IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H.R. 2256 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2015 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

AN ACT 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit an annual report 

on the Veterans Health Administration, to provide for 

the identification and tracking of biological implants used 

in Department of Veterans Affairs facilities, 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. 

2 This Act may be cited a the ‘‘Veterans Information 

3 Modernization Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT ON VETERANS HEALTH ADMINIS5 TRATION AND FURNISHING OF HOSPITAL 

6 CARE, MEDICAL SERVICES, AND NURSING 

7 HOME CARE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 73 of 

9 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following new section: 

11 ‘‘§ 7330B. Annual report on Veterans Health Adminis12 tration and furnishing of hospital care, 

13 medical services, and nursing home care 

14 ‘‘(a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than March 1 

15 during each of years 2016 through 2020, the Secretary 

16 shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 

17 the Senate and House of Representatives a report on the 

18 furnishing of hospital care, medical services, and nursing 

19 home care under the laws administered by the Secretary, 

20 and on the administration of the provision of such care 

21 and services by the Veterans Health Administration dur22 ing the calendar year preceding the calendar year during 

23 which the report is submitted. 

24 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each report required 

25 by subsection (a) shall include each of the following for 

26 the year covered by the report: 


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1 ‘‘(1) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

2 Veterans Health Administration program in increas3 ing the access of veterans eligible for hospital care, 

4 medical services, and nursing home care furnished 

5 by the Secretary to such care. 

6 ‘‘(2) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

7 Veterans Health Administration in improving the 

8 quality of health care provided to such veterans, 

9 without increasing the costs incurred by the Govern10 ment or such veterans, which includes the relevant 

11 information for each medical center and Veterans 

12 Integrated Service Network of the Department set 

13 forth separately. 

14 ‘‘(3) An assessment of— 

15 ‘‘(A) the workload of physicians and other 

16 employees of the Veterans Health Administra17 tion; 

18 ‘‘(B) patient demographics and utilization 

19 rates; 

20 ‘‘(C) physician compensation; 

21 ‘‘(D) the productivity of physicians and 

22 other employees of the Veterans Health Admin23 istration; 

24 ‘‘(E) the percentage of hospital care, med25 ical services, and nursing home care provided to 


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1 such veterans in Department facilities and in 

2 non-Department facilities and any changes in 

3 such percentages compared to the year pre4 ceding the year covered by the report; 

5 ‘‘(F) pharmaceutical prices; and 

6 ‘‘(G) third-party health billings owed to the 

7 Department, including the total amount of such 

8 billings and the total amounts collected, set 

9 forth separately for claims greater than $1,000 

10 and for claims equal to or less than $1,000. 

11 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘hos12 pital care’, ‘medical services’, ‘nursing home care’, and 

13 ‘non-Department facilities’ have the meanings given such 

14 terms in section 1701 of this title.’’. 

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

16 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

17 after the item relating to section 7330A the following new 

18 item: 

‘‘7330B. Annual report on Veterans Health Administration and furnishing of 

hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF HOMELESS VET20 ERAN FOR PURPOSES OF BENEFITS UNDER 

21 THE LAWS ADMINISTERED BY THE SEC22 RETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

23 Section 2002(1) of title 38, United States Code, is 

24 amended by inserting ‘‘or (b)’’ after ‘‘section 103(a)’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION AND TRACKING OF BIOLOGICAL 

2 IMPLANTS USED IN DEPARTMENT OF VET3 ERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL FACILITIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 73 of 

5 title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 2, 

6 is further amended by adding at the end the following new 

7 section: 

8 ‘‘§ 7330C. Identification and tracking of biological im9 plants 

10 ‘‘(a) STANDARD IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR BIO11 LOGICAL IMPLANTS.—(1) The Secretary shall adopt the 

12 unique device identification system developed for medical 

13 devices by the Food and Drug Administration pursuant 

14 to section 519(f) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 

15 Act (21 U.S.C. 360i(f)), or implement a comparable 

16 standard identification system, for use in identifying bio17 logical implants intended for use in medical procedures 

18 conducted in medical facilities of the Department. 

19 ‘‘(2) In adopting or implementing a standard identi20 fication system for biological implants under paragraph 

21 (1), the Secretary shall permit a vendor to use any of the 

22 accredited entities identified by the Food and Drug Ad23 ministration as an issuing agency pursuant to section 

24 830.100 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 

25 successor regulation. 


