I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5543 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the number of Vet 
Centers in certain States based on population metrics, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 8, 2021 
Ms. SHERRILL (for herself, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. GONZALEZ of 
Ohio, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the 
number of Vet Centers in certain States based on popu-
lation metrics, 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 Census-En-
abled National Treatment Equitable Resource Supplement 
for Mental Health Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘Vet CENTERS 
for Mental Health Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. INCREASE IN NUMBER OF VET CENTERS IN CER-
TAIN 
STATES 
BASED 
ON 
POPULATION 
METRICS. 
(a) INCREASE IN NUMBER.—If the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs determines that a State meets each require-
ment described in subsection (c), (d), or (e), the Secretary 
shall ensure that the number of covered Vet Centers lo-
cated in the State is increased from the number of covered 
Vet Centers that were located in the State on December 
31, 2020, through the establishment of at least one addi-
tional covered Vet Center within the State, as applicable. 
(b) EXISTING FACILITIES.—In establishing an addi-
tional covered Vet Center pursuant to a determination 
under subsection (a), the Secretary may establish the cov-
ered Vet Center at a facility made available to the Sec-
retary by the head of a State, local government, or feder-
ally recognized Indian tribe to carry out this section, re-
gardless of whether such facility is made available at a 
cost to the Secretary. 
(c) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements described in 
this subsection are, with respect to the 2020 calendar 
year, as follows: 
(1) The total population of the State exceeded 
6,000,000, as determined by the United States Cen-
sus Bureau. 
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(2) The average population density of the State 
exceeded 200 individuals per square mile, as deter-
mined by the United States Census Bureau. 
(3) The total veteran population in the State 
was greater than 250,000 veterans, as estimated by 
the Secretary. 
(4) The ratio of veteran population in the State 
to covered Vet Centers located in the State exceeded 
50,000 veterans per one covered Vet Center, as de-
termined by the Secretary (regardless of the number 
of veterans that received services at covered Vet 
Centers located in the State during such year). 
(d) ALTERNATIVE REQUIREMENTS.—The require-
ments described in this subsection are as follows: 
(1) The State does not share a land border with 
another State. 
(2) The State is located at least 2,000 miles 
from the contiguous United States. 
(3) There is no covered Vet Center located in 
the State. 
(e) ADDITIONAL ALTERNATIVE REQUIREMENTS.— 
The requirements described in this subsection are as fol-
lows: 
(1) There are fewer than five covered Vet Cen-
ters located in the State. 
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(2) The land area of the State exceeds 75,000 
square miles. 
(3) During the 2020 calendar year, the total 
population of the State exceeded 5,000,000 individ-
uals, as determined by the United States Census 
Bureau. 
(4) During the 2020 calendar year, the ratio of 
veteran population in the State to covered Vet Cen-
ters located in the State exceeded 75,000 veterans 
per one covered Vet Center, as determined by the 
Secretary (regardless of the number of veterans that 
received services at covered Vet Centers located in 
the State during such year). 
(f) COMMUNITY-BASED OUTPATIENT CLINICS.—The 
Secretary shall establish a covered community-based out-
patient clinic in each State that the Secretary determines 
meets the following requirements: 
(1) The State does not share a land border with 
another State. 
(2) The State is located at least 2,000 miles 
from the contiguous United States. 
(3) There is no covered community-based out-
patient clinic located in the State. 
(g) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall establish such 
additional covered Vet Centers as may be required pursu-
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ant to a determination under subsection (a), and such cov-
ered community-based outpatient clinics as may be re-
quired pursuant to a determination under subsection (f), 
by not later than two years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘covered community-based out-
patient clinic’’ means a community-based outpatient 
clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs that is 
scheduled to be open for the provision of community- 
based outpatient services for a minimum of eight 
hours per day during five days of the week, except 
that the community-based outpatient clinic may be 
open for less than such minimum on a temporary 
basis as a result of a Federal holiday, weather con-
cern, safety concern, pandemic, or for such other 
reasons as may be determined appropriate by the 
Secretary. 
(2) The term ‘‘covered Vet Center’’— 
(A) means a Vet Center, as such term is 
defined in section 1712A of title 38, United 
States Code, that is scheduled to be open for 
the provision of services under such section for 
a minimum of eight hours per day during five 
days of the week, except that the Vet Center 
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