II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1351

To amend the Sikes Act to establish a mechanism by which outdoor recreation

programs on military installations will be accessible to disabled veterans,

military dependents with disabilities, and other persons with disabilities.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 30, 1997

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

to the Committee on Armed Services

A BILL

To amend the Sikes Act to establish a mechanism by which

outdoor recreation programs on military installations will

be accessible to disabled veterans, military dependents

with disabilities, and other persons with disabilities.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disabled Sportsmen’s

5 Access Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. OUTDOOR RECREATION DEVELOPMENT ON MILI2 TARY INSTALLATIONS FOR DISABLED VETER3 ANS, MILITARY DEPENDENTS WITH DISABIL4 ITIES, AND OTHER PERSONS WITH DISABIL5 ITIES.

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

7 (1) The Department of Defense is the steward

8 of nearly 30,000,000 acres of lands and resources

9 managed for a variety of recreational activities.

10 (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs reports

11 that nearly 9,000,000 veterans are classified as dis12 abled. Of these disabled veterans, nearly 78,000 suf13 fer from serious spinal cord injuries.

14 (3) Outdoor recreational opportunities are im15 portant for people with disabilities and add an intan16 gible improvement to the quality of life.

17 (4) A 1996 survey conducted by the Paralyzed

18 Veterans of America found that the number one rec19 reational activity for members of the organization

20 was fishing, followed closely by hunting, and that

21 outdoor recreational activities generally led every

22 category of the survey.

23 (b) ACCESS FOR DISABLED VETERANS, MILITARY

24 DEPENDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, AND OTHER PERSONS

25 WITH DISABILITIES.—Section 103 of the Act of Septem26 ber 15, 1960 (commonly known as the Sikes Act; 16
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1 U.S.C. 670c), is amended by adding at the end the follow2 ing new subsections:

3 ‘‘(b) ACCESS FOR DISABLED VETERANS, MILITARY

4 DEPENDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, AND OTHER PERSONS

5 WITH DISABILITIES.—(1) In developing facilities and con6 ducting programs for public outdoor recreation at military

7 installations, consistent with the primary military mission

8 of the installations, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure,

9 to the maximum extent practicable, that outdoor recre10 ation opportunities (including fishing, hunting, trapping,

11 wildlife viewing, boating, and camping) made available to

12 the public also provide equal access for persons described

13 in paragraph (2) when topographic, vegetative, and water

14 resources allow equal access without substantial modifica15 tion to the natural environment.

16 ‘‘(2) Persons referred to in paragraph (1) are dis17 abled veterans, military dependents with disabilities, and

18 other persons with disabilities.

19 ‘‘(3) The Secretary of Defense shall carry out this

20 subsection in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans

21 Affairs, national service, military, and veterans organiza22 tions, and sporting organizations in the private sector that

23 participate in outdoor recreation projects for persons de24 scribed in paragraph (2).
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1 ‘‘(c) ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS.—In connection

2 with the facilities and programs for public outdoor recre3 ation at military installations, in particular the require4 ment under subsection (b) to provide equal access for per5 sons described in paragraph (2) of such subsection, the

6 Secretary of Defense may accept—

7 ‘‘(1) the voluntary services of individuals and

8 organizations; and

9 ‘‘(2) donations of money or property, whether

10 real, personal, mixed, tangible, or intangible.

11 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF VOLUNTEERS.—A volunteer

12 under subsection (c) shall not be considered to be a Fed13 eral employee and shall not be subject to the provisions

14 of law relating to Federal employment, including those re15 lating to hours of work, rates of compensation, leave, un16 employment compensation, and Federal employee benefits,

17 except that—

18 ‘‘(1) for the purposes of the tort claims provi19 sions of chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code,

20 the volunteer shall be considered to be a Federal em21 ployee;

22 ‘‘(2) for the purposes of subchapter I of chapter

23 81 of title 5, United States Code, relating to com24 pensation to Federal employees for work injuries,

25 the volunteer shall be considered to be an employee,
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1 as defined in section 8101(1)(B) of title 5, United

2 States Code, and the provisions of such subchapter

3 shall apply; and

4 ‘‘(3) for purposes of the provisions of chapter

5 11 of part I of title 18, United States Code, the vol6 unteer (to whom such provisions would not otherwise

7 apply except for this subsection) shall be a special

8 Government employee.’’.

9 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Such section is fur10 ther amended by striking out ‘‘SEC. 103.’’ and inserting

11 in lieu thereof the following:

12 ‘‘SEC. 103. PROGRAM FOR PUBLIC OUTDOOR RECREATION.

13 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—’’.

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