I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2306
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve programs of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs for outreach to veterans and their family 
members, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 11, 2005
Mr. STRICKLAND (for himself, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. CASE, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. 
FILNER, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. 
TOWNS, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Ms. 
JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. WYNN, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. 
HONDA, Ms. HERSETH, and Mr. RUPPERSBERGER) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve programs 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs for outreach to 
veterans and their family members, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Outreach Act 
of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. RESCISSION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-
FAIRS MEMORANDUM. 
(a) RESCISSION
OF MEMORANDUM.—The memo-
randum of the Department of Veterans Affairs dated July 
18, 2002, from the Deputy Under Secretary for Health 
for Operations and Management with the subject ‘‘Status 
of VHA Enrollment and Associated Issues’’ is hereby re-
scinded. Marketing activities of directors of health service 
networks (known as ‘‘Veterans Integrated Service Net-
works’’) of the Department of Veterans Affairs to enroll 
new veterans within their respective networks shall be car-
ried out without regard to such memorandum. 
(b) FUNDING LIMITATION.—No funds available to 
the Department of Veterans Affairs may be used to carry 
out the memorandum referred to in subsection (a) or oth-
erwise to implement the policy contained in that memo-
randum. 
SEC. 3. OUTREACH ACTIVITIES. 
(a) ANNUAL PLAN REQUIRED.—Subchapter II of 
chapter 77 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new sections: 
‘‘§ 7728. Annual plan on outreach activities 
‘‘(a) ANNUAL PLAN REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall 
prepare each year a plan for the outreach activities of the 
Department for the following year.
‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—Each annual plan under sub-
section (a) shall include the following: 
‘‘(1) Plans for efforts to identify veterans who 
are not enrolled or registered with the Department 
for benefits or services under the programs adminis-
tered by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) Plans for informing veterans and their de-
pendents of modifications of the benefits and serv-
ices under the programs administered by the Sec-
retary, including eligibility for medical and nursing 
care and services. 
‘‘(c) COORDINATION IN DEVELOPMENT.—In devel-
oping an annual plan under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall consult with the following: 
‘‘(1) Directors or other appropriate officials of 
organizations recognized by the Secretary under sec-
tion 5902 of this title. 
‘‘(2) Directors or other appropriate officials of 
State and local education and training programs. 
‘‘(3) The Administration on Aging of the De-
partment of Health and Human Services. 
‘‘(4) Representatives of nongovernmental orga-
nizations that carry out veterans outreach programs. 
‘‘(5) Representatives of State and local veterans 
employment organizations.
‘‘(6) Businesses and professional organizations. 
‘‘(7) Other individuals and organizations that 
assist veterans in adjusting to civilian life. 
‘‘(d) INCORPORATION OF ASSESSMENT OF PREVIOUS 
ANNUAL PLANS.—In developing an annual plan under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall take into account the 
lessons learned from the implementation of previous an-
nual plans under that subsection and program evaluations 
from the Office of Policy, Planning, and Preparedness of 
the Department. 
‘‘§ 7729. Outreach activities: coordination of activities 
within Department 
‘‘(a) The Secretary shall establish and maintain pro-
cedures for ensuring the effective coordination of the out-
reach activities of the Department between and among the 
following: 
‘‘(1) The Office of the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) The Office of Public Affairs. 
‘‘(3) The Veterans Health Administration. 
‘‘(4) The Veterans Benefits Administration. 
‘‘(5) The National Cemetery Administration. 
‘‘(b) The Secretary shall—
‘‘(1) periodically review the procedures main-
tained under subsection (a) for the purpose of ensur-
ing that such procedures meet the requirement in 
that subsection; and 
‘‘(2) make such modifications to such proce-
dures as the Secretary considers appropriate in light 
of such review in order to better achieve that pur-
pose.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 7727 the following new 
items:
‘‘7728. Annual plan on outreach activities. 
‘‘7729. Outreach activities: coordination of activities within Department.’’.
(c) INITIAL ANNUAL PLAN.—The first annual out-
reach activities plan under section 7728 of title 38, United 
States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall be prepared 
for the first year beginning after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT FOR OUTREACH EFFORTS AND 
DEDICATED STAFF AT EACH REGIONAL OF-
FICE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress and the Department of 
Veterans Affairs historically have targeted certain specific 
populations for outreach efforts concerning benefits under 
laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 
Groups currently targeted for such outreach efforts and 
for which program outreach coordinators have been des-
ignated at each regional office of the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs are the following: 
(1) Former prisoners of war. 
