VA Expiring Authorities Extension Act of 2013
PL 113-59 (H.R.1402), enacted 12/20/2013

[113th Congress Public Law 59]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 657]]

              VA EXPIRING AUTHORITIES EXTENSION ACT OF 2013

[[Page 127 STAT. 658]]

Public Law 113-59
113th Congress

                                 An Act


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend certain expiring 
      provisions of law, and for other purposes. <<NOTE: Dec. 20, 
                         2013 -  [H.R. 1402]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: VA Expiring 
Authorities Extension Act of 2013.>> 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) <<NOTE: 38 USC 101 note.>>  Short Title.--This Act may be cited 
as the ``VA Expiring Authorities Extension Act of 2013''.

    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. References to title 38, United States Code.
Sec. 3. Scoring of budgetary effects.
Sec. 4. Extension of authorization of appropriations for payment of a 
           monthly assistance allowance to disabled veterans training or 
           competing in large-scale adaptive sports programs.
Sec. 5. Reauthorization and modification of adaptive sports assistance 
           program.
Sec. 6. Extension of authority to transport certain individuals to and 
           from Department of Veterans Affairs facilities.
Sec. 7. Extension of authority for operation of the Department of 
           Veterans Affairs regional office in Manila, the Republic of 
           the Philippines.
Sec. 8. Extension of requirement to provide nursing home care to certain 
           veterans with service-connected disabilities.
Sec. 9. Extension of treatment and rehabilitation services for seriously 
           mentally ill and homeless veterans.
Sec. 10. Extension of authority to provide housing assistance for 
           homeless veterans.
Sec. 11. Extension of authority for the Advisory Committee on Homeless 
           Veterans.
Sec. 12. Extension of authority for the Veterans' Advisory Commission on 
           Education.
Sec. 13. Extension of requirements relating to vendee loans.
Sec. 14. Extension of authority for the performance of medical 
           disabilities examinations by contract physicians.

SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE.

    Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an 
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 
of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to 
be made to a section or other provision of title 38, United States Code.
SEC. 3. SCORING OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with 
the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

[[Page 127 STAT. 659]]

SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR PAYMENT 
                    OF A MONTHLY ASSISTANCE ALLOWANCE TO DISABLED 
                    VETERANS TRAINING OR COMPETING IN LARGE-SCALE 
                    ADAPTIVE SPORTS PROGRAMS.

    (a) Reauthorization and Use of Certain Funds.--Subsection (d)(4) of 
section 322 is amended by striking ``through 2013'' and all that follows 
and inserting ``through 2015.''.
    (b) Cooperation With Organization.--Subsection (b)(4) of such 
section is amended by striking ``cooperate with the United States 
Olympic Committee'' and all that follows through ``its partners;'' and 
inserting ``cooperate with entities with significant experience in 
managing large-scale adaptive sports programs;''.
    (c) Applicability to Commonwealths and Territories of the United 
States.--Such section is further amended by redesignating subsection (e) 
as subsection (f) and inserting after subsection (d) the following new 
subsection (e):
    ``(e) Applicability to Commonwealths and Territories of the United 
States.--The provisions of this subsection shall apply in the same 
manner and to the same degree as to the United States Olympic Committee 
to the Paralympic sport entities the Secretary considers appropriate to 
represent the interests of each of the following:
            ``(1) American Samoa.
            ``(2) Guam.
            ``(3) Puerto Rico.
            ``(4) The Northern Mariana Islands.
            ``(5) The United States Virgin Islands.''.
SEC. 5. REAUTHORIZATION AND MODIFICATION OF ADAPTIVE SPORTS 
                    ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Reauthorization.--Subsection (a) of section 521A is amended to 
read as follows:
    ``(a) Adaptive Sports Program.--(1) The Secretary may carry out a 
program under which the Secretary may make grants to eligible entities 
for planning, developing, managing, and implementing programs to provide 
adaptive sports opportunities for disabled veterans and disabled members 
of the Armed Forces.
    ``(2) For purposes of this section, an eligible entity is an entity 
with significant experience in managing a large-scale adaptive sports 
program.''.
    (b) Additional Application Requirements.--Subsection (c)(2)(A) of 
such section is amended--
            (1) by striking ``of all partnerships'' and all that follows 
        through the end and inserting ``of--''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new clauses:
                    ``(i) all partnerships referred to in paragraph (3) 
                at the national and local levels that will be 
                participating in such activities and the amount of grant 
                funds that the eligible entity proposes to make 
                available for each of such partnerships;
                    ``(ii) the anticipated personnel, travel, and 
                administrative costs that will be paid for by the 
                eligible entity using grant funds;
                    ``(iii) the financial controls implemented by the 
                eligible entity, including methods to track expenditures 
                of grant funds;

