I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3867 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve the provision of 

services and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs for veterans who experience domestic violence or sexual assault, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 19, 2019 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ (for herself, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. KILMER, 

Mrs. DINGELL, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. MENG, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

MCNERNEY, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. POCAN, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. 

LUJA ́N, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. 

TONKO, Ms. MOORE, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. 

CARSON of Indiana, Mr. KIND, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. WEXTON, 

Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. DEMINGS, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. CASE, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. SIRES, and Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve 

the provision of services and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs for veterans who experience 

domestic violence or sexual assault, 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 as the ‘‘Violence Against 

3 Women Veterans Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

5 The purpose of this Act is to better integrate the 

6 medical, housing, mental health, and other benefits pro7 vided by the Department of Veterans Affairs with existing 

8 community-based domestic violence and sexual assault 

9 services— 

10 (1) to provide a more efficient and coordinated 

11 network of support for veterans experiencing domes12 tic violence or sexual assault; and 

13 (2) to better understand the impact of domestic 

14 violence and sexual assault on veterans, particularly 

15 female veterans. 

16 SEC. 3. PROGRAM TO ASSIST VETERANS WHO EXPERIENCE 

17 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR SEXUAL ASSAULT. 

18 (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Vet19 erans Affairs shall carry out a program to assist veterans 

20 that have experienced or are experiencing domestic vio21 lence or sexual assault in accessing benefits from the De22 partment of Veterans Affairs, including coordinating ac23 cess to medical treatment centers, housing assistance, and 

24 other benefits from the Department. 

25 (b) PARTNERSHIP.—The Secretary shall carry out 

26 the program under subsection (a) in partnership with— 


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1 (1) domestic violence shelters and programs; 

2 (2) rape crisis centers; 

3 (3) State domestic violence and sexual assault 

4 coalitions; and 

5 (4) such other health care or other service pro6 viders that serve domestic violence or sexual assault 

7 victims as determined by the Secretary, particularly 

8 those providing emergency services or housing assist9 ance. 

10 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the 

11 program under subsection (a), the Secretary may conduct 

12 the following activities: 

13 (1) Training for community-based domestic vio14 lence or sexual assault service providers on— 

15 (A) identifying veterans who have been vic16 tims of domestic violence or sexual assault; 

17 (B) coordinating with local service pro18 viders of the Department; and 

19 (C) connecting veterans with appropriate 

20 housing, mental health, medical, and other fi21 nancial assistance or benefits from the Depart22 ment. 

23 (2) Assistance to service providers to ensure ac24 cess of veterans to domestic violence and sexual as25 sault emergency services, particularly in underserved 


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1 areas, including services for members of Indian 

2 tribes. 

3 (3) Such other outreach and assistance as the 

4 Secretary determines necessary for the provision of 

5 assistance under subsection (a). 

6 (d) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT

7 OUTREACH COORDINATORS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to effectively assist 

9 veterans who have experienced domestic violence or 

10 sexual assault, the Secretary may establish local co11 ordinators to provide outreach under the program 

12 required by subsection (a). 

13 (2) LOCAL COORDINATOR KNOWLEDGE.—The 

14 Secretary shall ensure that each coordinator estab15 lished under paragraph (1) is knowledgeable about— 

16 (A) the dynamics of domestic violence and 

17 sexual assault, including safety concerns, legal 

18 protections, and the need for the provision of 

19 confidential services; 

20 (B) the eligibility of veterans for services 

21 and benefits from the Department that are rel22 evant to recovery from domestic violence and 

23 sexual assault, particularly emergency housing 

24 assistance, mental health care, other health 

25 care, and disability benefits; and 


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1 (C) local community resources addressing 

2 domestic violence and sexual assault. 

3 (3) LOCAL COORDINATOR ASSISTANCE.—Each 

4 coordinator established under paragraph (1) shall 

5 assist domestic violence shelters and rape crisis cen6 ters in providing services to veterans. 

7 SEC. 4. NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON VETERANS EXPERI8 ENCING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR SEXUAL AS9 SAULT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Af11 fairs, in consultation with the Attorney General and the 

12 Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall establish 

13 a national task force (in this section referred to as the 

14 ‘‘Task Force’’) to develop a comprehensive national pro15 gram, including by integrating facilities, services, and ben16 efits of the Department of Veterans Affairs into existing 

17 networks of community-based domestic violence and sex18 ual assault services, to address domestic violence and sex19 ual assault among veterans. 

20 (b) CONSULTATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.—In car21 rying out this section, the Task Force shall consult with— 

22 (1) representatives from not fewer than three 

23 national organizations or State coalitions with dem24 onstrated expertise in domestic violence prevention, 

25 response, or advocacy; and 


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1 (2) representatives from not fewer than three 

2 national organizations or State coalitions, particu3 larly those representing underserved or ethnic mi4 nority communities, with demonstrated expertise in 

5 sexual assault prevention, response, or advocacy. 

6 (c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Task Force shall in7 clude the following: 

8 (1) To review existing services and policies of 

9 the Department and develop a comprehensive na10 tional program to address domestic violence and sex11 ual assault prevention, response, and treatment. 

12 (2) To review the feasibility and advisability of 

13 establishing an expedited process to secure emer14 gency, temporary benefits, including housing or 

15 other benefits, for veterans who are experiencing do16 mestic violence or sexual assault. 

17 (3) To review and make recommendations re18 garding the feasibility and advisability of estab19 lishing dedicated, temporary housing assistance for 

20 veterans experiencing domestic violence or sexual as21 sault. 

22 (4) To identify any requirements regarding do23 mestic violence assistance or sexual assault response 

24 and services that are not being met by the DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3867.IH H3867

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1 ment and make recommendations on how the De2 partment can meet such requirements. 

3 (5) To review and make recommendations re4 garding the feasibility and advisability of providing 

5 direct services or contracting for community-based 

6 services for veterans in response to a sexual assault, 

7 including through the use of sexual assault nurse ex8 aminers, particularly in underserved or remote 

9 areas, including services for members of Indian 

10 tribes. 

11 (6) To review the availability of counseling serv12 ices provided by the Department and through peer 

13 network support, and to provide recommendations 

14 for the enhancement of such services, to address— 

15 (A) the perpetration of domestic violence 

16 and sexual assault; and 

17 (B) the recovery of veterans, particularly 

18 female veterans, from domestic violence and 

19 sexual assault. 

20 (7) To review and make recommendations to 

21 expand services available for veterans at risk of per22 petrating domestic violence. 

23 (d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than 

25 annually thereafter, the Task Force shall submit to the 


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1 Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Congress a report on 

2 the activities of the Task Force, including any rec3 ommendations for legislative or administrative action. 

4 SEC. 5. NATIONAL BASELINE STUDY ON PROBLEM OF DO5 MESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT 

6 AMONG VETERANS AND SPOUSES OF VET7 ERANS. 

8 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation 

9 with the Attorney General, shall conduct a national base10 line study to examine the scope of the problem of domestic 

11 violence and sexual assault among veterans and spouses 

12 of veterans. 

13 SEC. 6. ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF INTIMATE PARTNER 

14 VIOLENCE ON WOMEN VETERANS BY ADVI15 SORY COMMITTEE ON WOMEN VETERANS. 

16 Section 542(c)(1) of title 38, United States Code, is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

19 the end; 

20 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub21 paragraph (D); and 

22 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol23 lowing new subparagraph (C): 


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1 ‘‘(C) an assessment of the effects of inti2 mate partner violence on women veterans; and’’. 

Æ 


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