I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5689 
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a national survey 
of veterans. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 28, 2020 
Ms. BROWNLEY of California introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct 
a national survey of veterans. 
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 ‘‘Every Veteran Counts 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Department of Veterans Affairs pro-
vides a variety of benefits and services to over 
20,000,000 veterans who have served the Nation. 
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(2) Pursuant to section 527 of title 38, United 
States Code, the Department of Veterans Affairs 
has conducted the National Survey of Veterans to 
assess the status of all veterans. 
(3) The Department of Veterans Affairs has 
conducted this National Survey of Veterans in the 
late 1970s, 1987, 1993, 2001, and 2010. 
(4) The last survey conducted in 2010 included 
veterans and other beneficiary groups such as mem-
bers of the Armed Forces serving on active duty, de-
mobilized National Guard and Reserve members, 
spouses, and surviving spouses. 
(5) The 2010 survey included information on 
demographics, awareness and utilization of benefits, 
health status, military service, and employment. 
(6) These surveys provide the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, Congress, State and local govern-
ments, and various organizations that serve veterans 
valuable information on the veteran population. 
(7) This information is utilized to inform pol-
icymaking efforts and to ensure the needs of the 
ever-changing veteran population are met. 
(8) As the data from the 2010 survey is nearly 
a decade old, conducting a new survey will provide 
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more current and accurate data on veterans and 
other beneficiaries. 
SEC. 3. NATIONAL SURVEY OF VETERANS. 
(a) SURVEY.—Not later than 365 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall conduct a national survey of veterans in a 
manner to include a statistically valid sample of veterans 
by— 
(1) gender identity (including male, woman, 
transgender, gender diverse); 
(2) age; 
(3) educational level; 
(4) race and ethnicity; 
(5) sexual orientation; 
(6) marital status; 
(7) whether the veteran has dependent children; 
(8) income amount and source of income; 
(9) living arrangement; 
(10) employment; 
(11) reasons for not seeking employment, if ap-
plicable; 
(12) branch of service; 
(13) period of service; 
(14) whether the veteran served in the National 
Guard or a reserve component; 
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(15) whether the veteran served in a combat 
theater of operations or war zone; 
(16) whether the veteran was exposed to dead, 
dying, or wounded people while serving on active 
duty; 
(17) prisoner of war status; 
(18) whether the veteran was definitely or prob-
ably exposed to environment hazards while in mili-
tary service; 
(19) whether the veteran is enrolled in the pa-
tient enrollment system of the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs under section 1705 of title 38, United 
States Code; 
(20) whether the veteran is in receipt of De-
partment of Veterans Affairs benefits and services 
and if not, why; 
(21) whether the veteran has participated in 
veterans treatment courts; 
(22) whether the veteran is a justice-involved 
veteran; 
(23) disability rating; and 
(24) whether the veteran experienced military 
sexual trauma. 
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