II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 713 

To ensure dignity in care for members of the Armed Forces recovering 

from injuries. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2007 

Mr. OBAMA (for himself, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BAYH, Mr. 

BIDEN, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. BOND, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BROWN, Ms. 

CANTWELL, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. KERRY, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Ms. LANDRIEU, Ms. MIKULSKI, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. 

PRYOR, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. SNOWE, and Mr. 

CONRAD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To ensure dignity in care for members of the Armed Forces 

recovering from injuries. 

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 ‘‘Dignity for Wounded 

5 Warriors Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ACCESS OF RECOVERING SERVICEMEMBERS TO 

2 ADEQUATE OUTPATIENT RESIDENTIAL FA3 CILITIES. 

4 (a) SUFFICIENCY OF RESIDENCES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each recovering 

6 servicemember who is assigned to a military bar7 racks or dormitory shall be assigned to a barracks 

8 or dormitory that is maintained at a standard equal 

9 to the highest existing service standard in effect for 

10 quarters of the United States for enlisted members 

11 of the Armed Forces. 

12 (2) INAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN FACILI13 TIES.—Facilities occupied by recovering 

14 servicemembers that are not funded with appro15 priated funds are not subject to the requirement 

16 under paragraph (1). 

17 (b) INSPECTIONS AND REPAIRS OF FACILITIES.— 

18 (1) REQUIRED INSPECTIONS.—All quarters of 

19 the United States and housing facilities under the 

20 jurisdiction of the Armed Forces that are occupied 

21 by at least 5 recovering servicemembers shall be in22 spected on a semiannual basis by the inspectors gen23 eral of the regional medical commands. 

24 (2) INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORTS.—The in25 spector general for each regional medical command 

26 shall— 


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1 (A) submit a report on each inspection of 

2 a facility conducted under paragraph (1) to the 

3 post commander at such facility, the com4 manding officer of the hospital affiliated with 

5 such facility, the surgeon general of the military 

6 department that operates such hospital, the 

7 Secretary of the military department concerned, 

8 the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health 

9 Affairs, the Oversight Board for the Wounded 

10 established pursuant to section 10, and the ap11 propriate congressional committees; and 

12 (B) post each such report on the Internet 

13 website of such regional medical command. 

14 (3) ALTERNATE HOUSING.— 

15 (A) UNREMEDIED DEFICIENCIES.—If a de16 ficiency identified in a report submitted under 

17 paragraph (2) with respect to quarters or a fa18 cility is not remedied within 30 days after the 

19 submission of such report under that para20 graph, each recovering servicemember occu21 pying such quarters or facility and affected by 

22 the deficiency shall be provided the option of al23 ternate quarters of the United States or hous24 ing facilities under the jurisdiction of the 

25 Armed Forces that meet the standard referred 


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1 to in subsection (a)(1) until the deficiency is 

2 remedied. 

3 (B) UNFULFILLED WORK ORDERS.—If a 

4 work order issued to remedy a deficiency (in5 cluding, but not limited to, deficiencies such as 

6 mold, leaking pipes, or rat, mouse, insect, or 

7 other pest infestation) in a room occupied by a 

8 recovering servicemember in quarters of the 

9 United States or a housing facility under the 

10 jurisdiction of the Armed Forces remains 

11 unfulfilled for more than 15 days after the date 

12 of the issuance of the work order, the 

13 servicemember shall be provided the option of 

14 alternate quarters of the United States or hous15 ing facilities under the jurisdiction of the 

16 Armed Forces that meet the standard referred 

17 to in subsection (a)(1) until the work order is 

18 fulfilled and the deficiency is remedied. 

