H. R. 2353
One Hundred Fourth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six
An Act
To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend the authority of the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs to carry out certain programs and activities, to require certain
reports from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
TITLE I—EXTENSIONS OF AUTHORITY
SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITIES UNDER TITLE 38, UNITED
STATES CODE.
(a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE PRIORITY HEALTH CARE FOR CER-
TAIN
VETERANS
EXPOSED
TO
TOXIC
SUBSTANCES.—(1) Section
1710(e)(3) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking
out ‘‘after June 30, 1995,’’ and all that follows through ‘‘December
31, 1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘after December 31, 1996’’.
(2) Section 1712(a)(1)(D) of such title is amended by striking
out ‘‘December 31, 1995,’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December
31, 1996,’’.
(b) DRUG
AND ALCOHOL ABUSE
AND DEPENDENCE.—Section
1720A(e) of such title is amended by striking out ‘‘December 31,
1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31, 1997’’.
(c) PILOT PROGRAM FOR NONINSTITUTIONAL ALTERNATIVES TO
NURSING HOME CARE.—Section 1720C(a) of such title is amended
by striking out ‘‘September 30, 1995,’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘December 31, 1997,’’.
(d) NEGOTIATED INTEREST RATES.—Section 3703(c)(4) of such
title is amended by striking out subparagraph (D).
(e) MORTGAGES FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT IMPROVEMENTS.—Sec-
tion 3710(d) of such title is amended by striking out paragraph
(7).
(f) 
ENHANCED
LOAN
ASSET
SALE
AUTHORITY.—Section
3720(h)(2) of such title is amended by striking out ‘‘December 31,
1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31, 1996’’.
(g) AUTHORITY OF LENDERS OF AUTOMATICALLY GUARANTEED
LOANS TO REVIEW APPRAISALS.—Section 3731(f) of such title is
amended by striking out paragraph (3).
(h) AGREEMENTS FOR HOUSING ASSISTANCE FOR HOMELESS VET-
ERANS.—Section 3735(c) of such title is amended by striking out
‘‘December 31, 1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31,
1997’’.
(i) USE OF DATA ON COMPENSATION FOR CERTIFIED REGISTERED
NURSE ANESTHETISTS.—Section 7451(d)(3)(C)(iii) of such title is
H. R. 2353—2
amended by striking out ‘‘April 1, 1995’’ and inserting in lieu
thereof ‘‘January 1, 1998’’.
(j) HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.—Section
7618 of such title is amended by striking out ‘‘December 31, 1995’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31, 1997’’.
(k) ENHANCED-USE LEASES OF REAL PROPERTY.—Section 8169
of such title is amended by striking out ‘‘December 31, 1995’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31, 1997’’.
SEC. 102. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITIES UNDER OTHER PROVISIONS
OF LAW.
(a) AUTHORITY FOR COMMUNITY-BASED RESIDENTIAL CARE FOR
HOMELESS CHRONICALLY MENTALLY ILL VETERANS AND OTHER VET-
ERANS.—Section 115(d) of the Veterans’ Benefits and Services Act
of 1988 (38 U.S.C. 1712 note) is amended by striking out ‘‘September
30, 1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31, 1997’’.
(b) DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM OF COMPENSATED WORK THER-
APY.—Section 7(a) of Public Law 102–54 (38 U.S.C. 1718 note)
is amended by striking out ‘‘fiscal years 1991 through 1995’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the period beginning on October 1, 1991,
and ending on December 31, 1997,’’.
(c) SERVICES AND ASSISTANCE TO HOMELESS VETERANS.—The
Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Service Programs Act of 1992
(Public Law 102–590; 38 U.S.C. 7721 note) is amended—
(1) in section 2, by striking out ‘‘September 30, 1995,’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘September 30, 1997,’’;
(2) in section 3(a)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Subject to’’;
(B) by striking out ‘‘fiscal years 1993, 1994, and 1995,’’;
and
(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(2) The authority of the Secretary to make grants under this
section expires on September 30, 1997.’’; and
(3) in section 12, by striking out ‘‘each of the fiscal years
1993, 1994, and 1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘each of
fiscal years 1993 through 1997’’.
(d) HOMELESS VETERANS’ REINTEGRATION PROJECTS.—(1) Sec-
tion 738(e)(1) of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 11448(e)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(D) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1996.’’.
(2) Section 741 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 11450) is amended
by striking out ‘‘October 1, 1995’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘December 31, 1997’’.
