II 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6416 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 7, 2016 

Received 

AN ACT 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain 

improvements in the laws administered by the Secretary 

of Veterans Affairs, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Jeff Miller and Richard Blumenthal Veterans Health 

4 Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2016’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. References to title 38, United States Code. 

TITLE I—DISABILITY COMPENSATION MATTERS 

Sec. 101. Expedited payment of survivors’ benefits. 

Sec. 102. Board of Veterans’ Appeals video hearings. 

Sec. 103. Requirement that Secretary of Veterans Affairs publish the average 

time required to adjudicate early-filed and later-filed appeals. 

Sec. 104. Comptroller General review of claims processing performance of regional offices of Veterans Benefits Administration. 

Sec. 105. Report on staffing levels at regional offices of Department of Veterans Affairs under National Work Queue. 

Sec. 106. Inclusion in annual budget submission of information on capacity of 

Veterans Benefits Administration to process benefits claims. 

Sec. 107. Report on plans of Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reduce inventory 

of non-rating workload; sense of Congress regarding Monday 

Morning Workload Report. 

Sec. 108. Annual report on progress in implementing Veterans Benefits Management System. 

Sec. 109. Improvements to authority for performance of medical disabilities examinations by contract physicians. 

Sec. 110. Independent review of process by which Department of Veterans Affairs assesses impairments that result from traumatic brain injury for purposes of awarding disability compensation. 

Sec. 111. Reports on claims for disability compensation. 

Sec. 112. Sense of Congress regarding American veterans disabled for life. 

Sec. 113. Sense of Congress on submittal of information relating to claims for 

disabilities incurred or aggravated by military sexual trauma. 

TITLE II—UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS 

CLAIMS 

Sec. 201. Extension of temporary increase in number of judges on United 

States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 

Sec. 202. Life insurance program relating to judges of United States Court of 

Appeals for Veterans Claims. 

Sec. 203. Voluntary contributions to enlarge survivors’ annuity. 

Sec. 204. Selection of chief judge of United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 

TITLE III—BURIAL BENEFITS AND OTHER MATTERS 

Sec. 301. Expansion of eligibility for headstones, markers, and medallions. 


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Sec. 302. Expansion of Presidential Memorial Certificate program. 

Sec. 303. Department of Veterans Affairs study on matters relating to burial 

of unclaimed remains of veterans in national cemeteries. 

Sec. 304. Study on provision of interments in veterans’ cemeteries during weekends. 

Sec. 305. Honoring as veterans certain persons who performed service in the 

reserve components of the Armed Forces. 

TITLE IV—EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE AND VOCATIONAL 

REHABILITATION 

Sec. 401. Clarification of eligibility for Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David 

Fry Scholarship. 

Sec. 402. Approval of courses of education and training for purposes of the vocational rehabilitation program of the Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

Sec. 403. Authority to prioritize vocational rehabilitation services based on 

need. 

Sec. 404. Reports on progress of students receiving Post-9/11 Educational Assistance. 

Sec. 405. Recodification and improvement of election process for Post-9/11 

Educational Assistance Program. 

Sec. 406. Work-study allowance. 

Sec. 407. Centralized reporting of veteran enrollment by certain groups, districts, and consortiums of educational institutions. 

Sec. 408. Role of State approving agencies. 

Sec. 409. Modification of requirements for approval for purposes of educational 

assistance provided by Department of Veterans Affairs of programs designed to prepare individuals for licensure or certification. 

Sec. 410. Criteria used to approve courses. 

Sec. 411. Compliance surveys. 

Sec. 412. Modification of reductions in reporting fee multipliers for payments 

by Secretary of Veterans Affairs to educational institutions. 

Sec. 413. Composition of Veterans’ Advisory Committee on Education. 

Sec. 414. Survey of individuals using their entitlement to educational assistance 

under the educational assistance programs administered by the 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 415. Department of Veterans Affairs provision of information on articulation agreements between institutions of higher learning. 

Sec. 416. Retention of entitlement to educational assistance during certain additional periods of active duty. 

Sec. 417. Technical amendment relating to in-state tuition rate for individuals 

to whom entitlement is transferred under all-volunteer force 

educational assistance program and post-9/11 educational assistance. 

Sec. 418. Study on the effectiveness of veterans transition efforts. 

TITLE V—SMALL BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT MATTERS 

Sec. 501. Modification of treatment under contracting goals and preferences of 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 502. Longitudinal study of job counseling, training, and placement service 

for veterans. 

Sec. 503. Limitation on administrative leave for employees of Department of 

Veterans Affairs. 


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Sec. 504. Required coordination between Directors for Veterans’ Employment 

and Training with State departments of labor and veterans affairs. 

TITLE VI—HEALTH CARE MATTERS 

Subtitle A—Medical Care 

Sec. 601. Requirement for advance appropriations for the Medical Community 

Care account of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 602. Improved access to appropriate immunizations for veterans. 

Sec. 603. Priority of medal of honor recipients in health care system of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 604. Requirement that Department of Veterans Affairs collect health-plan 

contract information from veterans. 

Sec. 605. Mental health treatment for veterans who served in classified missions. 

Sec. 606. Examination and treatment by Department of Veterans Affairs for 

emergency medical conditions and women in labor. 

Subtitle B—Veterans Health Administration 

Sec. 611. Time period covered by annual report on Readjustment Counseling 

Service. 

Sec. 612. Annual report on Veterans Health Administration and furnishing of 

hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care. 

Sec. 613. Expansion of qualifications for licensed mental health counselors of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs to include doctoral degrees. 

Sec. 614. Modification of hours of employment for physicians employed by the 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 615. Repeal of compensation panels to determine market pay for physicians and dentists. 

Sec. 616. Clarification regarding liability for breach of agreement under Department of Veterans Affairs Employee Incentive Scholarship 

Program. 

Sec. 617. Extension of period for increase in graduate medical education residency positions at medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 618. Report on public access to research by Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 619. Authorization of certain major medical facility projects of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Subtitle C—Toxic Exposure 

Sec. 631. Definitions. 

Sec. 632. National Academy of Medicine assessment on research relating to the 

descendants of individuals with toxic exposure. 

Sec. 633. Advisory board on research relating to health conditions of descendants of veterans with toxic exposure while serving in the Armed 

Forces. 

Sec. 634. Research relating to health conditions of descendants of veterans with 

toxic exposure while serving in the Armed Forces. 

TITLE VII—HOMELESSNESS MATTERS 


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Subtitle A—Access of Homeless Veterans to Benefits 

Sec. 701. Expansion of definition of homeless veteran for purposes of benefits 

under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 702. Authorization to furnish certain benefits to homeless veterans with 

discharges or releases under other than honorable conditions. 

Sec. 703. Waiver of minimum period of continuous active duty in Armed Forces 

for certain benefits for homeless veterans. 

Sec. 704. Training of personnel of the Department of Veterans Affairs and 

grant recipients. 

Sec. 705. Regulations. 

Sec. 706. Effective date. 

Subtitle B—Other Homelessness Matters 

Sec. 711. Increased per diem payments for transitional housing assistance that 

becomes permanent housing for homeless veterans. 

Sec. 712. Program to improve retention of housing by formerly homeless veterans and veterans at risk of becoming homeless. 

Sec. 713. Establishment of National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans. 

Sec. 714. Requirement for Department of Veterans Affairs to assess comprehensive service programs for homeless veterans. 

Sec. 715. Report on outreach relating to increasing the amount of housing 

available to veterans. 

TITLE VIII—OTHER MATTERS 

Sec. 801. Department of Veterans Affairs construction reforms. 

Sec. 802. Technical and clerical amendments. 

1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE. 

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi5 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

6 section or other provision of title 38, United States Code. 

7 TITLE I—DISABILITY 

8 COMPENSATION MATTERS 

9 SEC. 101. EXPEDITED PAYMENT OF SURVIVORS’ BENEFITS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5101(a)(1) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘A specific’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) 

2 Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a specific’’; 

3 and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary may pay benefits under chap7 ters 13 and 15 and sections 2302, 2307, and 5121 of this 

8 title to a survivor of a veteran who has not filed a formal 

9 claim if the Secretary determines that the record contains 

10 sufficient evidence to establish the entitlement of the sur11 vivor to such benefits. 

12 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph and section 

13 5110 of this title, the earlier of the following dates shall 

14 be treated as the date of the receipt of the survivor’s appli15 cation for benefits described in clause (i): 

16 ‘‘(I) The date on which the survivor of a vet17 eran (or the representative of such a survivor) noti18 fies the Secretary of the death of the veteran 

19 through a death certificate or other relevant evidence 

20 that establishes entitlement to survivors’ benefits 

21 identified in clause (i). 

22 ‘‘(II) The head of any other department or 

23 agency of the Federal Government notifies the Sec24 retary of the death of the veteran. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) In notifying the Secretary of the death of a vet2 eran as described in clause (ii)(I), the survivor (or the rep3 resentative of such a survivor) may submit to the Sec4 retary additional documents relating to such death without 

5 being required to file a formal claim.’’. 

6 (b) REPORT.— 

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

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

9 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee 

10 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com11 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep12 resentatives a report on benefits paid pursuant to 

13 covered claims. 

14 (2) CONTENTS.—The report under paragraph 

15 (1) shall include the following: 

16 (A) The number of covered claims adju17 dicated during the 1-year period preceding the 

18 date of the report, disaggregated by the fol19 lowing: 

20 (i) Claims in which the claimant was 

21 entitled to benefits under chapters 13 or 

22 15 or sections 2302, 2307, or 5121 of title 

23 38, United States Code, on the basis of the 

24 claimant’s status as the spouse of a de25 ceased veteran. 


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1 (ii) Claims in which the claimant was 

2 entitled to such benefits on the basis of the 

3 claimant’s status as the child of a deceased 

4 veteran. 

5 (iii) Claims in which the claimant was 

6 entitled to such benefits on the basis of the 

7 claimant’s status as the parent of a de8 ceased veteran. 

9 (B) The number of covered claims during 

10 such period for which such benefits were not 

11 awarded, disaggregated by clauses (i) through 

12 (iii) of subparagraph (A). 

13 (C) A comparison of the accuracy and 

14 timeliness of covered claims adjudicated during 

15 such period with noncovered claims filed by sur16 vivors of a veteran. 

17 (D) The findings of the Secretary with re18 spect to adjudicating covered claims. 

19 (E) Such recommendations as the Sec20 retary may have for legislative or administrative 

21 action to improve the adjudication of claims 

22 submitted to the Secretary for benefits under 

23 chapters 13 and 15 and sections 2302, 2307, 

24 and 5121 of title 38, United States Code. 


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1 (3) COVERED CLAIM DEFINED.—In this sub2 section, the term ‘‘covered claim’’ means a claim 

3 covered by section 5101(a)(1)(B) of title 38, United 

4 States Code, as added by subsection (a). 

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

6 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to claims for bene7 fits based on a death occurring on or after the date of 

8 the enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 102. BOARD OF VETERANS’ APPEALS VIDEO HEAR10 INGS. 

11 Section 7107 is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (d), by amending paragraph 

13 (1) to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(1)(A)(i) Upon request for a hearing, the Board 

15 shall determine, for purposes of scheduling the hearing for 

16 the earliest possible date, whether a hearing before the 

17 Board will be held at its principal location or at a facility 

18 of the Department or other appropriate Federal facility 

19 located within the area served by a regional office of the 

20 Department. 

21 ‘‘(ii) The Board shall also determine whether to pro22 vide a hearing through the use of the facilities and equip23 ment described in subsection (e)(1) or by the appellant 

24 personally appearing before a Board member or panel. 


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1 ‘‘(B)(i) The Board shall notify the appellant of the 

2 determinations of the location and type of hearing made 

3 under subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(ii) Upon notification, the appellant may request a 

5 different location or type of hearing as described in such 

6 subparagraph. 

7 ‘‘(iii) If so requested, the Board shall grant such re8 quest and ensure that the hearing is scheduled at the ear9 liest possible date without any undue delay or other preju10 dice to the appellant.’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (e), by amending paragraph 

12 (2) to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(2) Any hearing provided through the use of the fa14 cilities and equipment described in paragraph (1) shall be 

15 conducted in the same manner as, and shall be considered 

16 the equivalent of, a personal hearing.’’. 

17 SEC. 103. REQUIREMENT THAT SECRETARY OF VETERANS 

18 AFFAIRS PUBLISH THE AVERAGE TIME RE19 QUIRED TO ADJUDICATE EARLY-FILED AND 

20 LATER-FILED APPEALS. 

21 (a) PUBLICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—On an ongoing basis, the 

23 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall make available to 

24 the public the following: 


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1 (A) The average length of time to adju2 dicate an early-filed appeal. 

3 (B) The average length of time to adju4 dicate a later-filed appeal. 

5 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraph (1) shall 

6 take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act and shall apply until 

8 the date that is 3 years after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act. 

10 (b) REPORT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 39 months 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec13 retary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 

14 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet15 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a re16 port on whether publication pursuant to subsection 

17 (a)(1) has had an effect on the number of early-filed 

18 appeals filed. 

19 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required by para20 graph (1) shall include the following: 

21 (A) The number of appeals and early-filed 

22 appeals that were filed during the 1-year period 

23 ending on the effective date specified in sub24 section (a)(2). 


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1 (B) The number of appeals and early-filed 

2 appeals that were filed during the 1-year period 

3 ending on the date that is 2 years after the ef4 fective date specified in subsection (a)(2). 

5 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) APPEAL.—The term ‘‘appeal’’ means a no7 tice of disagreement filed pursuant to section 

8 7105(a) of title 38, United States Code, in response 

9 to notice of the result of an initial review or deter10 mination regarding a claim for a benefit under a law 

11 administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

12 (2) EARLY-FILED.—The term ‘‘early-filed’’ with 

13 respect to an appeal means that the notice of dis14 agreement was filed not more than 180 days after 

15 the date of mailing of the notice of the result of the 

16 initial review or determination described in para17 graph (1). 

18 (3) LATER-FILED.—The term ‘‘later-filed’’ with 

19 respect to an appeal means the notice of disagree20 ment was filed more than 180 days after the date 

21 of mailing of the notice of the result of the initial 

22 review or determination described in paragraph (1). 


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1 SEC. 104. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW OF CLAIMS 

2 PROCESSING PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL 

3 OFFICES OF VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINIS4 TRATION. 

5 (a) REVIEW REQUIRED.—Not later than 15 months 

6 after the effective date specified in subsection (e), the 

7 Comptroller General of the United States shall complete 

8 a review of the regional offices of the Veterans Benefits 

9 Administration to help the Veterans Benefits Administra10 tion achieve more consistent performance in the processing 

11 of claims for disability compensation. 

12 (b) ELEMENTS.—The review required by subsection 

13 (a) shall include the following: 

14 (1) An identification of the following: 

15 (A) The factors, including management 

16 practices, that distinguish higher performing re17 gional offices from other regional offices with 

18 respect to claims for disability compensation. 

19 (B) The best practices employed by higher 

20 performing regional offices that distinguish the 

21 performance of such offices from other regional 

22 offices. 

23 (C) Such other management practices or 

24 tools as the Comptroller General determines 

25 could be used to improve the performance of re26 gional offices. 


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1 (2) An assessment of the effectiveness of com2 munication with respect to the processing of claims 

3 for disability compensation between the regional of4 fices and veterans service organizations and case5 workers employed by Members of Congress. 

6 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 15 months after the ef7 fective date specified in subsection (e), the Comptroller 

8 General shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af9 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af10 fairs of the House of Representatives a report on the re11 sults of the review completed under subsection (a). 

12 (d) VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATION DEFINED.— 

13 In this section, the term ‘‘veterans service organization’’ 

14 means any organization recognized by the Secretary for 

15 the representation of veterans under section 5902 of title 

16 38, United States Code. 

17 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

18 on the date that is 270 days after the date of the enact19 ment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 105. REPORT ON STAFFING LEVELS AT REGIONAL OF21 FICES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF22 FAIRS UNDER NATIONAL WORK QUEUE. 

23 Not later than 15 months after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

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1 ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 

2 of Representatives a report on the criteria and procedures 

3 that the Secretary will use to determine appropriate staff4 ing levels at the regional offices of the Department under 

5 the National Work Queue for the distribution of the claims 

6 processing workload. 

7 SEC. 106. INCLUSION IN ANNUAL BUDGET SUBMISSION OF 

8 INFORMATION ON CAPACITY OF VETERANS 

9 BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION TO PROCESS 

10 BENEFITS CLAIMS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Along with the supporting infor12 mation included in the budget submitted to Congress by 

13 the President pursuant to section 1105(a) of title 31, 

14 United States Code, the President shall include informa15 tion on the capacity of the Veterans Benefits Administra16 tion to process claims for benefits under the laws adminis17 tered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, including infor18 mation described in subsection (b), during the fiscal year 

19 covered by the budget with which the information is sub20 mitted. 

21 (b) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The information de22 scribed in this subsection is the following: 

23 (1) An estimate of the average number of 

24 claims for benefits under the laws administered by 

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1 ing mandatory overtime, that a single full-time 

2 equivalent employee of the Administration should be 

3 able to process in a year, based on the following: 

4 (A) A time and motion study that the Sec5 retary shall conduct on the processing of such 

6 claims. 

7 (B) Such other information relating to 

8 such claims as the Secretary considers appro9 priate. 

10 (2) A description of the actions the Secretary 

11 will take to improve the processing of such claims. 

12 (3) An assessment of the actions identified by 

13 the Secretary under paragraph (2) in the previous 

14 year and an identification of the effects of those ac15 tions. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 

17 respect to any budget submitted as described in subsection 

18 (a) with respect to any fiscal year after fiscal year 2018. 