19 (c) ZERO TOLERANCE FOR CHRONIC INFESTA20 TIONS.—If quarters of the United States or a housing fa21 cility under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces that is 

22 occupied by a recovering servicemember is determined, 

23 whether pursuant to an inspection required by subsection 

24 (b)(1) or otherwise, to have a chronic infestation of ro25 dents, insects, or other pests, the servicemember shall be 


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1 provided the option of alternate quarters of the United 

2 States or housing facilities under the jurisdiction of the 

3 Armed Forces that meet the standard referred to in sub4 section (a)(1) until the deficiency is remedied. 

5 SEC. 3. REDUCTION OF PAPERWORK AND BUREAUCRACY 

6 FOR RECOVERING SERVICEMEMBERS AND 

7 THEIR FAMILIES. 

8 (a) IMPROVEMENT OF PHYSICAL DISABILITY EVAL9 UATION SYSTEMS.—Not later than one year after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 

11 shall implement appropriate improvements of the physical 

12 disability evaluation systems of the military departments, 

13 including the administrative and budgetary restructuring 

14 of such systems, in order to ensure their efficient and ef15 fective operation. The improvements shall include the re16 quirement that, within each military department, a single 

17 command shall be responsible for the physical disability 

18 evaluation system of such military department, including 

19 any processing and military boards under such system. 

20 (b) ELECTRONIC CLEARING HOUSE.— 

21 (1) REQUIREMENT.—In improving the physical 

22 disability evaluation system of a military department 

23 pursuant to this section, the Secretary of the mili24 tary department shall establish and operate a single 

25 Internet site for the physical disability evaluation 


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1 process under such system that enables recovering 

2 servicemembers to fully utilize such system through 

3 the Internet. 

4 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each Internet site operated 

5 under this subsection shall include the following: 

6 (A) The availability of any forms required 

7 for the utilization of the applicable physical dis8 ability evaluation system by recovering 

9 servicemembers. 

10 (B) Secure mechanisms for the submission 

11 of such forms by recovering servicemembers, 

12 and for the tracking of the acceptance and re13 view of any forms so submitted. 

14 (C) Secure mechanisms for advising recov15 ering servicemembers of any additional informa16 tion, forms, or other items that are required for 

17 the acceptance and review of any forms so sub18 mitted. 

19 (D) The continuous availability of assist20 ance to recovering servicemembers (including 

21 assistance through the caseworkers assigned to 

22 recovering servicemembers) in submitting and 

23 tracking such forms, including assistance in ob24 taining information, forms, or other items de25 scribed by subparagraph (C). 


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1 (E) Secure mechanisms to request and re2 ceive personnel files or other personnel records 

3 of recovering servicemembers that are required 

4 for submission under the applicable physical 

5 disability evaluation system, including the capa6 bility to track requests for such files or records 

7 and to determine the status of such requests 

8 and of responses to such requests. 

9 (3) DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT.—Each 

10 Internet site required under this subsection shall be 

11 established not later than one year after the date of 

12 the enactment of this Act. 

13 (4) NO REQUIREMENT FOR USE.—This sub14 section may not be construed to require a recovering 

15 servicemember to utilize an Internet site established 

16 under this subsection as part of the physical dis17 ability evaluation process under a physical disability 

18 evaluation system. 

19 (c) CO-LOCATION OF SYSTEM ELEMENTS AT CER20 TAIN FACILITIES.—In improving physical disability eval21 uation systems pursuant to this section, the Secretary of 

22 Defense shall— 

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1 ticipated to serve, more than 100 recovering 

2 servicemembers simultaneously; and 

3 (2) to the extent practicable, co-locate all ele4 ments of such system at a single location at each 

5 such facility. 

6 (d) REPORT ON IMPROVEMENTS.— 

7 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

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

9 of Defense shall submit to the appropriate congres10 sional committees a report setting forth rec11 ommendations for the improvements required by 

12 subsection (a). 

13 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The recommenda14 tions under paragraph (1) shall include rec15 ommendations for the following: 

16 (A) Procedures to enable recovering 

17 servicemembers to interface with only one com18 mand while undergoing evaluation and care 

19 under a physical disability evaluation system. 

20 (B) Procedures to allow clinical teams and 

21 the military chain of command to bypass sig22 nificant parts of the applicable physical dis23 ability evaluation system in order to facilitate 

24 the prompt processing of cases under such sys25 tem for specific injuries and illnesses. 


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1 (C) Specifications of the job requirements 

2 for every military occupational specialty (MOS) 

3 and grade. 

4 (D) Means for retraining recovering 

5 servicemembers who are determined to be unfit 

6 for their assigned military occupational spe7 cialty for qualification for assignment to an8 other military occupational specialty. 

9 (E) Streamlining and reducing duplicative, 

10 unnecessary procedures and other obstacles to 

11 timely evaluations and decisions under a phys12 ical disability evaluation system. 

13 (F) Such other matters with respect to the 

14 improvements required by subsection (a) as the 

15 Secretary and the Oversight Board for the 

16 Wounded consider appropriate. 

17 (3) NO REDUCTION IN PERSONNEL AND RE18 SOURCES.—The requirements of this subsection may 

19 not be construed to authorize or require the reduc20 tion of staff, or the closure of facilities, in order to 

21 achieve any improvements recommended under para22 graph (1). 

23 (e) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Defense 

24 shall commence the implementation of the recommenda25 tions submitted under subsection (d) not later than 90 


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1 days after the submission of the recommendations under 

2 that subsection. 

3 (f) RETENTION OF CERTAIN RIGHTS OF APPEAL.— 

4 Nothing in the recommendations submitted and imple5 mented under this section shall be construed to limit the 

6 ability of a recovering servicemember to appeal the fol7 lowing: 

8 (1) The right of the recovering servicemember 

9 to remain a member of the Armed Forces. 

10 (2) Any disability rating assigned the recov11 ering servicemember. 

12 (g) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Defense and 

13 the Secretaries of the military departments shall consult 

14 with and seek advice from the Oversight Board for the 

15 Wounded established pursuant to section 10 in carrying 

16 out this section. 

17 SEC. 4. SUPERVISING OFFICER AND CASEWORKER SUP18 PORT FOR RECOVERING SERVICEMEMBERS. 

19 (a) PROVISION OF ADEQUATE SUPPORT.—Not later 

20 than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

21 the Secretary of Defense shall work with officials from 

22 each military medical treatment facility— 

23 (1) to assess whether the current ratio of super24 vising officers assigned to recovering 

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1 workers assigned to recovering servicemembers, at 

2 such facility is adequate to meet the needs of recov3 ering servicemembers at such facility; and 

4 (2) to establish new ratios for such facility to 

5 increase such ratios where necessary, taking into ac6 count the needs of recovering servicemembers at 

7 such facility. 

8 (b) DEADLINE FOR ACHIEVING NEW RATIOS.—The 

9 Secretary shall ensure that the new ratios established pur10 suant to subsection (a)(2) are achieved not later than one 

11 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and main12 tained each year thereafter. 

13 (c) ANNUAL REVIEW OF RATIOS.—The Secretary 

14 shall annually reevaluate the ratios established pursuant 

15 to subsection (a)(2), and shall monitor progress made in 

16 meeting such ratios. 

17 (d) EMPLOYMENT OF ADDITIONAL STAFF.—Not 

18 later than 45 days after the date of the enactment of this 

19 Act, the Secretary shall hire such additional qualified staff 

20 as is necessary to achieve at each military medical treat21 ment facility an interim ratio of one supervising officer, 

22 and one caseworker, for every 20 recovering 

23 servicemembers. Such ratios shall remain in effect until 

24 superseded under subsection (a)(2). 

25 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.— 


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1 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 

2 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

3 annually thereafter throughout the global war on 

4 terror, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 

5 congressional committees a report on current and 

6 planned ratios of supervising officers and case7 workers to recovering servicemembers at military 

8 medical treatment facilities under this section. 

9 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

10 (1) shall set forth the staff required to meet the new 

11 ratios established under subsection (a)(2), and in12 clude an estimate of the costs required to implement 

13 such plan. 

