IIB 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2874 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JULY 31, 2007 
Received 
AUGUST 3, 2007 
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
AN ACT 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain 
improvements in the provision of health care to veterans, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Veterans’ Health Care Improvement Act of 2007’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Grants for support of therapeutic readjustment programs for veterans. 
Sec. 3. Transportation grants for rural veterans service organizations. 
Sec. 4. Permanent treatment authority for participants in Department of De-
fense chemical and biological testing conducted by Deseret Test 
Center (including Project Shipboard Hazard and Defense). 
Sec. 5. Extension of expiring collections authorities. 
Sec. 6. Readjustment and mental health services for Operation Enduring Free-
dom and Operation Iraqi Freedom Veterans. 
Sec. 7. Expansion and extension of authority for program of referral and coun-
seling services for at-risk veterans transitioning from certain 
institutions. 
Sec. 8. Permanent authority for domiciliary services for homeless veterans and 
enhancement of capacity of domiciliary care programs for fe-
male veterans. 
Sec. 9. Financial assistance for supportive services for very low-income veteran 
families in permanent housing. 
Sec. 10. Expansion of eligibility for dental care. 
Sec. 11. Technical amendments. 
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR SUPPORT OF THERAPEUTIC READ-
JUSTMENT PROGRAMS FOR VETERANS. 
(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—Subchapter II of chapter 5 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after section 521 the following new section: 
‘‘§ 521A. Assistance to therapeutic readjustment pro-
grams 
‘‘(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs may make grants to qualified entities described in 
subsection (b) to conduct workshop programs that have 
been shown to assist in the therapeutic readjustment and 
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rehabilitation of participants to assist in the therapeutic 
readjustment of covered veterans. 
‘‘(b) QUALIFIED ENTITIES.—In order to qualify for 
grant assistance under subsection (a), a private nonprofit 
entity must have, as determined by the Secretary, experi-
ence and expertise in offering programs to assist in the 
therapeutic readjustment of participants and that such 
programs will likely assist covered veterans. 
‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF GRANT; USE OF FUNDS.—A grant 
under this section shall not exceed $100,000 for any cal-
endar year and shall be used by the recipient exclusively 
for the benefit of covered veterans. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—An application for a grant 
under this section shall include details regarding the ex-
tent and nature of the proposed program, the therapeutic 
readjustment and rehabilitation benefits expected to be 
achieved by participants, and any other information the 
Secretary determines may be necessary to assist the Sec-
retary in ensuring that covered veterans receive thera-
peutic readjustment and rehabilitation benefits. 
‘‘(e) COVERED VETERANS.—For the purposes of this 
subsection, a ‘covered veteran’ is a veteran who served on 
active duty in a theater of combat operations (as deter-
mined by the Secretary in consultation with the Secretary 
of Defense) during a period of war after the Persian Gulf 
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War, or in combat against a hostile force during a period 
of hostilities (as defined in section 1712A(a)(2)(B) of this 
title) after November 11, 1998, and who is discharged or 
released from active military, naval, or air service on or 
after September 11, 2001. 
‘‘(f) REPORTS.—Not later than 60 days after the last 
day of a fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the Com-
mittees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of 
Representatives a report detailing the number and amount 
of grants made under this section during the previous fis-
cal year, the total number of covered veterans partici-
pating in workshop programs funded by such grants, a 
description of the programs, and the therapeutic benefits 
to covered veterans of participation in the various pro-
grams funded. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 
2008 through 2011 $2,000,000 to carry out this section. 
‘‘(h) TERMINATION.—The authority of the Secretary 
to make a grant under subsection (a) shall terminate on 
September 30, 2011.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 521 the following new 
item: 
‘‘521A. Assistance to therapeutic readjustment programs.’’. 
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SEC. 3. TRANSPORTATION GRANTS FOR RURAL VETERANS 
SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS. 
(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—Subchapter I of chapter 17 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1709. Grants for provision of transportation to De-
partment medical facilities for veterans 
in remote rural areas 
‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—(1) The Secretary shall 
establish a grant program to provide innovative transpor-
tation options to veterans in remote rural areas. 
‘‘(2) Grants awarded under this section may be used 
by State veterans’ service agencies, veterans service orga-
nizations, and private nonprofit entities to assist veterans 
in remote rural areas to travel to Department medical fa-
cilities. 
