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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 865 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 865

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the disability 
compensation evaluation procedure of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
 for veterans with mental health conditions related to military sexual 
                    trauma, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 25, 2015

  Mr. Tester (for himself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Bennet, Ms. Collins, Mr. 
 Durbin, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mrs. McCaskill) 
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 improve the disability 
compensation evaluation procedure of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
 for veterans with mental health conditions related to military sexual 
                    trauma, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ruth Moore Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. STANDARD OF PROOF FOR SERVICE-CONNECTION OF MENTAL HEALTH 
              CONDITIONS RELATED TO MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA.

    (a) Standard of Proof.--Section 1154 of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c)(1) In the case of any veteran who claims that a covered 
mental health condition was incurred in or aggravated by military 
sexual trauma during active military, naval, or air service, the 
Secretary shall accept as sufficient proof of service-connection a 
diagnosis of such mental health condition by a mental health 
professional together with satisfactory lay or other evidence of such 
trauma and an opinion by the mental health professional that such 
covered mental health condition is related to such military sexual 
trauma, if consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or hardships 
of such service, notwithstanding the fact that there is no official 
record of such incurrence or aggravation in such service, and, to that 
end, shall resolve every reasonable doubt in favor of the veteran. 
Service-connection of such covered mental health condition may be 
rebutted by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. The reasons 
for granting or denying service-connection in each case shall be 
recorded in full.
    ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, in the absence of clear and 
convincing evidence to the contrary, and provided that the claimed 
military sexual trauma is consistent with the circumstances, 
conditions, or hardships of the veteran's service, the veteran's lay 
testimony alone may establish the occurrence of the claimed military 
sexual trauma.
    ``(3) In this subsection:
            ``(A) The term `covered mental health condition' means 
        post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, or other 
        mental health diagnosis described in the current version of the 
        Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published 
        by the American Psychiatric Association that the Secretary 
        determines to be related to military sexual trauma.
            ``(B) The term `military sexual trauma' means, with respect 
        to a veteran, psychological trauma, which in the judgment of a 
        mental health professional, resulted from a physical assault of 
        a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual 
        harassment which occurred during active military, naval, or air 
        service.''.
    (b) Annual Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Subchapter VI of chapter 11 of title 38, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new section:
``Sec. 1164. Reports on claims for disabilities incurred or aggravated 
              by military sexual trauma
    ``(a) Reports.--Not later than December 1, 2016, and each year 
thereafter through 2020, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report on covered claims submitted during the previous fiscal year.
    ``(b) Elements.--Each report under subsection (a) shall include the 
following:
            ``(1) The number of covered claims submitted to or 
        considered by the Secretary during the fiscal year covered by 
        the report.
            ``(2) Of the covered claims listed under paragraph (1), the 
        number and percentage of such claims--
                    ``(A) submitted by each sex;
                    ``(B) that were approved, including the number and 
                percentage of such approved claims submitted by each 
                sex; and
                    ``(C) that were denied, including the number and 
                percentage of such denied claims submitted by each sex.
            ``(3) Of the covered claims listed under paragraph (1) that 
        were approved, the number and percentage, listed by each sex, 
        of claims assigned to each rating percentage.
            ``(4) Of the covered claims listed under paragraph (1) that 
        were denied--
                    ``(A) the three most common reasons given by the 
                Secretary under section 5104(b)(1) of this title for 
                such denials; and
                    ``(B) the number of denials that were based on the 
                failure of a veteran to report for a medical 
                examination.
            ``(5) The number of covered claims that, as of the end of 
        the fiscal year covered by the report, are pending and, 
        separately, the number of such claims on appeal.
            ``(6) For the fiscal year covered by the report, the 
        average number of days that covered claims take to complete 
        beginning on the date on which the claim is submitted.
            ``(7) A description of the training that the Secretary 
        provides to employees of the Veterans Benefits Administration 
        specifically with respect to covered claims, including the 
        frequency, length, and content of such training.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `covered claims' means claims for disability 
        compensation submitted to the Secretary based on a covered 
        mental health condition alleged to have been incurred or 
        aggravated by military sexual trauma.
            ``(2) The term `covered mental health condition' has the 
        meaning given that term in subparagraph (A) of section 
        1154(c)(3) of this title.
            ``(3) The term `military sexual trauma' has the meaning 
        given that term in subparagraph (B) of such section.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new item:

``1164. Annual reports on claims for disabilities incurred or 
                            aggravated by military sexual trauma.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--Subsection (c) of section 1154 of title 38, 
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with 
respect to any claim for disability compensation under laws 
administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for which no final 
decision has been made before the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>
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