I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2206
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve programs of the
Department of Veterans Affairs for homeless veterans, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 22, 1997
Mr. STEARNS (for himself and Mr. GUTIERREZ) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve programs
of the Department of Veterans Affairs for homeless vet-
erans, and for other purposes.
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 Health Pro-
grams Improvement Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION FOR SERIOUSLY
MENTALLY ILL AND HOMELESS VETERANS.
(a) CODIFICATION
AND REVISIONS
OF VETERANS
HOMELESS PROGRAMS.—Chapter 17 of title 38, United
Urban Development under this section, the amount paid
by the Secretary to that Department for that property
may not exceed the amount that the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development would charge for the sale of that
property to a nonprofit organization or a State for use
as a shelter for homeless persons. Funds for such charge
shall be derived from the General Post Fund.
‘‘(f) The Secretary shall prescribe—
‘‘(1) a procedure for establishing reasonable
payment rates for persons residing in transitional
housing; and
‘‘(2) appropriate limits on the period for which
such persons may reside in transitional housing.
‘‘(g) The Secretary may dispose of any property ac-
quired for the purpose of this section. The proceeds of any
such disposal shall be credited to the General Post Fund
of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
‘‘(h) Funds received by the Department under this
section shall be deposited in the General Post Fund. The
Secretary may distribute out of the fund such amounts
as necessary for the acquisition, management, mainte-
nance, and disposition of real property for the purpose of
carrying out such program. The Secretary shall manage
the operation of this section so as to ensure that expendi-
tures under this subsection for any fiscal year shall not
exceed by more than $500,000 proceeds credited to the
General Post Fund under this section. The operation of
the program and funds received shall be separately ac-
counted for, and shall be stated in the documents accom-
panying the President’s budget for each fiscal year.
‘‘§ 1773. Additional services at certain locations
‘‘(a) Subject to the availability of appropriations, the
Secretary shall operate a program under this section to
expand and improve the provision of benefits and services
by the Department to homeless veterans.
‘‘(b) The program shall include the establishment of
not fewer than eight programs (in addition to any existing
programs providing similar services) at sites under the ju-
risdiction of the Secretary to be centers for the provision
of comprehensive services to homeless veterans. The serv-
ices to be provided at each site shall include a comprehen-
sive and coordinated array of those specialized services
which may be provided under existing law.
‘‘(c) The program shall include the services of such
employees of the Veterans Benefits Administration as the
Secretary determines appropriate at sites under the juris-
diction of the Secretary at which services are provided to
homeless veterans.
‘‘§ 1774. Coordination with other agencies and orga-
nizations
‘‘(a) In assisting homeless veterans, the Secretary
shall coordinate with, and may provide services authorized
under this title in conjunction with, State and local gov-
ernments, other appropriate departments and agencies of
the Federal Government, and nongovernmental organiza-
tions.
‘‘(b)(1) The Secretary shall require the director of
each medical center or the director of each regional bene-
fits office to make an assessment of the needs of homeless
veterans living within the area served by the medical cen-
ter or regional office, as the case may be.
‘‘(2) Each such assessment shall be made in coordi-
nation with representatives of State and local govern-
ments, other appropriate departments and agencies of the
Federal Government, and nongovernmental organizations
that have experience working with homeless persons in
that area.
‘‘(3) Each such assessment shall identify the needs
of homeless veterans with respect to the following:
‘‘(A) Health care.
‘‘(B) Education and training.
‘‘(C) Employment.
‘‘(D) Shelter.
‘‘(E) Counseling.
‘‘(F) Outreach services.
‘‘(4) Each assessment shall also indicate the extent
to which the needs referred to in paragraph (3) are being
met adequately by the programs of the Department, of
other departments and agencies of the Federal Govern-
ment, of State and local governments, and of nongovern-
mental organizations.
‘‘(5) Each assessment shall be carried out in accord-
ance with uniform procedures and guidelines prescribed
by the Secretary.
