I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5951 

To establish the Veterans Crisis Response Corps, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2018 

Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. MOULTON, and Ms. JACKSON LEE) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, Foreign Affairs, and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish the Veterans Crisis Response Corps, 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Crisis Re5 sponse Corps Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The United States has a long history of re9 sponding to natural and man-made crises both doVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Jun 04, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5951.IH H5951

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1 mestic and abroad. These efforts secure the safety 

2 and security of our citizens at home and overseas, 

3 help to build a more peaceful, prosperous, and se4 cure world, to the long-term benefit of the United 

5 States and the international community. 

6 (2) Following major natural disasters, the De7 partment of Defense has an unmatched logistical 

8 and operational capacity to provide rapid response 

9 across the globe. In recent years, Department of De10 fense assets have played a key role in responding to 

11 domestic and international crises including the 2004 

12 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, Hurricane Katrina in 

13 2005, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the 2011 earth14 quake and tsunami in Japan, Hurricane Sandy in 

15 2012, and Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. 

16 (3) The Department of Defense’s crisis re17 sponse mission serves the interests of the United 

18 States by supporting domestic response to aid the 

19 homeland and abroad by deepening cooperation with 

20 regional partners, and providing a platform for pub21 lic diplomacy and outreach. 

22 (4) The Department of Defense’s role following 

23 disasters is temporary, typically spanning the imme24 diate aftermath of a disaster, focusing on the provi25 sion of equipment, support, food and water, and 


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1 medical care. When Department of Defense assets 

2 withdraw, the work of repairing infrastructure can 

3 take months or years. 

4 (5) More than 2,400,000 members of the 

5 Armed Forces have separated from the Armed 

6 Forces since September 11, 2001. Unemployment 

7 remains a serious problem for veterans, with 

8 500,000 veterans unemployed at some point in 

9 2016. Many veterans leave the Armed Forces with 

10 a continued desire to serve, as well as skills and ex11 perience that make them invaluable in a disaster re12 lief and reconstruction setting. 

13 (6) Nonprofit organizations such as Team Ru14 bicon, the Mission Continues, and others provide 

15 service opportunities for veterans to apply their 

16 skills to community service projects, including dis17 aster relief and reconstruction. 

18 (7) There is a pressing need to provide service 

19 and employment opportunities for veterans and it is 

20 in the interests of the United States to assist in re21 construction projects following national disasters in 

22 order to promote American values and as an exercise 

23 of public diplomacy. 

24 (8) The establishment of a Veterans Crisis Re25 sponse Corps would leverage the unique skills of vetVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:22 Jun 05, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5951.IH H5951

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1 erans to the benefit of the United States, supporting 

2 the safety and security of the homeland, building 

3 good will overseas and providing productive, mean4 ingful work opportunities to veterans. 

5 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF VETERANS CRISIS RESPONSE 

6 CORPS. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the ex8 ecutive branch of the Federal Government an independent 

9 agency to be known as the Veterans Crisis Response 

10 Corps. 

11 (b) DIRECTOR.—There shall be a Director of the Vet12 erans Crisis Response Corps, who is the head of the Vet13 erans Crisis Response Corps. The Director shall be ap14 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and con15 sent of the Senate. 

16 (c) MISSION.—The Veterans Crisis Response Corps 

17 shall— 

18 (1) organize members of the Veterans Crisis 

19 Response Corps to participate in disaster relief and 

20 reconstruction projects following domestic or inter21 national manmade or natural disasters; 

22 (2) in carrying out such projects, deploy mem23 bers of the Corps in support of the United States 

24 Agency designated to lead the response to perform 

25 reconstruction tasks and provide support services, 


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1 training, technical assistance, and other assistance 

2 in post-disaster areas; 

3 (3) supplement and enhance the humanitarian 

4 relief and reconstruction support provided by other 

5 departments and agencies of the Federal Govern6 ment, including the Department of Defense, the De7 partment of State, the United States Agency for 

8 International Development, the Federal Emergency 

9 Management Agency, and nongovernmental organi10 zations and international aid organizations, by de11 ploying a highly skilled and highly experienced work12 force of veterans; and 

13 (4) identify high-impact reconstruction projects 

14 in the United States that would make use of the 

15 skills of members of the Veterans Crisis Response 

16 Corps and leverage and coordinate with other ele17 ments of the Federal Government and nongovern18 mental organizations. 