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1 ‘‘(b) BIOLOGICAL IMPLANT TRACKING SYSTEM.—(1) 

2 The Secretary shall implement a system for tracking the 

3 biological implants referred to in subsection (a) from 

4 human donor or animal source to implantation. 

5 ‘‘(2) The tracking system implemented under para6 graph (1) shall be compatible with the identification sys7 tem adopted or implemented under subsection (a). 

8 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall implement inventory con9 trols compatible with the tracking system implemented 

10 under paragraph (1) so that all patients who have re11 ceived, in a medical facility of the Department, a biological 

12 implant subject to a recall can be notified of the recall, 

13 if based on the evaluation of appropriate medical per14 sonnel of the Department of the risks and benefits, the 

15 Secretary determines such notification is appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(c) CONSISTENCY WITH FOOD AND DRUG ADMINIS17 TRATION REGULATIONS.—To the extent that a conflict 

18 arises between this section and a provision of the Federal 

19 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) 

20 or sections 351 or 361 of the Public Health Service Act 

21 (42 U.S.C. 262) (including any regulations issued under 

22 such Acts), the provision the Federal Food, Drug, and 

23 Cosmetic Act or Public Health Service Act (including any 

24 regulations issued under such Acts) shall apply. 


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1 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION OF BIOLOGICAL IMPLANT.—In this 

2 section, the term ‘biological implant’ means any animal 

3 or human cell, tissue, or cellular or tissue-based product— 

4 ‘‘(1) under the meaning given the term human 

5 cells, tissues, or cellular or tissue-based products in 

6 section 1271.3 of title 21, Code of Federal Regula7 tions, or any successor regulation; or 

8 ‘‘(2) that is regulated as a device under section 

9 201(h) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 

10 Act.’’. 

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

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

13 2, is further amended by inserting after the item relating 

14 to section 7330B, as added by section 2, the following new 

15 item: 

‘‘7330C. Identification and tracking of biological implants.’’. 

16 (c) IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINES.— 

17 (1) STANDARD IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to biologi19 cal implants described in paragraph (1) of sub20 section (d) of section 7330C of title 38, United 

21 States Code, as added by subsection (a), the 

22 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall adopt or im23 plement a standard identification system for bi24 ological implants, as required by subsection (a) 

25 of such section, by not later than the date that 


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1 is 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

2 this Act. 

3 (B) IMPLANTS REGULATED AS DEVICES.— 

4 With respect to biological implants described in 

5 paragraph (2) of subsection (d) of such section, 

6 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall adopt or 

7 implement such standard identification system 

8 in compliance with the compliance dates estab9 lished by the Food and Drug Administration 

10 pursuant to section 519(f) of the Federal Food, 

11 Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360i(f)). 

12 (2) TRACKING SYSTEM.—The Secretary of Vet13 erans Affairs shall implement the biological implant 

14 tracking system required by section 7330C(b), as 

15 added by subsection (a), by not later than the date 

16 that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

17 this Act. 

18 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the biological implant 

20 tracking system required by section 7330C(b) of title 

21 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 

22 is not operational by the date that is 180 days after 

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

24 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees 

25 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of 


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1 Representatives a written explanation for why the 

2 system is not operational for each month until such 

3 time as the system is operational. 

4 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each explanation submitted 

5 under paragraph (1) shall include a description of 

6 the following: 

7 (A) Each impediment to the implementa8 tion of the system described in such paragraph. 

9 (B) Steps being taken to remediate each 

10 such impediment. 

11 (C) Target dates for a solution to each 

12 such impediment. 

13 SEC. 5. PROCUREMENT OF BIOLOGICAL IMPLANTS USED IN 

14 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MED15 ICAL FACILITIES. 

16 (a) PROCUREMENT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 81 

18 of such title is amended by adding at the end the 

19 following new section: 

20 ‘‘§ 8129. Procurement of biological implants 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Secretary may procure 

22 biological implants of human origin only from vendors that 

23 meet the following conditions: 

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1 retary under section 7330C(a) of this title and has 

2 safeguards to ensure that a distinct identity code 

3 has been in place at each step of distribution of each 

4 biological implant from its donor. 