[[Page 127 STAT. 660]]

                    ``(iv) the performance metrics to be used by the 
                eligible entity to evaluate the effectiveness of the 
                activities to be carried out using grant funds; and
                    ``(v) the anticipated personnel, travel, and 
                administrative costs that will be paid for by grantees 
                under this subsection using grant funds; and''.

    (c) Use of Funds for Administrative Expenses.--Paragraph (4) of 
subsection (d) of such section is amended to read as follows:
    ``(4)(A) At the discretion of the Secretary, an eligible entity that 
receives a grant under this section may use a portion of the grant for 
the administrative expenses and personnel expenses of the eligible 
entity. The amount that may be used for such expenses may not exceed--
            ``(i) in the case of a grant made for adaptive sports 
        opportunities taking place during fiscal year 2014, 10 percent 
        of the total amount of the grant;
            ``(ii) in the case of a grant made for adaptive sports 
        opportunities taking place during fiscal year 2015, 7.5 percent 
        of the total amount of the grant; and
            ``(iii) in the case of a grant made for adaptive sports 
        opportunities taking place during any subsequent fiscal year, 5 
        percent of the total amount of the grant.

    ``(B) For purposes of this paragraph, personnel expenses include any 
costs associated with an employee of the eligible entity other than 
reimbursement for time spent by such an employee directly providing 
coaching or training for disabled veterans or members of the Armed 
Forces.''.
    (d) Funding.--Subsection (g) of such section is amended--
            (1) by striking ``There is'' and inserting ``(1) There is'';
            (2) by striking ``through 2013'' and all that follows and 
        inserting ``through 2015.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

    ``(2) Amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall remain 
available without fiscal year limitation.''.
    (e) Reauthorization.--Subsection <<NOTE: Time period.>>  (l) of such 
section is amended by striking ``may not provide assistance under this 
section after December 31, 2013'' and inserting ``may only provide 
assistance under this section for adaptive sports opportunities 
occurring during fiscal years 2010 through 2016''.

    (f) Comptroller General Report.--Not later than 18 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall submit to Congress a report on the use of the grants, if 
any, awarded under section 521A of title 38, United States Code, as 
amended by this section, during the first program year that begins after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. Such report shall include each of 
the following:
            (1) An assessment of how the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 
        eligible entities that received grants under such section, and 
        grantees under subsection (c) of such section have provided 
        adaptive sports opportunities to veterans and members of the 
        Armed Forces through grants awarded under such section.
            (2) An assessment of how the Secretary oversees the use of 
        funds provided under such section.
            (3) A description of the benefit provided to veterans and 
        members of the Armed Forces through programs and activities 
        developed through grants awarded under such section.

[[Page 127 STAT. 661]]

    (g) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Section 521A, as amended 
by this section, is further amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in the first sentence, by striking ``the United 
                States Olympic Committee'' and inserting ``an eligible 
                entity''; and
                    (B) in the second sentence, by striking ``The United 
                States Olympic Committee'' and inserting ``An eligible 
                entity that receives a grant under this section'';
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                          (i) by striking ``the United States Olympic 
                      Committee'' the first time it appears and 
                      inserting ``an eligible entity''; and
                          (ii) by striking ``the United States Olympic 
                      Committee'' the second time it appears and 
                      inserting ``the eligible entity''; and
                    (B) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by striking ``the 
                United States Olympic Committee'' each place it appears 
                and inserting ``the eligible entity'';
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                          (i) by striking ``The United States Olympic 
                      Committee'' and inserting ``An eligible entity 
                      that receives a grant under this section,'';
                          (ii) by striking ``a grant under this 
                      section'' and inserting ``the grant''; and
                          (iii) by striking ``the United States Olympic 
                      Committee'' and inserting ``the eligible entity''; 
                      and
                    (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ``the United 
                States Olympic Committee'' and inserting ``an eligible 
                entity that receives a grant under this section'';
            (4) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) by striking ``the United States Olympic 
                Committee'' and inserting ``an eligible entity''; and
                    (B) by striking ``the integrated adaptive sports 
                program'' and inserting ``the adapted sports 
                opportunities funded by the grant'';
            (5) in subsection (f), by striking ``the integrated adaptive 
        sports program'' and inserting ``adapted sports opportunities 
        funded under this section''; and
            (6) in subsection (j)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                          (i) by striking ``the United States Olympic 
                      Committee'' the first place it appears and 
                      inserting ``an eligible entity'';
                          (ii) by striking ``the United States Olympic 
                      Committee'' the second place it appears and 
                      inserting ``the eligible entity'';
                          (iii) by striking ``the integrated adaptive 
                      sports program,'' and inserting ``the adapted 
                      sports opportunities funded by the grant,''; and
                          (iv) by striking ``the integrated adaptive 
                      sports program.'' and inserting ``such 
                      opportunities and programs.'';
                    (B) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 
                following new paragraph (3):

