IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5953 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 1, 2010 

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

AN ACT 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to display in 

each facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs a 

Women Veterans Bill of Rights and to display in each 

prosthetics and orthotics clinic of the Department an 

Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights, and for 

other purposes. 


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

3 SECTION 1. DISPLAY OF WOMEN VETERANS BILL OF 

4 RIGHTS. 

5 (a) DISPLAY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

6 shall ensure that the Women Veterans Bill of Rights de7 scribed in subsection (b) is printed on signs in accessible 

8 formats and displayed prominently and conspicuously in 

9 each facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs and 

10 distributed widely to women veterans. 

11 (b) WOMEN VETERANS BILL OF RIGHTS.—The 

12 Women Veterans Bill of Rights described in this sub13 section is a sign stating that women veterans should have 

14 the following rights: 

15 (1) The right to a coordinated, comprehensive, 

16 primary women’s health care, at every Department 

17 of Veterans Affairs medical facility, including the 

18 recognized models of best practices, systems, and 

19 structures for care delivery that ensure that every 

20 woman veteran has access to a Department of Vet21 erans Affairs primary care provider who can meet all 

22 her primary care needs, including gender-specific, 

23 acute and chronic illness, preventive, and mental 

24 health care. 


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1 (2) The right to be treated with dignity and re2 spect at all Department of Veterans Affairs facili3 ties. 

4 (3) The right to innovation in care delivery pro5 moted and incentivized by the Veterans Health Ad6 ministration to support local best practices fitted to 

7 the particular configuration and women veteran pop8 ulation. 

9 (4) The right to request and get treatment by 

10 clinicians with specific training and experience in 

11 women’s health issues. 

12 (5) The right to enhanced capabilities of med13 ical providers, clinical support, non-clinical, and ad14 ministrative, to meet the comprehensive health care 

15 needs of women veterans. 

16 (6) The right to request and expect gender eq17 uity in provision of clinical health care services. 

18 (7) The right to equal access to health care 

19 services as that of their male counterparts. 

20 (8) The right to parity to their male veteran 

21 counterpart regarding the outcome of performance 

22 measures of health care services. 

23 (9) The right to be informed, through outreach 

24 campaigns, of benefits under laws administered by 

25 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and to be included 


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1 in Department outreach materials for any benefits 

2 and service to which they are entitled. 

3 (10) The right to be featured proportionately, 

4 including by age and ethnicity, in Department out5 reach materials, including electronic and print media 

6 that clearly depict them as being the recipient of the 

7 benefits and services provided by the Department. 

8 (11) The right to be recognized as an important 

9 separate population in new strategic plans for serv10 ice delivery within the health care system of the De11 partment of Veterans Affairs. 

12 (12) The right to equal consideration in hiring 

13 and employment for any job to which they apply. 

14 (13) The right to equal consideration in secur15 ing Federal contracts. 

16 (14) The right to equal access and accommoda17 tions in homeless programs that will meet their 

18 unique family needs. 

19 (15) The right to have their claims adjudicated 

20 equally, fairly, and accurately without bias or dis21 parate treatment. 

22 (16) The right to have their military sexual 

23 trauma and other injuries compensated in a way 

24 that reflects the level of trauma sustained. 


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1 (17) The right to expect that all veteran service 

2 officers, especially those who are trained by the De3 partment of Veterans Affairs Training Responsibility 

4 Involvement Preparation program for claims proc5 essing, are required to receive training to be aware 

6 of and sensitive to the signs of military sexual trau7 ma, domestic violence, and personal assault. 

8 (18) The right to the availability of female per9 sonnel to assist them in the disability claims applica10 tion and appellate processes of the Department. 

11 (19) The right to the availability of female com12 pensation and pension examiners. 

13 (20) The right to expect specialized training be 

14 provided to disability rating personnel regarding 

15 military sexual trauma and gender-specific illnesses 

16 so that these claims can be adjudicated more accu17 rately. 

18 (21) The right to expect the collection of gen19 der-specific data on disability ratings, for the per20 formance of longitudinal and trend analyses, and for 

21 other applicable purposes. 

22 (22) The right to a method to identify and 

23 track outcomes for all claims involving personal as24 sault trauma, regardless of the resulting disability. 


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1 (23) The right for women veterans’ programs 

2 and women veteran coordinators to be measured and 

3 evaluated for performance, consistency, and account4 ability. 