14 (f) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult 

15 with and seek advice from the Oversight Board for the 

16 Wounded established pursuant to section 10 in carrying 

17 out this section. 

18 SEC. 5. IMPROVED TRAINING FOR CASEWORKERS AND SO19 CIAL WORKERS ON PARTICULAR CONDITIONS 

20 OF RECOVERING SERVICEMEMBERS. 

21 (a) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 60 days 

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

23 of Defense shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

24 committees a report setting forth recommendations for the 

25 modification of the training provided to caseworkers and 


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1 social workers who provide care for recovering 

2 servicemembers. The recommendations shall include, at a 

3 minimum, specific recommendations to ensure that such 

4 caseworkers and social workers are able to— 

5 (1) detect early warning signs of post-traumatic 

6 stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal tendencies 

7 among recovering servicemembers; and 

8 (2) promptly devise appropriate treatment plans 

9 as such signs are detected. 

10 (b) ANNUAL REVIEW OF TRAINING.—Not later than 

11 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and 

12 annually thereafter throughout the global war on terror, 

13 the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congres14 sional committees a report on the following: 

15 (1) The progress made in providing the training 

16 recommended under subsection (a). 

17 (2) The general state and quality of training 

18 provided to caseworkers and social workers who pro19 vide care for recovering servicemembers. 

20 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult 

21 with and seek advice from the Oversight Board for the 

22 Wounded established pursuant to section 10 in carrying 

23 out this section. 


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1 SEC. 6. SUPPORT SERVICES AND RIGHTS FOR RECOVERING 

2 SERVICEMEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES. 

3 (a) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE FOR RECOVERING

4 SERVICEMEMBERS.— 

5 (1) NOTICE OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBIL6 ITIES.—The Secretary of Defense shall clearly post, 

7 or provide for the posting, in all military medical 

8 treatment facilities, outpatient residences, and other 

9 hospital and residential care locations frequently uti10 lized or visited by recovering servicemembers and 

11 their family members a notice of the rights and re12 sponsibilities of recovering servicemembers with re13 spect to accessing quality and timely medical care 

14 and casework services and assistance during evalua15 tion and care under a physical disability evaluation 

16 system. 

17 (2) AVAILABILITY OF QUALIFIED PROFES18 SIONALS AT OUTPATIENT RESIDENTIAL FACILI19 TIES.—Each military outpatient residential facility 

20 at which at least 20 recovering servicemembers re21 side shall be staffed at all times with each of the fol22 lowing: 

23 (A) At least one medical professional with 

24 the minimum qualifications of an emergency 

25 medical technician to provide care and services 

26 for recovering servicemembers at such facility. 


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1 (B) At least one clinical professional with 

2 the minimum qualifications of a certified clin3 ical social worker or certified crisis counselor to 

4 provide care and services for recovering 

5 servicemembers at such facility. 

6 (b) ASSISTANCE HOTLINES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secre9 taries of the military departments shall each estab10 lish and maintain for the military department con11 cerned the following toll-free telephone assistance 

12 hotlines: 

13 (A) A hotline for crisis counseling for re14 covering servicemembers and their family mem15 bers. 

16 (B) A hotline for recovering 

17 servicemembers and their family members (to 

18 be known as the ‘‘Wounded Servicemember 

19 Rights and Family Respite Hotline’’) that— 

20 (i) facilitates the reporting of delays 

21 and provides casework advocacy; 

22 (ii) provides casework advice; 

23 (iii) provides referrals to family and 

24 veteran support groups; and 


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1 (iv) facilitates the reporting of sub2 standard conditions, casework services, or 

3 assistance during evaluation and care 

4 under a physical disability evaluation sys5 tem. 

6 (2) AVAILABILITY.—The hotlines required by 

7 paragraph (1) shall operate at all times. 

8 (3) BILINGUAL ASSISTANCE.—The hotlines re9 quired by paragraph (1) shall be staffed at all times 

10 with operators fluent in English and Spanish. 