[[Page 127 STAT. 662]]

    ``(3) If an eligible entity that receives a grant under this section 
for any fiscal year does not submit the report required by paragraph (1) 
for such fiscal year, the entity shall not be eligible to receive a 
grant under this section for the subsequent fiscal year.''; and
            (7) by striking subsection (m).

    (h) Clerical Amendments.--
            (1) Section heading.--The heading of such section is amended 
        to read as follows:
``Sec. 521A. Adaptive sports programs for disabled veterans and 
                  members of the Armed Forces''.
            (2) Table of sections.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of chapter 5 is amended by striking the item relating 
        to section 521A and inserting the following new item:

``512A. Adaptive sports programs for disabled veterans and members of 
           the Armed Forces.''.

    (i) Implementation.--To ensure the uninterrupted provision of 
adaptive sports for disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed 
Forces, any regulations that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
determines are necessary to implement the amendments made by this 
section may be promulgated by interim final rules to ensure the award of 
grants under section 521A of title 38, United States Code, as amended by 
this section, before the end of fiscal year 2014.
SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO TRANSPORT CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS TO 
                    AND FROM DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
                    FACILITIES.

    Section 111A(a)(2) is amended by striking ``the date that is one 
year after the date of the enactment of this section'' and inserting 
``December 31, 2014''.
SEC. 7. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR OPERATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
                    VETERANS AFFAIRS REGIONAL OFFICE IN MANILA, 
                    THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES.

    Section 315(b) is amended by striking ``December 31, 2013'' and 
inserting ``December 31, 2014''.
SEC. 8. EXTENSION OF REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE NURSING HOME CARE TO 
                    CERTAIN VETERANS WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED 
                    DISABILITIES.

    Section 1710A(d) is amended by striking ``December 31, 2013'' and 
inserting ``December 31, 2014''.
SEC. 9. EXTENSION OF TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION SERVICES FOR 
                    SERIOUSLY MENTALLY ILL AND HOMELESS VETERANS.

    (a) General Treatment.--Section 2031(b) is amended by striking 
``December 31, 2013'' and inserting ``December 31, 2014''.
    (b) Additional Services at Certain Locations.--Section 2033(d) is 
amended by striking ``December 31, 2013'' and inserting ``December 31, 
2014''.
SEC. 10. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE HOUSING ASSISTANCE FOR 
                      HOMELESS VETERANS.

    Section 2041(c) is amended by striking ``December 31, 2013'' and 
inserting ``December 31, 2014''.

[[Page 127 STAT. 663]]

SEC. 11. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON 
                      HOMELESS VETERANS.

    Section 2066(d) is amended by striking ``December 31, 2013'' and 
inserting ``December 31, 2014''.
SEC. 12. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR THE VETERANS' ADVISORY 
                      COMMISSION ON EDUCATION.

    Section 3692(c) is amended by striking ``December 31, 2013'' and 
inserting ``December 31, 2014''.
SEC. 13. EXTENSION OF REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO VENDEE LOANS.

    Section 3733(a)(7) is amended by striking ``September 30, 2013'' 
each place it appears and inserting ``September 30, 2014''.
SEC. 14. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF MEDICAL 
                      DISABILITIES EXAMINATIONS BY CONTRACT 
                      PHYSICIANS.

    Section 704(c) of the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-
183; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended by striking ``December 31, 2013'' 
and inserting ``December 31, 2014''.

    Approved December 20, 2013.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 1402:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 159 (2013):
            Dec. 10, considered and passed House.
            Dec. 18, considered and passed Senate.

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