5 ‘‘(B) The vendor is registered as required by 

6 the Food and Drug Administration under subpart B 

7 of part 1271 of title 21, Code of Federal Regula8 tions, or any successor regulation, and in the case of 

9 a vendor that uses a tissue distribution intermediary 

10 or a tissue processor, the vendor provides assurances 

11 that the tissue distribution intermediary or tissue 

12 processor is registered as required by the Food and 

13 Drug Administration. 

14 ‘‘(C) The vendor ensures that donor eligibility 

15 determinations and such other records as the Sec16 retary may require accompany each biological im17 plant at all times, regardless of the country of origin 

18 of the donor of the biological material. 

19 ‘‘(D) The vendor agrees to cooperate with all 

20 biological implant recalls conducted on the vendor’s 

21 own initiative, on the initiative of the original prod22 uct manufacturer used by the vendor, by the request 

23 of the Food and Drug Administration, or by a statu24 tory order of the Food and Drug Administration. 


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1 ‘‘(E) The vendor agrees to notify the Secretary 

2 of any adverse event or reaction report it provides 

3 to the Food and Drug Administration, as required 

4 by section 1271.350 of title 21, Code of Federal 

5 Regulations, or any successor regulation, or any suc6 cessor regulation, or of any warning letter from the 

7 Food and Drug Administration issued to the vendor 

8 or a tissue processor or tissue distribution inter9 mediary it uses by not later than 60 days after the 

10 vendor receives such report or warning letter. 

11 ‘‘(F) The vendor agrees to retain all records as12 sociated with the procurement of a biological implant 

13 by the Department for at least 10 years after the 

14 date of the procurement of the biological implant. 

15 ‘‘(G) The vendor provides assurances that the 

16 biological implants provided by the vendor are ac17 quired only from tissue processors that maintain ac18 tive accreditation with the American Association of 

19 Tissue Banks or a similar national accreditation spe20 cific to biological implants. 

21 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may procure biological implants 

22 of non-human origin only from vendors that meet the fol23 lowing conditions: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The vendor uses the standard identifica2 tion system adopted or implemented by the Sec3 retary under section 7330C(a) of this title. 

4 ‘‘(B) The vendor is a registered establishment 

5 as required by the Food and Drug Administration 

6 under sections 807.20 and 807.40 of title 21, Code 

7 of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation, 

8 (or is not required to register pursuant to section 

9 807.65(a) of such title) and in the case of a vendor 

10 that is not the original product manufacturer of 

11 such implants the vendor provides assurances that 

12 the original product manufacturer is registered as 

13 required by the Food and Drug Administration. 

14 ‘‘(C) The vendor agrees to cooperate with all bi15 ological implant recalls conducted on the vendor’s 

16 own initiative, on the initiative of the original prod17 uct manufacturer used by the vendor, by the request 

18 of the Food and Drug Administration, or by a statu19 tory order of the Food and Drug Administration. 

20 ‘‘(D) The vendor agrees to notify the Secretary 

21 of any adverse event report it provides to the Food 

22 and Drug Administration as required in part 803 of 

23 title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, or any warn24 ing letter from the Food and Drug Administration 

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1 facturer it uses by not later than 60 days after the 

2 vendor receives such report or warning letter. 

3 ‘‘(E) The vendor agrees to retain all records as4 sociated with the procurement of a biological implant 

5 by the Department for at least 10 years after the 

6 date of the procurement of the biological implant. 

7 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary shall procure biological im8 plants under the Federal Supply Schedules of the General 

9 Services Administration unless such implants are not 

10 available under such Schedules. 

11 ‘‘(B) With respect to biological implants listed on the 

12 Federal Supply Schedules, the Secretary shall accommo13 date reasonable vendor requests to undertake outreach ef14 forts to educate medical professionals of the Department 

15 about the use and efficacy of such biological implants. 

16 ‘‘(C) In the case of biological implants that are un17 available for procurement under the Federal Supply 

18 Schedules, the Secretary shall procure such implants using 

19 competitive procedures in accordance with applicable law 

20 and the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

21 ‘‘(4) Section 8123 of this title shall not apply to the 

22 procurement of biological implants. 

23 ‘‘(b) PENALTIES.—In addition to any applicable pen24 alty under any other provision of law, any procurement 

25 employee of the Department who is found responsible for 


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1 a biological implant procurement transaction with intent 

2 to avoid or with reckless disregard of the requirements of 

3 this section shall be ineligible to hold a certificate of ap4 pointment as a contracting officer or to serve as the rep5 resentative of an ordering officer, contracting officer, or 

6 purchase card holder. 

7 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) The term ‘biological implant’ shall have 

9 the meaning given such term in section 7330C(d) of 

10 this title. 