19 SEC. 107. REPORT ON PLANS OF SECRETARY OF VETERANS 

20 AFFAIRS TO REDUCE INVENTORY OF NON21 RATING WORKLOAD; SENSE OF CONGRESS 

22 REGARDING MONDAY MORNING WORKLOAD 

23 REPORT. 

24 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 

25 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 


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1 Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

2 of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

3 the House of Representatives a report that details the 

4 plans of the Secretary to reduce the inventory of work 

5 items listed in the Monday Morning Workload Report 

6 under End Products 130, 137, 173, 290, 400, 600, 607, 

7 690, 930, and 960. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should include 

10 in each Monday Morning Workload Report published by 

11 the Secretary the following: 

12 (1) With respect to each regional office of the 

13 Department of Veterans Affairs, the following: 

14 (A) The number of fully developed claims 

15 for benefits under the laws administered by the 

16 Secretary that have been received. 

17 (B) The number of claims described in 

18 subparagraph (A) that are pending a decision. 

19 (C) The number of claims described in 

20 subparagraph (A) that have been pending a de21 cision for more than 125 days. 

22 (2) Enhanced information on appeals of deci23 sions relating to claims for benefits under the laws 

24 administered by the Secretary that are pending, in25 cluding information contained in the reports of the 


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1 Department entitled ‘‘Appeals Pending’’ and ‘‘Ap2 peals Workload By Station’’. 

3 SEC. 108. ANNUAL REPORT ON PROGRESS IN IMPLE4 MENTING VETERANS BENEFITS MANAGE5 MENT SYSTEM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than each of 1 year, 2 

7 years, and 3 years after the date of the enactment of this 

8 Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the 

9 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 

10 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep11 resentatives a report on the progress of the Secretary in 

12 implementing the Veterans Benefits Management System. 

13 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report required by subsection 

14 (a) shall include the following: 

15 (1) An assessment of the current functionality 

16 of the Veterans Benefits Management System. 

17 (2) Recommendations submitted to the Sec18 retary by employees of the Department of Veterans 

19 Affairs who are involved in processing claims for 

20 benefits under the laws administered by the Sec21 retary, including veterans service representatives, 

22 rating veterans service representatives, and decision 

23 review officers, for such legislative or administrative 

24 action as the employees consider appropriate to im25 prove the processing of such claims. 


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1 (3) Recommendations submitted to the Sec2 retary by veterans service organizations who use the 

3 Veterans Benefits Management System for such leg4 islative or administrative action as the veterans serv5 ice organizations consider appropriate to improve 

6 such system. 

7 (c) VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATION DEFINED.— 

8 In this section, the term ‘‘veterans service organization’’ 

9 means any organization recognized by the Secretary for 

10 the representation of veterans under section 5902 of title 

11 38, United States Code. 

12 SEC. 109. IMPROVEMENTS TO AUTHORITY FOR PERFORM13 ANCE OF MEDICAL DISABILITIES EXAMINA14 TIONS BY CONTRACT PHYSICIANS. 

15 (a) LICENSURE OF CONTRACT PHYSICIANS.— 

16 (1) TEMPORARY AUTHORITY.—Section 704 of 

17 the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 (38 U.S.C. 5101 

18 note) is amended— 

19 (A) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub20 section (e); and 

21 (B) by inserting after subsection (c) the 

22 following new subsection (d): 

23 ‘‘(d) LICENSURE OF CONTRACT PHYSICIANS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any law 

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1 scribed in paragraph (2) may conduct an examina2 tion pursuant to a contract entered into under sub3 section (b) at any location in any State, the District 

4 of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or pos5 session of the United States, so long as the examina6 tion is within the scope of the authorized duties 

7 under such contract. 

8 ‘‘(2) PHYSICIAN DESCRIBED.—A physician de9 scribed in this paragraph is a physician who— 

10 ‘‘(A) has a current unrestricted license to 

11 practice the health care profession of the physi12 cian; 

13 ‘‘(B) is not barred from practicing such 

14 health care profession in any State, the District 

15 of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or 

16 possession of the United States; and 

17 ‘‘(C) is performing authorized duties for 

18 the Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to 

19 a contract entered into under subsection (b).’’. 

20 (2) PILOT PROGRAM.—Section 504 of the Vet21 erans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 1996 (38 

22 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended— 

23 (A) by redesignating subsections (c) and 

24 (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 


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1 (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the 

2 following new subsection (c): 

3 ‘‘(c) LICENSURE OF CONTRACT PHYSICIANS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any law 

5 regarding the licensure of physicians, a physician de6 scribed in paragraph (2) may conduct an examina7 tion pursuant to a contract entered into under sub8 section (a) at any location in any State, the District 

9 of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or pos10 session of the United States, so long as the examina11 tion is within the scope of the authorized duties 

12 under such contract. 

13 ‘‘(2) PHYSICIAN DESCRIBED.—A physician de14 scribed in this paragraph is a physician who— 

15 ‘‘(A) has a current unrestricted license to 

16 practice the health care profession of the physi17 cian; 

18 ‘‘(B) is not barred from practicing such 

19 health care profession in any State, the District 

20 of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or 

21 possession of the United States; and 

22 ‘‘(C) is performing authorized duties for 

23 the Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to 

24 a contract entered into under subsection (a).’’. 


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1 SEC. 110. INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF PROCESS BY WHICH 

2 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AS3 SESSES IMPAIRMENTS THAT RESULT FROM 

4 TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY FOR PURPOSES 

5 OF AWARDING DISABILITY COMPENSATION. 

6 (a) AGREEMENT.— 

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

8 Affairs shall seek to enter into an agreement with 

9 the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, 

10 and Medicine to perform the services covered by this 

11 section. 

12 (2) TIMING.—The Secretary shall seek to enter 

13 into the agreement described in paragraph (1) not 

14 later than 9 months after the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act. 

16 (b) COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Under an agreement be18 tween the Secretary and the National Academies of 

19 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under this sec20 tion, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineer21 ing, and Medicine shall conduct a comprehensive re22 view of examinations furnished by the Department 

23 of Veterans Affairs to individuals who submit claims 

24 to the Secretary for compensation under chapter 11 

25 of title 38, United States Code, for traumatic brain 


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1 injury to assess the impairments of such individuals 

2 relating to such injury. 

3 (2) ELEMENTS.—The comprehensive review 

4 carried out pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include 

5 the following: 

6 (A) A determination of the adequacy of the 

7 tools and protocols used by the Department to 

8 provide examinations described in paragraph 

9 (1). 

10 (B) A determination of which credentials 

11 are necessary for health care specialists and 

12 providers to perform such portions of such ex13 aminations that relate to an assessment of all 

14 disabling effects. 

15 (3) GROUP OF EXPERIENCED HEALTH CARE

16 PROVIDERS.—In carrying out the comprehensive re17 view pursuant to paragraph (1), the National Acad18 emies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine shall 

19 convene a group of relevant experts, including ex20 perts in clinical neuropsychology, psychiatry, 

21 physiatry, neurosurgery, and neurology. 

22 (c) REPORT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 540 days 

24 after the date on which the Secretary enters into an 

25 agreement under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary 


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1 shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs 

2 of the Senate and House of Representatives a report 

3 on the comprehensive review conducted under this 

4 section. 

5 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report submitted under 

6 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

7 (A) The findings of the National Acad8 emies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 

9 with respect to the comprehensive review con10 ducted under this section. 

11 (B) Such recommendations for legislative 

12 or administrative action as the National Acad13 emies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 

14 may have for the improvement of the adjudica15 tion of claims described in subsection (b)(1). 

16 (d) ALTERNATE CONTRACT ORGANIZATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary is unable 

18 within the period prescribed in subsection (a)(2) to 

19 enter into an agreement described in subsection 

20 (a)(1) with the National Academies of Sciences, En21 gineering, and Medicine on terms acceptable to the 

22 Secretary, the Secretary shall seek to enter into such 

23 an agreement with another appropriate organization 

24 that— 

25 (A) is not part of the Government; 


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1 (B) operates as a not-for-profit entity; and 

2 (C) has expertise and objectivity com3 parable to that of the Health and Medicine Di4 vision of the National Academies of Sciences, 

5 Engineering, and Medicine. 

6 (2) TREATMENT.—If the Secretary enters into 

7 an agreement with another organization as described 

8 in paragraph (1), any reference in this section to the 

9 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 

10 Medicine shall be treated as a reference to the other 

11 organization. 

12 SEC. 111. REPORTS ON CLAIMS FOR DISABILITY COM13 PENSATION. 

14 (a) REPORT ON REASONABLY RAISED CLAIMS.—Not 

15 later than 540 days after the date of the enactment of 

16 this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 

17 to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

18 House of Representatives a report on the policies of the 

19 Department of Veterans Affairs with respect to processing 

20 reasonably raised unrelated claims. Such report shall in21 clude— 

22 (1) any statistics on how frequently such unre23 lated claims are identified by the Secretary; 

24 (2) how frequently the Secretary notifies claim25 ants about potential unrelated claims; and 


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1 (3) how often the claimant later submits a 

2 claim for the condition described by the unrelated 

3 claim. 

4 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS ON COMPLETE AND INCOM5 PLETE CLAIMS.—During the 5-year period beginning on 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

7 submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen8 ate and House of Representatives annual reports on com9 plete and incomplete claims for disability compensation 

10 submitted to the Secretary. Each such report shall in11 clude, for the 1-year period covered by the report— 

12 (1) the total number of claims submitted to the 

13 Secretary; 

14 (2) the total number of incomplete claims sub15 mitted to the Secretary; 

16 (3) the total number of complete claims sub17 mitted to the Secretary; 

18 (4) the total number of forms indicating an in19 tent to file a claim for benefits submitted to the Sec20 retary; 

21 (5) the total number of electronically filed 

22 claims submitted to the Secretary; 

23 (6) the total number of fully developed claims 

24 submitted to the Secretary; 


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1 (7) the total number of claims submitted to the 

2 Secretary that are not complete claims but that the 

3 Secretary treats as a request by the claimant for a 

4 form to file a claim; and 

5 (8) of the total number of claims identified 

6 under paragraph (7), the percent for which the Sec7 retary notified the claimant of the need to file a 

8 complete claim. 

9 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) The term ‘‘claimant’’ has the meaning given 

11 such term in section 5100 of title 38, United States 

12 Code, and includes a representative of a claimant. 

13 (2) The term ‘‘reasonably raised unrelated 

14 claim’’ means a claim for disability compensation 

15 under the laws administered by the Secretary of Vet16 erans Affairs that, in addition to the condition for 

17 which such claim is made, includes evidence of a 

18 separate condition that is not specifically identified 

19 as part of the claim but may be inferred or logically 

20 placed at issue upon a sympathetic reading of the 

21 claim and the record developed with respect to that 

22 claim. 

23 SEC. 112. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING AMERICAN 

24 VETERANS DISABLED FOR LIFE. 

25 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) There are at least 4,200,000 veterans cur2 rently living with service-connected disabilities. 

3 (2) As a result of their service, many veterans 

4 are permanently disabled throughout their lives and 

5 in many cases must rely on the support of their fam6 ilies and friends when these visible and invisible bur7 dens become too much to bear alone. 

8 (3) October 5, which is the anniversary of the 

9 dedication of the American Veterans Disabled for 

10 Life Memorial, has been recognized as an appro11 priate day on which to honor American veterans dis12 abled for life each year. 

13 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—Congress— 

14 (1) expresses its appreciation to the men and 

15 women left permanently wounded, ill, or injured as 

16 a result of their service in the Armed Forces; 

17 (2) supports the annual recognition of Amer18 ican veterans disabled for life each year; and 

19 (3) encourages the American people to honor 

20 American veterans disabled for life each year with 

21 appropriate programs and activities. 


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1 SEC. 113. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SUBMITTAL OF INFOR2 MATION RELATING TO CLAIMS FOR DISABIL3 ITIES INCURRED OR AGGRAVATED BY MILI4 TARY SEXUAL TRAUMA. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress that 

6 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should submit to Con7 gress information on the covered claims submitted to the 

8 Secretary during each fiscal year, including the informa9 tion specified in subsection (b). 

10 (b) ELEMENTS.—The information specified in this 

11 subsection with respect to each fiscal year is the following: 

12 (1) The number of covered claims submitted to 

13 or considered by the Secretary during such fiscal 

14 year. 

15 (2) Of the covered claims under paragraph (1), 

16 the number and percentage of such claims— 

17 (A) submitted by each sex; 

18 (B) that were approved, including the 

19 number and percentage of such approved claims 

20 submitted by each sex; and 

21 (C) that were denied, including the number 

22 and percentage of such denied claims submitted 

23 by each sex. 

24 (3) Of the covered claims under paragraph (1) 

25 that were approved, the number and percentage, listVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Dec 11, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6416.RDS H6416

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1 ed by each sex, of claims assigned to each rating 

2 percentage of disability. 

3 (4) Of the covered claims under paragraph (1) 

4 that were denied— 

5 (A) the three most common reasons given 

6 by the Secretary under section 5104(b)(1) of 

7 title 38, United States Code, for such denials; 

8 and 

9 (B) the number of denials that were based 

10 on the failure of a veteran to report for a med11 ical examination. 

12 (5) The number of covered claims that, as of 

13 the end of such fiscal year, are pending and, sepa14 rately, the number of such claims on appeal. 

15 (6) The average number of days that covered 

16 claims take to complete beginning on the date on 

17 which the claim is submitted. 

18 (7) A description of the training that the Sec19 retary provides to employees of the Veterans Bene20 fits Administration specifically with respect to cov21 ered claims, including the frequency, length, and 

22 content of such training. 

23 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 (1) The term ‘‘covered claims’’ means claims 

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1 retary based on a mental health condition alleged to 

2 have been incurred or aggravated by military sexual 

3 trauma. 

4 (2) The term ‘‘military sexual trauma’’ shall 

5 have the meaning specified by the Secretary for pur6 poses of this section and shall include ‘‘sexual har7 assment’’ (as so specified). 

8 TITLE II—UNITED STATES 

9 COURT OF APPEALS FOR VET10 ERANS CLAIMS 

11 SEC. 201. EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY INCREASE IN NUM12 BER OF JUDGES ON UNITED STATES COURT 

13 OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7253(i)(2) is amended by 

15 striking ‘‘January 1, 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 

16 2021’’. 

17 (b) REPORT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 30, 

19 2020, the chief judge of the United States Court of 

20 Appeals for Veterans Claims shall submit to the 

21 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

22 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

23 Representatives a report on the temporary expan24 sions of the Court under section 7253 of title 38, 

25 United States Code. 


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1 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required by para2 graph (1) shall include the following: 

3 (A) An assessment of the effect of the ex4 pansions on ensuring appeals are handled in a 

5 timely manner. 

6 (B) A description of the ways in which the 

7 complexity levels of the appeals acted on by the 

8 Court may have changed based on service dur9 ing recent conflicts compared to those based on 

10 service from previous eras. 

11 (C) A recommendation on whether the 

12 number of judges should be adjusted at the end 

13 of the temporary expansion period, including 

14 statistics, projections, trend analyses, and other 

15 information to support the recommendation. 

16 SEC. 202. LIFE INSURANCE PROGRAM RELATING TO 

17 JUDGES OF UNITED STATES COURT OF AP18 PEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7281 is amended by add20 ing at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(j) For purposes of chapter 87 of title 5, a judge 

22 who is in regular active service and a judge who is retired 

23 under section 7296 of this title or under chapter 83 or 

24 84 of title 5 shall be treated as an employee described 

25 in section 8701(a)(5) of title 5. 


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1 ‘‘(k) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

2 Court may pay on behalf of its judges, who are age 65 

3 or older, any increase in the cost of Federal Employees’ 

4 Group Life Insurance imposed after April 24, 1999, in5 cluding any expenses generated by such payments, as au6 thorized by the chief judge of the Court in a manner con7 sistent with such payment authorized by the Judicial Con8 ference of the United States pursuant to section 604(a)(5) 

9 of title 28.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

11 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to any payment 

12 made on or after the first day of the first applicable pay 

13 period beginning on or after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act. 

15 SEC. 203. VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS TO ENLARGE SUR16 VIVORS’ ANNUITY. 

17 Section 7297 is amended by adding at the end the 

18 following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(p)(1) A covered judge who makes an election under 

20 subsection (b) may purchase, in 3-month increments, up 

21 to an additional year of service credit for each year of Fed22 eral judicial service completed, under the terms set forth 

23 in this section. 

24 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘covered judge’ 

25 means any of the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A judge in regular active service. 

2 ‘‘(B) A retired judge who is a recall-eligible re3 tired judge pursuant to subsection (a) of section 

4 7257 of this title. 

5 ‘‘(C) A retired judge who would be a recall-eli6 gible retired judge pursuant to subsection (a) of sec7 tion 7257 but for— 

8 ‘‘(i) meeting the aggregate recall service 

9 requirements under subsection (b)(3) of such 

10 section; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) being permanently disabled as de12 scribed by subsection (b)(4) of such section.’’. 

13 SEC. 204. SELECTION OF CHIEF JUDGE OF UNITED STATES 

14 COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7253(d) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

18 ‘‘and’’; 

19 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 

20 subparagraph (C); and 

21 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

22 the following new subparagraph (B): 

23 ‘‘(B) have at least 3 years remaining in term of 

24 office; and’’; and 


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1 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) In any case in which there is no judge of 

4 the Court in regular active service who meets the require5 ments under paragraph (1), the judge of the Court in reg6 ular active service who is senior in commission and meets 

7 subparagraph (A) or (B) and subparagraph (C) of para8 graph (1) shall act as the chief judge. 

9 ‘‘(B) In any case under subparagraph (A) of this 

10 paragraph in which there is no judge of the Court in reg11 ular active service who meets subparagraph (A) or (B) and 

12 subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1), the judge of the Court 

13 in regular active service who is senior in commission and 

14 meets subparagraph (C) shall act as the chief judge.’’. 