11 (c) OMBUDSMEN FOR RECOVERING

12 SERVICEMEMBERS.— 

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

14 shall establish within each regional medical com15 mand of the Armed Forces the position of Ombuds16 man for Recovering Servicemembers (in this sub17 section referred to as the ‘‘Ombudsman’’ or ‘‘Om18 budsmen’’). 

19 (2) ASSIGNMENT.—The Secretary shall assign 

20 to each position established under paragraph (1) a 

21 member of the Armed Forces or civilian employee of 

22 the Department of Defense who is qualified to dis23 charge the duties of the position. 

24 (3) DUTIES.—Each Ombudsman shall act as a 

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1 ily members with respect to the evaluation and care 

2 of recovering servicemembers under the physical dis3 ability evaluation systems. 

4 (4) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall make 

5 available to each recovering servicemember, and to 

6 the family members of all recovering 

7 servicemembers, information on contacting and uti8 lizing the services of the Ombudsmen. 

9 (d) MECHANISMS FOR OBTAINING FEEDBACK ON

10 OUTPATIENT CARE.—The Secretary of Defense shall es11 tablish the following mechanisms for obtaining feedback 

12 from recovering servicemembers and their family members 

13 on the quality of outpatient care available to recovering 

14 servicemembers through the Department of Defense: 

15 (1) An anonymous feedback system that is 

16 available to recovering servicemembers and their 

17 family members in all military medical treatment fa18 cilities and all military outpatient residential facili19 ties housing at least 5 recovering servicemembers 

20 and through the Internet. 

21 (2) Convocations, town hall meetings, or other 

22 forums held at military medical treatment facilities 

23 at least once per month. 

24 (e) OUTPATIENT CARE MANUAL.—The Secretary of 

25 Defense shall publish and make available to all recovering 


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1 servicemembers a single manual, in either English or 

2 Spanish, to guide them and their family members through3 out the applicable physical disability evaluation system. 

4 The manual shall list all relevant locations and points of 

5 contact and shall include information on retrieving docu6 mentation required for medical processing. 

7 (f) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Defense and 

8 the Secretaries of the military departments shall consult 

9 with and seek advice from the Oversight Board for the 

10 Wounded established pursuant to section 10 in carrying 

11 out this section. 

12 SEC. 7. SUPPORT SERVICES FOR FAMILIES OF RECOV13 ERING SERVICEMEMBERS. 

14 (a) MEDICAL CARE.—A family member of a recov15 ering servicemember who is not otherwise eligible for med16 ical care at a military medical treatment facility shall be 

17 eligible for such care if the family member is— 

18 (1) on invitational orders while caring for the 

19 recovering servicemember; 

20 (2) a non-medical attendee caring for the recov21 ering servicemember; or 

22 (3) receiving per diem payments from the De23 partment of Defense while caring for the recovering 

24 servicemember. 


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1 (b) JOB PLACEMENT SERVICES.—A family member 

2 who is on invitational orders or is a non-medical attendee 

3 while caring for a recovering servicemember for more than 

4 45 days during a one-year period shall be eligible for job 

5 placement services otherwise offered by the Department 

6 of Defense. 

7 SEC. 8. PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOY8 MENT AGAINST CERTAIN FAMILY MEMBERS 

9 CARING FOR RECOVERING 

10 SERVICEMEMBERS. 

11 (a) PROHIBITION.—A family member of a recovering 

12 servicemember described in subsection (b) shall not be de13 nied retention in employment, promotion, or any benefit 

14 of employment by an employer on the basis of the person’s 

15 absence from employment as described in that subsection. 

16 (b) COVERED FAMILY MEMBERS.—A family member 

17 described in this subsection is a family member of a recov18 ering servicemember who is— 

19 (1) on invitational orders while caring for the 

20 recovering servicemember; 

21 (2) a non-medical attendee caring for the recov22 ering servicemember; or 

23 (3) receiving per diem payments from the De24 partment of Defense while caring for the recovering 

25 servicemember. 


