I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2435 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish an interagency 

task force on the use of public lands to provide medical treatment 

and therapy to veterans through outdoor recreation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 1, 2019 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. SMITH of Washington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish 

an interagency task force on the use of public lands 

to provide medical treatment and therapy to veterans 

through outdoor recreation. 

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 ‘‘Accelerating Veterans 

5 Recovery Outdoors Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON OUTDOOR RECRE2 ATION FOR VETERANS. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

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

5 Veterans Affairs shall establish a task force to be known 

6 as the ‘‘Task Force on Outdoor Recreation for Veterans’’ 

7 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

8 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall be com9 posed of the following members or their designees: 

10 (1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

11 (2) The Secretary of the Interior. 

12 (3) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv13 ices. 

14 (4) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

15 (5) The Secretary of Defense. 

16 (6) The Secretary of Homeland Security. 

17 (7) The Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers. 

18 (8) Any other member that the Secretary of 

19 Veterans Affairs determines to be appropriate. 

20 (c) CHAIRPERSONS.—The Secretary of Veterans Af21 fairs and the Secretary of the Interior shall serve as co22 chairpersons of the Task Force (in this section referred 

23 to as the ‘‘Chairpersons’’). 

24 (d) DUTIES.— 

25 (1) TASK FORCE.—The duties of the Task 

26 Force shall be— 


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1 (A) to identify opportunities to formalize 

2 coordination between the Department of Vet3 erans Affairs, public land agencies, and partner 

4 organizations regarding the use of public lands 

5 or other outdoor spaces for medical treatment 

6 and recreational therapy for veterans; 

7 (B) to identify barriers that exist to pro8 viding veterans with opportunities for medical 

9 treatment and therapy through the use of out10 door recreation on public lands or other outdoor 

11 spaces; and 

12 (C) to develop recommendations to better 

13 facilitate the use of public lands or other out14 door spaces for preventative care, medical treat15 ment, and therapy for veterans. 

16 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Task Force shall 

17 carry out the duties under paragraph (1) in con18 sultation with appropriate veterans outdoor recre19 ation groups. 

20 (e) REPORTS.— 

21 (1) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—Not later than 

22 180 days after the date on which the Task Force is 

23 established, the Chairpersons shall submit to Con24 gress a report on the preliminary findings of the 

25 Task Force. 


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1 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 

2 after the date of the submittal of the preliminary re3 port under paragraph (1), the Chairpersons shall 

4 submit to Congress a report on the findings of the 

5 Task Force, which shall include the recommenda6 tions developed under subsection (d)(1)(C). 

7 (f) DURATION.—The Task Force shall terminate on 

8 the date that is one year after the date of the submittal 

9 of the final report in subsection (e)(2). 

10 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) The term ‘‘public lands’’ means any rec12 reational lands under the jurisdiction of the Federal 

13 Government or a State or local government. 

14 (2) The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the meaning given 

15 that term in section 101 of title 38, United States 

16 Code. 

Æ 


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