600 
(B) by striking ‘‘the President shall’’ and 
inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Defense shall’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘Congress’’ and inserting 
‘‘the Committee on Armed Services and the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Armed Serv-
ices and Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
Senate’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) In the case of a situation that threatens human 
life or safety or where a delay would severely undermine 
the national security of the United States, notification 
under paragraph (2) shall be made not later than 10 days 
after obligating funds under the authority in subsection (a) 
for a project or activity.’’. 
TITLE XIV—WOUNDED WARRIOR 
ASSISTANCE 
Sec. 1401. Definitions. 
Subtitle A—Improved Assistance for Wounded Warriors 
Sec. 1411. Improvements to medical and dental care for members of the Armed 
Forces assigned to hospitals in an outpatient status. 
Sec. 1412. Establishment of a Department of Defense-wide Ombudsman Office. 
Sec. 1413. Establishment of toll-free hot line for reporting deficiencies in medical- 
related support facilities and expedited response to reports of de-
ficiencies. 
Sec. 1414. Notification to Congress of hospitalization of combat wounded service 
members. 
Sec. 1415. Independent medical advocate for members before medical evaluation 
boards. 
Sec. 1416. Training and workload for physical evaluation board liaison officers. 
Sec. 1417. Standardized training program and curriculum for Department of De-
fense disability evaluation system. 
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Sec. 1418. Improved training for health care professionals, medical care case 
managers, and service member advocates on particular condi-
tions of recovering service members. 
Sec. 1419. Pilot program to establish an Army Wounded Warrior Battalion at 
an appropriate active duty base. 
Sec. 1420. Criteria for removal of member from temporary disability retired list. 
Sec. 1421. Improved transition of members of the Armed Forces to Department 
of Veterans Affairs upon retirement or separation. 
Sec. 1422. Establishment of Medical Support Fund for support of members of the 
Armed Forces returning to military service or civilian life. 
Sec. 1423. Oversight Board for Wounded Warriors. 
Sec. 1424. Option for members of reserve components to use military medical 
treatment facilities closest to home for certain injuries. 
Sec. 1425. Plans and research for reducing post traumatic stress disorder. 
Subtitle B—Studies and Reports 
Sec. 1431. Annual report on military medical facilities. 
Sec. 1432. Access of recovering service members to adequate outpatient residential 
facilities. 
Sec. 1433. Evaluation and report on Department of Defense and Department of 
Veterans Affairs disability evaluation systems. 
Sec. 1434. Study and report on support services for families of recovering service 
members. 
Sec. 1435. Report on traumatic brain injury classifications. 
Sec. 1436. Evaluation of the Polytrauma Liaison Officer/Non-Commissioned Offi-
cer Program. 
Sec. 1437. Study and report on standard soldier patient tracking system. 
Sec. 1438. Study and report on waiting periods for appointments at Department 
of Veterans Affairs medical facilities. 
Subtitle C—General Provisions 
Sec. 1451. Moratorium on conversion to contractor performance of Department of 
Defense functions at military medical facilities. 
Sec. 1452. Prohibition on transfer of resources from medical care. 
Sec. 1453. Increase in physicians at hospitals of the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs. 
SEC. 1401. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) CONGRESSIONAL
DEFENSE
COMMITTEES.— 
The term ‘‘congressional defense committees’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 101(a)(16) of title 
10, United States Code. 
(2) DISABILITY EVALUATION SYSTEM.—The term 
‘‘disability evaluation system’’ means the Department 
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of Defense system or process for evaluating the nature 
of and extent of disabilities affecting members of the 
armed forces (other than the Coast Guard) and com-
prised of medical evaluation boards, physical evalua-
tion boards, counseling of members, and final disposi-
tion by appropriate personnel authorities, as operated 
by the Secretaries of the military departments, and, 
in the case of the Coast Guard, a similar system or 
process operated by the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity. 
