I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5701 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve assistance and support 
services for caregivers of veterans. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 29, 2020 
Mr. HUDSON (for himself and Miss RICE of New York) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve assistance 
and support services for caregivers of 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 ‘‘Care for the Veteran 
Caregiver Act’’. 
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PROGRAM OF COM-
PREHENSIVE ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILY CARE-
GIVERS. 
(a) EXTENDED
STIPEND
PAYMENTS.—Subpara-
graph (C) of paragraph (3) of section 1720G(a) of title 
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38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
clause (iv) the following new clause: 
‘‘(v) If an eligible veteran dies during the period in 
which the Secretary provides to the family caregiver of 
such veteran assistance under subparagraph (A), the Sec-
retary shall continue to provide to the family caregiver 
medical care under section 1781 of this title and the 
monthly personal caregiver stipend for not less than a six- 
month period following the date of such death. The Sec-
retary may extend such period for all, or groups of, family 
caregivers of eligible veterans specified in paragraph 
(2)(C).’’. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY
FOR
THE
PROGRAM
OF
COM-
PREHENSIVE ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS.— 
(1) STANDARDIZED
EVALUATION
CRITERIA.— 
Subparagraph (D) of paragraph (3) of such section 
is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘In providing’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘(i) In providing’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
clause: 
‘‘(ii) In conducting periodic evaluations under clause 
(i), the Secretary shall ensure that the criteria used in 
conducting such evaluations, the methods by which such 
criteria are assessed, the measurements and standards 
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used, and the evaluation process and review methods used, 
are standardized across all facilities of the Department 
and Veteran Integrated Service Networks.’’. 
(2) PERMANENT
ELIGIBILITY.—Subparagraph 
(C) of such paragraph is amended— 
(A) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause 
(v); and 
(B) by inserting after clause (iii) the fol-
lowing new clause: 
‘‘(iv) Based upon the criteria specified in clause 
(iii), the Secretary shall establish a process by which 
veterans who are determined to have the most sig-
nificant need for caregiver assistance are perma-
nently eligible under this subsection.’’. 
(c) STANDARDIZED APPLICATION PROCEDURES.— 
Paragraph (5) of such section is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(5)(A) For each application submitted jointly by an 
eligible veteran and family member, the Secretary shall 
evaluate (in collaboration with the primary care team for 
the eligible veteran to the maximum extent practicable)— 
‘‘(i) the eligible veteran—— 
‘‘(I) to identify the personal care services 
required by the eligible veteran; and 
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‘‘(II) to determine whether such require-
ments could be significantly or substantially 
satisfied through the provision of personal care 
services from a family member; and 
‘‘(ii) the family member to determine the 
amount of instruction, preparation, and training, if 
any, the family member requires to provide the per-
sonal care services required by the eligible veteran— 
‘‘(I) as a provider of personal care services 
for the eligible veteran; and 
‘‘(II) as the primary provider of personal 
care services for the eligible veteran. 
‘‘(B) In establishing and evaluating the applications 
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall ensure that 
the criteria used in accepting and evaluating such applica-
tions, the methods by which such applications are evalu-
ated, the measurements and standards used, and the eval-
uation process and review methods used, are standardized 
across all facilities of the Department and Veteran Inte-
grated Service Networks.’’. 
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such section is 
further amended— 
(1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘under para-
graph (5)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘under paragraph 
(5)(A)(ii)’’; and 
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(2) in paragraph (7)(B), by striking ‘‘under 
paragraph (5)(A)(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘under para-
graph (5)(A)(i)(I)’’. 
Æ 
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