I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5007 

To require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide mental health 

services in languages other than English, as needed, for veterans and 

family members with limited English proficiency, to expand the scope 

of mental health services provided to family members of veterans, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 16, 2006 

Ms. SOLIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide 

mental health services in languages other than English, 

as needed, for veterans and family members with limited 

English proficiency, to expand the scope of mental health 

services provided to family members of veterans, 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. PROVISION OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES BY 

2 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR 

3 VETERANS AND FAMILY MEMBERS WITH LIM4 ITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

6 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Chapter 17 of title 38, 

7 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

8 section 1712B the following new section: 

9 ‘‘§ 1713. Mental health services; languages other than 

10 English 

11 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF COUNSELING IN LANGUAGES

12 OTHER THAN ENGLISH.—In providing counseling and 

13 other mental health services authorized by law to a veteran 

14 who has limited proficiency in English, the Secretary shall 

15 ensure that such counseling and services are available to 

16 that veteran in both English and a language other than 

17 English in which the veteran is proficient, if requested by 

18 the veteran. 

19 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF LIMITED ENGLISH PRO20 FICIENT VETERANS.—For purposes of this section, the 

21 Secretary shall develop procedures for identifying veterans 

22 who have limited proficiency in English and of informing 

23 those veterans of the provisions of subsection (a).’’. 

24 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec25 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 


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1 by inserting after the item relating to section 1712B 

2 the following new item: 

‘‘1713. Mental health services; languages other than English’’. 

3 (b) FAMILY MEMBERS.—Section 1782 of such title 

4 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub5 sections: 

6 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL COUNSELING.—In addition to serv7 ices authorized by subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary 

8 shall, in connection with the service of a veteran in the 

9 active military, naval, or air service, provide to an indi10 vidual described in subsection (c) such counseling and 

11 mental health services as are requested by the individual, 

12 except to the extent that the Secretary determines that 

13 such counseling and mental health services are not needed. 

14 ‘‘(f) BILINGUAL COUNSELING.—(1) In providing 

15 counseling and mental health services under this section 

16 and bereavement counseling under section 1783 of this 

17 title, the Secretary shall ensure, in the case of an indi18 vidual who has limited proficiency in English, that such 

19 counseling and services are available to that individual in 

20 both English and a language other than English in which 

21 the individual is proficient, if requested by the individual. 

22 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the Secretary 

23 shall develop procedures for identifying individuals who 

24 have limited proficiency in English and of informing those 

25 individuals of the provisions of paragraph (1).’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 1713 of title 38, 

2 United States Code, as added by subsection (a)(1), and 

3 subsections (e) and (f) of section 1782 of such title, as 

4 added by subsection (b), shall take effect at the end of 

5 the 120-day period beginning on the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act. 

7 SEC. 2. CODIFICATION FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

8 AFFAIRS OF REQUIREMENTS OF EXECUTIVE 

9 ORDER 13166. 

10 (a) SYSTEM FOR ACCESS TO SERVICES.—The Sec11 retary of Veterans Affairs shall implement a system by 

12 which persons with limited English proficiency can mean13 ingfully access the services provided by the Department 

14 of Veterans Affairs consistent with, and without unduly 

15 burdening, the fundamental mission of that Department. 

16 The Secretary shall work to ensure that recipients of fi17 nancial assistance under programs of the Department pro18 vide meaningful access to applicants and beneficiaries with 

19 limited English proficiency. 

20 (b) PLAN.—The Secretary shall implement a plan to 

21 improve access to programs and activities of the Depart22 ment of Veterans Affairs by eligible persons with limited 

23 English proficiency. The plan shall be consistent with the 

24 standards set forth in the guidance issued by the Attorney 

25 General and shall include the steps the Secretary will take 


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1 to ensure that eligible persons with limited English pro2 ficiency can meaningfully access the programs and activi3 ties of the Department. 

4 SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION. 

5 In developing and implementing the plan under sec6 tion 2(b), the Secretary shall, at a minimum, carry out 

7 the following: 

8 (1) The Secretary shall conduct a thorough as9 sessment of the language needs of the population 

10 served by the Department of Veterans Affairs, in11 cluding identifying the non-English languages that 

12 are likely to be encountered. 

13 (2) The Secretary shall develop and implement 

14 a comprehensive language assistance program, which 

15 shall include— 

16 (A) hiring bilingual staff and interpreters 

17 for patient and client contact positions; and 

18 (B) translating written materials (such as 

19 consent forms, notice of free language assist20 ance, and outreach materials) into languages 

21 other than English. 

22 (3) The Secretary shall train staff of the De23 partment on the access policy of the Department 

24 with respect to persons with limited English pro25 ficiency and on carrying out that policy. 


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1 (4) The Secretary shall establish vigilant moni2 toring and oversight to ensure that persons with lim3 ited English proficiency have meaningful access to 

4 health care and services. 

5 (5) The Secretary shall establish a task force to 

6 evaluate implementation and to prioritize needed ac7 tions to implement the access plan for persons with 

8 limited English proficiency. 

9 (6) The Secretary shall develop a specific plan 

10 to ensure seamless transition of veterans and their 

11 families from benefits and services provided by the 

12 Department of Defense to benefits and services pro13 vided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, includ14 ing bilingual readjustment and bereavement coun15 seling. 

16 (7) The Secretary shall establish a process to 

17 translate vital documents and other materials, in18 cluding materials on the World Wide Web, brochures 

19 distributed as part of outreach efforts to 

20 servicemembers transitioning into civilian life, and 

21 the post-deployment health reassessment program. 

22 (8) The Secretary shall conduct outreach to vet23 erans and their families in communities which may 

24 have higher proportions of populations with limited 

25 English proficiency to ensure they are aware of eligiVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:56 Mar 20, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5007.IH H5007

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1 bility for benefits and services from the Department 

2 of Veterans Affairs. 

3 SEC. 4. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION BY VETERANS 

4 HEALTH ADMINISTRATION OF DIRECTIVE ON 

5 IMPROVING ACCESS TO SERVICES FOR PER6 SONS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY. 

7 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

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

9 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on 

10 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representa11 tives a report on the implementation by the Veterans 

12 Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Af13 fairs of the directive of the Veterans Health Administra14 tion designated ‘‘VHA Directive 2002–006’’ that was 

15 issued by the Under Secretary for Health of the Depart16 ment of Veterans Affairs on January 31, 2002, and that 

17 issued policy to implement prohibitions on discrimination 

18 on the basis of national origin for persons with limited 

19 English proficiency in Federally-conducted programs and 

20 activities and in Federal financial assisted programs. 

21 (b) CAPACITY TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO LEP 

22 SERVICEMEMBERS.—The Secretary shall include in the re23 port an analysis of the capacity of the Department of VetVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:56 Mar 20, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5007.IH H5007

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1 erans Affairs to provide services to members of the Armed 

2 Forces with limited English proficiency. 

Æ 


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