5 (24) The right to burial benefits under the laws 

6 administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

7 SEC. 2. DISPLAY OF INJURED AND AMPUTEE VETERANS 

8 BILL OF RIGHTS. 

9 (a) DISPLAY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

10 shall ensure that the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill 

11 of Rights described in subsection (b) is printed on signs 

12 in accessible formats and displayed prominently and con13 spicuously in each prosthetics and orthotics clinic of the 

14 Department of Veterans Affairs. 

15 (b) INJURED AND AMPUTEE VETERANS BILL OF

16 RIGHTS.—The Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of 

17 Rights described in this subsection is a statement that in18 jured and amputee veterans should have the following 

19 rights: 

20 (1) The right to access the highest quality pros21 thetic and orthotic care, including the right to the 

22 most appropriate technology and best qualified prac23 titioners. 

24 (2) The right to continuity of care in the transi25 tion from the Department of Defense health proVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:05 Dec 02, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5953.RFS H5953

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1 gram to the Department of Veterans Affairs health 

2 care system, including comparable benefits relating 

3 to prosthetic and orthotic services. 

4 (3) The right to select the practitioner that best 

5 meets their orthotic and prosthetic needs, whether or 

6 not that practitioner is an employee of the Depart7 ment of Veterans Affairs, a private practitioner who 

8 has entered into a contract with the Secretary of 

9 Veterans Affairs to provide prosthetic and orthotic 

10 services, or a private practitioner with specialized ex11 pertise. 

12 (4) The right to consistent and portable health 

13 care, including the right to obtain comparable serv14 ices and technology at any medical facility of the 

15 Department of Veterans Affairs across the country. 

16 (5) The right to timely and efficient prosthetic 

17 and orthotic care, including a speedy authorization 

18 process with expedited authorization available for 

19 veterans visiting from another area of the country. 

20 (6) The right to play a meaningful role in reha21 bilitation decisions, including the right to receive a 

22 second opinion regarding prosthetic and orthotic 

23 treatment options. 


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1 (7) The right to receive appropriate treatment, 

2 including the right to receive both a primary pros3 thesis or orthosis and a functional spare. 

4 (8) The right to be treated with respect and 

5 dignity and have an optimal quality of life both dur6 ing and after rehabilitation. 

7 (9) The right to transition and readjust to civil8 ian life in an honorable manner, including by having 

9 ample access to vocational rehabilitation, employ10 ment programs, and housing assistance. 

11 (c) MONITORING AND RESOLUTION OF COM12 PLAINTS.— 

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

14 Affairs, acting through the veteran liaison at each 

15 medical center of the Department of Veterans Af16 fairs, shall collect information relating to the alleged 

17 mistreatment of injured and amputee veterans. 

18 (2) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—For each fiscal 

19 quarter, the veteran liaison at each medical center of 

20 the Department shall submit to the Chief Consultant 

21 of Prosthetics and Sensory Aids of the Department 

22 a report on any information collected under para23 graph (1) during that quarter. 

24 (3) INVESTIGATION AND ADDRESSING OF COM25 PLAINTS.—The Chief Consultant, in cooperation 


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1 with appropriate employees of a medical center of 

2 the Department, shall investigate and address any 

3 information collected under paragraph (1) at that 

4 medical center. 

5 SEC. 3. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

6 (a) EDUCATION OF DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES.—The 

7 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that— 

8 (1) all employees of the Department of Vet9 erans Affairs receive training on the Women Vet10 erans Bill of Rights described in section 1; and 

11 (2) employees of the Department who work at 

12 prosthetics and orthotics clinics and who work as pa13 tient advocates with veterans who receive care at 

14 such clinics, including Federal recovery coordinators 

15 and case managers, receive training on the Injured 

16 and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights described in 

17 section 2. 

18 (b) OUTREACH TO VETERANS.—The Secretary of 

19 Veterans Affairs shall conduct outreach to inform veterans 

20 about the Women Veterans Bill of Rights described in sec21 tion 1 and the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of 

22 Rights described in section 2 by— 

23 (1) ensuring that such Bills of Rights are avail24 able on the Internet website of the Department of 

25 Veterans Affairs; and 


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1 (2) conducting other types of outreach targeted 

2 at specific groups of veterans, which may include 

3 outreach conducted on other Internet websites or 

4 through veterans service organizations. 

5 SEC. 4. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN SERVICES. 

6 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to establish 

7 a right to any service excluded under 38 CFR 17.38, as 

8 in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 30, 

2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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