15 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub16 section (a) shall apply with respect to the selection of a 

17 chief judge occurring on or after January 1, 2020. 

18 TITLE III—BURIAL BENEFITS 

19 AND OTHER MATTERS 

20 SEC. 301. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR HEADSTONES, 

21 MARKERS, AND MEDALLIONS. 

22 Section 2306(d) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

24 following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(4)(A) In lieu of furnishing a headstone or marker 

2 under this subsection to a deceased individual described 

3 in subparagraph (B), the Secretary may furnish, upon re4 quest, a medallion or other device of a design determined 

5 by the Secretary to signify the deceased individual’s status 

6 as a veteran, to be attached to a headstone or marker fur7 nished at private expense. 

8 ‘‘(B) A deceased individual described in this sub9 section is an individual who— 

10 ‘‘(i) served in the Armed Forces on or after 

11 April 6, 1917; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) is eligible for a headstone or marker fur13 nished under paragraph (1) (or would be so eligible 

14 but for the date of the death of the individual).’’; 

15 and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(5)(A) In carrying out this subsection with respect 

19 to a deceased individual described in subparagraph (C), 

20 the Secretary shall furnish, upon request, a headstone or 

21 marker under paragraph (1) or a medallion under para22 graph (4) that signifies the deceased’s status as a medal 

23 of honor recipient. 

24 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary furnished a headstone, marker, 

25 or medallion under paragraph (1) or (4) for a deceased 


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1 individual described in subparagraph (C) that does not 

2 signify the deceased’s status as a medal of honor recipient, 

3 the Secretary shall, upon request, replace such headstone, 

4 marker, or medallion with a headstone, marker, or medal5 lion, as the case may be, that so signifies the deceased’s 

6 status as a medal of honor recipient. 

7 ‘‘(C) A deceased individual described in this subpara8 graph is a deceased individual who— 

9 ‘‘(i) served in the Armed Forces on or after 

10 April 6, 1917; 

11 ‘‘(ii) is eligible for a headstone or marker fur12 nished under paragraph (1) or a medallion furnished 

13 under paragraph (4) (or would be so eligible for 

14 such headstone, marker, or medallion but for the 

15 date of the death of the individual); and 

16 ‘‘(iii) was awarded the medal of honor under 

17 section 3741, 6241, or 8741 of title 10 or section 

18 491 of title 14 (including posthumously). 

19 ‘‘(D) In this paragraph, the term ‘medal of honor re20 cipient’ means an individual who is awarded the medal of 

21 honor under section 3741, 6241, or 8741 of title 10 or 

22 section 491 of title 14.’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. EXPANSION OF PRESIDENTIAL MEMORIAL CER2 TIFICATE PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 112(a) is amended by 

4 striking ‘‘veterans,’’ and all that follows through ‘‘serv5 ice,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘persons eligible for bur6 ial in a national cemetery by reason of any of paragraphs 

7 (1), (2), (3), or (7) of section 2402(a) of this title,’’. 

8 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub9 section (a) shall apply with respect to the death of a per10 son eligible for burial in a national cemetery by reason 

11 of paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (7) of section 2402(a) of 

12 title 38, United States Code, occurring before, on, or after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 303. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS STUDY ON 

15 MATTERS RELATING TO BURIAL OF UN16 CLAIMED REMAINS OF VETERANS IN NA17 TIONAL CEMETERIES. 

18 (a) STUDY AND REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 

19 1 year after the effective date specified in subsection (d), 

20 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 

21 (1) complete a study on matters relating to the 

22 interring of unclaimed remains of veterans in na23 tional cemeteries under the control of the National 

24 Cemetery Administration; and 

25 (2) submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af26 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ 


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1 Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on 

2 the findings of the Secretary with respect to the 

3 study required under paragraph (1). 

4 (b) MATTERS STUDIED.—The matters studied under 

5 subsection (a)(1) shall include the following: 

6 (1) Determining the scope of issues relating to 

7 unclaimed remains of veterans, including an esti8 mate of the number of unclaimed remains of vet9 erans. 

10 (2) Assessing the effectiveness of the proce11 dures of the Department of Veterans Affairs for 

12 working with persons or entities having custody of 

13 unclaimed remains to facilitate interment of un14 claimed remains of veterans in national cemeteries 

15 under the control of the National Cemetery Adminis16 tration. 

17 (3) Assessing State and local laws that affect 

18 the ability of the Secretary to inter unclaimed re19 mains of veterans in national cemeteries under the 

20 control of the National Cemetery Administration. 

21 (4) Developing recommendations for such legis22 lative or administrative action as the Secretary con23 siders appropriate. 

24 (c) METHODOLOGY.— 


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1 (1) NUMBER OF UNCLAIMED REMAINS.—In es2 timating the number of unclaimed remains of vet3 erans under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary may re4 view such subset of applicable entities as the Sec5 retary considers appropriate, including a subset of 

6 funeral homes and coroner offices that possess un7 claimed veterans remains. 

8 (2) ASSESSMENT OF STATE AND LOCAL

9 LAWS.—In assessing State and local laws under sub10 section (b)(3), the Secretary may assess such sample 

11 of applicable State and local laws as the Secretary 

12 considers appropriate in lieu of reviewing all applica13 ble State and local laws. 

14 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

15 on the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act. 

17 SEC. 304. STUDY ON PROVISION OF INTERMENTS IN VET18 ERANS’ CEMETERIES DURING WEEKENDS. 

19 (a) STUDY.— 

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

21 Affairs shall conduct a study on the feasibility and 

22 the need for providing increased interments in vet23 erans’ cemeteries on Saturdays and Sundays to meet 

24 the needs of surviving family members to properly 

25 honor the deceased. 


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1 (2) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The study under 

2 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

3 (A) The number of requests made for in4 terments in veterans’ cemeteries on a Saturday 

5 or a Sunday since January 1, 2007. 

6 (B) The number of requests identified 

7 under subparagraph (A) that were granted. 

8 (C) An estimate of the number of families 

9 that, since January 1, 2007, would have se10 lected a weekend interment if such an inter11 ment would have been offered. 

12 (D) A review of the practices relating to 

13 weekend interments among non-veterans’ ceme14 teries, including private and municipal ceme15 teries. 

16 (E) A comparison of the costs to veterans’ 

17 cemeteries with respect to providing regular in18 terments only during weekdays and such costs 

19 for providing regular interments during the 

20 weekdays and at least 1 weekend day. 

21 (F) Any other information the Secretary 

22 determines appropriate. 

23 (3) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the study 

24 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult 

25 with the following: 


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1 (A) Veterans who are eligible to be in2 terred in a veterans’ cemetery. 

3 (B) Family members of a deceased indi4 vidual interred in a veterans’ cemetery. 

5 (C) Veterans service organizations. 

6 (D) Associations representing cemetery 

7 and funeral home professionals. 

8 (E) The heads of agencies of State govern9 ments relating to veterans affairs. 

10 (F) The directors of the veterans’ ceme11 teries. 

12 (G) Any other person the Secretary deter13 mines appropriate. 

14 (b) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 180 days after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub16 mit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 

17 of Representatives and the Senate a report on the study 

18 conducted under subsection (a). 

19 (c) VETERANS’ CEMETERIES DEFINED.—In this sec20 tion, the term ‘‘veterans’ cemeteries’’ means the ceme21 teries of the National Cemetery Administration, veterans’ 

22 cemeteries owned by a State, and veterans’ cemeteries 

23 owned by a tribal organization. 


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1 SEC. 305. HONORING AS VETERANS CERTAIN PERSONS 

2 WHO PERFORMED SERVICE IN THE RESERVE 

3 COMPONENTS OF THE ARMED FORCES. 

4 Any person who is entitled under chapter 1223 of 

5 title 10, United States Code, to retired pay for nonregular 

6 service or, but for age, would be entitled under such chap7 ter to retired pay for nonregular service shall be honored 

8 as a veteran but shall not be entitled to any benefit by 

9 reason of this honor. 

10 TITLE IV—EDUCATIONAL AS11 SISTANCE AND VOCATIONAL 

12 REHABILITATION 

13 SEC. 401. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR MARINE 

14 GUNNERY SERGEANT JOHN DAVID FRY 

15 SCHOLARSHIP. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 701(d) of the Veterans 

17 Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public 

18 Law 113–146; 128 Stat. 1796; 38 U.S.C. 3311 note) is 

19 amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

22 this section shall apply with respect to a quarter, se23 mester, or term, as applicable, commencing on or 

24 after January 1, 2015. 

25 ‘‘(2) DEATHS THAT OCCURRED BETWEEN SEP26 TEMBER 11, 2001, AND DECEMBER 31, 2005.—For 


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1 purposes of section 3311(f)(2) of title 38, United 

2 States Code, any member of the Armed Forces who 

3 died during the period beginning on September 11, 

4 2001, and ending on December 31, 2005, is deemed 

5 to have died on January 1, 2006.’’. 

6 (b) ELECTION ON RECEIPT OF CERTAIN BENE7 FITS.—Section 3311(f) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘A surviving 

9 spouse’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in para10 graph (4), a surviving spouse’’; 

11 (2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para12 graph (5); and 

13 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol14 lowing new paragraph (4): 

15 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN ELECTIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An election made 

17 under paragraph (3) by a spouse described in 

18 subparagraph (B) may not be treated as irrev19 ocable if such election occurred before the date 

20 of the enactment of this paragraph. 

21 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE SURVIVING SPOUSE.—A 

22 spouse described in this subparagraph is an in23 dividual— 


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1 ‘‘(i) who is entitled to assistance 

2 under subsection (a) pursuant to para3 graph (9) of subsection (b); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) who was the spouse of a member 

5 of the Armed Forces who died during the 

6 period beginning on September 11, 2001, 

7 and ending on December 31, 2005.’’. 

8 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (5) of 

9 subsection (f) of section 3311, as redesignated by sub10 section (b)(2), is amended by striking ‘‘that paragraph’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (9) of subsection (b)’’. 

12 SEC. 402. APPROVAL OF COURSES OF EDUCATION AND 

13 TRAINING FOR PURPOSES OF THE VOCA14 TIONAL REHABILITATION PROGRAM OF THE 

15 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3104(b) is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following new sentences: ‘‘To the 

18 maximum extent practicable, a course of education or 

19 training may be pursued by a veteran as part of a rehabili20 tation program under this chapter only if the course is 

21 approved for purposes of chapter 30 or 33 of this title. 

22 The Secretary may waive the requirement under the pre23 ceding sentence to the extent the Secretary determines ap24 propriate.’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

2 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to a course of edu3 cation or training pursued by a veteran who first begins 

4 a program of rehabilitation under chapter 31 of title 38, 

5 United States Code, on or after the date that is 1 year 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 403. AUTHORITY TO PRIORITIZE VOCATIONAL REHA8 BILITATION SERVICES BASED ON NEED. 

9 Section 3104, as amended by section 402, is further 

10 amended by adding at the end the following new sub11 section: 

12 ‘‘(c)(1) The Secretary shall have the authority to ad13 minister this chapter by prioritizing the provision of serv14 ices under this chapter based on need, as determined by 

15 the Secretary. In evaluating need for purposes of this sub16 section, the Secretary shall consider disability ratings, the 

17 severity of employment handicaps, qualification for a pro18 gram of independent living, income, and any other factor 

19 the Secretary determines appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(2) Not later than 90 days before making any 

21 changes to the prioritization of the provision of services 

22 under this chapter as authorized under paragraph (1), the 

23 Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af24 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a plan 

25 describing such changes.’’. 


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1 SEC. 404. REPORTS ON PROGRESS OF STUDENTS RECEIV2 ING POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 33 is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in section 3325(c)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

7 after the semicolon; 

8 (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

9 paragraph (4); and 

10 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

11 following new paragraph (3): 

12 ‘‘(3) the information received by the Secretary 

13 under section 3326 of this title; and’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following new sec15 tion: 

16 ‘‘§ 3326. Report on student progress 

17 ‘‘As a condition of approval under chapter 36 of this 

18 title of a course offered by an educational institution (as 

19 defined in section 3452 of this title), each year, each edu20 cational institution (as so defined) that received a payment 

21 in that year on behalf of an individual entitled to edu22 cational assistance under this chapter shall submit to the 

23 Secretary such information regarding the academic 

24 progress of the individual as the Secretary may require.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

3 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘3326. Report on student progress.’’. 

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

5 this section shall take effect on the date that is 1 year 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 405. RECODIFICATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEC8 TION PROCESS FOR POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL 

9 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 33, as 

11 amended by section 404, is further amended by adding 

12 at the end the following new section: 

13 ‘‘§ 3327. Election to receive educational assistance 

14 ‘‘(a) INDIVIDUALS ELIGIBLE TO ELECT PARTICIPA15 TION IN POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.—An indi16 vidual may elect to receive educational assistance under 

17 this chapter if such individual— 

18 ‘‘(1) as of August 1, 2009— 

19 ‘‘(A) is entitled to basic educational assist20 ance under chapter 30 of this title and has 

21 used, but retains unused, entitlement under 

22 that chapter; 

23 ‘‘(B) is entitled to educational assistance 

24 under chapter 107, 1606, or 1607 of title 10 


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1 and has used, but retains unused, entitlement 

2 under the applicable chapter; 

3 ‘‘(C) is entitled to basic educational assist4 ance under chapter 30 of this title but has not 

5 used any entitlement under that chapter; 

6 ‘‘(D) is entitled to educational assistance 

7 under chapter 107, 1606, or 1607 of title 10 

8 but has not used any entitlement under such 

9 chapter; 

10 ‘‘(E) is a member of the Armed Forces 

11 who is eligible for receipt of basic educational 

12 assistance under chapter 30 of this title and is 

13 making contributions toward such assistance 

14 under section 3011(b) or 3012(c) of this title; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(F) is a member of the Armed Forces 

17 who is not entitled to basic educational assist18 ance under chapter 30 of this title by reason of 

19 an election under section 3011(c)(1) or 

20 3012(d)(1) of this title; and 

21 ‘‘(2) as of the date of the individual’s election 

22 under this paragraph, meets the requirements for 

23 entitlement to educational assistance under this 

24 chapter. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CESSATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD GI 

2 BILL.—Effective as of the first month beginning on or 

3 after the date of an election under subsection (a) of an 

4 individual described by paragraph (1)(E) of that sub5 section, the obligation of the individual to make contribu6 tions under section 3011(b) or 3012(c) of this title, as 

7 applicable, shall cease, and the requirements of such sec8 tion shall be deemed to be no longer applicable to the indi9 vidual. 

10 ‘‘(c) REVOCATION OF REMAINING TRANSFERRED

11 ENTITLEMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ELECTION TO REVOKE.—If, on the date an 

13 individual described in paragraph (1)(A) or (1)(C) of 

14 subsection (a) makes an election under that sub15 section, a transfer of the entitlement of the indi16 vidual to basic educational assistance under section 

17 3020 of this title is in effect and a number of 

18 months of the entitlement so transferred remain un19 utilized, the individual may elect to revoke all or a 

20 portion of the entitlement so transferred that re21 mains unutilized. 

22 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF REVOKED ENTITLE23 MENT.—Any entitlement revoked by an individual 

24 under this subsection shall no longer be available to 

25 the dependent to whom transferred, but shall be 


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1 available to the individual instead for educational as2 sistance under chapter 33 of this title in accordance 

3 with the provisions of this section. 

4 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF UNREVOKED ENTITLE5 MENT.—Any entitlement described in paragraph (1) 

6 that is not revoked by an individual in accordance 

7 with that paragraph shall remain available to the de8 pendent or dependents concerned in accordance with 

9 the current transfer of such entitlement under sec10 tion 3020 of this title. 

11 ‘‘(d) POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 

13 and except as provided in subsection (e), an indi14 vidual making an election under subsection (a) shall 

15 be entitled to educational assistance under this chap16 ter in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, 

17 instead of basic educational assistance under chapter 

18 30 of this title, or educational assistance under 

19 chapter 107, 1606, or 1607 of title 10, as applicable. 

20 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON ENTITLEMENT FOR CER21 TAIN INDIVIDUALS.—In the case of an individual 

22 making an election under subsection (a) who is de23 scribed by paragraph (1)(A) of that subsection, the 

24 number of months of entitlement of the individual to 


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1 educational assistance under this chapter shall be 

2 the number of months equal to— 

3 ‘‘(A) the number of months of unused enti4 tlement of the individual under chapter 30 of 

5 this title, as of the date of the election, plus 

6 ‘‘(B) the number of months, if any, of enti7 tlement revoked by the individual under sub8 section (c)(1). 

9 ‘‘(e) CONTINUING ENTITLEMENT TO EDUCATIONAL

10 ASSISTANCE NOT AVAILABLE UNDER POST-9/11 EDU11 CATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the event educational 

13 assistance to which an individual making an election 

14 under subsection (a) would be entitled under chapter 

15 30 of this title, or chapter 107, 1606, or 1607 of 

16 title 10, as applicable, is not authorized to be avail17 able to the individual under the provisions of this 

18 chapter, the individual shall remain entitled to such 

19 educational assistance in accordance with the provi20 sions of the applicable chapter. 

21 ‘‘(2) CHARGE FOR USE OF ENTITLEMENT.— 

22 The utilization by an individual of entitlement under 

23 paragraph (1) shall be chargeable against the enti24 tlement of the individual to educational assistance 

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1 ment under this chapter for each month of entitle2 ment utilized by the individual under paragraph (1) 

3 (as determined as if such entitlement were utilized 

4 under the provisions of chapter 30 of this title, or 

5 chapter 107, 1606, or 1607 of title 10, as applica6 ble). 