SEC. 103. RATIFICATION OF ACTIONS TAKEN DURING PERIOD OF
EXPIRED AUTHORITY.
Any action taken by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs before
the date of the enactment of this Act under a provision of law
amended by this title that was taken during the period beginning
on the date on which the authority of the Secretary under that
provision of law expired and ending on the date of the enactment
of this Act shall be considered to have the same force and effect
as if the amendment to that provision of law made by this title
had been in effect at the time of that action.
H. R. 2353—3
TITLE II—OTHER PROVISIONS
SEC. 201. CODIFICATION OF HOUSING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
AND CHANGES IN THEIR FREQUENCY.
(a) CODIFICATION OF HOUSING RELATED REPORTING REQUIRE-
MENTS.—(1) Chapter 37 of title 38, United States Code, is amended
by adding after section 3735 the following new section:
‘‘§ 3736. Reporting requirements
‘‘The annual report required by section 529 of this title shall
include a discussion of the activities under this chapter. Beginning
with the report submitted at the close of fiscal year 1996, and
every second year thereafter, this discussion shall include informa-
tion regarding the following:
‘‘(1) Loans made to veterans whose only qualifying service
was in the Selected Reserve.
‘‘(2) Interest rates and discount points which were nego-
tiated between the lender and the veteran pursuant to section
3703(c)(4)(A)(i) of this title.
‘‘(3) The determination of reasonable value by lenders
pursuant to section 3731(f) of this title.
‘‘(4) Loans that include funds for energy efficiency improve-
ments pursuant to section 3710(a)(10) of this title.
‘‘(5) Direct loans to Native American veterans made pursu-
ant to subchapter V of this chapter.’’.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 3735
the following new item:
‘‘3736. Reporting requirements.’’.
(b) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The
Veterans Home Loan Program Amendments of 1992 (Public Law
102–547; 106 Stat. 3633) is amended by striking out sections 2(c),
3(b), 8(d), 9(c), and 10(b).
SEC. 202. OTHER REPORT REQUIREMENTS.
(a) REPORT ON CONSOLIDATION OF CERTAIN PROGRAMS.—The
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress, not later
than March 1, 1997, a report on the advantages and disadvantages
of consolidating into one program the following three programs:
(1) The alcohol and drug abuse contract care program under
section 1720A of title 38, United States Code.
(2) The program to provide community-based residential
care to homeless chronically mentally ill veterans under section
115 of the Veterans’ Benefits and Services Act of 1988 (38
U.S.C. 1712 note).
(3) The demonstration program under section 7 of Public
Law 102–54 (38 U.S.C. 1718 note).
(b) HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.—(1) The
Secretary shall submit to Congress, not later than March 31, 1997,
a report setting forth the results of a study evaluating the operation
of the health professional scholarship program under subchapter
II of chapter 76 of title 38, United States Code. The study shall
evaluate the efficacy of the program with respect to recruitment
and retention of health care personnel for the Department of Veter-
ans Affairs and shall compare the costs and benefits of the program
H. R. 2353—4
with the costs and benefits of alternative methods of ensuring
adequate recruitment and retention of such personnel.
(2) The Secretary shall carry out the study under this para-
graph through a private contractor. The report under paragraph
(1) shall include the report of the contractor and the comments,
if any, of the Secretary on that report.
(c) ENHANCED USE LEASES.—The Secretary shall submit to
Congress, not later than March 31, 1997, a report evaluating the
operation of the program under subchapter V of chapter 81 of
title 38, United States Code.
SEC. 203. CONTRACTS FOR UTILITIES, AUDIE L. MURPHY MEMORIAL
HOSPITAL.
(a) AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT.—Subject to subsection (b), the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs may enter into contracts for the
provision of utilities (including steam and chilled water) to the
Audie L. Murphy Memorial Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. Each
such contract may—
(1) be for a period not to exceed 35 years;
(2) provide for the construction and operation of a produc-
tion facility on or near property under the jurisdiction of the
Secretary;
(3) require capital contributions by the parties involved
for the construction of such a facility, such contribution to
be in the form of cash, equipment, or other in-kind contribution;
and
(4) provide for a predetermined formula to compute the
cost of providing such utilities to the parties for the duration
of the contract.
(b) FUNDS.—A contract may be entered into under subsection
(a) only to the extent as provided for in advance in appropriations
Acts.
(c) ADDITIONAL TERMS.—The Secretary may include in a con-
tract under subsection (a) such additional provisions as the Sec-
retary considers necessary to secure the provision of utilities and
to protect the interests of the United States.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.