11 ‘‘(2) The term ‘distinct identity code’ means a 

12 code that— 

13 ‘‘(A) relates a biological implant to the 

14 human donor of the implant and to all records 

15 pertaining to the implant; 

16 ‘‘(B) includes information designed to fa17 cilitate effective tracking, using such code, from 

18 the donor to the recipient and from the recipi19 ent to the donor; and 

20 ‘‘(C) satisfies the requirements of section 

21 1271.290 of title 21, Code of Federal Regula22 tions, or any successor regulation. 

23 ‘‘(3) The term ‘tissue distribution intermediary’ 

24 means an agency that acquires and stores human 


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1 tissue for further distribution and performs no other 

2 tissue banking functions. 

3 ‘‘(4) The term ‘tissue processor’ means an enti4 ty processing human tissue for use in biological im5 plants including activities performed on tissue other 

6 than donor screening, donor testing, tissue recovery 

7 and collection functions, storage, or distribution.’’. 

8 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec9 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

10 by adding at the end of the items relating to such 

11 subchapter the following new item: 

‘‘8129. Procurement of biological implants.’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 8129 of title 38, 

13 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take 

14 effect on the date that is 180 days after the date on which 

15 the tracking system required under subsection (b) of sec16 tion 7330C of such title, as added by section 4(a) is imple17 mented. 

18 (c) SPECIAL RULE FOR CRYOPRESERVED PROD19 UCTS.—During the 3-year period beginning on the effec20 tive date of section 8129 of title 38, United States Code, 

21 as added by subsection (a), biological implants produced 

22 and labeled before that date may be procured by the De23 partment of Veterans Affairs without relabeling under the 

24 standard identification system adopted or implemented 


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1 under section 7330C of such title, as added by section 

2 4(a). 

3 SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF ROUNDING DOWN OF PERCENTAGE 

4 INCREASES OF RATES OF CERTAIN EDU5 CATIONAL ASSISTANCE. 

6 (a) MONTGOMERY GI BILL.—Section 3015(h)(2) of 

7 title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2014’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘fiscal year 2020’’; and 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2013’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘fiscal year 2019’’. 

12 (b) SURVIVORS AND DEPENDENTS EDUCATIONAL

13 ASSISTANCE.—Section 3564(b) of such title is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2014’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘fiscal year 2020’’; and 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2013’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘fiscal year 2019’’. 

18 SEC. 7. VETERANS EXPEDITED RECOVERY COMMISSION. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Vet20 erans Expedited Recovery Commission (in this section re21 ferred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

22 (b) DUTIES.—The Commission shall perform the fol23 lowing duties: 

24 (1) Examine the efficacy of the evidence-based 

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1 fairs for treating mental health illnesses of veterans 

2 and identify areas to improve wellness-based out3 comes. 

4 (2) Conduct a patient-centered survey within 

5 each of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks to 

6 examine— 

7 (A) the experience of veterans with the De8 partment of Veterans Affairs when seeking 

9 medical assistance for mental health issues 

10 through the health care system of the Depart11 ment; 

12 (B) the experience of veterans with non13 Department medical facilities and health profes14 sionals for treating mental health issues; 

15 (C) the preferences of veterans regarding 

16 available treatments for mental health issues 

17 and which methods the veterans believe to be 

18 most effective; 

19 (D) the experience, if any, of veterans with 

20 respect to the complementary alternative treat21 ment therapies described in subparagraphs (A) 

22 through (I) in paragraph (3); 

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1 partment as remedies for addressing mental 

2 health issues; and 

3 (F) the outreach efforts of the Secretary 

4 regarding the availability of benefits and treat5 ments for veterans for addressing mental health 

6 issues, including by identifying ways to reduce 

7 barriers to and gaps in such benefits and treat8 ments. 

9 (3) Examine available research on complemen10 tary alternative treatment therapies for mental 

11 health issues and identify what benefits could be 

12 made with the inclusion of such treatments for vet13 erans, including with respect to— 

14 (A) music therapy; 

15 (B) equine therapy; 

16 (C) training and caring for service dogs; 

17 (D) yoga therapy; 

18 (E) acupuncture therapy; 

19 (F) meditation therapy; 

20 (G) outdoor sports therapy; 

21 (H) hyperbaric oxygen therapy; 

22 (I) accelerated resolution therapy; and 

23 (J) other therapies the Commission deter24 mines appropriate. 


