Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1092 To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand health care and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs for military sexual trauma, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 7, 2019 Ms. PINGREE (for herself, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Ms. MOORE, Mr. RUSH, Ms. NORTON, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. LOFGREN, and Mr. SABLAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Af- fairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand health care and benefits from the Department of Veterans Af- fairs for military sexual trauma, 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 ‘‘Servicemembers and 4 Veterans Empowerment and Support Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1092.IH H1092 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1092 IH SEC. 2. TECHNOLOGICAL ABUSE DEFINED. 1 Section 101 of title 38, United States Code, is 2 amended by adding at the end the following new para- 3 graph: 4 ‘‘(37) The term ‘technological abuse’ means be- 5 havior intended to harm, threaten, intimidate, con- 6 trol, stalk, harass, impersonate, or monitor another 7 person, except as otherwise permitted by law, that 8 occurs via the Internet, social networking sites, com- 9 puters, mobile devices, cellular telephones, apps, lo- 10 cation tracking devices, instant messages, text mes- 11 sages, or other forms of technology. Technological 12 abuse may include— 13 ‘‘(A) unwanted, repeated telephone calls, 14 text messages, instant messages, or social 15 media posts; 16 ‘‘(B) non-consensual access of e-mail ac- 17 counts, texts or instant messaging accounts, so- 18 cial networking accounts, or cellular telephone 19 logs; 20 ‘‘(C) attempting to control or restrict a 21 person’s ability to access technology with the in- 22 tent to isolate them from support and social 23 connection; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1092.IH H1092 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1092 IH ‘‘(D) using tracking devices or location 1 tracking software for the purpose of monitoring 2 or stalking another person’s location; 3 ‘‘(E) impersonation of a person with the 4 intent to deceive or cause harm through the use 5 of spoofing technology or the creation of fake 6 email or social media accounts; or 7 ‘‘(F) pressuring for or sharing of another 8 person’s private information, photographs, or 9 videos without their consent.’’. 10 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF COVERAGE BY THE DEPARTMENT 11 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OF COUNSELING AND 12 TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL TRAUMA TO IN- 13 CLUDE TECHNOLOGICAL ABUSE OF A SEX- 14 UAL NATURE. 15 Section 1720D(a)(1) of title 38, United States Code, 16 is amended by inserting ‘‘technological abuse of a sexual 17 nature,’’ after ‘‘battery of a sexual nature,’’. 18 SEC. 4. STANDARD OF PROOF FOR SERVICE-CONNECTION 19 OF MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS RELATED 20 TO MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA. 21 (a) STANDARD OF PROOF.—Section 1154 of title 38, 22 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 23 following new subsection: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1092.IH H1092 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1092 IH ‘‘(c)(1) In the case of any veteran who claims that 1 a covered mental health condition was incurred in or ag- 2 gravated by military sexual trauma during active military, 3 naval, or air service, the Secretary shall accept as suffi- 4 cient proof of service-connection a diagnosis of such men- 5 tal health condition by a mental health professional to- 6 gether with satisfactory lay or other evidence of such trau- 7 ma and an opinion by the mental health professional that 8 such covered mental health condition is related to such 9 military sexual trauma, if consistent with the facts of such 10 service, notwithstanding the fact that there is no official 11 record of such incurrence or aggravation in such service, 12 and, to that end, shall resolve every reasonable doubt in 13 favor of the veteran. Service-connection of such covered 14 mental health condition may be rebutted by clear and con- 15 vincing evidence to the contrary. The reasons for granting 16 or denying service-connection in each case shall be re- 17 corded in full. 18 ‘‘(2) In this subsection: 19 ‘‘(A) The term ‘covered mental health condi- 20 tion’ means post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, 21 depression, or other mental health diagnosis de- 22 scribed in the current version of the Diagnostic and 23 Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by 24 the American Psychiatric Association that the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1092.IH H1092 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1092 IH retary determines to be related to military sexual 1 trauma. 