II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3194 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a report 

on mental health care furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs 

in certain States and a report on funding by Vet Centers of marketing 

and outreach. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 4, 2021 

Mr. BOOZMAN (for himself, Ms. SMITH, Mr. KAINE, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and 

Mr. COTTON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to 

Congress a report on mental health care furnished by 

the Department of Veterans Affairs in certain States 

and a report on funding by Vet Centers of marketing 

and outreach. 

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 ‘‘Vet Center Support 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON2 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con3 gress’’ means the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

4 the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

5 of the House of Representatives. 

6 (2) COVERED STATE.—The term ‘‘covered 

7 State’’ means each State (including the District of 

8 Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any territory or posses9 sion of the United States) that has a ratio of one 

10 or fewer Vet Centers per 100,000 or more veterans 

11 who reside in such State (as such population is de12 termined by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, act13 ing through the National Center for Veterans Anal14 ysis and Statistics, for fiscal year 2021). 

15 (3) VET CENTER.—The term ‘‘Vet Center’’— 

16 (A) has the meaning given that term in 

17 section 1712A of title 38, United States Code; 

18 (B) includes Vet Center outstations; and 

19 (C) does not include mobile Vet Centers. 

20 SEC. 3. REPORT ON MENTAL HEALTH CARE FURNISHED BY 

21 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS IN 

22 CERTAIN STATES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

24 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet25 erans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate committees 


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1 of Congress a report regarding mental health care fur2 nished by the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans 

3 in each covered State. 

4 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 

5 shall include, with respect to each covered State, the fol6 lowing: 

7 (1) An assessment of the ability of the Depart8 ment to furnish to veterans in such State— 

9 (A) readjustment counseling; 

10 (B) therapy for post-traumatic stress dis11 order and other trauma-related therapy; 

12 (C) group counseling; 

13 (D) marriage and family counseling; 

14 (E) military sexual trauma counseling; 

15 (F) bereavement counseling; 

16 (G) screenings and referrals for medical 

17 issues; 

18 (H) substance abuse assessments and re19 ferrals; 

20 (I) employment assessments and referrals; 

21 and 

22 (J) explanations and referrals regarding 

23 benefits furnished through the Veterans Bene24 fits Administration of the Department. 


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1 (2) An assessment of the feasibility of estab2 lishing additional Vet Centers in such State. 

3 (3) An assessment of the feasibility of increas4 ing staff at existing Vet Centers in such State to en5 sure comprehensive coverage. 

6 (4) An assessment of any barriers faced by 

7 such State regarding— 

8 (A) demonstrating a need for additional 

9 Vet Centers, mobile Vet Centers, and commu10 nity access points; 

11 (B) including travel time as a measure of 

12 productivity while conducting outreach to un13 derserved areas; and 

14 (C) building a new Vet Center. 

15 (5) An analysis of staffing shortages at Vet 

16 Centers in such State, including delays in approving 

17 and processing new hires. 

18 (6) An outreach strategy for using mobile Vet 

19 Centers, Vet Center outstations, and community ac20 cess points to ensure that mental health care serv21 ices reach veterans in underserved areas in such 

22 State. 


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1 SEC. 4. REPORT ON MARKETING AND OUTREACH FUNDING 

2 BY VET CENTERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet5 erans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate committees 

6 of Congress a report regarding funding by Vet Centers 

7 in covered States of marketing and outreach. 

8 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 

9 shall include, with respect to each covered State, the fol10 lowing: 

11 (1) An accounting of marketing and outreach 

12 funding for each Vet Center in such State. 

13 (2) An assessment of the adequacy of the mar14 keting and outreach funds for each Vet Center in 

15 such State, including the ability of each such Vet 

16 Center to connect with veterans about services pro17 vided. 

18 (3) An analysis of effectiveness of each Vet 

19 Center in such State to market and conduct out20 reach. 

21 (4) A marketing and outreach strategy for Vet 

22 Centers to ensure that local resources are effectively 

23 utilized to connect with the local veteran community 

24 in such State. 

Æ 


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