Title: Studying Veterans Access to Care During COVID–19 Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Studying Veterans Access to Care During COVID-19 Act
This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to report on changes in the use of the beneficiary travel program of the Department of Veterans Affairs during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency period.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8758 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8758

  To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a 
 report on changes in the use of the beneficiary travel program of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs during COVID-19, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 17, 2020

  Ms. Adams introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a 
 report on changes in the use of the beneficiary travel program of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs during COVID-19, 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 ``Studying Veterans Access to Care 
During COVID-19 Act''.

SEC. 2. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON CHANGES IN USE OF BENEFICIARY 
              TRAVEL PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall prepare and submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate a report on the following:
            (1) The year-over-year change in the number of payments and 
        allowances provided pursuant to the beneficiary travel program 
        of the Department of Veterans Affairs under section 111 of 
        title 38, United States Code during the COVID-19 public health 
        emergency period.
            (2) The year-over-year change in the total dollar amount of 
        payments and allowances provided pursuant to such program 
        during such period.
            (3) The anticipated costs associated with expanding 
        eligibility to receive payments and allowances pursuant to such 
        program to veterans whose total annual income is below 400 
        percent of the poverty line.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) The term ``COVID-19 public health emergency period'' 
        means the period during which there exists the public health 
        emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, entitled 
        ``Determination that a Public Health Emergency Exists 
        Nationwide as the Result of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus'' 
        (including any renewal of such declaration pursuant to such 
        section).
            (2) The term ``poverty line'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 673 of the Community Services Block Grant Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 9902).
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