‘‘(c) In furtherance of subsection (a), the Secretary
shall require the director of each medical center and the
director of each regional benefits office, in coordination
with representatives of State and local governments, other
Federal officials, and nongovernmental organizations that
have experience working with homeless persons in the
areas served by such facility or office, to—
‘‘(1) develop a list of all public and private pro-
grams that provide assistance to homeless persons or
homeless veterans in the area concerned, together
with a description of the services offered by those
programs;
‘‘(2) seek to encourage the development by the
representatives of such entities, in coordination with
the director, of a plan to coordinate among such
public and private programs the provision of services
to homeless veterans;
‘‘(3) take appropriate action to meet, to the
maximum extent practicable through existing pro-
grams and available resources, the needs of homeless
veterans that are identified in the assessment con-
ducted under subsection (b); and
‘‘(4) attempt to inform homeless veterans whose
needs the director cannot meet under paragraph (3)
of the services available to such veterans within the
area served by such center or office.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 1720A
of such title is amended—
(A) by striking out subsections (a), (e), (f), and
(g); and
(B) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), and
(d) as subsections (a), (b), and (c), respectively.
(2) The heading of such section is amended to read
as follows:
‘‘§ 1720A. Treatment and rehabilitative services for
persons with drug or alcohol depend-
ency’’.
(c) CONFORMING REPEALS.—The following provi-
sions are repealed:
(1) Section 7 of Public Law 102–54 (38 U.S.C.
1718 note).
(2) Section 107 of the Veterans’ Medical Pro-
grams Amendments of 1992 (38 U.S.C. 527 note).
(3) Section 2 of the Homeless Veterans Com-
prehensive Service Programs Act of 1992 (38 U.S.C.
7721 note).
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections
at the beginning of chapter 17 of such title is amended—
(1) by striking out the item relating to section
1720A and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
‘‘1720A. Treatment and rehabilitative services for persons with drug or alcohol
dependency.’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SUBCHAPTER VII—TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION FOR SERIOUSLY
MENTALLY ILL AND HOMELESS VETERANS
‘‘1771. General treatment.
‘‘1772. Therapeutic housing.
‘‘1773. Additional services at certain locations.
‘‘1774. Coordination with other agencies and organizations.’’.
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF HOMELESS VETERANS COMPREHEN-
SIVE SERVICE GRANT PROGRAM.
Section 3 of the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive
Service Programs Act of 1992 (38 U.S.C. 7721 note) is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking out ‘‘Sep-
tember 30, 1997’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Sep-
tember 30, 1999’’; and
(2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking out ‘‘,
which shall’’ and all that follows through ‘‘para-
graph (1)’’.
SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT ON ASSISTANCE TO HOMELESS
VETERANS.
Section 1001 of the Veterans’ Benefits Improvements
Act of 1994 (38 U.S.C. 7721 note) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘and’’ at the end of
subparagraph (B);
(B) by striking out the period at the end
of subparagraph (C) and inserting in lieu there-
of ‘‘; and’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraphs:
‘‘(D) evaluate the effectiveness of the programs
of the Department (including residential work-ther-
apy programs, programs combining outreach, com-
munity-based residential treatment, and case-man-
agement, and contract care programs for alcohol and
drug-dependence or abuse disabilities) in providing
assistance to homeless veterans; and
‘‘(E) evaluate the effectiveness of programs es-
tablished by recipients of grants under section 3 of
the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Service Pro-
grams Act of 1992 (38 U.S.C. 7721 note), and de-
scribe the experience of such entities in applying for
and receiving grants from the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development to serve primarily homeless
persons who are veterans.’’; and
(2) by striking out subsection (b) and redesig-
nating subsection (c) as subsection (b).
SEC. 5. NONINSTITUTIONAL ALTERNATIVES TO NURSING
HOME CARE.
Section 1720C of title 38, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking out ‘‘During’’
and all that follows through ‘‘furnishing of’’ and in-
serting in lieu thereof ‘‘The Secretary may furnish’’;
and
(2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking out ‘‘shall’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘may’’.
SEC. 6. PERSIAN GULF WAR VETERANS.
(a) SCOPE OF COUNSELING.—Section 703 of the Vet-
erans Health Care Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–585; 106
Stat. 4976) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
‘‘(c) FORM OF COUNSELING.—Counseling provided in
this section may not be provided through written materials
only, but shall include verbal counseling.’’.