‘‘(3) The amount of a grant under this section may 
not exceed $50,000. 
‘‘(4) The recipient of a grant under this section shall 
not be required to provide matching funds as a condition 
for receiving such grant. 
‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 
regulations for— 
‘‘(1) evaluating grant applications under this 
section; and 
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‘‘(2) otherwise administering the program es-
tablished by this section. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this section.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 1708 the following new 
item: 
‘‘1709. Grants for provision of transportation to Department medical facilities 
for veterans in remote rural areas.’’. 
SEC. 4. PERMANENT TREATMENT AUTHORITY FOR PAR-
TICIPANTS IN DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL TESTING CON-
DUCTED BY DESERET TEST CENTER (INCLUD-
ING PROJECT SHIPBOARD HAZARD AND DE-
FENSE). 
Section 1710(e)(3) of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a period; and 
(3) by striking subparagraph (D). 
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SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF EXPIRING COLLECTIONS AUTHORI-
TIES. 
(a) 
HEALTH
CARE
COPAYMENTS.—Section 
1710(f)(2)(B) is amended by striking ‘‘2007’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘2009’’. 
(b) MEDICAL
CARE
COST
RECOVERY.—Section 
1729(a)(2)(E) is amended by striking ‘‘2007’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘2009’’. 
SEC. 6. READJUSTMENT AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES 
FOR COVERED VETERANS. 
(a) PROVISION
OF READJUSTMENT COUNSELING 
AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.—Subchapter II of 
chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after section 1712B the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1712C. Provision of readjustment counseling and 
mental health services for covered vet-
erans 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall 
carry out a program to provide peer outreach services, 
peer support services, and readjustment and mental health 
services to covered veterans. 
‘‘(b) 
CONTRACTS
WITH
COMMUNITY
MENTAL 
HEALTH CENTERS.—In carrying out the program re-
quired by subsection (a), the Secretary shall contract with 
community mental health centers and other qualified enti-
ties to provide the services referred to in that paragraph 
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in areas the Secretary determines are not adequately 
served by health care facilities of the Department. Such 
contracts shall require each community health center or 
other entity— 
‘‘(1) to the extent practicable, to employ covered vet-
erans trained under subsection (c); 
‘‘(2) to the extent practicable, to use telehealth serv-
ices for the provision of such services; 
‘‘(3) to participate in the training program under 
subsection (d); 
‘‘(4) to comply with applicable protocols of the De-
partment before incurring any liability on behalf of the 
Department for the provision of such the services; 
‘‘(5) to submit annual reports to the Secretary con-
taining, with respect to the program required by sub-
section (a) and for the last full calendar year ending before 
the submission of such report— 
‘‘(A) the number of veterans served, veterans 
diagnosed, and courses of treatment provided to vet-
erans as part of the program required by subsection 
(a); and 
‘‘(B) demographic information for such serv-
ices, diagnoses, and courses of treatment; 
‘‘(6) to provide to the Secretary such clinical sum-
mary information as the Secretary may require for each 
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veteran for whom the center or entity provides mental 
health services under the contract; and 
‘‘(7) to meet such other requirements as the Sec-
retary may require. 
‘‘(c) TRAINING PROGRAM FOR VETERANS.—In car-
rying out the program required by subsection (a), the Sec-
retary shall contract with a nonprofit mental health orga-
nization to carry out a program to train covered veterans 
to provide peer outreach and peer support services. 
‘‘(d) TRAINING PROGRAM
FOR CLINICIANS.—The 
Secretary shall conduct a training program for clinicians 
of community mental health centers or other entities that 
have entered into contracts with the Secretary under sub-
section (b) to ensure that such clinicians are able to pro-
vide the services required by subsection (a) in a manner 
that— 
‘‘(1) recognizes factors that are unique to the experi-
ence of veterans who served on active duty in Operation 
Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom (including 
the combat and military training experiences of such vet-
erans); and 
‘‘(2) utilizes best practices and technologies. 
‘‘(e) COVERED VETERANS.—For the purposes of this 
subsection, a ‘covered veteran’ is a veteran who served on 
active duty in a theater of combat operations (as deter-
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