(3) FAMILY MEMBER.—The term ‘‘family mem-
ber’’, with respect to a recovering service member, has 
the meaning given that term in section 411h(b) of 
title 37, United States Code. 
(4) RECOVERING SERVICE MEMBER.—The term 
‘‘recovering service member’’ means a member of the 
Armed Forces, including a member of the National 
Guard or a Reserve, who is undergoing medical treat-
ment, recuperation, or therapy, or is otherwise in 
medical hold or holdover status, for an injury, illness, 
or disease incurred or aggravated while on active 
duty in the Armed Forces. 
(5) MEDICAL CARE.—The term ‘‘medical care’’ 
includes mental health care. 
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Subtitle A—Improved Assistance for 
Wounded Warriors 
SEC. 1411. IMPROVEMENTS TO MEDICAL AND DENTAL CARE 
FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AS-
SIGNED TO HOSPITALS IN AN OUTPATIENT 
STATUS. 
(a) MEDICAL AND DENTAL CARE OF MEMBERS AS-
SIGNED TO HOSPITALS IN AN OUTPATIENT STATUS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 55 of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 
1074k the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1074l. Management of medical and dental care: 
members assigned to receive care in an 
outpatient status 
‘‘(a) MEDICAL CARE CASE MANAGERS.—(1) A member 
in an outpatient status at a military medical treatment 
facility shall be assigned a medical care case manager. 
‘‘(2)(A) The duties of the medical care case manager 
shall include the following with respect to the member (or 
the member’s immediate family if the member is incapable 
of making judgments about personal medical care): 
‘‘(i) To assist in understanding the member’s 
medical status. 
‘‘(ii) To assist in receiving prescribed medical 
care. 
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‘‘(iii) To conduct a review, at least once a week, 
of the member’s medical status. 
‘‘(B) The weekly medical status review described in 
subparagraph (A)(iii) shall be conducted in person with the 
member. If such a review is not practicable, the medical 
care case manager shall provide a written statement to the 
case manager’s supervisor indicating why an in-person 
medical status review was not possible. 
‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), each 
medical care case manager shall be assigned to manage not 
more than 17 members in an outpatient status. 
‘‘(B) The Secretary concerned may waive for up to 120 
days the requirement of subparagraph (A) if required due 
to unforeseen circumstances. 
‘‘(4)(A) The medical care case manager office at each 
facility shall be headed by a commissioned officer of appro-
priate rank and appropriate military occupation specialty, 
designator, or specialty code. 
‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), an appro-
priate military occupation specialty, designator, or spe-
cialty code includes membership in the Army Medical 
Corps, Army Medical Service Corps, Army Nurse Corps, 
Navy Medical Corps, Navy Medical Service Corps, Navy 
Nurse Corps, Air Force Medical Service, or other corps com-
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prised of health care professionals at the discretion of the 
Secretary of Defense. 
‘‘(5) The Secretary of Defense shall establish a stand-
ard training program and curriculum for medical care case 
managers. Successful completion of the training program 
is required before a person may assume the duties of a med-
ical care case manager. 
‘‘(6) The Secretary concerned shall ensure that medical 
care case managers have the resources necessary to ensure 
that they expeditiously carry out the responsibilities and 
duties of their position. 
‘‘(b) SERVICE MEMBER ADVOCATE.—(1) A member in 
an outpatient status shall be assigned a service member ad-
vocate. 
‘‘(2) The duties of the service member advocate shall 
include— 
‘‘(A) communicating with the member and with 
the member’s family or other individuals designated 
by the member; 
‘‘(B) assisting with oversight of the member’s 
welfare and quality of life; and 
‘‘(C) assisting the member in resolving problems 
involving financial, administrative, personnel, transi-
tional, and other matters. 
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‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), each 
service member advocate shall be assigned to not more than 
30 members in an outpatient status. 
‘‘(B) The Secretary concerned may waive for up to 120 
days the requirement of subparagraph (A) if required due 
to unforeseen circumstances. 