7 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL POST-9/11 ASSISTANCE FOR MEM8 BERS HAVING MADE CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD GI 

9 BILL.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.—In the case of 

11 an individual making an election under subsection 

12 (a) who is described by subparagraph (A), (C), or 

13 (E) of paragraph (1) of that subsection, the amount 

14 of educational assistance payable to the individual 

15 under this chapter as a monthly stipend payable 

16 under paragraph (1)(B) of section 3313(c) of this 

17 title, or under paragraphs (2) through (7) of that 

18 section (as applicable), shall be the amount other19 wise payable as a monthly stipend under the applica20 ble paragraph increased by the amount equal to— 

21 ‘‘(A) the total amount of contributions to22 ward basic educational assistance made by the 

23 individual under section 3011(b) or 3012(c) of 

24 this title, as of the date of the election, multi25 plied by 


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1 ‘‘(B) the fraction— 

2 ‘‘(i) the numerator of which is— 

3 ‘‘(I) the number of months of en4 titlement to basic educational assist5 ance under chapter 30 of this title re6 maining to the individual at the time 

7 of the election; plus 

8 ‘‘(II) the number of months, if 

9 any, of entitlement under chapter 30 

10 of this title revoked by the individual 

11 under subsection (c)(1); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the denominator of which is 36 

13 months. 

14 ‘‘(2) MONTHS OF REMAINING ENTITLEMENT

15 FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS.—In the case of an indi16 vidual covered by paragraph (1) who is described by 

17 subsection (a)(1)(E), the number of months of enti18 tlement to basic educational assistance remaining to 

19 the individual for purposes of paragraph 

20 (1)(B)(i)(II) shall be 36 months. 

21 ‘‘(3) TIMING OF PAYMENT.—The amount pay22 able with respect to an individual under paragraph 

23 (1) shall be paid to the individual together with the 

24 last payment of the monthly stipend payable to the 

25 individual under paragraph (1)(B) of section 


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1 3313(c) of this title, or under paragraphs (2) 

2 through (7) of that section (as applicable), before 

3 the exhaustion of the individual’s entitlement to edu4 cational assistance under this chapter. 

5 ‘‘(g) CONTINUING ENTITLEMENT TO ADDITIONAL

6 ASSISTANCE FOR CRITICAL SKILLS OR SPECIALTY AND

7 ADDITIONAL SERVICE.—An individual making an election 

8 under subsection (a)(1) who, at the time of the election, 

9 is entitled to increased educational assistance under sec10 tion 3015(d) of this title, or section 16131(i) of title 10, 

11 or supplemental educational assistance under subchapter 

12 III of chapter 30 of this title, shall remain entitled to such 

13 increased educational assistance or supplemental edu14 cational assistance in the utilization of entitlement to edu15 cational assistance under this chapter, in an amount equal 

16 to the quarter, semester, or term, as applicable, equivalent 

17 of the monthly amount of such increased educational as18 sistance or supplemental educational assistance payable 

19 with respect to the individual at the time of the election. 

20 ‘‘(h) ALTERNATIVE ELECTION BY SECRETARY.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual 

22 who, on or after January 1, 2017, submits to the 

23 Secretary an election under this section that the 

24 Secretary determines is clearly against the interests 

25 of the individual, or who fails to make an election 


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1 under this section, the Secretary may make an alter2 native election on behalf of the individual that the 

3 Secretary determines is in the best interests of the 

4 individual. 

5 ‘‘(2) NOTICE.—If the Secretary makes an elec6 tion on behalf of an individual under this subsection, 

7 the Secretary shall notify the individual by not later 

8 than seven days after making such election and shall 

9 provide the individual with a 30-day period, begin10 ning on the date of the individual’s receipt of such 

11 notice, during which the individual may modify or 

12 revoke the election made by the Secretary on the in13 dividual’s behalf. The Secretary shall include, as 

14 part of such notice, a clear statement of why the al15 ternative election made by the Secretary is in the 

16 best interests of the individual as compared to the 

17 election submitted by the individual. The Secretary 

18 shall provide the notice required under this para19 graph by electronic means whenever possible. 

20 ‘‘(i) IRREVOCABILITY OF ELECTIONS.—An election 

21 under subsection (a) or (c)(1) is irrevocable.’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

23 at the beginning of such chapter, as amended by section 

24 404, is further amended by adding at the end the following 

25 new item: 

‘‘3327. Election to receive educational assistance.’’. 


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1 (c) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Subsection (c) of section 

2 5003 of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance 

3 Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–252; 38 U.S.C. 3301 note) 

4 is hereby repealed. 

5 SEC. 406. WORK-STUDY ALLOWANCE. 

6 Section 3485(a)(4) is amended by striking ‘‘June 30, 

7 2013’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘June 30, 

8 2013, or the period beginning on June 30, 2017, and end9 ing on June 30, 2022’’. 

10 SEC. 407. CENTRALIZED REPORTING OF VETERAN ENROLL11 MENT BY CERTAIN GROUPS, DISTRICTS, AND 

12 CONSORTIUMS OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITU13 TIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3684(a) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘32, 33,’’ 

16 after ‘‘31,’’; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘edu20 cational institution’ may include a group, district, or con21 sortium of separately accredited educational institutions 

22 located in the same State that are organized in a manner 

23 that facilitates the centralized reporting of the enrollments 

24 in such group, district, or consortium of institutions.’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to reports sub3 mitted on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 408. ROLE OF STATE APPROVING AGENCIES. 

5 (a) APPROVAL OF CERTAIN COURSES.—Section 

6 3672(b)(2)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘the following’’ and 

7 all that follows through the colon and inserting the fol8 lowing: ‘‘a program of education is deemed to be approved 

9 for purposes of this chapter if a State approving agency, 

10 or the Secretary when acting in the role of a State approv11 ing agency, determines that the program is one of the fol12 lowing programs:’’. 

13 (b) APPROVAL OF OTHER COURSES.—Section 3675 

14 of such title is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary or a State 

17 approving agency’’ and inserting ‘‘A State ap18 proving agency, or the Secretary when acting in 

19 the role of a State approving agency,’’; and 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘offered by proprietary for21 profit educational institutions’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘not covered by section 3672 of this title’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (b)— 

24 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

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1 ing agency’’ and inserting ‘‘the State approving 

2 agency, or the Secretary when acting in the role 

3 of a State approving agency,’’; and 

4 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the Sec5 retary or the State approving agency’’ and in6 serting ‘‘the State approving agency, or the 

7 Secretary when acting in the role of a State ap8 proving agency’’. 

9 SEC. 409. MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR AP10 PROVAL FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATIONAL 

11 ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY DEPARTMENT OF 

12 VETERANS AFFAIRS OF PROGRAMS DE13 SIGNED TO PREPARE INDIVIDUALS FOR LI14 CENSURE OR CERTIFICATION. 

15 (a) APPROVAL OF NONACCREDITED COURSES.—Sub16 section (c) of section 3676 is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating paragraph (14) as para18 graph (16); and 

19 (2) by inserting after paragraph (13) the fol20 lowing new paragraphs: 

21 ‘‘(14) In the case of a course designed to pre22 pare an individual for licensure or certification in a 

23 State, the course— 


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1 ‘‘(A) meets all instructional curriculum li2 censure or certification requirements of such 

3 State; and 

4 ‘‘(B) in the case of a course designed to 

5 prepare an individual for licensure to practice 

6 law in a State, is accredited by an accrediting 

7 agency or association recognized by the Sec8 retary of Education under subpart 2 of part H 

9 of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

10 (20 U.S.C. 1099b). 

11 ‘‘(15) In the case of a course designed to pre12 pare an individual for employment pursuant to 

13 standards developed by a board or agency of a State 

14 in an occupation that requires approval, licensure, or 

15 certification, the course— 

16 ‘‘(A) meets such standards; and 

17 ‘‘(B) in the case of a course designed to 

18 prepare an individual for licensure to practice 

19 law in a State, is accredited by an accrediting 

20 agency or association recognized by the Sec21 retary of Education under subpart 2 of part H 

22 of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

23 (20 U.S.C. 1099b).’’. 

24 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Such section is further amended 

25 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary may waive the requirements of 

2 paragraph (14) or (15) of subsection (c) in the case of 

3 a course of education offered by an educational institution 

4 (either accredited or not accredited) if the Secretary deter5 mines all of the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) The educational institution is not accred7 ited by an agency or association recognized by the 

8 Secretary of Education. 

9 ‘‘(B) The course did not meet the requirements 

10 of such paragraph at any time during the 2-year pe11 riod preceding the date of the waiver. 

12 ‘‘(C) The waiver furthers the purposes of the 

13 educational assistance programs administered by the 

14 Secretary or would further the education interests of 

15 individuals eligible for assistance under such pro16 grams. 

17 ‘‘(D) The educational institution does not pro18 vide any commission, bonus, or other incentive pay19 ment based directly or indirectly on success in secur20 ing enrollments or financial aid to any persons or 

21 entities engaged in any student recruiting or admis22 sion activities or in making decisions regarding the 

23 award of student financial assistance, except for the 

24 recruitment of foreign students residing in foreign 


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1 countries who are not eligible to receive Federal stu2 dent assistance. 

3 ‘‘(2) Not later than 30 days after the date on which 

4 the Secretary issues a waiver under paragraph (1), the 

5 Secretary shall submit to Congress notice of such waiver 

6 and a justification for issuing such waiver.’’. 

7 (c) APPROVAL OF ACCREDITED COURSES.—Section 

8 3675(b)(3) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘and (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘(3), 

10 (14), (15), and (16)’’; and 

11 (2) by inserting before the period at the end the 

12 following: ‘‘(or, with respect to such paragraphs (14) 

13 and (15), the requirements under such paragraphs 

14 are waived pursuant to subsection (f)(1) of section 

15 3676 of this title)’’. 

16 (d) APPROVAL OF ACCREDITED STANDARD COLLEGE

17 DEGREE PROGRAMS OFFERED AT PUBLIC OR NOT-FOR18 PROFIT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.—Section 

19 3672(b)(2) is amended— 

20 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘An ac21 credited’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub22 paragraph (C), an accredited’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub24 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(C) A course that is described in both subparagraph 

2 (A)(i) of this paragraph and in paragraph (14) or (15) 

3 of section 3676(c) of this title shall not be deemed to be 

4 approved for purposes of this chapter unless— 

5 ‘‘(i) a State approving agency, or the Secretary 

6 when acting in the role of a State approving agency, 

7 determines that the course meets the applicable cri8 teria in such paragraphs; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary issues a waiver for such 

10 course under section 3676(f)(1) of this title.’’. 

11 (e) DISAPPROVAL OF COURSES.—Section 3679 is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

15 chapter, the Secretary or the applicable State approving 

16 agency shall disapprove a course of education described 

17 in paragraph (14) or (15) of section 3676(c) of this title 

18 unless the educational institution providing the course of 

19 education— 

20 ‘‘(1) publicly discloses any conditions or addi21 tional requirements, including training, experience, 

22 or examinations, required to obtain the license, cer23 tification, or approval for which the course of edu24 cation is designed to provide preparation; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) makes each disclosure required by para2 graph (1) in a manner that the Secretary considers 

3 prominent (as specified by the Secretary in regula4 tions prescribed for purposes of this subsection).’’. 

5 (f) APPLICABILITY.—If after enrollment in a course 

6 of education that is subject to disapproval by reason of 

7 an amendment made by this section, an individual pursues 

8 one or more courses of education at the same educational 

9 institution while remaining continuously enrolled (other 

10 than during regularly scheduled breaks between courses, 

11 semesters, or terms) at that institution, any course so pur12 sued by the individual at that institution while so continu13 ously enrolled shall not be subject to disapproval by reason 

14 of such amendment. 

15 SEC. 410. CRITERIA USED TO APPROVE COURSES. 

16 (a) NONACCREDITED COURSES.—Paragraph (16) of 

17 section 3676(c), as redesignated by section 409, is amend18 ed by inserting before the period the following: ‘‘if the Sec19 retary, in consultation with the State approving agency 

20 and pursuant to regulations prescribed to carry out this 

21 paragraph, determines such criteria are necessary and 

22 treat public, private, and proprietary for-profit educational 

23 institutions equitably’’. 


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1 (b) ACCREDITED COURSES.—Section 3675(b)(3) is 

2 amended by striking ‘‘and (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘(3), and 

3 (14)’’. 

4 (c) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub5 section (a) shall apply with respect to— 

6 (1) criteria developed pursuant to paragraph 

7 (16) of subsection (c) of section 3676 of title 38, 

8 United States Code, on or after January 1, 2013; 

9 and 

10 (2) an investigation conducted under such sub11 section that is covered by a reimbursement of ex12 penses paid by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 

13 a State pursuant to section 3674 of such title on or 

14 after October 1, 2015. 

15 SEC. 411. COMPLIANCE SURVEYS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3693 is amended— 

17 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

18 following new subsection (a): 

19 ‘‘(a)(1) Except as provided in subsection (b), the Sec20 retary shall conduct an annual compliance survey of edu21 cational institutions and training establishments offering 

22 one or more courses approved for the enrollment of eligible 

23 veterans or persons if at least 20 such veterans or persons 

24 are enrolled in any such course. The Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) design the compliance surveys to ensure 

2 that such institutions or establishments, as the case 

3 may be, and approved courses are in compliance 

4 with all applicable provisions of chapters 30 through 

5 36 of this title; 

6 ‘‘(B) survey each such educational institution 

7 and training establishment not less than once during 

8 every 2-year period; and 

9 ‘‘(C) assign not fewer than 1 education compli10 ance specialist to work on compliance surveys in any 

11 year for each 40 compliance surveys required to be 

12 made under this section for such year. 

13 ‘‘(2) The Secretary, in consultation with the State ap14 proving agencies, shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) annually determine the parameters of the 

16 surveys required under paragraph (1); and 

17 ‘‘(B) not later than September 1 of each year, 

18 make available to the State approving agencies a list 

19 of the educational institutions and training estab20 lishments that will be surveyed during the fiscal year 

21 following the date of making such list available.’’; 

22 and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub24 section: 


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1 ‘‘(c) In this section, the terms ‘educational institu2 tion’ and ‘training establishment’ have the meanings given 

3 such terms in section 3452 of this title.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subsection (b) of 

5 such section is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘subsection (a) of this section 

7 for an annual compliance survey’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘subsection (a)(1) for a compliance survey’’; 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘institution’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘educational institution or training establishment’’; 

11 and 

12 (3) by striking ‘‘institution’s demonstrated 

13 record of compliance’’ and inserting ‘‘record of com14 pliance of such institution or establishment’’. 

15 SEC. 412. MODIFICATION OF REDUCTIONS IN REPORTING 

16 FEE MULTIPLIERS FOR PAYMENTS BY SEC17 RETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO EDU18 CATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 

19 (a) THROUGH SEPTEMBER 25, 2017.—During the 

20 period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act 

21 and ending on September 25, 2017, the second sentence 

22 of section 3684(c) of title 38, United States Code, shall 

23 be applied— 

24 (1) by substituting ‘‘$6’’ for ‘‘$12’’; and 

25 (2) by substituting ‘‘$12’’ for ‘‘$15’’. 


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1 (b) SEPTEMBER 26, 2017, THROUGH SEPTEMBER

2 25, 2026.—During the period beginning on September 26, 

3 2017, and ending on September 25, 2026, the second sen4 tence of such section shall be applied— 

5 (1) by substituting ‘‘$7’’ for ‘‘$12’’; and 

6 (2) by substituting ‘‘$12’’ for ‘‘$15’’. 

7 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 406 of the 

8 Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act 

9 of 2014 (Public Law 113–175; 38 U.S.C. 3684 note), as 

10 amended by the Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring 

11 Authorities Act of 2016, is amended by striking ‘‘During 

12 the three-year period beginning on the date of the enact13 ment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘During the period begin14 ning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending 

15 on the day before the date of the enactment of the Jeff 

16 Miller and Richard Blumenthal Veterans Health Care and 

17 Benefits Improvement Act of 2016’’. 

18 SEC. 413. COMPOSITION OF VETERANS’ ADVISORY COM19 MITTEE ON EDUCATION. 

20 Section 3692(a) is amended in the second sentence 

21 by striking ‘‘veterans representative of World War II’’ and 

22 all that follows through the period at the end of that sen23 tence and inserting the following: ‘‘a representative sample 

24 of veterans and other individuals who have used, or may 


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1 in the future use, educational assistance benefits adminis2 tered by the Secretary.’’. 

3 SEC. 414. SURVEY OF INDIVIDUALS USING THEIR ENTITLE4 MENT TO EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE UNDER 

5 THE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS 

6 ADMINISTERED BY THE SECRETARY OF VET7 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

8 (a) SURVEY REQUIRED.—By not later than 270 days 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

10 of Veterans Affairs shall enter into a contract with a non11 government entity for the conduct of a survey of a statis12 tically valid sample of individuals who have used or are 

13 using their entitlement to educational assistance under 

14 chapters 30, 32, 33, and 35 of title 38, United States 

15 Code, to pursue a program of education or training. The 

16 contract shall provide that— 

17 (1) not later than 1 month before the collection 

18 of data under the survey begins, the survey shall be 

19 submitted to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 

20 the Senate and House of Representatives; 

21 (2) the non-government entity shall complete 

22 the survey and submit to the Secretary the results 

23 of the survey by not later than 180 days after enter24 ing into the contract; and 


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1 (3) the survey shall be conducted by electronic 

2 means and by any other means the non-government 

3 entity determines appropriate. 

4 (b) INFORMATION TO BE COLLECTED.—The con5 tract under subsection (a) shall provide that the survey 

6 shall be designed to collect the following types of informa7 tion about each individual surveyed, where applicable: 

8 (1) Demographic information, including the 

9 highest level of education completed by the indi10 vidual, the military occupational specialty or special11 ties of the individual while serving on active duty as 

12 a member of the Armed Forces or as a member of 

13 the National Guard or of a Reserve Component of 

14 the Armed Forces, and whether the individual has a 

15 service-connected disability. 

