I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 232 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
prioritize veterans court treatment programs that ensure equal access 
for racial and ethnic minorities and women, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 10, 2023 
Ms. JACKSON LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 to prioritize veterans court treatment pro-
grams that ensure equal access for racial and ethnic 
minorities and women, 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 ‘‘Real Justice for Our 
Veterans Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. EQUAL ACCESS TO VETERANS COURT TREATMENT 
PROGRAMS FOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC MI-
NORITIES AND WOMEN. 
Section 2991(i)(2) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10651(i)(2)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 
after the date of enactment of this subpara-
graph, the Attorney General shall submit to 
Congress a report on the effectiveness of vet-
erans treatment court programs. In preparing 
such a report, the Attorney General shall con-
duct a national multi-site evaluation of such 
programs, including an assessment of— 
‘‘(i) the population served by such 
programs; 
‘‘(ii) whether such programs use evi-
dence-based treatments for substance use 
and mental health, including medication 
for addiction treatment; 
‘‘(iii) recidivism rates of participants 
in such programs; 
‘‘(iv) program completion rates; and 
‘‘(v) whether racial and ethnic minori-
ties and women have equal access to such 
programs and an equal opportunity to 
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complete such programs, including by col-
lecting and analyzing data related to ad-
mission in such programs and completion 
of such programs, to ensure there are not 
disparities related to race, ethnicity, or 
sex.’’. 
SEC. 3. VETERANS PILOT PROGRAM ON PROMISING RETEN-
TION MODELS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Attorney General, acting 
through the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, 
shall carry out a pilot program to make grants to eligible 
units of local government to improve retention in veterans 
treatment court programs (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 2991 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10651)) and drug court programs. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible for a grant 
under subsection (a), a unit of local government shall op-
erate a veterans treatment court program or a drug court. 
(c) APPLICATION.—A unit of local government seek-
ing a grant through the pilot program under subsection 
(a) shall submit to the Attorney General an application 
at such time, in such manner, and containing such infor-
mation as the Attorney General may reasonably require, 
including— 
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(1) a description of the therapeutic or treat-
ment modality that the unit of local government 
plans to implement and data to support the use of 
the therapeutic or treatment modality, including in-
formation showing how the therapeutic or treatment 
modality will promote retention in and completion of 
veterans treatment court programs and drug court 
programs; and 
(2) detailed plans on how the applicant would 
test the efficacy of the therapeutic or treatment mo-
dality. 
(d) REPORTING METRICS.—Not later than 180 days 
after receiving a grant under subsection (a), a unit of local 
government shall submit to the Attorney General a report, 
which includes demographic information of participants in 
the veterans treatment court program, and completion 
rates of such participants. The Attorney General shall de-
velop guidelines for the report required under this sub-
section. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 for each of fis-
cal years 2023 through 2028 to carry out this section. 
SEC. 4. ADMISSION OF VETERANS TO DRUG COURTS. 
In the case of a jurisdiction that does not operate 
a veterans treatment court program (as such term is de-
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fined in section 2991 of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10651)), but that 
does operate a drug court under part EE of the Omnibus 
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
10611 et seq.), a veteran who would be eligible to partici-
pate in a veterans treatment court program may partici-
pate in the drug court, including a veteran who is a violent 
offender (as such term is defined in section 2953(a) of 
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(34 U.S.C. 10613(a))). 
Æ 
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