‘‘(4) The service member advocate office at each facility 
shall be headed by a commissioned officer of appropriate 
rank and appropriate military occupation specialty, desig-
nator, or specialty code in order to handle service-specific 
personnel and financial issues. 
‘‘(5) The Secretary of Defense shall establish a stand-
ard training program and curriculum for service member 
advocates. Successful completion of the training program 
is required before a person may assume the duties of a serv-
ice member advocate. 
‘‘(6) A service member advocate shall continue to per-
form the duties described in paragraph (2) with respect to 
a member until the member is returned to duty or separated 
or retired from the armed forces. 
‘‘(7) The Secretary concerned shall ensure that service 
member advocates have the resources necessary to ensure 
that they expeditiously carry out the responsibilities and 
duties of their position. 
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‘‘(c) OUTREACH.—The Secretary of Defense shall make 
available to each member in an outpatient status at a mili-
tary medical treatment facility, and to the family members 
of all such members, information on the availability of serv-
ices provided by the medical care case managers and service 
member advocates, including information on how to contact 
such managers and advocates and how to use their services. 
‘‘(d) SEMIANNUAL SURVEYS BY SECRETARIES CON-
CERNED.—The Secretary concerned shall conduct a semi-
annual survey of members in an outpatient status at instal-
lations under the Secretary’s supervision. The survey shall 
include, at a minimum, the members’ assessment of the 
quality of medical care at the facility, the timeliness of med-
ical care at the facility, the adequacy of living facilities 
and other quality of life programs, the adequacy of case 
management support, and the fairness and timeliness of the 
physical disability evaluation system. The survey shall be 
conducted in coordination with installation medical com-
manders and authorities, and shall be coordinated with 
such commanders and authorities before submission to the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘member in an outpatient status’ 
means a member of the armed forces assigned to a 
military medical treatment facility as an outpatient 
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or to a unit established for the purpose of providing 
command and control of members receiving medical 
care as outpatients. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘disability evaluation system’ 
means the Department of Defense system or process 
for evaluating the nature of and extent of disabilities 
affecting members of the armed forces (other than the 
Coast Guard) and comprised of medical evaluation 
boards, physical evaluation boards, counseling of 
members, and final disposition by appropriate per-
sonnel authorities, as operated by the Secretaries of 
the military departments, and, in the case of the 
Coast Guard, a similar system or process operated by 
the Secretary of Homeland Security.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended by 
adding at the end the following new item: 
‘‘1074l. Management of medical and dental care: members assigned to receive care 
in an outpatient status.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 1074l of title 10, 
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take 
effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 1412. ESTABLISHMENT OF A DEPARTMENT OF DE-
FENSE-WIDE OMBUDSMAN OFFICE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Defense shall 
establish a Department of Defense-wide Ombudsman Office 
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609 
(in this section referred to as the ‘‘Ombudsman Office’’) 
within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 
(b) FUNCTIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The functions of the Ombuds-
man Office are to provide policy guidance to, and 
oversight of, the ombudsman offices in the military 
departments. 
(2) POLICY GUIDANCE.—The Ombudsman Office 
shall develop policy guidance with respect to the fol-
lowing: 
(A) Providing assistance to and answering 
questions from recovering service members and 
their families regarding— 
(i) administrative processes, financial 
matters, and non-military related services 
available to the members and their families 
throughout the member’s evaluation, treat-
ment, and recovery; 
(ii) transfer to the care of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs; and 
(iii) support services available upon 
the member’s return home. 
(B) Accountability standards, including— 
(i) creating and maintaining case files 
for individual specific questions received, 
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and initiating inquiries and tracking re-
sponses for all such questions; 
(ii) setting standards for timeliness of 
responses; and 
(iii) setting standards for account-
ability to recovering service members and 
their families, including requirements for 
daily updates to the members and their 
families about steps being taken to alleviate 
problems and concerns until problems are 
addressed. 