2 ‘‘(B) The term ‘military sexual trauma’ means, 3 with respect to a veteran, a physical assault of a sex- 4 ual nature, battery of a sexual nature, technological 5 abuse of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment in 6 line of duty.’’. 7 (b) USE OF EVIDENCE IN EVALUATING DISABILITY 8 CLAIMS INVOLVING MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter VI of chapter 11 10 of such title is amended by adding at the end the 11 following new section: 12 ‘‘§ 1164. Evaluation of claims involving military sex- 13 ual trauma 14 ‘‘(a) NONMILITARY SOURCES OF EVIDENCE.—(1) In 15 carrying out section 1154(c) of this title, the Secretary 16 shall ensure that if a claim for compensation under this 17 chapter is received by the Secretary for a covered mental 18 health condition (as defined in such section) based on mili- 19 tary sexual trauma experienced by a veteran during active 20 military, naval, or air service, evidence from sources other 21 than official records of the Department of Defense regard- 22 ing the veteran’s service may corroborate the veteran’s ac- 23 count of the assault, battery, or harassment. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1092.IH H1092 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1092 IH ‘‘(2) Examples of evidence described in paragraph (1) 1 include the following: 2 ‘‘(A) Records from law enforcement authorities, 3 rape crisis centers, mental health counseling centers, 4 hospitals, and physicians. 5 ‘‘(B) Pregnancy tests and tests for sexually 6 transmitted diseases. 7 ‘‘(C) Statements from family members, room- 8 mates, other members of the Armed Forces or vet- 9 erans, and clergy. 10 ‘‘(b) BEHAVIOR CHANGES CORROBORATING EVI- 11 DENCE.—(1) In carrying out section 1154(c) of this title, 12 the Secretary shall ensure that evidence of a behavior 13 change following military sexual trauma is one type of rel- 14 evant evidence that may be found in sources described in 15 such subsection. 16 ‘‘(2) Examples of behavior changes that may be rel- 17 evant evidence of military sexual trauma include the fol- 18 lowing: 19 ‘‘(A) A request for a transfer to another mili- 20 tary duty assignment. 21 ‘‘(B) Deterioration in work performance. 22 ‘‘(C) Substance abuse. 23 ‘‘(D) Episodes of depression, panic attacks, or 24 anxiety without an identifiable cause. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1092.IH H1092 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1092 IH ‘‘(E) Unexplained economic or social behavior 1 changes. 2 ‘‘(c) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPLY EVI- 3 DENCE.—The Secretary may not deny a claim of a veteran 4 for compensation under this chapter for a covered mental 5 health condition that is based on military sexual trauma 6 without first— 7 ‘‘(1) advising the veteran that evidence de- 8 scribed in subsections (a) and (b) may constitute 9 credible corroborating evidence of the military sexual 10 trauma; and 11 ‘‘(2) allowing the veteran an opportunity to fur- 12 nish such corroborating evidence or advise the Sec- 13 retary of potential sources of such evidence. 14 ‘‘(d) REVIEW OF EVIDENCE.—In reviewing a claim 15 for compensation described in subsection (a)(1), for any 16 evidence received with such claim that is described in sub- 17 section (a) or (b), the Secretary may submit such evidence 18 to such medical or mental health professional as the Sec- 19 retary considers appropriate, including clinical and coun- 20 seling experts employed by the Department, to obtain a 21 credible opinion as to whether the evidence indicates that 22 military sexual trauma occurred. 23 ‘‘(e) POINT OF CONTACT.—The Secretary shall en- 24 sure that each document provided to a veteran relating 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1092.IH H1092 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1092 IH to a claim for compensation described in subsection (a)(1) 1 includes contact information for an appropriate point of 2 contact with the Department. 3 ‘‘(f) SPECIALIZED TEAMS.—(1) The Secretary shall 4 establish specialized teams to process claims for com- 5 pensation described in subsection (a)(1). 6 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that members of 7 teams established under paragraph (1) are trained to iden- 8 tify markers indicating military sexual trauma. 9 ‘‘(3) In any case in which the Secretary obtains con- 10 flicting evidence relating to the substantiation of a claim 11 for compensation described in subsection (a)(1), the Sec- 12 retary shall give more credence to the evidence that is 13 more beneficial to the claimant. 