department 

24 of Veterans Affairs established and operated under section 

25 1705 of title 38, United States Code, including any such 


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1 veteran who has not received hospital care or medical serv2 ices from the Department and has contacted the Depart3 ment seeking an initial appointment from the Department 

4 for the receipt of such care or services.’’. 

5 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such section 

6 is amended— 

7 (A) in subsection (c)(1)— 

8 (i) in the matter preceding subpara9 graph (A), by striking ‘‘In the case of an 

10 eligible veteran described in subsection 

11 (b)(2)(A), the Secretary shall, at the elec12 tion of the eligible veteran’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘The Secretary shall, at the election of an 

14 eligible veteran’’; and 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

16 ‘‘described in such subsection’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘of the Veterans Health Administra18 tion’’; 

19 (B) in subsection (f)(1), by striking ‘‘sub20 section (b)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’; 

21 (C) in subsection (g), by striking para22 graph (3); and 

23 (D) in subsection (p)(2)(A), as redesig24 nated by subsection (a)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘, 


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1 disaggregated by—’’ and all that follows 

2 through ‘‘subsection (b)(2)(D)’’. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall apply with respect to hospital care and 

5 medical services furnished under such section on and after 

6 the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment 

7 of this Act. 

Æ 


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