Title: Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes Act
This bill amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 to include victims of acts of terror in the evaluation and treatment of veterans and civilians at military treatment facilities.
The Department of Defense (DOD) shall establish implementing procedures: (1) for outreach and communication to local medical facilities after an act of terror in the United States; (2) to coordinate and provide medical expertise to local medical facilities that are treating victims of an act of terror that caused blast related injuries, mass shooting related injuries, burn related injuries, or other serious injuries; and (3) for medical evaluations of such victims.
DOD may not release a victim of an act of terror who is receiving such care to a private health care provider until a comprehensive treatment plan is communicated to the individual or his or her health care provider.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1365 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1365

   To require the Secretary of Defense to include victims of acts of 
  terror in the evaluation and treatment of veterans and civilians at 
         military treatment facilities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 15, 2017

Ms. Warren (for herself and Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Secretary of Defense to include victims of acts of 
  terror in the evaluation and treatment of veterans and civilians at 
         military treatment facilities, 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 ``Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes 
Act''.

SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF VICTIMS OF ACTS OF TERROR IN EVALUATION AND 
              TREATMENT OF VETERANS AND CIVILIANS AT MILITARY TREATMENT 
              FACILITIES.

    Section 717 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328; 10 U.S.C. 1071 note) is amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by inserting ``, including 
        victims of acts of terror,'' after ``civilians'';
            (2) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by inserting ``, including a victim of an act of terror,'' 
        after ``civilian''; and
            (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following 
        new subsections:
    ``(d) Procedures After Acts of Terror.--
            ``(1) Procedures.--Not later than 270 days after the date 
        of the enactment of the Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes Act, 
        the Secretary of Defense shall, in consultation with the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and 
        Human Services, and the heads of such other Federal agencies as 
        the Secretary of Defense considers appropriate, establish 
        procedures to implement subsection (a) with respect to victims 
        of acts of terror, which shall include the following:
                    ``(A) Procedures for the conduct of timely outreach 
                and communication to local medical facilities after an 
                act of terror in the United States.
                    ``(B) Procedures to promptly contact, coordinate, 
                and provide medical expertise to local medical 
                facilities that are treating victims of an act of 
                terror that caused blast related injuries, mass 
                shooting related injuries, burn related injuries, or 
                other serious injuries.
                    ``(C) Procedures for the provision of medical 
                evaluations for victims of an act of terror who were 
                exposed to such injuries.
            ``(2) Release to private sector health care provider.--The 
        Secretary may not release a victim of an act of terror who is 
        receiving care under subsection (a) to a health care provider 
        in the private sector until a comprehensive treatment plan is 
        communicated to the individual or a health care provider of the 
        individual.
            ``(3) Reports.--Not later than 180 days after an act of 
        terror that results in civilians being evaluated and treated at 
        a military treatment facility under subsection (a), the 
        Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed 
        Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a 
        report that includes--
                    ``(A) the number of victims of the act of terror 
                who are receiving treatment at a military treatment 
                facility;
                    ``(B) a list of the types of injuries being 
                treated; and
                    ``(C) such recommendations to improve the 
                procedures established under paragraph (1) as the 
                Secretary considers appropriate.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Act of terror.--The term `act of terror' means an act 
        of domestic terrorism or international terrorism, as those 
        terms are defined in section 2331 of title 18, United States 
        Code.
            ``(2) Covered beneficiary.--The term `covered beneficiary' 
        has the meaning given that term in section 1072 of title 10, 
        United States Code.
            ``(3) Victim.--The term `victim', with respect to an act of 
        terror, means an individual who suffered physical injury as a 
        direct result of the act of terror.''.
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