16 (2) The opinion of the individual regarding par17 ticipation in the transition assistance program under 

18 section 1144 of title 10, United States Code, and 

19 the effectiveness of the program, including instruc20 tion on the use of the benefits under laws adminis21 tered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

22 (3) The resources the individual used to help 

23 the individual— 


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1 (A) decide to use the individual’s entitle2 ment to educational assistance to enroll in a 

3 program of education or training; and 

4 (B) choose the program of education or 

5 training the individual pursued. 

6 (4) The individual’s goal when the individual 

7 enrolled in the program of education or training. 

8 (5) The nature of the individual’s experience 

9 with the education benefits processing system of the 

10 Department of Veterans Affairs. 

11 (6) The nature of the individual’s experience 

12 with the school certifying official of the educational 

13 institution where the individual pursued the program 

14 of education or training who processed the individ15 ual’s claim. 

16 (7) Any services or benefits the educational in17 stitution or program of education or training pro18 vided to veterans while the individual pursued the 

19 program of education or training. 

20 (8) The type of educational institution at which 

21 the individual pursued the program of education or 

22 training. 

23 (9) Whether the individual completed the pro24 gram of education or training or the number of cred25 it hours completed by the individual as of the time 


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1 of the survey, and, if applicable, any degree or cer2 tificate obtained by the individual for completing the 

3 program. 

4 (10) The employment status of the individual 

5 and whether such employment status differs from 

6 the employment status of the individual prior to en7 rolling in the program of education or training. 

8 (11) Whether the individual is or was enrolled 

9 in a program of education on a full-time or part10 time basis. 

11 (12) The opinion of the individual on the effec12 tiveness of the educational assistance program of the 

13 Department of Veterans Affairs under which the in14 dividual was entitled to educational assistance. 

15 (13) Whether the individual was ever entitled to 

16 a rehabilitation under chapter 31 of title 38, United 

17 States Code, and whether the individual participated 

18 in such a program. 

19 (14) A description of any circumstances that 

20 prevented the individual from using the individual’s 

21 entitlement to educational assistance to pursue a de22 sired career path or degree. 

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1 sue a program of education or training or has trans2 ferred such an entitlement to a dependent. 

3 (16) Such other matters as the Secretary deter4 mines appropriate. 

5 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after receiving 

6 the results of the survey required under this section, the 

7 Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af8 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report 

9 on the results of the survey and any recommendations of 

10 the Secretary relating to such results. Such report shall 

11 also include an unedited version of the results of the sur12 vey submitted by the non-government entity that con13 ducted the survey. 

14 SEC. 415. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PROVISION 

15 OF INFORMATION ON ARTICULATION AGREE16 MENTS BETWEEN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 

17 LEARNING. 

18 (a) INFORMATION.—Department of Veterans Affairs 

19 counselors who provide educational or vocational coun20 seling services pursuant to section 3697A of title 38, 

21 United States Code, shall provide to any eligible individual 

22 who requests such counseling services information about 

23 the articulation agreements of each institution of higher 

24 learning in which the individual is interested. 


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1 (b) CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—When the Sec2 retary of Veterans Affairs provides to an individual a cer3 tification of eligibility for educational assistance provided 

4 by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary shall 

5 also include detailed information on such educational as6 sistance, including information on requesting education 

7 counseling services and on articulation agreements. 

8 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) The term ‘‘institution of higher learning’’ 

10 has the meaning given such term in section 3452(f) 

11 of title 38, United States Code. 

12 (2) The term ‘‘articulation agreement’’ has the 

13 meaning given such term in section 486A of the 

14 Higher Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89–329; 

15 20 U.S.C. 1093a). 

16 (d) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The Sec17 retary of Veterans Affairs shall implement this section not 

18 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 

19 Act. 

20 SEC. 416. RETENTION OF ENTITLEMENT TO EDUCATIONAL 

21 ASSISTANCE DURING CERTAIN ADDITIONAL 

22 PERIODS OF ACTIVE DUTY. 

23 (a) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE ALLOWANCE.—Sec24 tion 16131(c)(3)(B)(i) of title 10, United States Code, is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘or 12304’’ and inserting ‘‘12304, 

2 12304a, or 12304b’’. 

3 (b) EXPIRATION DATE.—Section 16133(b)(4) of 

4 such title is amended by striking ‘‘or 12304’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘12304, 12304a, or 12304b’’. 

6 SEC. 417. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT RELATING TO IN-STATE 

7 TUITION RATE FOR INDIVIDUALS TO WHOM 

8 ENTITLEMENT IS TRANSFERRED UNDER ALL9 VOLUNTEER FORCE EDUCATIONAL ASSIST10 ANCE PROGRAM AND POST-9/11 EDU11 CATIONAL ASSISTANCE. 

12 (a) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Subparagraph (B) of 

13 section 3679(c)(2) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(B) An individual who is entitled to as15 sistance under— 

16 ‘‘(i) section 3311(b)(9) of this title; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) section 3319 of this title by vir18 tue of the individual’s relationship to— 

19 ‘‘(I) a veteran described in sub20 paragraph (A); or 

21 ‘‘(II) a member of the uniformed 

22 services described in section 3319(b) 

23 of this title who is serving on active 

24 duty.’’. 


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1 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub2 section (a) shall apply with respect to a course, semester, 

3 or term that begins after July 1, 2017. 

4 SEC. 418. STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF VETERANS 

5 TRANSITION EFFORTS. 

6 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in 

7 coordination with the Secretary of Labor and the Sec8 retary of Defense, shall carry out a study to evaluate pro9 grams to assist veterans of the Armed Forces in their 

10 transition to civilian life. Such study shall be designed to 

11 determine the effectiveness of current programs, especially 

12 in regards to the unique challenges faced by women vet13 erans, veterans with disabilities, Native American veterans 

14 (including Alaska Native veterans and Native Hawaiian 

15 veterans), veterans who are residents of a territory of the 

16 United States, veterans who are part of the indigenous 

17 population of a territory of the United States, and other 

18 groups of minority veterans identified by the Secretaries, 

19 including whether such programs— 

20 (1) effectively address the challenges veterans 

21 face in pursuing higher education, especially the 

22 challenges faced by such groups of minority vet23 erans; 

24 (2) effectively address the challenges such vet25 erans face entering the civilian workforce and in 


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1 translating experience and skills from military serv2 ice to the job market; and 

3 (3) effectively address the challenges faced by 

4 the families of such veterans transitioning to civilian 

5 life. 

6 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 540 days after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 

8 Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af9 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report 

10 regarding the findings and recommendations of the study 

11 required under subsection (a). 

12 (c) PROHIBITION ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO13 PRIATIONS.—No additional funds are authorized to carry 

14 out the requirements of this section. Such requirements 

15 shall be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized. 

16 TITLE V—SMALL BUSINESS AND 

17 EMPLOYMENT MATTERS 

18 SEC. 501. MODIFICATION OF TREATMENT UNDER CON19 TRACTING GOALS AND PREFERENCES OF DE20 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (h) of section 8127 is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘rated as’’ 

24 and all that follows through ‘‘disability.’’ and insert25 ing a period; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by amending subpara2 graph (C) to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(C) The date that— 

4 ‘‘(i) in the case of a surviving spouse of a 

5 veteran with a service-connected disability rated 

6 as 100 percent disabling or who dies as a result 

7 of a service-connected disability, is 10 years 

8 after the date of the veteran’s death; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a surviving spouse of a 

10 veteran with a service-connected disability rated 

11 as less than 100 percent disabling who does not 

12 die as a result of a service-connected disability, 

13 is 3 years after the date of the veteran’s 

14 death.’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 180 

17 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall 

18 apply with respect to contracts awarded on or after such 

19 date. 

20 SEC. 502. LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF JOB COUNSELING, 

21 TRAINING, AND PLACEMENT SERVICE FOR 

22 VETERANS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 41 is amended by adding 

24 at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 4115. Longitudinal study of job counseling, train2 ing, and placement service for veterans 

3 ‘‘(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—(1) The Secretary shall 

4 enter into a contract with a non-government entity to con5 duct a longitudinal study of a statistically valid sample 

6 of each of the groups of individuals described in paragraph 

7 (2). The contract shall provide for the study of each such 

8 group over a period of at least 5 years. 

9 ‘‘(2) The groups of individuals described in this para10 graph are the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) Veterans who have received intensive serv12 ices. 

13 ‘‘(B) Veterans who did not receive intensive 

14 services but who otherwise received services under 

15 this chapter. 

16 ‘‘(C) Veterans who did not seek or receive serv17 ices under this chapter. 

18 ‘‘(3) The study required by this subsection shall in19 clude the collection of the following information for each 

20 individual who participates in the study: 

21 ‘‘(A) The average number of months such indi22 vidual served on active duty. 

23 ‘‘(B) The disability ratings of such individual. 

24 ‘‘(C) Any unemployment benefits received by 

25 such individual. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The average number of months such indi2 vidual was employed during the year covered by the 

3 report. 

4 ‘‘(E) The average annual starting and ending 

5 salaries of any such individual who was employed 

6 during the year covered by the report. 

7 ‘‘(F) The average annual income of such indi8 vidual. 

9 ‘‘(G) The average total household income of 

10 such individual for the year covered by the report. 

11 ‘‘(H) The percentage of such individuals who 

12 own their principal residences. 

13 ‘‘(I) The employment status of such individual. 

14 ‘‘(J) In the case of such an individual who re15 ceived services under this chapter, whether the indi16 vidual believes that any service provided by a dis17 abled veterans’ outreach program specialist or local 

18 veterans’ employment representative helped the indi19 vidual to become employed. 

20 ‘‘(K) In the case of such an individual who be21 lieves such a service helped the individual to become 

22 employed, whether— 

23 ‘‘(i) the individual retained the position of 

24 employment for a period of 1 year or longer; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the individual believes such a service 

2 helped the individual to secure a higher wage or 

3 salary. 

4 ‘‘(L) The conditions under which such indi5 vidual was discharged or released from the Armed 

6 Forces. 

7 ‘‘(M) Whether such individual has used any 

8 educational assistance to which the individual is en9 titled under this title. 

10 ‘‘(N) Whether such individual has participated 

11 in a rehabilitation program under chapter 31 of this 

12 title. 

13 ‘‘(O) Whether such individual had contact with 

14 a One-Stop Career Center employee while attending 

15 a workshop or job fair under the Transition GPS 

16 Program of the Department of Defense. 

17 ‘‘(P) Demographic information about such indi18 vidual. 

19 ‘‘(Q) Such other information as the Secretary 

20 determines appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORT.—(1) By not later than July 

22 1 of each year covered by the study required under sub23 section (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

24 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 


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1 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

2 on the outcomes of the study during the preceding year. 

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall include in each report sub4 mitted under paragraph (1) the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) Information with respect to job fairs at6 tended by One-Stop Career Center employees at 

7 which the employees had contact with a veteran, in8 cluding, for the year preceding the year in which the 

9 report is submitted, the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) The number of job fairs attended by 

11 One-Stop Career Center employees at which the 

12 employees had contact with a veteran. 

13 ‘‘(ii) The number of veterans contacted at 

14 each such job fair. 

15 ‘‘(B) Such information as the Secretary deter16 mines is necessary to determine the long-term out17 comes of the individuals in the groups described in 

18 subsection (a)(2).’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

20 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

21 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘4115. Longitudinal study of job counseling, training, and placement service for 

veterans.’’. 


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1 SEC. 503. LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE FOR EM2 PLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF3 FAIRS. 

4 (a) LIMITATION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 is amended by in6 serting after section 715 the following new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 717. Limitation on administrative leave 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

9 (b), the Secretary may not place any covered individual 

10 on administrative leave, or any other type of paid non11 duty status without charge to leave, for more than a total 

12 of 14 days during any 365-day period. 

13 ‘‘(b) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the limita14 tion under subsection (a) and extend the administrative 

15 leave or other paid non-duty status without charge to leave 

16 of a covered individual placed on such leave or status 

17 under subsection (a) if the Secretary submits to the Com18 mittees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of 

19 Representatives a detailed explanation of the reasons the 

20 individual was placed on administrative leave or other paid 

21 non-duty status without charge to leave and the reasons 

22 for the extension of such leave or status. Such explanation 

23 shall include the job title and grade of the covered indi24 vidual and the location where the individual is employed. 


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1 ‘‘(c) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—In this section, the 

2 term ‘covered individual’ means an employee of the De3 partment— 

4 ‘‘(1) who is subject to an investigation for pur5 poses of determining whether such individual should 

6 be subject to any disciplinary action under this title 

7 or title 5; or 

8 ‘‘(2) against whom any disciplinary action is 

9 proposed or initiated under this title or title 5.’’. 

10 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec11 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

12 by inserting after the item relating to section 715 

13 the following new item: 

‘‘717. Limitation on administrative leave.’’. 

14 (b) APPLICATION.—Section 717 of title 38, United 

15 States Code, as added by subsection (a)(1), shall apply 

16 with respect to any 365-day period beginning on or after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 504. REQUIRED COORDINATION BETWEEN DIRECTORS 

19 FOR VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAIN20 ING WITH STATE DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR 

21 AND VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4103 is amended by add23 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION WITH STATE DEPARTMENTS OF

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1 erans’ Employment and Training for a State shall coordi2 nate the Director’s activities under this chapter with the 

3 State department of labor and the State department of 

4 veterans affairs.’’. 

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (c) of such sec6 tion, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on the 

7 date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

8 Act. 

9 TITLE VI—HEALTH CARE 

10 MATTERS 

11 Subtitle A—Medical Care 

12 SEC. 601. REQUIREMENT FOR ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS 

13 FOR THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY CARE AC14 COUNT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

15 AFFAIRS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 117(c) is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(7) Veterans Health Administration, Medical 

19 Community Care.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

21 1105(a)(37) of title 31, United States Code, is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

23 ‘‘(G) Veterans Health Administration, 

24 Medical Community Care.’’. 


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1 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

2 section shall apply to fiscal years beginning on and after 

3 October 1, 2017. 

4 SEC. 602. IMPROVED ACCESS TO APPROPRIATE IMMUNIZA5 TIONS FOR VETERANS. 

6 (a) INCLUSION OF RECOMMENDED ADULT IMMUNI7 ZATIONS AS MEDICAL SERVICES.— 

8 (1) COVERED BENEFIT.—Subparagraph (F) of 

9 section 1701(9) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(F) immunizations against infectious dis11 eases, including each immunization on the rec12 ommended adult immunization schedule at the 

13 time such immunization is indicated on that 

14 schedule;’’. 

15 (2) RECOMMENDED ADULT IMMUNIZATION

16 SCHEDULE DEFINED.—Section 1701 is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(10) The term ‘recommended adult immuniza19 tion schedule’ means the schedule established (and 

20 periodically reviewed and, as appropriate, revised) by 

21 the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices 

22 established by the Secretary of Health and Human 

23 Services and delegated to the Centers for Disease 

24 Control and Prevention.’’. 


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1 (b) INCLUSION OF RECOMMENDED ADULT IMMUNI2 ZATIONS IN ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 1704(1)(A) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

5 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the 

6 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

7 (3) by inserting after clause (ii) the following 

8 new clause: 

9 ‘‘(iii) to provide veterans each immu10 nization on the recommended adult immu11 nization schedule at the time such immuni12 zation is indicated on that schedule.’’. 

13 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

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

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

16 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee 

17 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com18 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep19 resentatives a report on the development and imple20 mentation by the Department of Veterans Affairs of 

21 quality measures and metrics, including targets for 

22 compliance, to ensure that veterans receiving med23 ical services under chapter 17 of title 38, United 

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1 ommended adult immunization schedule at the time 

2 such immunization is indicated on that schedule. 

3 (2) RECOMMENDED ADULT IMMUNIZATION

4 SCHEDULE DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term 

5 ‘‘recommended adult immunization schedule’’ has 

6 the meaning given that term in section 1701(10) of 

7 title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 

8 (a)(2). 

9 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec10 tion or the amendments made by this section may be con11 strued to require a veteran to receive an immunization 

12 that the veteran does not want to receive. 

13 SEC. 603. PRIORITY OF MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS IN 

14 HEALTH CARE SYSTEM OF DEPARTMENT OF 

15 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

16 (a) ENROLLMENT PRIORITY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1705(a) is amend18 ed— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking the pe20 riod at the end and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘and veterans who were awarded the medal of 

22 honor under section 3741, 6241, or 8741 of 

23 title 10 or section 491 of title 14.’’; and 

24 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘veterans 

25 who were awarded the medal of honor under 


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1 section 3741, 6241, or 8741 of title 10 or sec2 tion 491 of title 14,’’. 

3 (2) APPLICATION.—The priority of enrollment 

4 of medal of honor recipients in the system of annual 

5 patient enrollment established and operated under 

6 section 1705(a) of such title, as amended by para7 graph (1), shall apply to each such recipient, regard8 less of the date on which the medal is awarded. 

9 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 1710(a)(2)(D) is amended 

10 by inserting after ‘‘war’’ the following: ‘‘, who was award11 ed the medal of honor under section 3741, 6241, or 8741 

12 of title 10 or section 491 of title 14,’’. 

13 (c) EXTENDED CARE SERVICES.—Section 

14 1710B(c)(2) is amended— 

15 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’; 

16 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

17 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(D) to a veteran who was awarded the medal 

21 of honor under section 3741, 6241, or 8741 of title 

22 10 or section 491 of title 14.’’. 

23 (d) COPAYMENT FOR MEDICATIONS.—Section 

24 1722A(a)(3) is amended— 

25 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’; 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

2 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(D) to a veteran who was awarded the medal 

6 of honor under section 3741, 6241, or 8741 of title 

7 10 or section 491 of title 14.’’. 