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1 (4) Study the potential increase of claims relat2 ing to mental health issues submitted to the Sec3 retary by veterans who served in Operation Endur4 ing Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, or Oper5 ation New Dawn, including an assessment of the re6 sources available within the Department to ensure 

7 that quality health care demands relating to such 

8 claims can be delivered in a timely manner. 

9 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

10 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

12 be composed of 10 members, appointed as fol13 lows: 

14 (i) Two members appointed by the 

15 Speaker of the House of Representatives, 

16 at least one of whom shall be a veteran. 

17 (ii) Two members appointed by the 

18 Minority Leader of the House of Rep19 resentatives, at least one of whom shall be 

20 a veteran. 

21 (iii) Two members appointed by the 

22 Majority Leader of the Senate, at least one 

23 of whom shall be a veteran. 


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1 (iv) Two members appointed by the 

2 Minority Leader of the Senate, at least one 

3 of whom shall be a veteran. 

4 (v) Two members appointed by the 

5 President, at least one of whom shall be a 

6 veteran. 

7 (B) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the 

8 Commission shall be— 

9 (i) individuals who are of recognized 

10 standing and distinction within the medical 

11 community with a background in treating 

12 mental health; 

13 (ii) individuals with experience work14 ing with the military and veteran popu15 lation; and 

16 (iii) individuals who do not have a fi17 nancial interest in any of the complemen18 tary alternative treatments reviewed by the 

19 Commission. 

20 (2) CHAIRMAN.—The President shall designate 

21 a member of the Commission to be the chairman. 

22 (3) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—Members of 

23 the Commission shall be appointed for the life of the 

24 Commission. 


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1 (4) VACANCY.—A vacancy in the Commission 

2 shall be filled in the manner in which the original 

3 appointment was made. 

4 (5) APPOINTMENT DEADLINE.—The appoint5 ment of members of the Commission in this section 

6 shall be made not later than 90 days after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act. 

8 (d) POWERS OF COMMISSION.— 

9 (1) MEETING.— 

10 (A) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission 

11 shall hold its first meeting not later than 30 

12 days after a majority of members are appointed 

13 to the Commission. 

14 (B) MEETING.—The Commission shall reg15 ularly meet at the call of the Chairman. Such 

16 meetings may be carried out through the use of 

17 telephonic or other appropriate telecommuni18 cation technology if the Commission determines 

19 that such technology will allow the members to 

20 communicate simultaneously. 

21 (2) HEARING.—The Commission may hold such 

22 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take 

23 such testimony, and receive evidence as the Commis24 sion considers advisable to carry out the responsibil25 ities of the Commission. 


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1 (3) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

2 The Commission may secure directly from any de3 partment or agency of the Federal Government such 

4 information as the Commission considers necessary 

5 to carry out the duties of the Commission. 

6 (4) INFORMATION FROM NONGOVERNMENTAL

7 ORGANIZATIONS.—In carrying out subsection (b), 

8 the Commission may seek guidance through con9 sultation with foundations, veterans service organi10 zations, nonprofit groups, faith-based organizations, 

11 private and public institutions of higher education, 

12 and other organizations as the Commission deter13 mines appropriate. 

14 (5) COMMISSION RECORDS.—The Commission 

15 shall keep an accurate and complete record of the 

16 actions and meetings of the Commission. Such 

17 record shall be made available for public inspection 

18 and the Comptroller General of the United States 

19 may audit and examine such record. 

20 (6) PERSONNEL MATTERS.—Upon request of 

21 the chairman of the Commission, the head of any 

22 department or agency of the Federal Government 

23 may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any personnel 

24 of that department or agency to assist the Commis25 sion in carrying out the duties of the Commission. 


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1 (7) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS; TRAVEL EX2 PENSES.—Each member shall serve without pay, ex3 cept that each member shall receive travel expenses 

4 to perform the duties of the Commission under sub5 section (b), including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 

6 at rates authorized under subchapter I of chapter 57 

7 of title 5, United States Code. 

