Title: A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit smoking in any facility of the Veterans Health Administration, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
This bill phases in smoking prohibitions at Veterans Health Administration facilities.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2119 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2119

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit smoking in any 
facility of the Veterans Health Administration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 13, 2017

  Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Markey, Mr. Reed, Mr. 
Brown, Mr. Wyden, and Mrs. Murray) introduced the following bill; which 
   was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit smoking in any 
facility of the Veterans Health Administration, 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. PROHIBITION ON SMOKING IN FACILITIES OF THE VETERANS HEALTH 
              ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Prohibition.--Section 1715 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1715. Prohibition on smoking in facilities of the Veterans 
              Health Administration
    ``(a) Prohibition.--(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
no person may smoke indoors in any facility of the Veterans Health 
Administration.
    ``(B) In the case of a facility of the Veterans Health 
Administration that is a community living center, no person may smoke 
indoors in such facility on or after December 31, 2018.
    ``(2) No person may smoke outdoors in any facility of the Veterans 
Health Administration on or after October 1, 2021.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `community living center' means a facility 
        of the Department that provides nursing home care.
            ``(2) The term `facility of the Veterans Health 
        Administration' means any land or building (including any 
        medical center, nursing home, domiciliary facility, outpatient 
        clinic, or center that provides readjustment counseling) that 
        is--
                    ``(A) under the jurisdiction of the Department of 
                Veterans Affairs;
                    ``(B) under the control of the Veterans Health 
                Administration; and
                    ``(C) not under the control of the General Services 
                Administration.
            ``(3) The term `smoke' includes the smoking of cigarettes 
        (including e-cigarettes or electronic cigarettes), cigars, 
        pipes, and any other combustion of tobacco.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 17 of such title is amended by striking the item relating to 
section 1715 and inserting the following new item:

``1715. Prohibition on smoking in facilities of the Veterans Health 
                            Administration.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 526 of the Veterans Health Care 
Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-585; 38 U.S.C. 1715 note) is hereby 
repealed.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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