8 SEC. 604. REQUIREMENT THAT DEPARTMENT OF VET9 ERANS AFFAIRS COLLECT HEALTH-PLAN 

10 CONTRACT INFORMATION FROM VETERANS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 17 is 

12 amended by inserting after section 1705 the following new 

13 section: 

14 ‘‘§ 1705A. Management of health care: information re15 garding health-plan contracts 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Any individual who seeks 

17 hospital care or medical services under this chapter shall 

18 provide to the Secretary such current information as the 

19 Secretary may require to identify any health-plan contract 

20 under which such individual is covered. 

21 ‘‘(2) The information required to be provided to the 

22 Secretary under paragraph (1) with respect to a health23 plan contract shall include, as applicable, the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) The name of the entity providing coverage 

25 under the health-plan contract. 


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1 ‘‘(B) If coverage under the health-plan contract 

2 is in the name of an individual other than the indi3 vidual required to provide information under this 

4 section, the name of the policy holder of the health5 plan contract. 

6 ‘‘(C) The identification number for the health7 plan contract. 

8 ‘‘(D) The group code for the health-plan con9 tract. 

10 ‘‘(b) ACTION TO COLLECT INFORMATION.—The Sec11 retary may take such action as the Secretary considers 

12 appropriate to collect the information required under sub13 section (a). 

14 ‘‘(c) EFFECT ON SERVICES FROM DEPARTMENT.— 

15 The Secretary may not deny any services under this chap16 ter to an individual solely due to the fact that the indi17 vidual fails to provide information required under sub18 section (a). 

19 ‘‘(d) HEALTH-PLAN CONTRACT DEFINED.—In this 

20 section, the term ‘health-plan contract’ has the meaning 

21 given that term in section 1725(f) of this title.’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

23 at the beginning of chapter 17 is amended by inserting 

24 after the item relating to section 1705 the following new 

25 item: 


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‘‘1705A. Management of health care: information regarding health-plan contracts.’’. 

1 SEC. 605. MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT FOR VETERANS 

2 WHO SERVED IN CLASSIFIED MISSIONS. 

3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that veterans who experience combat-related mental 

5 health wounds should have immediate, appropriate, and 

6 consistent access to comprehensive mental health care. 

7 (b) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 17 is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

9 ‘‘§ 1720H. Mental health treatment for veterans who 

10 served in classified missions 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS.—(1) The 

12 Secretary shall establish standards and procedures to en13 sure that each eligible veteran may access mental health 

14 care furnished by the Secretary in a manner that fully 

15 accommodates the obligation of the veteran to not improp16 erly disclose classified information. 

17 ‘‘(2) In establishing standards and procedures under 

18 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult with the Sec19 retary of Defense to ensure that such standards and pro20 cedures are consistent with the policies on classified infor21 mation of the Department of Defense. 

22 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall disseminate guidance to em23 ployees of the Veterans Health Administration, including 

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1 dures established under paragraph (1) and how to best 

2 engage eligible veterans during the course of mental health 

3 treatment with respect to classified information. 

4 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION.—In carrying out this section, 

5 the Secretary shall ensure that a veteran may elect to 

6 identify as an eligible veteran on an appropriate form. 

7 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) The term ‘classified information’ means 

9 any information or material that has been deter10 mined by an official of the United States pursuant 

11 to law to require protection against unauthorized 

12 disclosure for reasons of national security. 

13 ‘‘(2) The term ‘eligible veteran’ means a vet14 eran who— 

15 ‘‘(A) is eligible to receive health care fur16 nished by the Department under this title; 

17 ‘‘(B) is seeking mental health treatment; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(C) in the course of serving in the Armed 

20 Forces, participated in a sensitive mission or 

21 served in a sensitive unit. 

22 ‘‘(3) The term ‘sensitive mission’ means a mis23 sion of the Armed Forces that, at the time at which 

24 an eligible veteran seeks treatment, is classified. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The term ‘sensitive unit’ has the meaning 

2 given that term in section 130b(c)(4) of title 10.’’. 

3 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

5 after the item relating to section 1720G the following new 

6 item: 

‘‘1720H. Mental health treatment for veterans who served in classified missions.’’. 

7 SEC. 606. EXAMINATION AND TREATMENT BY DEPARTMENT 

8 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR EMERGENCY 

9 MEDICAL CONDITIONS AND WOMEN IN 

10 LABOR. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter VIII of chapter 17 is 

12 amended by inserting after section 1784 the following new 

13 section: 

14 ‘‘§ 1784A. Examination and treatment for emergency 

15 medical conditions and women in labor 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a hospital of the 

17 Department that has an emergency department, if any in18 dividual comes to the hospital or the campus of the hos19 pital and a request is made on behalf of the individual 

20 for examination or treatment for a medical condition, the 

21 hospital must provide for an appropriate medical screen22 ing examination within the capability of the emergency de23 partment, including ancillary services routinely available 


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1 to the emergency department, to determine whether or not 

2 an emergency medical condition exists. 

3 ‘‘(b) NECESSARY STABILIZING TREATMENT FOR

4 EMERGENCY MEDICAL CONDITIONS AND LABOR.—(1) If 

5 any individual comes to a hospital of the Department that 

6 has an emergency department or the campus of such a 

7 hospital and the hospital determines that the individual 

8 has an emergency medical condition, the hospital must 

9 provide either— 

10 ‘‘(A) within the staff and facilities available at 

11 the hospital, for such further medical examination 

12 and such treatment as may be required to stabilize 

13 the medical condition; or 

14 ‘‘(B) for transfer of the individual to another 

15 medical facility in accordance with subsection (c). 

16 ‘‘(2) A hospital is deemed to meet the requirement 

17 of paragraph (1)(A) with respect to an individual if the 

18 hospital offers the individual the further medical examina19 tion and treatment described in that paragraph and in20 forms the individual (or a person acting on behalf of the 

21 individual) of the risks and benefits to the individual of 

22 such examination and treatment, but the individual (or a 

23 person acting on behalf of the individual) refuses to con24 sent to the examination and treatment. The hospital shall 

25 take all reasonable steps to secure the written informed 


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1 consent of the individual (or person) to refuse such exam2 ination and treatment. 

3 ‘‘(3) A hospital is deemed to meet the requirement 

4 of paragraph (1)(B) with respect to an individual if the 

5 hospital offers to transfer the individual to another med6 ical facility in accordance with subsection (c) and informs 

7 the individual (or a person acting on behalf of the indi8 vidual) of the risks and benefits to the individual of such 

9 transfer, but the individual (or a person acting on behalf 

10 of the individual) refuses to consent to the transfer. The 

11 hospital shall take all reasonable steps to secure the writ12 ten informed consent of the individual (or person) to 

13 refuse such transfer. 

14 ‘‘(c) RESTRICTING TRANSFERS UNTIL INDIVIDUAL

15 STABILIZED.—(1) If an individual at a hospital of the De16 partment has an emergency medical condition that has not 

17 been stabilized, the hospital may not transfer the indi18 vidual unless— 

19 ‘‘(A)(i) the individual (or a legally responsible 

20 person acting on behalf of the individual), after 

21 being informed of the obligations of the hospital 

22 under this section and of the risk of transfer, re23 quests, in writing, transfer to another medical facil24 ity; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a physician of the Department has signed 

2 a certification that, based upon the information 

3 available at the time of transfer, the medical benefits 

4 reasonably expected from the provision of appro5 priate medical treatment at another medical facility 

6 outweigh the increased risks to the individual and, 

7 in the case of labor, to the unborn child from effect8 ing the transfer; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) if a physician of the Department is not 

10 physically present in the emergency department at 

11 the time an individual is transferred, a qualified 

12 medical person (as defined by the Secretary for pur13 poses of this section) has signed a certification de14 scribed in clause (ii) after a physician of the Depart15 ment, in consultation with the person, has made the 

16 determination described in such clause, and subse17 quently countersigns the certification; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the transfer is an appropriate transfer to 

19 that facility. 

20 ‘‘(2) A certification described in clause (ii) or (iii) of 

21 paragraph (1)(A) shall include a summary of the risks and 

22 benefits upon which the certification is based. 

23 ‘‘(3) For purposes of paragraph (1)(B), an appro24 priate transfer to a medical facility is a transfer— 


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1 ‘‘(A) in which the transferring hospital provides 

2 the medical treatment within its capacity that mini3 mizes the risks to the health of the individual and, 

4 in the case of a woman in labor, the health of the 

5 unborn child; 

6 ‘‘(B) in which the receiving facility— 

7 ‘‘(i) has available space and qualified per8 sonnel for the treatment of the individual; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) has agreed to accept transfer of the 

10 individual and to provide appropriate medical 

11 treatment; 

12 ‘‘(C) in which the transferring hospital sends to 

13 the receiving facility all medical records (or copies 

14 thereof) available at the time of the transfer relating 

15 to the emergency medical condition for which the in16 dividual has presented, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) observations of signs or symptoms; 

18 ‘‘(ii) preliminary diagnosis; 

19 ‘‘(iii) treatment provided; 

20 ‘‘(iv) the results of any tests; and 

21 ‘‘(v) the informed written request or cer22 tification (or copy thereof) provided under para23 graph (1)(A); 

24 ‘‘(D) in which the transfer is effected through 

25 qualified personnel and transportation equipment, 


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1 including the use of necessary and medically appro2 priate life support measures during the transfer; and 

3 ‘‘(E) that meets such other requirements as the 

4 Secretary considers necessary in the interest of the 

5 health and safety of the individual or individuals 

6 transferred. 

7 ‘‘(d) PAYMENT TO THE DEPARTMENT.—The Sec8 retary shall charge for any care or services provided under 

9 this section in accordance with billing and reimbursement 

10 authorities available to the Secretary under other provi11 sions of law. 

12 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) The term ‘campus’ means, with respect to 

14 a hospital of the Department— 

15 ‘‘(A) the physical area immediately adja16 cent to the main buildings of the hospital; 

17 ‘‘(B) other areas and structures that are 

18 not strictly contiguous to the main buildings 

19 but are located not more than 250 yards from 

20 the main buildings; and 

21 ‘‘(C) any other areas determined by the 

22 Secretary to be part of the campus of the hos23 pital. 

24 ‘‘(2) The term ‘emergency medical condition’ 

25 means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a medical condition manifesting itself 

2 by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (in3 cluding severe pain) such that the absence of 

4 immediate medical attention could reasonably 

5 be expected to result in— 

6 ‘‘(i) placing the health of the indi7 vidual (or, with respect to a pregnant 

8 woman, the health of the woman or her 

9 unborn child) in serious jeopardy; 

10 ‘‘(ii) serious impairment to bodily 

11 functions; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) serious dysfunction of any bodily 

13 organ or part; or 

14 ‘‘(B) in the case of a pregnant woman, a 

15 stage of labor that a medical provider deter16 mines indicates— 

17 ‘‘(i) that there is inadequate time to 

18 effect a safe transfer to another hospital 

19 before delivery; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) that transfer may pose a threat 

21 to the health or safety of the woman or the 

22 unborn child. 

23 ‘‘(3)(A) The term ‘to stabilize’ means— 

24 ‘‘(i) with respect to an emergency medical 

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1 vide such medical treatment of the condition as 

2 may be necessary to assure, within reasonable 

3 medical probability, that no material deteriora4 tion of the condition is likely to result from or 

5 occur during the transfer of the individual from 

6 a facility; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) with respect to an emergency medical 

8 condition described in paragraph (2)(B), to de9 liver (including the placenta). 

10 ‘‘(B) The term ‘stabilized’ means— 

11 ‘‘(i) with respect to an emergency medical 

12 condition described in paragraph (2)(A), that 

13 no material deterioration of the condition is 

14 likely, within reasonable medical probability, to 

15 result from or occur during the transfer of the 

16 individual from a facility; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) with respect to an emergency medical 

18 condition described in paragraph (2)(B), that 

19 the woman has delivered (including the pla20 centa). 

21 ‘‘(4) The term ‘transfer’ means the movement 

22 (including the discharge) of an individual outside the 

23 facilities of a hospital of the Department at the di24 rection of any person employed by (or affiliated or 

25 associated, directly or indirectly, with) the hospital, 


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1 but does not include such a movement of an indi2 vidual who— 

3 ‘‘(A) has been declared dead; or 

4 ‘‘(B) leaves the facility without the permis5 sion of any such person.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

7 at the beginning of chapter 17 is amended by inserting 

8 after the item relating to section 1784 the following new 

9 item: 

‘‘1784A. Examination and treatment for emergency medical conditions and 

women in labor.’’. 

10 Subtitle B—Veterans Health 

11 Administration 

12 SEC. 611. TIME PERIOD COVERED BY ANNUAL REPORT ON 

13 READJUSTMENT COUNSELING SERVICE. 

14 Section 7309(e)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘calendar 

15 year’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year’’. 

16 SEC. 612. ANNUAL REPORT ON VETERANS HEALTH ADMIN17 ISTRATION AND FURNISHING OF HOSPITAL 

18 CARE, MEDICAL SERVICES, AND NURSING 

19 HOME CARE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 73 is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 7330B. Annual report on Veterans Health Adminis2 tration and furnishing of hospital care, 

3 medical services, and nursing home care 

4 ‘‘(a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than March 1 

5 of each of years 2018 through 2022, the Secretary shall 

6 submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen7 ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 

8 of Representatives a report on, for the calendar year pre9 ceding the calendar year during which the report is sub10 mitted— 

11 ‘‘(1) the furnishing of hospital care, medical 

12 services, and nursing home care under the laws ad13 ministered by the Secretary; and 

14 ‘‘(2) the administration of the furnishing of 

15 such care and services by the Veterans Health Ad16 ministration. 

17 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by sub18 section (a) shall include each of the following for the year 

19 covered by the report: 

20 ‘‘(1) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

21 Veterans Health Administration in increasing the 

22 access of veterans to hospital care, medical services, 

23 and nursing home care furnished by the Secretary 

24 for which such veterans are eligible. 

25 ‘‘(2) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

26 Veterans Health Administration in improving the 


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1 quality of health care provided to veterans, without 

2 increasing the costs incurred for such health care by 

3 the Federal Government or veterans, including rel4 evant information for each medical center and Vet5 erans Integrated Service Network of the Department 

6 set forth separately. 

7 ‘‘(3) An assessment of— 

8 ‘‘(A) the workload of physicians and other 

9 employees of the Veterans Health Administra10 tion; 

11 ‘‘(B) patient demographics and utilization 

12 rates; 

13 ‘‘(C) physician compensation; 

14 ‘‘(D) the productivity of physicians and 

15 other employees of the Veterans Health Admin16 istration; 

17 ‘‘(E) the percentage of hospital care, med18 ical services, and nursing home care provided to 

19 veterans in facilities of the Department and in 

20 non-Department facilities and any changes in 

21 such percentages compared to the year pre22 ceding the year covered by the report; 

23 ‘‘(F) pharmaceutical prices; and 

24 ‘‘(G) third-party health billings owed to the 

25 Department, including the total amount of such 


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1 billings and the total amount collected by the 

2 Department, set forth separately for claims 

3 greater than $1,000 and for claims equal to or 

4 less than $1,000. 

5 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘hos6 pital care’, ‘medical services’, ‘nursing home care’, ‘facili7 ties of the Department’, and ‘non-Department facilities’ 

8 have the meanings given those terms in section 1701 of 

9 this title.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

11 at the beginning of chapter 73 is amended by inserting 

12 after the item relating to section 7330A the following new 

13 item: 

‘‘7330B. Annual report on Veterans Health Administration and furnishing of 

hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care.’’. 

14 SEC. 613. EXPANSION OF QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICENSED 

15 MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS OF THE DE16 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO IN17 CLUDE DOCTORAL DEGREES. 

18 Section 7402(b)(11)(A) is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

19 doctoral degree’’ after ‘‘master’s degree’’. 

20 SEC. 614. MODIFICATION OF HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT FOR 

21 PHYSICIANS EMPLOYED BY THE DEPART22 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

23 Section 7423(a) of title 38, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) The hours’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘(a)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 

3 hours’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(2)(A) Upon the advance written request of a cov7 ered physician, the Secretary may modify the hours of em8 ployment for a physician appointed in the Administration 

9 under any provision of this chapter on a full-time basis 

10 to be more or less than 80 hours in a biweekly pay period, 

11 subject to the requirements in subparagraph (B). For the 

12 purpose of determining pay, such a physician shall be 

13 deemed to have a biweekly schedule of 80 hours of employ14 ment. 

15 ‘‘(B) A physician with an irregular work schedule es16 tablished under subparagraph (A) shall be obligated to ac17 count for at least 2,080 hours of employment (through 

18 performance of work or use of leave or paid time off) in 

19 a calendar year. 

20 ‘‘(C) The Secretary may prescribe regulations to im21 plement this paragraph, including regulations making ad22 justments to address the annual hours requirement for 

23 physicians who are covered by this paragraph for only a 

24 portion of a calendar year.’’. 


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1 SEC. 615. REPEAL OF COMPENSATION PANELS TO DETER2 MINE MARKET PAY FOR PHYSICIANS AND 

3 DENTISTS. 

4 Section 7431(c) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking paragraph (4); 

6 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), and 

7 (7) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; and 

8 (3) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by 

9 striking ‘‘under paragraph (6)’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘under paragraph (5)’’. 

11 SEC. 616. CLARIFICATION REGARDING LIABILITY FOR 

12 BREACH OF AGREEMENT UNDER DEPART13 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEE IN14 CENTIVE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. 

15 Section 7675(b)(1)(E) is amended by striking ‘‘In the 

16 case of a participant who is a part-time student, the’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘The’’. 

