Title: Beneficiary Travel Act of 2017
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Beneficiary Travel Act of 2017
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to report annually on the total payments and allowances made for beneficiary travel per state and the amount of any increase or decrease in such amounts from the previous year.
Savings resulting from any decrease shall be transferred to the Veterans Choice Fund.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4031 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4031

   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress 
     annual reports on beneficiary travel, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 12, 2017

  Mr. Pearce introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Appropriations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress 
     annual reports on beneficiary travel, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Beneficiary Travel Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORTS ON BENEFICIARY TRAVEL.

    (a) Annual Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and on an annual basis thereafter, the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs 
of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report on payments or 
allowances made for beneficiary travel under section 111 of title 38, 
United States Code. Each such report shall include, with respect to the 
period covered by the report, the following:
            (1) The total amount of such payments or allowances per 
        State (based on the destination of the travel).
            (2) For each State, whether the total amount identified 
        under paragraph (1) has been increased or decreased as compared 
        to the total amount identified in the preceding report, 
        including the amount of such increase or decrease.
    (b) Use of Any Savings.--If the Secretary determines under 
subsection (a)(2) that the total amount of payments or allowances made 
for beneficiary travel under section 111 of title 38, United States 
Code, with respect to a State has decreased, the Secretary shall 
transfer an amount equal to the amount of the decrease from the account 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs from which such payments or 
allowances are made to the Veterans Choice Fund established by section 
802 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 
(Public Law 113-146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note).
    (c) State Defined.--In this section, the term ``State'' has the 
meaning given that term in section 101(20) of title 38, United States 
Code.
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