(c) STATUS REPORTS.—The ombudsman office in each 
military department shall submit status reports of actions 
taken to address individual concerns to the Ombudsman Of-
fice, at such times as the Ombudsman Office considers ap-
propriate. 
(d) RESPONSES FROM OTHER OFFICES.—The Sec-
retary of Defense shall ensure that all other offices within 
the Department of Defense and the military departments 
respond in a timely manner to resolve questions and re-
quests from the Ombudsman Office on behalf of recovering 
service members and their families, including offices respon-
sible for medical matters (including medical holdover proc-
esses), financial and accounting matters, legal matters, 
human resources matters, reserve component matters, in-
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stallation and management matters, and physical dis-
ability matters. 
(e) STAFF OF THE OFFICE.—The staff of the Ombuds-
man Office shall include representatives from each military 
department, including persons with experience in medical 
holdover processes and other medical matters. 
SEC. 1413. ESTABLISHMENT OF TOLL-FREE HOT LINE FOR 
REPORTING DEFICIENCIES IN MEDICAL-RE-
LATED SUPPORT FACILITIES AND EXPEDITED 
RESPONSE TO REPORTS OF DEFICIENCIES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Chapter 80 of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new section: 
‘‘§ 1567. Identification and investigation of defi-
ciencies in adequacy, quality, and state of 
repair of medical-related support facili-
ties 
‘‘(a) TOLL-FREE HOT LINE.—The Secretary of De-
fense shall establish and maintain a toll-free telephone num-
ber (commonly referred to as a ‘hot line’) at which personnel 
are accessible at all times to collect, maintain, and update 
information regarding possible deficiencies in the adequacy, 
quality, and state of repair of medical-related support fa-
cilities. The Secretary shall widely disseminate information 
regarding the existence and availability of the toll-free tele-
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phone number to members of the armed forces and their 
dependents. 
‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY.—(1) Individuals who seek to 
provide information through use of the toll-free telephone 
number under subsection (a) shall be notified, immediately 
before they provide such information, of their option to 
elect, at their discretion, to have their identity remain con-
fidential. 
‘‘(2) In the case of information provided through use 
of the toll-free telephone number by an individual who elects 
to maintain the confidentiality of his or her identity, any 
individual who, by necessity, has had access to such infor-
mation for purposes of conducting the investigation or exe-
cuting the response plan required by subsection (c) may not 
disclose the identity of the individual who provided the in-
formation. 
‘‘(c) INVESTIGATION AND RESPONSE PLAN.—Not later 
than 96 hours after a report of deficiencies in the adequacy, 
quality, or state of repair of a medical-related support facil-
ity is received by way of the toll-free telephone number or 
other source, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that— 
‘‘(1) the deficiencies referred to in the report are 
investigated; and 
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‘‘(2) if substantiated, a plan of action for reme-
diation of the deficiencies is developed and imple-
mented. 
‘‘(d) RELOCATION.—If the Secretary of Defense deter-
mines, on the basis of the investigation conducted in re-
sponse to a report of deficiencies at a medical-related sup-
port facility, that conditions at the facility violate health 
and safety standards, the Secretary shall relocate the occu-
pants of the facility while the violations are corrected. 
‘‘(e) MEDICAL-RELATED
SUPPORT
FACILITY
DE-
FINED.—In this section, the term ‘medical-related support 
facility’ means any facility of the Department of Defense 
that provides support to any of the following: 
‘‘(1) Members of the armed forces admitted for 
treatment to a military medical treatment facility. 
‘‘(2) Members of the armed forces assigned to a 
military medical treatment facility as an outpatient. 
‘‘(3) Family members accompanying any mem-
ber described in paragraph (1) or (2) as a nonmed-
ical attendant.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 
the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the 
end the following new item: 
‘‘1567. Identification and investigation of deficiencies in adequacy, quality, and 
state of repair of medical-related support facilities.’’. 
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