19 (d) POWERS.—The Director may establish general 

20 policies of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps, including 

21 with respect to— 

22 (1) establishing rules for conducting the general 

23 business of the Corps; 

24 (2) entering into contracts; 


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1 (3) directing the establishment and mainte2 nance of divisions or other offices within the Corps; 

3 (4) coordinating and overseeing the operation of 

4 the activities of the Corps; 

5 (5) adopting and using a seal; 

6 (6) appointing and supervising personnel em7 ployed by the Corps; 

8 (7) distributing business among such personnel 

9 and units of the Corps; 

10 (8) obligating and expending funds made avail11 able to the Corps; and 

12 (9) performing such other functions as may be 

13 authorized or required by law. 

14 (e) PERSONNEL.—The Director may fix the number 

15 of, and appoint and direct, employees of the Veterans Cri16 sis Response Corps, in accordance with the applicable pro17 visions of title 5, United States Code. Unless otherwise 

18 provided expressly by law, any individual appointed under 

19 this subsection shall be an employee as defined in section 

20 2105 of title 5, United States Code, and subject to the 

21 provisions of such title and other laws generally applicable 

22 to the employees of an Executive agency. 

23 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP IN CORPS. 

24 (a) ELIGIBILITY.— 


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1 (1) VOLUNTEER.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 

2 veteran may elect to serve as a member of the Vet3 erans Crisis Response Corps. 

4 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Director may pre5 scribe requirements, including with respect to phys6 ical and mental health, for veterans to serve as 

7 members of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps. 

8 (b) DUTY REQUIRED.— 

9 (1) TRAINING.—The Director shall require that 

10 each member of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps 

11 meet the training requirements pursuant to section 

12 6. 

13 (2) DEPLOYMENTS.—Members of the Veterans 

14 Crisis Response Corps may elect to accept a deploy15 ment in support of a disaster relief or reconstruction 

16 project pursuant to section 5. Such a deployment 

17 may not exceed a one-year period. The Director may 

18 not require that a member accept a deployment. 

19 (3) LIST.—The Director shall maintain a list of 

20 members of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps who 

21 elect to accept deployments in support of a disaster 

22 relief or reconstruction project pursuant to section 5. 

23 (c) SEPARATION.—A member of the Veterans Crisis 

24 Response Corps may be separated from the Corps as fol25 lows: 


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1 (1) Upon the election of the member. 

2 (2) Upon the determination of the Director 

3 that— 

4 (A) the member has failed to meet the 

5 training requirements pursuant to section 5 or 

6 other requirements pursuant to this Act; or 

7 (B) such separation is in the best interests 

8 of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps. 

9 SEC. 5. DISASTER RELIEF AND RECONSTRUCTION PROJ10 ECTS. 

11 (a) PROJECT SELECTION.—In consultation with the 

12 Coordination Council established under section 7, the Di13 rector shall select disaster relief and reconstruction 

14 projects in the United States or outside the United States 

15 for the Veterans Crisis Response Corps to carry out. 

16 (b) INTERAGENCY PREFERENCE.—The Veterans Cri17 sis Response Corps shall be the preferred source of per18 sonnel for surge capacity to all United States Agencies 

19 providing relief and reconstruction. 

20 (c) PRIORITY.—To the extent practicable, the Direc21 tor shall prioritize the selection of disaster relief and re22 construction projects under subsection (a) that— 

23 (1) will benefit from the skilled and experienced 

24 labor of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps; 


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1 (2) support defined needs of the lead United 

2 States Agency; and 

3 (3) may be carried out using funds made avail4 able by an element of the Federal Government other 

5 than the Veterans Crisis Response Corps, or by a 

6 State or local government, a foreign country, or a 

7 nongovernmental organization. 

8 (d) TYPES OF PROJECTS.—Disaster relief and recon9 struction projects selected under subsection (a) shall in10 clude projects relating to— 

11 (1) responding to natural disasters, including 

12 through the provision of food, water, shelter, and 

13 medical care; 

14 (2) carrying out reconstruction following nat15 ural disasters, including repair of critical infrastruc16 ture; 

17 (3) water and energy projects, including the 

18 construction of water infrastructure, electrical infra19 structure and generation, and transportation hubs; 

20 and 

21 (4) other projects that the Director determines 

22 fulfil the mission of the Veterans Crisis Response 

23 Corps. 


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1 (e) AGREEMENTS.—The Director may enter into 

2 agreements with nongovernmental organizations under 

3 which— 

4 (1) members of the Veterans Crisis Response 

5 Corps assist the nongovernmental entity to carry out 

6 disaster relief and reconstruction projects that the 

7 Director determines fulfil the mission of the Vet8 erans Crisis Response Corps; and 

9 (2) the Director may provide to the nongovern10 mental entity funds in amounts necessary to carry 

11 out paragraph (1). 

