II 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3511 

To require the Secretary of Defense to expand the Secretarial Designee 

Program of the Department of Defense to include victims of acts of terror. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 7, 2016 

Ms. WARREN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Defense to expand the Secretarial 

Designee Program of the Department of Defense to include victims of acts of terror. 

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 ‘‘Jessica Kensky and 

5 Patrick Downes Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE UNDER SECRETARIAL 

2 DESIGNEE PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF 

3 DEFENSE FOR TRAUMATIC INJURIES SUF4 FERED BY VICTIMS OF TERRORISM. 

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that— 

7 (1) victims of acts of terror in the United 

8 States deserve the best available medical treatment; 

9 (2) military treatment facilities possess the vital 

10 expertise and experience to provide unique care for 

11 victims of acts of terror who incur blast and other 

12 injuries that result in amputations and limb salvage 

13 procedures; 

14 (3) the Secretarial Designee Program of the 

15 Department of Defense conducted under section 

16 1074(c) of title 10, United States Code, should be 

17 expanded to provide expert care in a timely manner 

18 to victims of acts of terror; 

19 (4) the expansion of such program will not only 

20 benefit victims, but also provide military treatment 

21 facilities such as Walter Reed National Military 

22 Medical Center and the Uniformed Services Univer23 sity of the Health Sciences with the ability to pro24 vide ongoing education and training opportunities to 

25 mentor the next generation of health care providers 


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1 that will provide care for members of the Armed 

2 Forces; and 

3 (5) care for victims of acts of terror should be 

4 provided under the policies of the Department in ef5 fect as of the date of the enactment of this Act that 

6 provide space at military treatment facilities to civil7 ians on a space available and fully reimbursable 

8 basis. 

9 (b) EXPANSION OF SECRETARIAL DESIGNEE PRO10 GRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.— 

11 (1) EXPANSION OF PROGRAM.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of De13 fense shall expand eligibility for the Secretarial 

14 Designee Program of the Department of De15 fense conducted under section 1074(c) of title 

16 10, United States Code, to include the provision 

17 of health care at military treatment facilities 

18 for— 

19 (i) victims of acts of terror that occur 

20 in the United States; and 

21 (ii) residents of the United States who 

22 are victims of acts of terror outside the 

23 United States. 

24 (B) ELIGIBILITY STATUS.—Individuals 

25 who become eligible for the Secretarial Designee 


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1 Program pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall 

2 remain eligible for such program on a space 

3 available and fully reimbursable basis in accord4 ance with the policy of the Department of De5 fense governing such program in effect as of 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 (C) EXPEDITED STATUS.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

9 provide expedited eligibility for the Secre10 tarial Designee Program pursuant to sub11 paragraph (A) if the Secretary determines 

12 that the injuries of the individual are se13 vere enough to warrant such expedited eli14 gibility. 

15 (ii) EVALUATION.—In making a de16 termination under clause (i), the Secretary 

17 shall evaluate victims described in clause 

18 (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) who require 

19 critical care. 

20 (D) RELEASE TO PRIVATE SECTOR

21 HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The Secretary may 

22 not release an individual who is receiving care 

23 under the Secretarial Designee Program pursu24 ant to subparagraph (A) to a health care pro25 vider in the private sector until a comprehensive 


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1 treatment plan is communicated to the indi2 vidual and the health care provider. 

3 (2) PROCEDURES AFTER ACTS OF TERROR.— 

4 Not later than 270 days after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall, in 

6 consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Secu7 rity and the heads of such other Federal agencies as 

8 the Secretary of Defense considers appropriate, es9 tablish procedures to implement paragraph (1), 

10 which shall include the following: 

11 (A) Procedures for the conduct of timely 

12 outreach and communication to local medical 

13 facilities after an act of terror in the United 

14 States. 

15 (B) Procedures to promptly contact, co16 ordinate, and provide medical expertise to local 

17 medical facilities that are treating victims of an 

18 act of terror that caused blast related injuries 

19 and other serious injuries. 

20 (C) Procedures for the provision of medical 

21 evaluations for victims of an act of terror who 

22 were exposed to blast and other types of inju23 ries. 

Æ 


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