8 (8) STAFF.—The Chairman, in accordance with 

9 rules agreed upon by the Commission, may appoint 

10 and fix the compensation of a staff director and 

11 such other personnel as may be necessary to enable 

12 the Commission to carry out its functions, without 

13 regard to the provisions of title 5, United States 

14 Code, governing appointments in the competitive 

15 service, without regard to the provision of chapter 

16 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title re17 lating to classification and General Schedule pay 

18 rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this 

19 subsection may exceed the equivalent of that payable 

20 for a position at a level IV of the Executive Schedule 

21 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

22 (9) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The executive director 

24 and any personnel of the Commission are em25 ployees under section 2105 of title 5, United 


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1 States Code, for purpose of chapters 63, 81, 83, 

2 84, 85, 87, 89, and 90 of such title. 

3 (B) MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

4 Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed to 

5 apply to members of the Commission. 

6 (10) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to 

7 such extent and in such amounts as are provided in 

8 appropriations Acts, enter into contracts to enable 

9 the Commission to discharge the duties of the Com10 mission under this section. 

11 (11) EXPERT AND CONSULTANT SERVICE.—The 

12 Commission may procure the services of experts and 

13 consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 

14 5, United States Code, at rates not to exceed the 

15 daily rate paid to a person occupying a position at 

16 level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 

17 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

18 (12) POSTAL SERVICE.—The Commission may 

19 use the United States mails in the same manner and 

20 under the same conditions as departments and agen21 cies of the United States. 

22 (13) PHYSICAL FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT.— 

23 Upon the request of the Commission, the Adminis24 trator of General Services shall provide to the Com25 mission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative 


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1 support services necessary for the Commission to 

2 carry out its responsibilities under this section. 

3 These administrative services may include human re4 source management, budget, leasing, accounting, 

5 and payroll services. 

6 (e) REPORT.— 

7 (1) INTERIM REPORTS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

9 after the date on which the Commission first 

10 meets, and each 30-day period thereafter end11 ing on the date on which the Commission sub12 mits the final report under paragraph (2), the 

13 Commission shall submit to the Committees on 

14 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa15 tives and the Senate and the President a report 

16 detailing the level of cooperation the Secretary 

17 of Veterans Affairs (and the heads of other de18 partments or agencies of the Federal Govern19 ment) has provided to the Commission. 

20 (B) OTHER REPORTS.—In carrying out the 

21 duties pursuant to subsection (b), at times that 

22 the Commission determines appropriate, the 

23 Commission shall submit to the Committees on 

24 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa25 tives and the Senate and any other appropriate 


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1 entities an interim report with respect to the 

2 findings identified by the Commission. 

3 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

4 after the first meeting of the Commission, the Com5 mission shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 

6 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Sen7 ate, the President, and the Secretary of Veterans Af8 fairs a final report on the findings of the Commis9 sion. Such report shall include the following: 

10 (A) Recommendations to implement in a 

11 feasible, timely, and cost-effective manner the 

12 solutions and remedies identified within the 

13 findings of the Commission pursuant to sub14 section (b). 

15 (B) An analysis of the evidence-based ther16 apy model used by the Secretary of Veterans 

17 Affairs for treating veterans with mental health 

18 care issues, and an examination of the preva19 lence and efficacy of prescription drugs as a 

20 means for treatment. 

21 (C) The findings of the patient-centered 

22 survey conducted within each of the Veterans 

23 Integrated Service Networks pursuant to sub24 section (b)(2). 


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1 (D) An examination of complementary al2 ternative treatments described in subsection 

3 (b)(3) and the potential benefits of incor4 porating such treatments in the therapy model 

5 used by the Secretary for treating veterans with 

6 mental health issues. 

7 (3) PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after the 

8 date on which the Commission submits the final re9 port under subsection (b), the Secretary of Veterans 

10 Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 

11 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Sen12 ate a report on the following: 

13 (A) An action plan for implementing the 

14 recommendations established by the Commis15 sion on such solutions and remedies for improv16 ing wellness-based outcomes for veterans with 

17 mental health care issues. 

18 (B) A feasible timeframe on when com19 plementary alternative treatments described in 

20 subsection (b)(3) can be implemented Depart21 ment-wide. 

22 (C) With respect to each recommendation 

23 established by the Commission, including re24 garding any complementary alternative treat25 ment, that the Secretary determines is not apVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Jul 23, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2256.RFS H2256

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1 propriate or feasible to implement, a justifica2 tion for each such determination and an alter3 native solution to improve the efficacy of the 

4 therapy model used by the Secretary for treat5 ing veterans with mental health issues. 

6 (f) TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.—The Commis7 sion shall terminate 30 days after the Commission submits 

8 the final report under subsection (e)(2). 

Passed the House of Representatives July 21, 2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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