I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5776 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the Department 
of Veterans Affairs a Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, 
and Queer Veterans. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 28, 2021 
Mr. KAHELE (for himself, Ms. MACE, Mr. RYAN, Ms. DEAN, Ms. TITUS, Ms. 
JACOBS of California, Ms. NORTON, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mr. VARGAS, 
Mr. KILDEE, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. CASE, Mrs. LURIA, 
and Mrs. HAYES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the 
Department of Veterans Affairs a Center for Lesbian, 
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Veterans. 
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 ‘‘Serving Our LGBTQ 
Veterans Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTER FOR LESBIAN, GAY, 
BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, AND QUEER VET-
ERANS. 
Chapter 3 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section (and con-
forming the table of sections for such chapter accord-
ingly): 
‘‘§ 324. 
Center 
for 
Lesbian, 
Gay, 
Bisexual, 
Transgender, and Queer Veterans 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is in the Department 
a Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and 
Queer Veterans. There is at the head of the Center a Di-
rector. 
‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Director shall be a career or 
noncareer appointee in the Senior Executive Service. The 
Director shall be appointed for a term of six years. 
‘‘(c) REPORTING.—The Director reports directly to 
the Secretary or the Deputy Secretary concerning the ac-
tivities of the Center. 
‘‘(d) DUTIES.—The Director shall perform the fol-
lowing functions with respect to veterans who are 
LGBTQ: 
‘‘(1) Serve as principal adviser to the Secretary 
on the adoption and implementation of policies and 
programs affecting veterans who are LGBTQ. 
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‘‘(2) Make recommendations to the Secretary, 
the Under Secretary for Health, the Under Sec-
retary for Benefits, and other Department officials 
for the establishment or improvement of programs in 
the Department for which veterans who are LGBTQ 
are eligible. 
‘‘(3) Promote the use of benefits authorized by 
this title by veterans who are LGBTQ and the con-
duct of outreach activities to veterans who are 
LGBTQ, in conjunction with outreach activities car-
ried out under chapter 77 of this title. 
‘‘(4) Disseminate information and serve as a re-
source center for the exchange of information re-
garding innovative and successful programs which 
improve the services available to veterans who are 
LGBTQ. 
‘‘(5) Conduct and sponsor appropriate social 
and demographic research on the needs of veterans 
who are LGBTQ and the extent to which programs 
authorized under this title meet the needs of those 
veterans, without regard to any law concerning the 
collection of information from the public. 
‘‘(6) Analyze and evaluate complaints made by 
or on behalf of veterans who are LGBTQ about the 
adequacy and timeliness of services provided by the 
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Department and advise the appropriate official of 
the Department of the results of such analysis or 
evaluation. 
‘‘(7) Consult with, and provide assistance and 
information to, officials responsible for administering 
Federal, State, local, and private programs that as-
sist veterans, to encourage those officials to adopt 
policies which promote the use of those programs by 
veterans who are LGBTQ. 
‘‘(8) Advise the Secretary when laws or policies 
have the effect of discouraging the use of benefits by 
veterans who are LGBTQ. 
‘‘(9) Publicize the results of medical research 
which are of particular significance to veterans who 
are LGBTQ. 
‘‘(10) Provide support and administrative serv-
ices to advisory committees established under sub-
chapter III of chapter 5 of this title. 
‘‘(11) Perform such other duties consistent with 
this section as the Secretary shall prescribe. 
‘‘(e) RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall ensure that 
the Director is furnished sufficient resources to enable the 
Director to carry out the functions of the Center in a time-
ly manner. 
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‘‘(f) INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall include in 
documents submitted to Congress by the Secretary in sup-
port of the President’s budget for each fiscal year— 
‘‘(1) detailed information on the budget for the 
Center; 
‘‘(2) the Secretary’s opinion as to whether the 
resources (including the number of employees) pro-
posed in the budget for that fiscal year are adequate 
to enable the Center to comply with its statutory 
and regulatory duties; and 
‘‘(3) a report on the activities and significant 
accomplishments of the Center during the preceding 
fiscal year. 
‘‘(g) LGBTQ DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘LGBTQ’ means lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and 
queer.’’. 
Æ 
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