(b) CRITERIA FOR PRIORITY HEALTH CARE.—(1)
Subsection (a)(2)(F) of section 1710 of title 38, United
States Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘environmental
hazard’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘other conditions’’.
(2) Subsection (e)(1)(C) of such section is amend-
ed—
(A) by striking out ‘‘the Secretary finds may
have been exposed while serving’’ and inserting in
lieu thereof ‘‘served’’;
(B) by striking out ‘‘to a toxic substance or en-
vironmental hazard’’; and
(C) by striking out ‘‘exposure’’ and inserting in
lieu thereof ‘‘service’’.
(3) Subsection (e)(2)(B) of such section is amended
by striking out ‘‘an exposure’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘the service’’.
(c) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS FOR TREATMENT OF
PERSIAN GULF ILLNESS.—(1) The Secretary shall carry
out a program of demonstration projects to test new ap-
proaches to treating, and improving the satisfaction with
such treatment of, Persian Gulf veterans who suffer from
undiagnosed and ill-defined disabilities. The program shall
be established not later than July 1, 1998, and shall be
carried out at up to 10 geographically dispersed medical
centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(2) At least one of each of the following models shall
be used at no less than two of the demonstration projects:
(A) A specialized clinic which serves Persian
Gulf veterans.
(B) Multidisciplinary treatment aimed at man-
aging symptoms.
(C) Use of case managers.
(3) A demonstration project under this subsection
may be undertaken in conjunction with another funding
entity, including agreements under section 8111 of title
38, United States Code.
(4) The Secretary shall make available from appro-
priated funds (which have been retained for contingent
funding) $5,000,000 to carry out the demonstrations
projects.
(5) The Secretary may not approve a medical center
as a location for a demonstration project under this sub-
section unless a peer review panel has determined that the
proposal submitted by that medical center is among those
proposals that have met the highest competitive standards
of clinical merit and the Secretary has determined that
the facility has the ability to—
(A) attract the participation of clinicians of out-
standing caliber and innovation to the project; and
(B) effectively evaluate the activities of the
project.
(6) In determining which medical centers to select as
locations for demonstration projects under this subsection,
the Secretary shall give special priority to medical centers
that have demonstrated a capability to compete success-
fully for extramural funding support for research into the
effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the care provided
under the demonstration project.
SEC. 7. PERSONNEL POLICY.
Section 7425 of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(c)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
employees described in paragraph (2), and the personnel
positions in which such employees are employed, are not
subject to any reduction required by law or executive
branch policy in the number or percentage of employees,
or of personnel positions, within specified pay grades.
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) applies to employees, and person-
nel positions, of the Veterans Health Administration per-
forming the following functions:
‘‘(A) The provision of, or the supervision of the
provision of, care and services to patients.
‘‘(B) The conduct of research.’’.
SEC. 8. VETERANS CANTEEN SERVICE.
(a) AUTHORITY TO SET PRICES.—Paragraph (7) of
section 7802 of title 38, United States Code, is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(7) notwithstanding any other provision of
law, have sole authority to establish canteens (in-
cluding vending facilities and vending machines),
and determine, and fix the prices of, merchandise
and services sold at such canteens;’’.
(b) OFF-PREMISES USE.—Section 7803 of such title
is amended—
(1) by striking out ‘‘in this subsection;’’ and all
that follows through ‘‘the premises’’ and inserting in
lieu thereof ‘‘in this section’’; and
(2) by striking out subsection (b).
(c) SUPPORT SERVICES.—(1) Section 7803 of such
title is further amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
‘‘(b) A canteen may provide support services to medi-
cal facilities of the Department. Such services shall be pro-
vided on a reimbursable basis.’’.
(d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—(1) Paragraphs (1)
and (11) of section 7802 of such title are each amended
by striking out ‘‘hospitals and homes’’ and inserting in
lieu thereof ‘‘medical facilities’’.
(2) Section 7803(a) of such title is further amend-
ed—
(A) by striking out ‘‘hospitals and homes’’ each
place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘medi-
cal facilities’’; and
(B) by striking out ‘‘hospital or home’’ and in-
serting in lieu thereof ‘‘medical facility’’.
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