II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1441 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify authorities for the Secretary 

of Veterans Affairs to accept new applications for grants for State 

home construction projects, to authorize the Secretary to award grants 

for construction of facilities used in non-institutional care programs, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2007 

Mr. CRAIG introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify authorities 

for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to accept new applications for grants for State home construction projects, 

to authorize the Secretary to award grants for construction of facilities used in non-institutional care programs, 

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 ‘‘State Veterans Home 

5 Modernization Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITIES FOR CONSTRUC2 TION OF STATE HOMES. 

3 (a) PROHIBITION ON APPROVAL OF NEW GRANTS

4 FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION THAT WOULD EXPAND THE

5 NUMBER OF BEDS IN STATE HOMES IN A STATE.—Sec6 tion 8135 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 

7 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(g)(1) The Secretary shall not approve any applica9 tion for financial assistance under this subchapter that is 

10 first submitted after the date that is 730 days after the 

11 date of the enactment of this subsection if the Secretary 

12 determines that the construction for which the assistance 

13 is sought would result in an increase in the total number 

14 of beds in such State for which the Secretary makes pay15 ments under section 1741(a)(1) of this title. 

16 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall allow a State to modify an 

17 application to meet the requirements of this subsection 

18 and the modified application shall be treated as submitted 

19 on the date of the original application.’’. 

20 (b) DISAPPROVAL OF PROJECTS THAT LACK MATCH21 ING FUNDS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

23 8135(c)(5) of such title, the Secretary of Veterans 

24 Affairs shall disapprove any application for financial 

25 assistance under subchapter III of chapter 81 of 

26 such title that— 


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1 (A) was submitted under section 8135 of 

2 such title on or before the 730th day after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act; 

4 (B) after the date that is 730 days after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act— 

6 (i) is on the list of approved projects 

7 established under subsection (c)(4) of such 

8 section; and 

9 (ii) has not been accorded priority 

10 under subsection (c)(2)(A) of such section; 

11 and 

12 (C) the Secretary determines that the con13 struction for which the assistance is sought 

14 would result in an increase in the total number 

15 of beds in such State for which the Secretary 

16 makes payments under section 1741(a)(1) of 

17 such title. 

18 (2) NO NOTICE OR OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING

19 REQUIRED.—Section 8135(d) of such title shall not 

20 apply to a disapproval under paragraph (1). 

21 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF STATE HOME GRANT PROGRAM TO 

22 INCLUDE GRANTS FOR NON-INSTITUTIONAL 

23 CARE PROGRAMS. 

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 8131 of title 38, United 

25 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘domiciliary or’’ and in3 serting ‘‘non-institutional care, domiciliary,’’; 

4 and 

5 (B) by striking ‘‘provision of’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘provision of non-institutional care or’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

8 paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(5) The term ‘non-institutional care’ means 

10 care consisting of services described in paragraphs 

11 (4), (5), and (6) of section 1710B(a) of this title.’’. 

12 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.—Section 8132 of 

13 such title is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘§ 8132. Declaration of purpose 

15 ‘‘The purpose of this subchapter is to assist the sev16 eral States in the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) Constructing— 

18 ‘‘(A) State home facilities (or acquiring fa19 cilities to be used as State home facilities) for 

20 furnishing domiciliary or nursing home care to 

21 veterans; and 

22 ‘‘(B) non-institutional care facilities (or to 

23 acquire facilities to be used as non-institutional 

24 care facilities) for furnishing non-institutional 

25 care to veterans. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Expanding, remodeling, or altering exist2 ing buildings for— 

3 ‘‘(A) furnishing domiciliary, nursing home, 

4 adult day health, or hospital care to veterans in 

5 State homes; and 

6 ‘‘(B) furnishing non-institutional care to 

7 veterans in non-institutional care programs.’’. 

8 (c) MODIFICATION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO9 PRIATIONS.—Section 8133(a) of such title is amended— 

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘There are’’; 

11 (2) by designating the second sentence as para12 graph (2) and indenting the margin of such para13 graph, as so designated, two ems from the left mar14 gin; 

15 (3) in paragraph (2), as so designated by para16 graph (2) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘Sums ap17 propriated’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph (3), 

18 sums appropriated’’; and 

19 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

20 paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(3) In the case of each fiscal year beginning after 

22 September 30, 2007, not less than 10 percent of sums 

23 appropriated for construction under this subchapter shall 

24 be used for making grants to States which have submitted, 


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1 and have had approved by the Secretary, applications for 

2 non-institutional care projects.’’. 

3 (d) APPLICATIONS.—Section 8135(a) of such title is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by in6 serting ‘‘or non-institutional care’’ after ‘‘State 

7 home’’ both places it appears; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, in the case 

9 of a State home facility,’’ after ‘‘and’’. 

10 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

11 (1) Section 1741(a)(2) of such title is amended 

12 by striking ‘‘extended care services’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘non-institutional care services’’. 

14 (2) Section 8136 of such title is amended by 

15 striking ‘‘or hospital care’’ and inserting ‘‘hospital 

16 care, or non-institutional care’’. 

17 (3) Section 8137 of such title is amended in18 serting ‘‘or non-institutional care program’’ after 

19 ‘‘State home’’. 

20 (4) The heading at the beginning of subchapter 

21 III of chapter 81 of such title, is amended to read 

22 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—FACILITIES FOR STATE 

2 HOMES AND NON-INSTITUTIONAL CARE 

3 PROGRAMS’’. 

4 (f) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

5 the beginning of such chapter is amended by striking the 

6 item related to subchapter III and inserting the following 

7 new item: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—FACILITIES FOR STATE HOMES AND NON-INSTITUTIONAL

CARE PROGRAMS’’. 

Æ 


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