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1 (c) TREATMENT OF ACTIONS.—An employer shall be 

2 considered to have engaged in an action prohibited by sub3 section (a) with respect to a person described in that sub4 section if the absence from employment of the person as 

5 described in that subsection is a motivating factor in the 

6 employer’s action, unless the employer can prove that the 

7 action would have been taken in the absence of the absence 

8 of employment of the person. 

9 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘ben10 efit of employment’’ and ‘‘employer’’ have the meaning 

11 given such terms in section 4303 of title 38, United States 

12 Code. 

13 SEC. 9. MEAL BENEFITS FOR RECOVERING 

14 SERVICEMEMBERS AND CERTAIN FAMILY 

15 MEMBERS CARING FOR RECOVERING 

16 SERVICEMEMBERS. 

17 (a) PROHIBITION ON CHARGES FOR MEALS.—Each 

18 individual described in subsection (b) shall not be required 

19 to pay any charge for meals provided such individual by 

20 the military medical treatment facility concerned as de21 scribed in that subsection. 

22 (b) COVERED INDIVIDUALS.—An individual described 

23 in this subsection is any individual as follows: 

24 (1) A recovering servicemember who is under25 going medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, 


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1 or is otherwise in medical hold or holdover status, in 

2 a military medical treatment facility for an injury, 

3 illness, or disease incurred or aggravated while on 

4 active duty in the Armed Forces. 

5 (2) A family member of a recovering 

6 servicemember described in paragraph (1) who is— 

7 (A) on invitational orders while caring for 

8 the recovering servicemember; 

9 (B) a non-medical attendee caring for the 

10 recovering servicemember; or 

11 (C) receiving per diem payments from the 

12 Department of Defense while caring for the re13 covering servicemember. 

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The prohibition in subsection 

15 (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 

16 Act, and shall apply with respect to meals provided indi17 viduals covered by that subsection on or after that date. 

18 SEC. 10. OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR THE WOUNDED. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a 

20 board to be known as the Oversight Board for the Wound21 ed (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Oversight Board’’). 

22 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Oversight Board shall be 

23 composed of 12 members, of whom— 

24 (1) two shall be appointed by the majority lead25 er of the Senate; 


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1 (2) two shall be appointed by the minority lead2 er of the Senate; 

3 (3) two shall be appointed by the Speaker of 

4 the House of Representatives; 

5 (4) two shall be appointed by the minority lead6 er of the House of Representatives; 

7 (5) two shall be appointed by the President; 

8 and 

9 (6) two shall be appointed by the Secretary of 

10 Defense. 

11 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

12 (1) PARTICULAR QUALIFICATIONS.—The Over13 sight Board shall include members with the fol14 lowing qualifications: 

15 (A) One member shall be a veteran who 

16 served in Operation Enduring Freedom or Op17 eration Iraqi Freedom. 

18 (B) Two members shall have received 

19 treatment for injuries at a military medical 

20 treatment facility since September 11, 2001. 

21 (C) One member shall be a former non22 medical attendant for a recovering 

23 servicemember, such as a person who received 

24 and accepted invitational orders to care for a 

25 recovering servicemember. 


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1 (D) One member shall be a veteran who 

2 received treatment at a military medical treat3 ment facility for injuries sustained in armed 

4 hostilities before Operation Enduring Freedom 

5 and Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

6 (E) One member shall be a civilian expert 

7 in military healthcare. 

8 (2) GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS.—All members 

9 of the Oversight Board shall have sufficient knowl10 edge of, or experience with, the military healthcare 

11 system or the experience of a recovering 

12 servicemember or family member of a recovering 

13 servicemember. 