(2) Women veterans. 
(3) Minority veterans. 
(4) Active duty personnel. 
(5) Homeless veterans. 
(6) Elderly veterans. 
(7) Recently separated veterans. 
(b) ELIGIBLE DEPENDENT DEFINED.—Paragraph 
(2) of section 7721(b) of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) the term ‘eligible dependent’ means a 
spouse, surviving spouse (whether or not remarried), 
child (regardless of age or marital status), or parent 
of a person who served in the active military, naval, 
or air service.’’. 
(c) IMPROVED OUTREACH PROGRAM.—Section 7727 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘§ 7727. Outreach for eligible dependents 
‘‘(a) In carrying out this subchapter, the Secretary 
shall ensure that the needs of eligible dependents are fully 
addressed.
‘‘(b)(1) In order to carry out subsection (a), the Sec-
retary shall assign such employees of the Veterans Bene-
fits Administration as the Secretary considers appropriate 
to conduct outreach programs and provide outreach serv-
ices for eligible dependents. In areas where the number 
of eligible dependents warrant doing so, the Secretary 
shall assign at least one employee in the Veterans Benefits 
Administration regional office to serve as a full-time coor-
dinator of outreach programs and services for eligible de-
pendents in that region. 
‘‘(2) Responsibilities of employees assigned to out-
reach functions under paragraph (1) shall include pro-
viding eligible dependents with—
‘‘(A) information about benefits under laws ad-
ministered by the Secretary; and 
‘‘(B) contacting responsible regional office em-
ployees to facilitate—
‘‘(i) assistance in claims preparation and 
inquiry resolution; and 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a dependent of a de-
ceased veteran for whom necessary records are 
incomplete, assistance in obtaining such records 
and other necessary information concerning the 
veteran.
‘‘(c)(1) Information provided an eligible dependent 
under this section shall include information on how to 
apply for benefits for which the dependent may be eligible, 
including information about assistance available under 
subsection (b) and section 7722(d) of this title. 
‘‘(2) In the case of eligible dependents who are mem-
bers of distinct beneficiary populations (such as survivors 
of deceased veterans), the Secretary shall ensure that in-
formation provided under this section includes specific in-
formation about benefits relating to that population. 
‘‘(d) For any geographic area in which there is a sig-
nificant population of eligible dependents whose primary 
language is a language other than English, the Secretary 
shall make information provided under this subsection 
available to those dependents in the dominant language 
in that area (in addition to English). 
‘‘(e) Outreach services and assistance shall be pro-
vided for eligible dependents through the same means that 
are used for other specially targeted groups. 
‘‘(f) The Secretary shall ensure that the availability 
of outreach services and assistance for eligible dependents 
under this subchapter is made known through a variety 
of means, including the Internet, correspondence of the 
Department, announcements in veterans publications, an-
nouncements to the media, telephone directories, direct
correspondence to congressional offices, military bases, 
public affairs offices, military retiree affairs offices, and 
United States embassies. 
‘‘(g) The Secretary shall support the Department’s 
periodic evaluation under section 527 of this title con-
cerning the Department’s efforts to address the needs of 
eligible dependents. 
‘‘(h) The Secretary shall include in the Secretary’s 
annual report under section 529 of this title an assessment 
of the programs of the Department addressing the infor-
mation and assistance needs of veterans and eligible de-
pendents. The Secretary shall include in each such report 
the following: 
‘‘(1) Information about expenditures, costs, and 
workload under the program of the Department di-
rected towards the information and assistance needs 
of veterans and eligible dependents. 
‘‘(2) Information about outreach efforts di-
rected toward veterans and eligible dependents. 
‘‘(3) Information about emerging needs within 
the program that relate to other provisions of law, 
including section 7725 of this title with respect to 
language needs of veterans and eligible dependents. 
‘‘(4) Information as to the timeline for imple-
mentation of improvements to meet existing and
emerging needs of veterans and eligible dependents 
in addition to those specified in this section.’’.
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