18 SEC. 617. EXTENSION OF PERIOD FOR INCREASE IN GRAD19 UATE MEDICAL EDUCATION RESIDENCY PO20 SITIONS AT MEDICAL FACILITIES OF THE DE21 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 301(b) 

23 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 

24 2014 (Public Law 113–146; 38 U.S.C. 7302 note) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘FIVE-YEAR’’ and inserting ‘‘TEN-YEAR’’; and 

3 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘5-year 

4 period’’ and inserting ‘‘10-year period’’. 

5 (b) REPORT.—Paragraph (3)(A) of such section is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘2019’’ and inserting ‘‘2024’’. 

7 SEC. 618. REPORT ON PUBLIC ACCESS TO RESEARCH BY 

8 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than each of 180 days 

10 and 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

11 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com12 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com13 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa14 tives a report on increasing public access to scientific pub15 lications and digital data from research funded by the De16 partment of Veterans Affairs. 

17 (b) ELEMENTS.—Each report submitted under sub18 section (a) shall include the following: 

19 (1) An identification of the location or locations 

20 in which the public will be able to access the results 

21 of research funded by the Department, whether on 

22 an Internet website of the Department or through 

23 another source. 

24 (2) A description of the progress made by the 

25 Department in meeting public access requirements 


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1 set forth in the notice entitled ‘‘Policy and Imple2 mentation Plan for Public Access to Scientific Publi3 cations and Digital Data from Research Funded by 

4 the Department of Veterans Affairs’’ (80 Fed. Reg. 

5 60751), including the following: 

6 (A) Compliance of Department investiga7 tors with requirements relating to ensuring that 

8 research funded by the Department is accessible 

9 by the public. 

10 (B) Ensuring data management plans of 

11 the Department include provisions for long-term 

12 preservation of the scientific data resulting 

13 from research funded by the Department. 

14 (3) An explanation of the factors used to evalu15 ate the merit of data management plans of research 

16 funded by the Veterans Health Administration. 

17 (4) An explanation of the process of the De18 partment in effect that enables stakeholders to peti19 tion a change to the embargo period for a specific 

20 field and the factors considered during such process. 

21 SEC. 619. AUTHORIZATION OF CERTAIN MAJOR MEDICAL 

22 FACILITY PROJECTS OF THE DEPARTMENT 

23 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

25 may carry out the following major medical facility 


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1 projects, with each project to be carried out in an amount 

2 not to exceed the amount specified for that project: 

3 (1) Seismic, life safety, and utilities upgrades 

4 and expansion of clinical services in Reno, Nevada, 

5 in an amount not to exceed $213,800,000. 

6 (2) Seismic corrections to the mental health 

7 and community living center in Long Beach, Cali8 fornia, in an amount not to exceed $317,300,000. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans 

11 Affairs for fiscal year 2017 or the year in which funds 

12 are appropriated for the Construction, Major Projects, ac13 count $531,100,000 for the projects authorized in sub14 section (a). 

15 (c) LIMITATION.—The projects authorized in sub16 section (a) may only be carried out using— 

17 (1) funds appropriated for fiscal year 2017 or 

18 the year in which funds are appropriated for the 

19 Construction, Major Projects, account pursuant to 

20 the authorization of appropriations in subsection (b); 

21 (2) funds available for Construction, Major 

22 Projects, for a fiscal year before fiscal year 2017 

23 that remain available for obligation; 


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1 (3) funds available for Construction, Major 

2 Projects, for a fiscal year after fiscal year 2017 that 

3 remain available for obligation; 

4 (4) funds appropriated for Construction, Major 

5 Projects, for fiscal year 2017 for a category of activ6 ity not specific to a project; 

7 (5) funds appropriated for Construction, Major 

8 Projects, for a fiscal year before fiscal year 2017 for 

9 a category of activity not specific to a project; and 

10 (6) funds appropriated for Construction, Major 

11 Projects, for a fiscal year after fiscal year 2017 for 

12 a category of activity not specific to a project. 

13 Subtitle C—Toxic Exposure 

14 SEC. 631. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this subtitle: 

16 (1) ARMED FORCES.—The term ‘‘Armed 

17 Forces’’ means the United States Army, Navy, Ma18 rine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard. 

19 (2) DESCENDANT.—The term ‘‘descendant’’ 

20 means, with respect to an individual, the biological 

21 child or grandchild of that individual. 

22 (3) TOXIC EXPOSURE.—The term ‘‘toxic expo23 sure’’ means a condition in which an individual in24 haled or ingested an agent determined to be haz25 ardous to the health of the individual or the agent 


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1 came in contact with the skin or eyes of the indi2 vidual in a manner that could be hazardous to the 

3 health of the individual. 

4 (4) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 

5 meaning given that term in section 101 of title 38, 

6 United States Code. 

7 SEC. 632. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE ASSESSMENT 

8 ON RESEARCH RELATING TO THE DESCEND9 ANTS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH TOXIC EXPO10 SURE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

12 (1) AGREEMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec14 retary of Veterans Affairs shall seek to enter into an 

15 agreement with the National Academy of Medicine 

16 under which the National Academy of Medicine con17 ducts an assessment on scientific research relating 

18 to the descendants of individuals with toxic expo19 sure. 

20 (2) ALTERNATE ORGANIZATION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary is un22 able within the period prescribed in paragraph 

23 (1) to enter into an agreement described in 

24 such paragraph with the National Academy of 

25 Medicine on terms acceptable to the Secretary, 


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1 the Secretary shall seek to enter into such an 

2 agreement with another appropriate organiza3 tion that— 

4 (i) is not part of the Federal Govern5 ment; 

6 (ii) operates as a not-for-profit entity; 

7 and 

8 (iii) has expertise and objectivity com9 parable to that of the National Academy of 

10 Medicine. 

11 (B) TREATMENT.—If the Secretary enters 

12 into an agreement with another organization as 

13 described in subparagraph (A), any reference in 

14 this section to the National Academy of Medi15 cine shall be treated as a reference to the other 

16 organization. 

17 (b) ELEMENTS.—The assessment conducted pursu18 ant to the agreement entered into under subsection (a) 

19 shall include the following: 

20 (1) A scientific review of the scientific literature 

21 regarding toxicological and epidemiological research 

22 on descendants of individuals with toxic exposure. 

23 (2) An assessment of areas requiring further 

24 scientific study relating to the descendants of vet25 erans with toxic exposure. 


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1 (3) An assessment of the scope and method2 ology required to conduct adequate scientific re3 search relating to the descendants of individuals 

4 with toxic exposure, including— 

5 (A) the types of individuals to be studied, 

6 including veterans with toxic exposure and the 

7 descendants of those veterans; 

8 (B) the number of veterans and descend9 ants described in subparagraph (A) to be stud10 ied; 

11 (C) the potential alternatives for participa12 tion in such a study, including whether it would 

13 be necessary for participants to travel in order 

14 to participate; 

15 (D) the approximate amount of time and 

16 resources needed to prepare and conduct the re17 search; and 

18 (E) the appropriate Federal agencies to 

19 participate in the research, including the De20 partment of Defense and the Department of 

21 Veterans Affairs. 

22 (4) The establishment of categories, including 

23 definitions for each such category, to be used in as24 sessing the evidence that a particular health condi25 tion is related to toxic exposure, such as— 


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1 (A) sufficient evidence of a causal relation2 ship; 

3 (B) sufficient evidence of an association; 

4 (C) limited or suggestive evidence of an as5 sociation; 

6 (D) inadequate or insufficient evidence to 

7 determine whether an association exists; and 

8 (E) limited or suggestive evidence of no as9 sociation. 

10 (5) An analysis of— 

11 (A) the feasibility of conducting scientific 

12 research to address the areas that require fur13 ther study as described under paragraph (2); 

14 (B) the value and relevance of the informa15 tion that could result from such scientific re16 search; and 

17 (C) for purposes of conducting further re18 search, the feasibility and advisability of access19 ing additional information held by a Federal 

20 agency that may be sensitive. 

21 (6) An identification of a research entity or en22 tities with— 

23 (A) expertise in conducting research on 

24 health conditions of descendants of individuals 

25 with toxic exposure; and 


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1 (B) an ability to conduct research on those 

2 health conditions to address areas requiring 

3 further scientific study as described under para4 graph (2). 

5 (c) REPORT.—The agreement entered into under sub6 section (a) shall require the National Academy of Medicine 

7 to submit, not later than 2 years after entering into such 

8 agreement, to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Com9 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, and the Com10 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa11 tives— 

12 (1) the results of the assessment conducted 

13 pursuant to such agreement, including such rec14 ommendations as the National Academy of Medicine 

15 considers appropriate regarding the scope and meth16 odology required to conduct adequate scientific re17 search relating to the descendants of veterans with 

18 toxic exposure; and 

19 (2) a determination regarding whether the re20 sults of such assessment indicate that it is feasible 

21 to conduct further research regarding health condi22 tions of descendants of veterans with toxic exposure, 

23 including an explanation of the basis for the deter24 mination. 

25 (d) CERTIFICATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

2 receiving the results of the assessment and deter3 mination under subsection (c), the Secretary shall 

4 submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

5 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

6 the House of Representatives a certification of the 

7 understanding of the Secretary, based on such re8 sults and determination, regarding the feasibility of 

9 conducting further research regarding health condi10 tions of descendants of veterans with toxic exposure 

11 that is expressed by such results and determination. 

12 (2) BASIS FOR CERTIFICATION.—The certifi13 cation submitted under paragraph (1) shall include 

14 an explanation of the basis for the certification. 

15 SEC. 633. ADVISORY BOARD ON RESEARCH RELATING TO 

16 HEALTH CONDITIONS OF DESCENDANTS OF 

17 VETERANS WITH TOXIC EXPOSURE WHILE 

18 SERVING IN THE ARMED FORCES. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Unless the Secretary of Vet20 erans Affairs certifies under section 632(d) that the re21 sults of the assessment and determination under section 

22 632(c) indicate that it is not feasible to conduct further 

23 research regarding health conditions of descendants of vet24 erans with toxic exposure, not later than 180 days after 

25 receiving such results and determination, the Secretary 


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1 shall establish an advisory board (in this section referred 

2 to as the ‘‘Advisory Board’’) to advise the Secretary in 

3 the selection of a research entity or entities under section 

4 634, advise such entity or entities in conducting research 

5 under such section, and advise the Secretary with respect 

6 to the activities of such entity or entities under such sec7 tion. 

8 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

9 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Secretary, in consulta10 tion with the National Academy of Medicine, the Di11 rector of the National Institute of Environmental 

12 Health Sciences, and such other heads of Federal 

13 agencies as the Secretary determines appropriate— 

14 (A) shall select not more than 13 voting 

15 members of the Advisory Board, of whom— 

16 (i) not less than two shall be members 

17 of organizations exempt from taxation 

18 under section 501(c)(19) of the Internal 

19 Revenue Code of 1986; 

20 (ii) not less than two shall be descend21 ants of veterans with toxic exposure while 

22 serving as members of the Armed Forces; 

23 and 

24 (iii) not less than seven shall be 

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1 demics who are not employees of the Fed2 eral Government and have expertise in— 

3 (I) birth defects; 

4 (II) developmental disabilities; 

5 (III) epigenetics; 

6 (IV) public health; 

7 (V) the science of environmental 

8 exposure or environmental exposure 

9 assessment; 

10 (VI) the science of toxic sub11 stances; or 

12 (VII) medical and research eth13 ics; and 

14 (B) may select not more than two non15 voting members who are employees of the Fed16 eral Government and who are otherwise de17 scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii). 

18 (2) CHAIR.—The Secretary shall select a Chair 

19 from among the members of the Advisory Board se20 lected under paragraph (1)(A). 

21 (3) TERMS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 

23 Advisory Board shall serve a term of 2 or 3 

24 years as determined by the Secretary. 


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1 (B) REAPPOINTMENT.—At the end of the 

2 term of a member of the Advisory Board, the 

3 Secretary may reselect the member for another 

4 term, except that no member may serve more 

5 than 4 consecutive terms. 

6 (c) DUTIES.—The Advisory Board shall— 

7 (1) advise the Secretary in the selection of a re8 search entity or entities to conduct research under 

9 section 634 from among those identified under sec10 tion 632(b)(6); 

11 (2) advise such entity or entities and assess the 

12 activities of such entity or entities in conducting 

13 such research; 

14 (3) develop a research strategy for such entity 

15 or entities based on, but not limited to, the results 

16 of the assessment conducted under section 632; 

17 (4) advise the Secretary with respect to the ac18 tivities of such entity or entities under section 634; 

19 (5) submit recommendations to be included by 

20 such entity or entities in the report under section 

21 634(d)(2)(C); and 

22 (6) not less frequently than semiannually, meet 

23 with the Secretary and representatives of such entity 

24 or entities on the research conducted by such entity 

25 or entities under section 634. 


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1 (d) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Board shall meet at 

2 the call of the Chair, but not less frequently than semi3 annually. 

4 (e) COMPENSATION.—The members of the Advisory 

5 Board shall serve without compensation. 

6 (f) EXPENSES.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

7 shall determine the appropriate expenses of the Advisory 

8 Board. 

9 (g) PERSONNEL.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chair may, without re11 gard to the civil service laws and regulations, ap12 point an executive director of the Advisory Board, 

13 who shall be a civilian employee of the Department 

14 of Veterans Affairs, and such other personnel as 

15 may be necessary to enable the Advisory Board to 

16 perform its duties. 

17 (2) APPROVAL.—The appointment of an execu18 tive director under paragraph (1) shall be subject to 

19 approval by the Advisory Board. 

20 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Chair may fix the 

21 compensation of the executive director and other 

22 personnel without regard to the provisions of chapter 

23 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, 

24 United States Code, except that the rate of pay for 

25 the executive director and other personnel may not 


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1 exceed the rate payable for level V of the Executive 

2 Schedule under section 5316 of such title. 

3 SEC. 634. RESEARCH RELATING TO HEALTH CONDITIONS 

4 OF DESCENDANTS OF VETERANS WITH TOXIC 

5 EXPOSURE WHILE SERVING IN THE ARMED 

6 FORCES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Unless the Secretary of Veterans 

8 Affairs certifies under section 632(d) that the results of 

9 the assessment and determination under section 632(c) in10 dicate that it is not feasible to conduct further research 

11 regarding health conditions of descendants of veterans 

12 with toxic exposure, not later than 1 year after receiving 

13 such results and determination, the Secretary shall (in 

14 consultation with the advisory board established under 

15 section 633 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Advisory 

16 Board’’)) enter into an agreement with one or more re17 search entities identified under section 632(b)(6) (exclud18 ing an entity of the Department of Veterans Affairs) to 

19 conduct research on health conditions of descendants of 

20 veterans with toxic exposure while serving as members of 

21 the Armed Forces (in this section referred to as the ‘‘re22 search entity or entities’’). 

23 (b) RESEARCH.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent included in 

25 the research strategy developed by the Advisory 


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1 Board under section 633(c)(3), the research entity 

2 or entities shall conduct research on health condi3 tions of descendants of veterans with toxic exposure 

4 while serving as members of the Armed Forces. 

5 (2) STUDIES.—In conducting research under 

6 paragraph (1), the research entity or entities may 

7 study any veteran, at the election of the veteran, 

8 identified under section 632(b)(3)(A) as a type of in9 dividual to be studied in order to conduct adequate 

10 scientific research relating to the descendants of vet11 erans with toxic exposure. 

12 (3) CATEGORIZATION.—In conducting research 

13 under paragraph (1), the research entity or entities 

14 shall assess, using the categories established under 

15 section 632(b)(4), the extent to which a health con16 dition of a descendant of a veteran is related to the 

17 toxic exposure of the veteran while serving as a 

18 member of the Armed Forces. 

19 (c) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, 

21 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the head of 

22 each Federal agency identified under section 

23 632(b)(3)(E) shall make available to the research 

24 entity or entities records held by the Department of 

25 Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, the 


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1 Armed Forces, that Federal agency, or any other 

2 source under the jurisdiction of any such Federal 

3 agency or the Armed Forces, as appropriate, that 

4 the research entity or entities determine are nec5 essary to carry out this section. 

6 (2) MECHANISM FOR ACCESS.—The Secretary 

7 of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Defense, and 

8 the head of each Federal agency identified under 

9 section 632(b)(3)(E) shall jointly establish a mecha10 nism for access by the research entity or entities to 

11 records made available under paragraph (1). 

12 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

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

14 commencing the conduct of research under this sec15 tion, and not later than September 30 each year 

16 thereafter, each research entity with which the Sec17 retary has entered into an agreement under sub18 section (a) shall, in consultation with the Advisory 

19 Board, submit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 

20 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, 

21 and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

22 House of Representatives a report on the functions 

23 of such entity under this section during the year 

24 preceding the submittal of the report. 


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1 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report submitted under 

2 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

3 (A) A summary of the research efforts that 

4 have been completed during the year preceding 

5 the submittal of the report and that are ongo6 ing as of the date of the submittal of the re7 port. 

8 (B) A description of any findings made 

9 during such year in carrying out such research 

10 efforts. 

11 (C) Recommendations for administrative 

12 or legislative action made by the Advisory 

13 Board based on such findings, which may in14 clude recommendations for further research 

15 under this section. 

16 (3) UPON REQUEST.—Upon the request of any 

17 organization exempt from taxation under section 

18 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

19 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may transmit to 

20 such organization a copy of a report received by the 

21 Secretary under paragraph (1). 


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1 TITLE VII—HOMELESSNESS 

2 MATTERS 

3 Subtitle A—Access of Homeless 

4 Veterans to Benefits 

5 SEC. 701. EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF HOMELESS VET6 ERAN FOR PURPOSES OF BENEFITS UNDER 

7 THE LAWS ADMINISTERED BY THE SEC8 RETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

9 Section 2002 is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘In this chapter’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In this chapter’’; 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘in section 103(a) of the McKin13 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 11302(a))’’ and inserting ‘‘in subsection (a) or (b) 

15 of section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As16 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302)’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(b) VETERAN DEFINED.—(1) Notwithstanding sec19 tion 101(2) of this title and except as provided in para20 graph (2), for purposes of sections 2011, 2012, 2013, 

21 2044, and 2061 of this title, the term ‘veteran’ means a 

22 person who served in the active military, naval, or air serv23 ice, regardless of length of service, and who was dis24 charged or released therefrom. 