12 SEC. 6. TRAINING OF MEMBERS OF THE VETERANS CRISIS 

13 RESPONSE CORPS. 

14 (a) REQUIRED TRAINING.—The Director shall estab15 lish a system of required training for members of the Vet16 erans Crisis Response Corps that is carried out on a reg17 ular schedule. 

18 (b) MANDATORY PARTICIPATION.—The Director 

19 shall require members of the Veterans Crisis Response 

20 Corps to participate in training under subsection (a) as 

21 a condition of remaining eligible for deployment in support 

22 of a disaster relief or reconstruction project pursuant to 

23 section 5. 


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1 SEC. 7. COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, AND PROTECTIONS 

2 FOR MEMBERS OF THE VETERANS CRISIS RE3 SPONSE CORPS. 

4 (a) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall determine a 

5 rate of compensation for members of the Veterans Crisis 

6 Response Corps during a duty period. In determining such 

7 rate, the Director shall take into account the final rank 

8 in the Armed Forces of the members, the specific skills 

9 possessed by members, and other factors as determined 

10 appropriate by the Director. 

11 (b) HEALTH CARE.—During a duty period, a mem12 ber of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps shall be treated 

13 as a member of the National Guard on active duty for 

14 a period of more than 30 days for purposes of being eligi15 ble for health care benefits under the TRICARE program 

16 (as defined in section 1072 of title 10, United States 

17 Code). 

18 (c) EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS.— 

19 Section 4303(16) of title 38, United States Code, is 

20 amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: 

21 ‘‘Such term also includes the Veterans Crisis Response 

22 Corps when in a duty period (as defined in section 9 of 

23 the Veterans Crisis Response Corps Act of 2018).’’. 

24 SEC. 8. COORDINATION COUNCIL. 

25 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a council 

26 to be known as the ‘‘Coordination Council’’ to— 


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1 (1) advise the Director; 

2 (2) assist the Director in identifying and 

3 prioritizing disaster relief and reconstruction 

4 projects under section 5 that are suitable to the mis5 sion and resources of the Veterans Crisis Response 

6 Corps; 

7 (3) coordinate the deployments of members of 

8 the Veterans Crisis Response Corps in support of a 

9 disaster relief or reconstruction project pursuant to 

10 section 5; and 

11 (4) as requested by the Director, provide tech12 nical support, training, logistical support, and other 

13 appropriate support. 

14 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall consist of the 

15 following: 

16 (1) The Secretary of Defense. 

17 (2) The Secretary of State. 

18 (3) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

19 (4) The Secretary of the Department of Home20 land Security. 

21 (5) The Administrator of the United States 

22 Agency for International Development. 

23 (6) The Administrator of the Federal Emer24 gency Management Agency. 


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1 (7) The Chief Executive Officer of the Corpora2 tion for National and Community Service. 

3 (8) Other members in the non-voting, con4 sulting status as determined by the Council. 

5 SEC. 9. REPORTS. 

6 (a) REPORTS.—Not less than once each year, the Di7 rector shall submit to Congress a report on the operations 

8 of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps. 

9 (b) MATTERS INCLUDED.—Each report under sub10 section (a) shall include the following: 

11 (1) A detail of any activities carried out by the 

12 Veterans Crisis Response Corps during the period 

13 covered by the report. 

14 (2) Any recommendations the Director deter15 mines appropriate to increase the effectiveness and 

16 efficiency of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps. 

17 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) The term ‘‘duty period’’ means a period in 

20 which a member of the Veterans Crisis Response 

21 Corps is— 

22 (A) deployed in support of a disaster relief 

23 or reconstruction project pursuant to section 5; 

24 or 


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1 (B) engaged in training pursuant to sec2 tion 6. 

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

4 that term in section 101(2) of title 38, United 

5 States Code. 

Æ 


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