14 (d) DUTIES.— 

15 (1) ADVICE AND CONSULTATION.—The Over16 sight Board shall provide advice and consultation to 

17 the Department of Defense and the appropriate con18 gressional committees regarding— 

19 (A) the process for streamlining the phys20 ical disability evaluation systems of the military 

21 departments under section 3; 

22 (B) the process for correcting and improv23 ing the ratios of caseworkers and supervising 

24 officers to recovering servicemembers under sec25 tion 4; 


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1 (C) the need to revise Department of De2 fense policies to improve the experience of re3 covering servicemembers while under Depart4 ment of Defense care; 

5 (D) the need to revise Department of De6 fense policies to improve counseling, outreach, 

7 and general services provided to family mem8 bers of recovering servicemembers pursuant to 

9 sections 6 and 7; 

10 (E) the need to revise Department of De11 fense policies regarding the provision of quality 

12 lodging to recovering servicemembers; 

13 (F) progress made in implementing this 

14 Act; and 

15 (G) such other matters relating to the eval16 uation and care of recovering servicemembers, 

17 including evaluation and care under physical 

18 disability evaluation systems, as the Board con19 siders appropriate. 

20 (2) VISITS TO MILITARY MEDICAL TREATMENT

21 FACILITIES.—In carrying out its duties, each mem22 ber of the Oversight Board shall visit not less than 

23 three military medical treatment facilities each year, 

24 and shall conduct each year at least one meeting of 


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1 all the members of the Board at a military medical 

2 treatment facility. 

3 (e) STAFF.—The Secretary shall make available the 

4 services of at least two officials or employees of the De5 partment of Defense to provide support and assistance to 

6 members of the Oversight Board. 

7 (f) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the Oversight 

8 Board shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

9 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees 

10 of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 

11 United States Code, while away from their homes or reg12 ular places of business in the performance of service for 

13 the Oversight Board. 

14 (g) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), the members of the Oversight Board shall 

17 have the right to access information related to the 

18 deliberations, processes, and documents of the De19 partment of Defense pertaining to actions taken 

20 under this Act. 

21 (2) NATIONAL SECURITY EXCEPTION.—The 

22 Oversight Board shall not have the right to access 

23 information otherwise required under paragraph (1) 

24 if the Secretary— 


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1 (A) notifies the Oversight Board that dis2 closure of such information would compromise 

3 the national security of the United States; and 

4 (B) upon request of the Oversight Board, 

5 provides the information in classified form to 

6 the appropriate congressional committees. 

7 (h) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Oversight Board shall 

8 submit to the Secretary of Defense and the appropriate 

9 congressional committees each year a report on its activi10 ties under this Act during the preceding year, including 

11 any findings and recommendations of the Oversight Board 

12 as a result of such activities. 

13 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT16 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com17 mittees’’ means— 

18 (A) the Committee on Armed Services of 

19 the Senate; and 

20 (B) the Committee on Armed Services of 

21 the House of Representatives. 

22 (2) FAMILY MEMBER.—The term ‘‘family mem23 ber’’, with respect to a recovering servicemember, 

24 has the meaning given that term in section 411h(b) 

25 of title 37, United States Code. 


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1 (3) PHYSICAL DISABILITY EVALUATION SYS2 TEMS.—The term ‘‘physical disability evaluation sys3 tems’’ means the following: 

4 (A) In the case of the Department of the 

5 Army, the Physical Disability Evaluation Sys6 tem (PDES) of the Army. 

7 (B) In the case of any other military de8 partment, the physical disability evaluation sys9 tem or similar system or process of such mili10 tary departments that carries out functions 

11 equivalent to the function carried out for the 

12 Army by the Physical Disability Evaluation 

13 System of the Army. 

14 (4) RECOVERING SERVICEMEMBER.—The term 

15 ‘‘recovering servicemember’’ means a member of the 

16 Armed Forces, including a member of the National 

17 Guard or a Reserve, who is undergoing medical 

18 treatment, recuperation, or therapy, or is otherwise 

19 in medical hold or holdover status, for an injury, ill20 ness, or disease incurred or aggravated while on ac21 tive duty in the Armed Forces. 

Æ 


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