Vaccines for Veterans Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1114 To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide COVID–19 vaccines to an expanded population of veterans during a covered emergency pe- riod, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 18, 2021 Mr. CRIST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide COVID–19 vaccines to an expanded population of vet- erans during a covered emergency period, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vaccines for Veterans 4 Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:04 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1114.IH H1114 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1114 IH SEC. 2. COVID–19 VACCINES FOR EXPANDED POPULATION 1 OF VETERANS DURING COVERED EMER- 2 GENCY PERIOD. 3 (a) COVID–19 VACCINES.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 5 appropriations, during a covered emergency period, 6 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may furnish the 7 COVID–19 vaccine to any veteran who was dis- 8 charged from service in the Armed Forces under 9 honorable conditions without regard to whether the 10 veteran is enrolled in the annual patient enrollment 11 system under section 1705 of title 38, United States 12 Code, or otherwise eligible to receive health care 13 services under chapter 17 of such title. 14 (2) STATE GUIDELINES.—In furnishing 15 COVID–19 vaccines pursuant to paragraph (1), 16 each director of a Department of Veterans Affairs 17 health care facility may determine priorities among 18 veterans eligible to receive COVID–19 vaccines in 19 accordance with guidelines established by the State 20 in which the facility is located. 21 (b) COORDINATION.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, 23 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall coordinate 24 with the entities described in paragraph (2), as ap- 25 propriate, to determine— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:04 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1114.IH H1114 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1114 IH (A) whether an individual seeking to re- 1 ceive a COVID–19 vaccine pursuant this sec- 2 tion meets the requirements of subsection 3 (a)(1); and 4 (B) the relevant prioritization for such in- 5 dividual, in accordance with subsection (a)(2). 6 (2) COORDINATING ENTITIES.—The entities de- 7 scribed in this paragraph are the following: 8 (A) The Secretary of Defense. 9 (B) The Secretary of Health and Human 10 Services. 11 (C) The Director of the Centers for Dis- 12 ease Control and Prevention. 13 (D) The Administrator of the Federal 14 Emergency Management Agency. 15 (E) The heads of State departments of 16 health (or related agencies). 17 (F) Any other Federal agency determined 18 relevant by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 19 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 20 (1) The term ‘‘covered emergency period’’ 21 means a period beginning on the date on which a 22 President declares a national emergency under the 23 National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) 24 with respect to the coronavirus disease 2019 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:04 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1114.IH H1114 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1114 IH (COVID–19) and ending on the date that is 30 days 1 after the date on which such national emergency 2 declaration terminates. 3 (2) The term ‘‘covered medical condition’’ 4 means a medical condition determined by the Direc- 5 tor of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- 6 tion to be high risk with respect to COVID–19. 7 (3) The term ‘‘COVID–19 vaccine’’ means any 8 vaccine approved or authorized by the Commissioner 9 of Food and Drugs for COVID–19. 10 (4) The term ‘‘State’’ includes each of the sev- 11 eral States, the District of Columbia, each territory 12 or possession of the United States, and each feder- 13 ally recognized Indian Tribe. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:04 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1114.IH H1114 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS