H. R. 2116
One Hundred Sixth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine
An Act
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a program of extended care
services for veterans, to make other improvements in health care programs of
the Department of Veterans Affairs, to enhance compensation, memorial affairs,
and housing programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to improve retire-
ment authorities applicable to judges of the United States Court of Appeals
for Veterans Claims, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans
Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. References to title 38, United States Code.
Sec. 3. Secretary and Department defined.
TITLE I—ACCESS TO CARE
Subtitle A—Long-Term Care
Sec. 101. Requirement to provide extended care services.
Sec. 102. Pilot programs relating to long-term care.
Sec. 103. Pilot program relating to assisted living.
Subtitle B—Other Access to Care Matters
Sec. 111. Reimbursement for emergency treatment in non-Department of Veterans
Affairs facilities.
Sec. 112. Eligibility for care of combat-injured veterans.
Sec. 113. Access to care for TRICARE-eligible military retirees.
Sec. 114. Treatment and services for drug or alcohol dependency.
Sec. 115. Counseling and treatment for veterans who have experienced sexual
trauma.
Sec. 116. Specialized mental health services.
TITLE II—MEDICAL PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION
Sec. 201. Medical care collections.
Sec. 202. Health Services Improvement Fund.
Sec. 203. Allocation to health care facilities of amounts made available from
Medical Care Collections Fund.
Sec. 204. Authority to accept funds for education and training.
Sec. 205. Extension of certain authorities.
Sec. 206. Reestablishment of Committee on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Sec. 207. State home grant program.
Sec. 208. Expansion of enhanced-use lease authority.
Sec. 209. Ineligibility for employment by Veterans Health Administration of health
care professionals who have lost license to practice in one jurisdiction
while still licensed in another jurisdiction.
Sec. 210. Report on coordination of procurement of pharmaceuticals and medical
supplies by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
Defense.
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Sec. 211. Reimbursement of medical expenses of veterans located in Alaska.
TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS MEDICAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. Review of proposed changes to operation of medical facilities.
Sec. 302. Patient services at Department facilities.
Sec. 303. Chiropractic treatment.
Sec. 304. Designation of hospital bed replacement building at Ioannis A. Lougaris
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Reno, Nevada.
TITLE IV—CONSTRUCTION AND FACILITIES MATTERS
Sec. 401. Authorization of major medical facility projects.
Sec. 402. Authorization of major medical facility leases.
Sec. 403. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE V—BENEFITS AND EMPLOYMENT MATTERS
Subtitle A—Compensation and DIC
Sec. 501. Dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses of former
prisoners of war.
Sec. 502. Reinstatement of certain benefits for remarried surviving spouses of
veterans upon termination of their remarriage.
Sec. 503. Presumption that bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma is service-connected.
Subtitle B—Employment
Sec. 511. Clarification of veterans’ civil service employment opportunities.
TITLE VI—MEMORIAL AFFAIRS MATTERS
Subtitle A—American Battle Monuments Commission
Sec. 601. Codification and expansion of authority for World War II memorial.
Sec. 602. General authority to solicit and receive contributions.
Sec. 603. Intellectual property and related items.
Sec. 604. Technical amendments.
Subtitle B—National Cemeteries
Sec. 611. Establishment of additional national cemeteries.
Sec. 612. Use of flat grave markers at Santa Fe National Cemetery, New Mexico.
Sec. 613. Independent study on improvements to veterans’ cemeteries.
Subtitle C—Burial Benefits
Sec. 621. Independent study on improvements to veterans’ burial benefits.
TITLE VII—EDUCATION AND HOUSING MATTERS
Subtitle A—Education Matters
Sec. 701. Availability of Montgomery GI Bill benefits for preparatory courses for
college and graduate school entrance exams.
Sec. 702. Determination of eligibility period for members of the Armed Forces
commissioned following completion of officer training school.
Sec. 703. Report on veterans’ education and vocational training benefits provided by
the States.
Sec. 704. Technical amendments.
Subtitle B—Housing Matters
Sec. 711. Extension of authority for housing loans for members of the Selected
Reserve.
Sec. 712. Technical amendment relating to transitional housing loan guarantee
program.
TITLE VIII—DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ADMINISTRATIVE
MATTERS
Sec. 801. Enhanced quality assurance program within the Veterans Benefits
Administration.
Sec. 802. Extension of authority to maintain a regional office in the Republic of the
Philippines.
Sec. 803. Extension of Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans.
Sec. 804. Technical amendment to automobile assistance program.
TITLE IX—HOMELESS VETERANS PROGRAMS
Sec. 901. Homeless veterans’ reintegration programs.
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Sec. 902. Extension of program of housing assistance for homeless veterans.
Sec. 903. Homeless veterans programs.
Sec. 904. Plan for evaluation of performance of programs to assist homeless
veterans.
TITLE X—UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS
Sec. 1001. Short title.
Sec. 1002. Definition.
Subtitle A—Transitional Provisions To Stagger Terms of Judges
Sec. 1011. Early retirement authority for current judges.
Sec. 1012. Modified terms for next two judges appointed to the Court.
Subtitle B—Other Matters Relating to Retired Judges
Sec. 1021. Recall of retired judges.
Sec. 1022. Judges’ retired pay.
Sec. 1023. Survivor annuities.
Sec. 1024. Limitation on activities of retired judges.
Subtitle C—Rotation of Service of Judges as Chief Judge of the Court
Sec. 1031. Repeal of separate appointment of chief judge.
Sec. 1032. Designation and term of chief judge of Court.
Sec. 1033. Salary.
Sec. 1034. Precedence of judges.
Sec. 1035. Conforming amendments.
Sec. 1036. Applicability of amendments.
TITLE XI—VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PROGRAM
Sec. 1101. Short title.
Sec. 1102. Plan for payment of voluntary separation incentive payments.
Sec. 1103. Voluntary separation incentive payments.
Sec. 1104. Effect of subsequent employment with the Government.
Sec. 1105. Additional agency contributions to Civil Service Retirement and
Disability Fund.
Sec. 1106. Continued health insurance coverage.
Sec. 1107. Prohibition of reduction of full-time equivalent employment level.
Sec. 1108. Regulations.
Sec. 1109. Limitation; savings clause.
Sec. 1110. Eligible employees.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE.
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act
an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment
to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall
be considered to be made to a section or other provision of title
38, United States Code.
SEC. 3. SECRETARY AND DEPARTMENT DEFINED.
For purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs; and
(2) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
TITLE I—ACCESS TO CARE
Subtitle A—Long-Term Care
SEC. 101. REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE EXTENDED CARE SERVICES.
(a) REQUIRED
NURSING
HOME
CARE.—(1) Chapter 17 is
amended by inserting after section 1710 the following new section:
‘‘§ 1710A. Required nursing home care
‘‘(a) The Secretary shall provide nursing home care which the
Secretary determines is needed (1) to any veteran in need of such