IIB 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2074 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
OCTOBER 12, 2011 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
AN ACT 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to require a com-
prehensive policy on reporting and tracking sexual as-
sault incidents and other safety incidents that occur at 
medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
to improve rehabilitative services for veterans with trau-
matic brain injury, and for other purposes. 
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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 Sexual As-
sault Prevention and Health Care Enhancement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON REPORTING AND 
TRACKING SEXUAL ASSAULT INCIDENTS AND 
OTHER SAFETY INCIDENTS. 
(a) POLICY.—Subchapter I of chapter 17 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘§ 1709. Comprehensive policy on reporting and 
tracking sexual assault incidents and 
other safety incidents 
‘‘(a) POLICY REQUIRED.—Not later than March 1, 
2012, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop and 
implement a centralized and comprehensive policy on the 
reporting and tracking of sexual assault incidents and 
other safety incidents that occur at each medical facility 
of the Department, including— 
‘‘(1) suspected, alleged, attempted, or confirmed 
cases of sexual assault, regardless of whether such 
assaults lead to prosecution or conviction; 
‘‘(2) criminal and purposefully unsafe acts; 
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‘‘(3) alcohol or substance abuse related acts (in-
cluding by employees of the Department); and 
‘‘(4) any kind of event involving alleged or sus-
pected abuse of a patient. 
‘‘(b) SCOPE.—The policy required by subsection (a) 
shall cover each of the following: 
‘‘(1) For purposes of reporting and tracking 
sexual assault incidents and other safety incidents, 
definitions of the terms— 
‘‘(A) ‘safety incident’; 
‘‘(B) ‘sexual assault’; and 
‘‘(C) ‘sexual assault incident’. 
‘‘(2) The development and use of specific risk- 
assessment tools to examine any risks related to sex-
ual assault that a veteran may pose while being 
treated at a medical facility of the Department, in-
cluding clear and consistent guidance on the collec-
tion of information related to— 
‘‘(A) the legal history of the veteran; and 
‘‘(B) the medical record of the veteran. 
‘‘(3) The mandatory training of employees of 
the Department on security issues, including aware-
ness, preparedness, precautions, and police assist-
ance. 
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‘‘(4) The mandatory implementation, use, and 
regular testing of appropriate physical security pre-
cautions and equipment, including surveillance cam-
era systems, computer-based panic alarm systems, 
stationary panic alarms, and electronic portable per-
sonal panic alarms. 
‘‘(5) Clear, consistent, and comprehensive cri-
teria and guidance with respect to an employee of 
the Department communicating and reporting sexual 
assault incidents and other safety incidents to— 
‘‘(A) supervisory personnel of the employee 
at— 
‘‘(i) a medical facility of the Depart-
ment; 
‘‘(ii) an office of a Veterans Inte-
grated Service Network; and 
‘‘(iii) the central office of the Veterans 
Health Administration; and 
‘‘(B) a law enforcement official of the De-
partment. 
‘‘(6) Clear and consistent criteria and guide-
lines with respect to an employee of the Department 
referring and reporting to the Office of Inspector 
General of the Department sexual assault incidents 
and other safety incidents that meet the regulatory 
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criminal threshold in accordance with section 1.201 
and 1.204 of title 38, Code of Federal Regulations. 
‘‘(7) An accountable oversight system within 
the Veterans Health Administration that includes— 
‘‘(A) systematic information sharing of re-
ported sexual assault incidents and other safety 
incidents among officials of the Administration 
who have programmatic responsibility; and 
‘‘(B) a centralized reporting, tracking, and 
monitoring system for such incidents. 
‘‘(8) Consistent procedures and systems for law 
enforcement officials of the Department with respect 
to investigating, tracking, and closing reported sex-
ual assault incidents and other safety incidents. 
‘‘(9) Clear and consistent guidance for the clin-
ical management of the treatment of sexual assaults 
that are reported more than 72 hours after the as-
sault. 
‘‘(c) UPDATES TO POLICY.—The Secretary shall re-
view and revise the policy required by subsection (a) on 
a periodic basis as the Secretary considers appropriate and 
in accordance with best practices. 
‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—(1) Not later than 60 days 
after the date on which the Secretary develops the policy 
required by subsection (a), and by not later than October 
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