14 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘cov- 15 ered mental health condition’ and ‘military sexual trauma’ 16 has the meanings given such terms in section 1154(c) of 17 this title.’’. 18 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 19 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 20 by adding at the end the following new item: 21 ‘‘1164. Evaluation of claims involving military sexual trauma.’’. (c) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter VI of chapter 11 23 of title 38, United States Code, as amended by sub- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1092.IH H1092 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1092 IH section (b), is further amended by adding at the end 1 the following new section: 2 ‘‘§ 1165. Reports on claims for disabilities incurred or 3 aggravated by military sexual trauma 4 ‘‘(a) REPORTS.—Not later than March 1, 2020, and 5 not less frequently than once each year thereafter through 6 2027, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on 7 covered claims submitted during the previous fiscal year 8 to identify and track the consistency of decisions across 9 regional offices. 10 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—Each report under subsection (a) 11 shall include the following: 12 ‘‘(1) The number of covered claims submitted 13 to or considered by the Secretary during the fiscal 14 year covered by the report. 15 ‘‘(2) Of the covered claims listed under para- 16 graph (1), the number and percentage of such 17 claims— 18 ‘‘(A) submitted by each sex; 19 ‘‘(B) that were approved, including the 20 number and percentage of such approved claims 21 submitted by each sex; and 22 ‘‘(C) that were denied, including the num- 23 ber and percentage of such denied claims sub- 24 mitted by each sex. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1092.IH H1092 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1092 IH ‘‘(3) Of the covered claims listed under para- 1 graph (1) that were approved, the number and per- 2 centage, disaggregated by sex, of claims assigned to 3 each rating percentage. 4 ‘‘(4) Of the covered claims listed under para- 5 graph (1) that were denied— 6 ‘‘(A) the three most common reasons given 7 by the Secretary under section 5104(b)(1) of 8 this title for such denials; and 9 ‘‘(B) the number of denials that were 10 based on the failure of a veteran to report for 11 a medical examination. 12 ‘‘(5) The number of covered claims that, as of 13 the end of the fiscal year covered by the report, are 14 pending and, separately, the number of such claims 15 on appeal. 16 ‘‘(6) For the fiscal year covered by the report, 17 the average number of days that covered claims take 18 to complete, beginning on the date on which the 19 claim is submitted. 20 ‘‘(7) A description of the training that the Sec- 21 retary provides to employees of the Veterans Bene- 22 fits Administration, or such contractors or other in- 23 dividuals as the Secretary considers appropriate, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1092.IH H1092 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1092 IH specifically with respect to covered claims, including 1 the frequency, length, and content of such training. 2 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered claims’ means claims 4 for disability compensation submitted to the Sec- 5 retary based on a covered mental health condition 6 alleged to have been incurred or aggravated by mili- 7 tary sexual trauma. 8 ‘‘(2) The terms ‘covered mental health condi- 9 tion’ and ‘military sexual trauma’ have the meanings 10 given such terms in section 1154(c) of this title.’’. 11 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 12 tions at the beginning of such chapter, as amended 13 by subsection (b), is further amended by adding at 14 the end the following new item: 15 ‘‘1165. Annual reports on claims for disabilities incurred or aggravated by mili- tary sexual trauma.’’. (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (c) of section 16 1154 of title 38, United States Code, as added by sub- 17 section (a), shall apply with respect to any claim for dis- 18 ability compensation under laws administered by the Sec- 19 retary of Veterans Affairs for which no final decision has 20 been made before the date of the enactment of this Act. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Feb 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1092.IH H1092 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1092 IH SEC. 5. INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 1 FORCES REGARDING AVAILABILITY OF SERV- 2 ICES AT THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF- 3 FAIRS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary o [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]