I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 542 

To require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide mental health 

services in languages other than English, as needed, for veterans with 

limited English proficiency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 17, 2007 

Ms. SOLIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide 

mental health services in languages other than English, 

as needed, for veterans with limited English proficiency, 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. PROVISION OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES BY 

4 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR 

5 VETERANS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PRO6 FICIENCY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Chapter 17 of title 38, 

2 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

3 section 1712B the following new section: 

4 ‘‘§ 1713. Mental health services; languages other than 

5 English 

6 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF COUNSELING IN LANGUAGES

7 OTHER THAN ENGLISH.—In providing counseling and 

8 other mental health services authorized by law to a veteran 

9 with limited English proficiency, the Secretary shall en10 sure that such counseling and services are available to that 

11 veteran in both English and a language other than English 

12 in which the veteran is proficient, if requested by the vet13 eran. 

14 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF VETERANS WITH LIMITED

15 ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.—For purposes of this section, 

16 the Secretary shall develop procedures for identifying vet17 erans with limited English proficiency and of informing 

18 those veterans of the provisions of subsection (a).’’. 

19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec20 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

21 by inserting after the item relating to section 1712B 

22 the following new item: 

‘‘1713. Mental health services; languages other than English.’’. 

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 1713 of title 38, 

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


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1 effect at the end of the 120-day period beginning on the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 2. CODIFICATION FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

4 AFFAIRS OF REQUIREMENTS OF EXECUTIVE 

5 ORDER 13166. 

6 (a) SYSTEM FOR ACCESS TO SERVICES.—The Sec7 retary of Veterans Affairs shall implement a system by 

8 which persons with limited English proficiency can mean9 ingfully access the services provided by the Department 

10 of Veterans Affairs consistent with, and without unduly 

11 burdening, the fundamental mission of that Department. 

12 The Secretary shall work to ensure that recipients of fi13 nancial assistance under programs of the Department pro14 vide meaningful access to applicants and beneficiaries with 

15 limited English proficiency. 

16 (b) PLAN.—The Secretary shall implement a plan to 

17 improve access to programs and activities of the Depart18 ment of Veterans Affairs by eligible persons with limited 

19 English proficiency. The plan shall be consistent with the 

20 standards set forth in the guidance document issued by 

21 the Attorney General in conjunction with Executive Order 

22 13166, issued August 11, 2000, and shall include the 

23 steps the Secretary will take to ensure that eligible persons 

24 with limited English proficiency can meaningfully access 

25 the programs and activities of the Department. 


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1 SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION. 

2 In developing and implementing the plan under sec3 tion 2(b), the Secretary shall, at a minimum, carry out 

4 the following: 

5 (1) The Secretary shall conduct a thorough as6 sessment of the language needs of the population 

7 served by the Department of Veterans Affairs, in8 cluding identifying the non-English languages that 

9 are likely to be encountered. 

10 (2) The Secretary shall develop and implement 

11 a comprehensive language assistance program, which 

12 shall include— 

13 (A) hiring bilingual staff and interpreters 

14 for patient and client contact positions; and 

15 (B) translating written materials (such as 

16 consent forms, notice of free language assist17 ance, and outreach materials) into languages 

18 other than English. 

19 (3) The Secretary shall train staff of the De20 partment on the access policy of the Department 

21 with respect to persons with limited English pro22 ficiency and on carrying out that policy. 

23 (4) The Secretary shall establish vigilant moni24 toring and oversight to ensure that persons with lim25 ited English proficiency have meaningful access to 

26 health care and services. 


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1 (5) The Secretary shall establish a task force to 

2 evaluate implementation and to prioritize needed ac3 tions to implement the access plan for persons with 

4 limited English proficiency. 

5 (6) The Secretary shall develop a specific plan 

6 to ensure seamless transition of veterans and their 

7 families from benefits and services provided by the 

8 Department of Defense to benefits and services pro9 vided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, includ10 ing bilingual readjustment and bereavement coun11 seling. 

12 (7) The Secretary shall establish a process to 

13 translate vital documents and other materials, in14 cluding materials on the World Wide Web, brochures 

15 distributed as part of outreach efforts to 

16 servicemembers transitioning into civilian life, and 

17 the post-deployment health reassessment program. 

18 (8) The Secretary shall conduct outreach to vet19 erans and their families in communities which may 

20 have higher proportions of populations with limited 

21 English proficiency to ensure they are aware of eligi22 bility for benefits and services from the Department 

23 of Veterans Affairs. 


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1 SEC. 4. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION BY VETERANS 

2 HEALTH ADMINISTRATION OF DIRECTIVE ON 

3 IMPROVING ACCESS TO SERVICES FOR PER4 SONS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY. 

5 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

7 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on 

8 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representa9 tives a report on the implementation by the Veterans 

10 Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Af11 fairs of the directive of the Veterans Health Administra12 tion designated ‘‘VHA Directive 2002–006’’ that was 

13 issued by the Under Secretary for Health of the Depart14 ment of Veterans Affairs on January 31, 2002, and that 

15 issued policy to implement prohibitions on discrimination 

16 on the basis of national origin for persons with limited 

17 English proficiency in Federally-conducted programs and 

18 activities and in Federal financial assisted programs. 

19 (b) CAPACITY TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO

20 SERVICEMEMBERS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PRO21 FICIENCY.—The Secretary shall include in the report an 

22 analysis of the capacity of the Department of Veterans 

23 Affairs to provide services to members of the Armed 

24 Forces with limited English proficiency. 

Æ 


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