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1 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘vet2 eran’ excludes a person who— 

3 ‘‘(A) received a dishonorable discharge from the 

4 Armed Forces; or 

5 ‘‘(B) was discharged or dismissed from the 

6 Armed Forces by reason of the sentence of a general 

7 court-martial.’’. 

8 SEC. 702. AUTHORIZATION TO FURNISH CERTAIN BENEFITS 

9 TO HOMELESS VETERANS WITH DISCHARGES 

10 OR RELEASES UNDER OTHER THAN HONOR11 ABLE CONDITIONS. 

12 Section 5303(d) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘not apply to any war-risk in14 surance, Government (converted) or National Service 

15 Life Insurance policy.’’ and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘not apply to the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) Any war-risk insurance, Government (con18 verted) or National Service Life Insurance policy.’’; 

19 and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

21 paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(2) Benefits under section 2011, 2012, 2013, 

23 2044, or 2061 of this title (except for benefits for 

24 individuals discharged or dismissed from the Armed 


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1 Forces by reason of the sentence of a general court2 martial).’’. 

3 SEC. 703. WAIVER OF MINIMUM PERIOD OF CONTINUOUS 

4 ACTIVE DUTY IN ARMED FORCES FOR CER5 TAIN BENEFITS FOR HOMELESS VETERANS. 

6 Section 5303A(b)(3) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) and 

8 (G) as subparagraphs (G) and (H), respectively; and 

9 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol10 lowing new subparagraph (F): 

11 ‘‘(F) to benefits under section 2011, 2012, 

12 2013, 2044, or 2061 of this title;’’. 

13 SEC. 704. TRAINING OF PERSONNEL OF THE DEPARTMENT 

14 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND GRANT RECIPI15 ENTS. 

16 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a 

17 program of training and education to ensure that the fol18 lowing persons are aware of and implement this title and 

19 the amendments made by this subtitle: 

20 (1) Personnel of the Department of Veterans 

21 Affairs who are supporting or administering a pro22 gram under chapter 20 of title 38, United States 

23 Code. 

24 (2) Recipients of grants or other amounts for 

25 purposes of carrying out such a program. 


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1 SEC. 705. REGULATIONS. 

2 Not later than 270 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

4 prescribe regulations, including such modifications to sec5 tion 3.12 of title 38, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 

6 successor regulation), as the Secretary considers appro7 priate, to ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs 

8 is in full compliance with this title and the amendments 

9 made by this subtitle. 

10 SEC. 706. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 This subtitle and the amendments made by this sub12 title shall apply to individuals seeking benefits under chap13 ter 20 of title 38, United States Code, before, on, and 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

15 Subtitle B—Other Homelessness 

16 Matters 

17 SEC. 711. INCREASED PER DIEM PAYMENTS FOR TRANSI18 TIONAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE THAT BE19 COMES PERMANENT HOUSING FOR HOME20 LESS VETERANS. 

21 Section 2012(a)(2) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

23 through (D) as subparagraphs (C) through (E), re24 spectively; 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (C), as redesignated, by 

2 striking ‘‘in subparagraph (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘in 

3 subparagraph (E)’’; 

4 (3) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated, by 

5 striking ‘‘under subparagraph (B)’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘under subparagraph (C)’’; 

7 (4) in subparagraph (E), as redesignated, by 

8 striking ‘‘in subparagraphs (B) and (C)’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘in subparagraphs (C) and (D)’’; 

10 (5) in subparagraph (A)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘The rate’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph 

13 (B), the rate’’; and 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘under subparagraph (B)’’ 

15 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘under sub16 paragraph (C).’’; and 

17 (6) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol18 lowing new subparagraph (B): 

19 ‘‘(B)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), in no case 

20 may the rate determined under this paragraph exceed the 

21 rate authorized for State homes for domiciliary care under 

22 subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 1741 of this title, as the 

23 Secretary may increase from time to time under sub24 section (c) of that section. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) In the case of services furnished to a homeless 

2 veteran who is placed in housing that will become perma3 nent housing for the veteran upon termination of the fur4 nishing of such services to such veteran, the maximum 

5 rate of per diem authorized under this section is 150 per6 cent of the rate authorized for State homes for domiciliary 

7 care under subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 1741 of this 

8 title, as the Secretary may increase from time to time 

9 under subsection (c) of that section.’’. 

10 SEC. 712. PROGRAM TO IMPROVE RETENTION OF HOUSING 

11 BY FORMERLY HOMELESS VETERANS AND 

12 VETERANS AT RISK OF BECOMING HOME13 LESS. 

14 (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 20 

16 is amended— 

17 (A) by redesignating section 2013 as sec18 tion 2014; and 

19 (B) by inserting after section 2012 the fol20 lowing new section 2013: 

21 ‘‘§ 2013. Program to improve retention of housing by 

22 formerly homeless veterans and veterans 

23 at risk of becoming homeless 

24 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall 

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1 vide case management services to improve the retention 

2 of housing by veterans who were previously homeless and 

3 are transitioning to permanent housing and veterans who 

4 are at risk of becoming homeless. 

5 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—(1) The Secretary shall carry out the 

6 program through the award of grants. 

7 ‘‘(2)(A) In awarding grants under paragraph (1), the 

8 Secretary shall give priority to organizations that dem9 onstrate a capability to provide case management services 

10 as described in subsection (a), particularly organizations 

11 that are successfully providing or have successfully pro12 vided transitional housing services using amounts provided 

13 by the Secretary under sections 2012 and 2061 of this 

14 title. 

15 ‘‘(B) In giving priority under subparagraph (A), the 

16 Secretary shall give extra priority to an organization de17 scribed in such subparagraph that— 

18 ‘‘(i) voluntarily stops receiving amounts pro19 vided by the Secretary under sections 2012 and 

20 2061 of this title; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) converts a facility that the organization 

22 used to provide transitional housing services into a 

23 facility that the organization uses to provide perma24 nent housing that meets housing quality standards 

25 established under section 8(o)(8)(B) of the United 


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1 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

2 1437f(o)(8)(B)). 

3 ‘‘(C) In any case in which a facility, with respect to 

4 which a person received a grant for construction, rehabili5 tation, or acquisition under section 2011 of this title, is 

6 converted as described in subparagraph (B)(ii), such con7 version shall be considered to have been carried out pursu8 ant to the needs of the Department and such person shall 

9 not be considered in noncompliance with the terms of such 

10 grant by reason of such conversion.’’. 

11 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec12 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

13 by striking the item relating to section 2013 and in14 serting the following new items: 

‘‘2013. Program to improve retention of housing by formerly homeless veterans 

and veterans at risk of becoming homeless. 

‘‘2014. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

15 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet17 erans Affairs shall prescribe regulations to carry out sec18 tion 2013 of such title, as added by subsection (a)(1)(B). 

19 (c) REPORT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 1, 

21 2020, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

22 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com23 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep24 resentatives a report on the program required by 


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1 section 2013 of such title, as added by subsection 

2 (a)(1)(B). 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

4 paragraph (1) shall include assessments of the fol5 lowing: 

6 (A) The percentage of veterans who re7 ceived case management services under the pro8 gram who were able to retain permanent hous9 ing by the end of the program, disaggregated 

10 by each recipient of a grant under such section. 

11 (B) The percentage of veterans who re12 ceived case management services under the pro13 gram who were not in permanent housing at 

14 the end of the program, disaggregated by hous15 ing status and reason for failing to retain per16 manent housing under the program. 

17 (C) The use by veterans, who received case 

18 management services under the program, of 

19 housing assistance furnished by the Department 

20 of Veterans Affairs, including a comparison of 

21 the use of such assistance by such veterans be22 fore and after receiving such services. 

23 (D) An assessment of the employment sta24 tus of veterans who received case management 

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1 parison of the employment status of such vet2 erans before and after receiving such services. 

3 SEC. 713. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL CENTER ON 

4 HOMELESSNESS AMONG VETERANS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter VII of chapter 20 is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 2067. National Center on Homelessness Among Vet8 erans 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Secretary shall establish 

10 and operate a center to carry out the functions described 

11 in subsection (b). 

12 ‘‘(2) The center established under paragraph (1) 

13 shall be known as the ‘National Center on Homelessness 

14 Among Veterans’. 

15 ‘‘(3) To the degree practicable, the Secretary shall 

16 operate the center established under paragraph (1) inde17 pendently of the other programs of the Department that 

18 address homelessness among veterans. 

19 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions described in this 

20 subsection are as follows: 

21 ‘‘(1) To carry out and promote research into 

22 the causes and contributing factors to veteran home23 lessness. 


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1 ‘‘(2) To assess the effectiveness of programs of 

2 the Department to meet the needs of homeless vet3 erans. 

4 ‘‘(3) To identify and disseminate best practices 

5 with regard to housing stabilization, income support, 

6 employment assistance, community partnerships, 

7 and such other matters as the Secretary considers 

8 appropriate with respect to addressing veteran 

9 homelessness. 

10 ‘‘(4) To integrate evidence-based and best prac11 tices, policies, and programs into programs of the 

12 Department for homeless veterans and veterans at 

13 risk of homelessness and to ensure that the staff of 

14 the Department and community partners can imple15 ment such practices, policies, and programs. 

16 ‘‘(5) To serve as a resource center for, and pro17 mote and seek to coordinate the exchange of infor18 mation regarding, all research and training activities 

19 carried out by the Department and by other Federal 

20 and non-Federal entities with respect to veteran 

21 homelessness.’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

23 at the beginning of such chapter 20 is amended by insert24 ing after the item relating to section 2066 the following 

25 new item: 

‘‘2067. National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans.’’. 


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1 SEC. 714. REQUIREMENT FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

2 AFFAIRS TO ASSESS COMPREHENSIVE SERV3 ICE PROGRAMS FOR HOMELESS VETERANS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet6 erans Affairs shall— 

7 (1) assess and measure the capacity of pro8 grams for which entities receive grants under section 

9 2011 of title 38, United States Code, or per diem 

10 payments under section 2012 or 2061 of such title; 

11 and 

12 (2) assess such programs with respect to— 

13 (A) how well they achieve their stated 

14 goals at a national level; 

15 (B) placements in permanent housing; 

16 (C) placements in employment; and 

17 (D) increases in the regular income of par18 ticipants in the programs. 

19 (b) ASSESSMENT AT NATIONAL AND LOCAL LEV20 ELS.—In assessing and measuring under subsection 

21 (a)(1), the Secretary shall develop and use tools to exam22 ine the capacity of programs described in such subsection 

23 at both the national and local level in order to assess the 

24 following: 


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1 (1) Whether sufficient capacity exists to meet 

2 the needs of homeless veterans in each geographic 

3 area. 

4 (2) Whether existing capacity meets the needs 

5 of the subpopulations of homeless veterans located in 

6 each geographic area. 

7 (3) The amount of capacity that recipients of 

8 grants under sections 2011 and 2061 and per diem 

9 payments under section 2012 of such title have to 

10 provide services for which the recipients are eligible 

11 to receive per diem under section 2012(a)(2)(B)(ii) 

12 of title 38, United States Code, as added by section 

13 711(6). 

14 (c) CONSIDERATION OF OTHER RESOURCES.—In as15 sessing and measuring programs under subsection (a)(1), 

16 the Secretary shall consider the availability to such pro17 grams of resources made available to such programs and 

18 to homeless veterans, including resources provided by the 

19 Department of Veterans Affairs and by entities other than 

20 the Department. 

21 (d) USE OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall use 

22 the information collected under this section as follows: 

23 (1) To set specific goals to ensure that pro24 grams described in subsection (a) are effectively 

25 serving the needs of homeless veterans. 


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1 (2) To assess whether programs described in 

2 subsection (a) are meeting goals set under para3 graph (1). 

4 (3) To inform funding allocations for programs 

5 described in subsection (a). 

6 (4) To improve the referral of homeless vet7 erans to programs described in subsection (a). 

8 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

9 on which the assessment required by subsection (a) is 

10 completed, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

11 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

12 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

13 on such assessment and such recommendations for legisla14 tive and administrative action as the Secretary may have 

15 to improve the programs and per diem payments described 

16 in subsection (a). 

17 SEC. 715. REPORT ON OUTREACH RELATING TO INCREAS18 ING THE AMOUNT OF HOUSING AVAILABLE 

19 TO VETERANS. 

20 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

21 of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 

22 to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Committee 

23 on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate 

24 and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Com25 mittee on Financial Services of the House of RepresentaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Dec 11, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00139 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6416.RDS H6416

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1 tives a report describing and assessing the outreach con2 ducted by the Secretary to realtors, landlords, property 

3 management companies, and developers to educate them 

4 about the housing needs of veterans and the benefits of 

5 having veterans as tenants. 

6 TITLE VIII—OTHER MATTERS 

7 SEC. 801. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CONSTRUC8 TION REFORMS. 

9 (a) APPLICATION OF INDUSTRY STANDARDS; ASSIST10 ANCE.—Section 8103 is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following new subsections: 

12 ‘‘(f) To the maximum extent practicable, the Sec13 retary shall use industry standards, standard designs, and 

14 best practices in carrying out the construction of medical 

15 facilities. 

16 ‘‘(g) The Secretary shall ensure that each employee 

17 of the Department with responsibilities, as determined by 

18 the Secretary, relating to the infrastructure construction 

19 or alteration of medical facilities, including such construc20 tion or alteration carried out pursuant to contracts or 

21 agreements, undergoes a program of ongoing professional 

22 training and development. Such program shall be designed 

23 to ensure that employees maintain adequate expertise re24 lating to industry standards and best practices for the ac25 quisition of design and construction services. The SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Dec 11, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00140 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6416.RDS H6416

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1 retary may provide the program under this subsection di2 rectly or through a contract or agreement with a non-Fed3 eral entity or with a non-Department Federal entity.’’. 

4 (b) FORENSIC AUDITS OF CERTAIN PROJECTS.— 

5 Subsection (c) of section 8104 is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘Not less than 30 days’’ and in7 serting ‘‘(1) Not less than 30 days’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) enter into a contract or agreement with an 

12 appropriate non-department Federal entity with the 

13 ability to conduct forensic audits on medical facility 

14 projects for the conduct of an external forensic audit 

15 of the expenditures relating to any major medical fa16 cility or super construction project for which the 

17 total expenditures exceed the amount requested in 

18 the initial budget request for the project submitted 

19 to Congress under section 1105 of title 31 by more 

20 than 25 percent; and 

21 ‘‘(B) enter into a contract or agreement with an 

22 appropriate non-department Federal entity with the 

23 ability to conduct forensic audits on medical facility 

24 projects for the conduct of an external audit of the 


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1 medical center construction project in Aurora, Colo2 rado.’’. 

3 (c) USE OF AMOUNTS FROM BID SAVINGS.—Sub4 section (d)(2)(B) of such section is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) as 

6 clauses (iii) and (iv), respectively; 

7 (2) by inserting after clause (i) the following 

8 new clause (ii): 

9 ‘‘(ii) If the major construction project that is 

10 the source of the bid savings is not complete— 

11 ‘‘(I) the amount already obligated by the 

12 Department or available in the project reserve 

13 for such project; 

14 ‘‘(II) the percentage of such project that 

15 has been completed; and 

16 ‘‘(III) the amount available to the Depart17 ment to complete such project.’’; and 

18 (3) in clauses (iii) and (iv), as redesignated by 

19 paragraph (1), strike ‘‘amounts’’ and inserting ‘‘bid 

20 savings amounts’’ both places it appears. 

21 (d) QUARTERLY REPORT ON SUPER CONSTRUCTION

22 PROJECTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the end of subchapter I 

24 of chapter 81 add the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 8120. Quarterly report on super construction 

2 projects 

3 ‘‘(a) QUARTERLY REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later 

4 than 30 days after the last day of each fiscal quarter the 

5 Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af6 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report 

7 on the super construction projects carried out by the ap8 propriate non-Department Federal entity described in sec9 tion 8103(e)(1) of this title during such quarter. Each 

10 such report shall include, for each such project— 

11 ‘‘(1) the budgetary and scheduling status of the 

12 project, as of the last day of the quarter covered by 

13 the report; and 

14 ‘‘(2) the actual cost and schedule variances of 

15 the project, as of such day, compared to the planned 

16 cost and schedules for the project. 

17 ‘‘(b) SUPER CONSTRUCTION PROJECT DEFINED.—In 

18 this section, the term ‘super construction project’ has the 

19 meaning given such term in section 8103(e)(3) of this 

20 title.’’. 

21 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec22 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

23 by adding at the end of the items relating to such 

24 subchapter the following new item: 

‘‘8120. Quarterly report on super construction projects.’’. 


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1 SEC. 802. TECHNICAL AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS. 

2 Title 38, United States Code, is amended as follows: 

3 (1) In section 735(a)(5), by striking ‘‘(Public 

4 Law 104–191)’’ and inserting ‘‘(Public Law 104– 

5 191; 42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note)’’. 

6 (2) In the table of sections at the beginning of 

7 chapter 17, by striking the items relating to sections 

8 1710D and 1710E and inserting the following new 

9 items: 

‘‘1710D. Traumatic brain injury: comprehensive program for long-term rehabilitation. 

‘‘1710E. Traumatic brain injury: use of non-Department facilities for rehabilitation.’’. 

10 (3) In section 1710(e)(1)(F), by inserting a 

11 comma after ‘‘1953’’. 

12 (4) In section 7412(b), by striking ‘‘under para13 graph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘under subsection (a)’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 6, 

2016. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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