II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2776 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a program of 

outreach to veterans of World War II and the Korean conflict on the 

nature and availability of benefits for veterans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 7, 2004 

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

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 

a program of outreach to veterans of World War II 

and the Korean conflict on the nature and availability 

of benefits for veterans, 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. PROGRAM OF OUTREACH TO VETERANS OF 

4 WORLD WAR II AND KOREAN CONFLICT ON 

5 VETERANS BENEFITS. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find7 ings: 
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•S 2776 IS 

1 (1) Veterans of World War II and the Korean 

2 conflict represent 31.6 percent of the current popu3 lation of veterans. However, veterans of World War 

4 II and the Korean conflict represent only 23.2 per5 cent of the total number of veterans currently receiv6 ing disability compensation from the Department of 

7 Veterans Affairs. 

8 (2) Veterans of World War II and the Korean 

9 conflict who receive disability compensation have, on 

10 average, 1.94 and 2.12 disabilities per veteran, re11 spectively, whereas veterans of the Vietnam era and 

12 the Persian Gulf War who receive disability com13 pensation have, on average, 2.88 and 3.48 disabil14 ities per veteran, respectively. 

15 (3) Advances in medical science and technology 

16 have improved the understanding of the origins of 

17 diseases and disabilities which are associated with 

18 military service, including diseases and disabilities 

19 that manifest long after the completion of military 

20 service. 

21 (4) Unlike veterans of later periods, veterans of 

22 World War II and the Korean conflict did not have 

23 the benefit of extensive transition assistance and 

24 outreach services now routinely provided by the De25 partment and other government agencies. 
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1 (5) Veterans of World War II and the Korean 

2 conflict are dying at the aggregate rate of 1,400 per 

3 day. 

4 (6) It is in the interest of the Nation that the 

5 Secretary make every effort to inform veterans of 

6 World War II and the Korean conflict of the bene7 fits to which they may be entitled. 

8 (b) OUTREACH.—(1) The Secretary of Veterans Af9 fairs shall carry out a program to provide outreach to vet10 erans of World War II and of the Korean conflict on the 

11 nature and availability of benefits for veterans. 

12 (2) The purpose of the program is to make veterans 

13 of World War II and of the Korean conflict aware of the 

14 veterans benefits to which they may be entitled and to en15 courage such veterans to apply for such benefits. 

16 (3)(A) The program shall include a nationwide public 

17 service campaign consisting of such elements, and appear18 ing in and through such media, as the Secretary considers 

19 appropriate for the program. 

20 (B) Of the amount authorized to be appropriated by 

21 subsection (e) for the program, $35,000,000 shall be avail22 able for the public service campaign described in subpara23 graph (A). 

24 (4) As part of the program, the Secretary shall estab25 lish performance measures for the outreach under the pro-
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1 gram to permit the on-going evaluation of the extent and 

2 success of the outreach under the program. 

3 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 24 months after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub5 mit to Congress a report on the program under this sec6 tion. The report shall include the following: 

7 (1) A description of the program, including a 

8 detailed description of the outreach conducted under 

9 the program. 

10 (2) A statement of the amount expended on the 

11 program. 

12 (3) An assessment of the effectiveness of the 

13 program. 

14 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘World 

15 War II’’ and ‘‘Korean conflict’’ have the meanings given 

16 such terms in section 101 of title 38, United States Code. 

17 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans 

19 Affairs such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 

20 section. 

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