Vet Center Support Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3674 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a report on mental health care furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs in certain States. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 1, 2021 Mr. PHILLIPS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a report on mental health care furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs in certain States. 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 ‘‘Vet Center Support 4 Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:14 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3674.IH H3674 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3674 IH SEC. 2. ASSESSMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE FUR- 1 NISHED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 2 AFFAIRS IN CERTAIN STATES. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet- 5 erans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 6 Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives 7 a report regarding mental health care furnished by the 8 Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans in each cov- 9 ered State. 10 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 11 shall include, with respect to covered States, the following: 12 (1) An assessment of the ability of the Depart- 13 ment to furnish to veterans— 14 (A) readjustment counseling; 15 (B) therapy for post-traumatic stress dis- 16 order and other trauma-related therapy; 17 (C) group counseling; 18 (D) marriage and family counseling; 19 (E) military sexual trauma counseling; 20 (F) bereavement counseling; 21 (G) screenings and referrals for medical 22 issues; 23 (H) substance abuse assessments and re- 24 ferrals; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:14 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3674.IH H3674 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3674 IH (I) employment assessments and referrals; 1 and 2 (J) explanations and referrals regarding 3 benefits furnished through the Veterans Bene- 4 fits Administration of the Department. 5 (2) An assessment of the feasibility of estab- 6 lishing additional Vet Centers. 7 (3) An assessment of the feasibility of increas- 8 ing staff at existing Vet Centers to ensure com- 9 prehensive coverage, including with respect to bar- 10 riers regarding— 11 (A) demonstrating a need for additional 12 Vet Centers, mobile Vet Centers, and commu- 13 nity access points; 14 (B) including drive time as a measure of 15 productivity while conducting outreach to un- 16 derserved areas; and 17 (C) building a new Vet Center. 18 (4) An analysis of staffing shortages at Vet 19 Centers, including delays in approving and proc- 20 essing new hires. 21 (5) An outreach strategy for using mobile Vet 22 Centers, Vet Center outstations, and community ac- 23 cess points to ensure that mental health care serv- 24 ices reach veterans in underserved areas. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:14 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3674.IH H3674 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3674 IH (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 1 (1) COVERED STATE.—The term ‘‘covered 2 State’’ means each State (including the District of 3 Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any territory or posses- 4 sion of the United States) that has a ratio of one 5 Vet Center per 100,000 or more veterans who reside 6 in such State (as such population is determined by 7 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting through 8 the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Sta- 9 tistics, for fiscal year 2021). 10 (2) VET CENTER.—The term ‘‘Vet Center’’ has 11 the meaning given that term in section 1712A of 12 title 38, United States Code, including with respect 13 to Vet Center outstations, but not including mobile 14 Vet Centers. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:14 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3674.IH H3674 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS