Deborah Sampson Act

II Calendar No. 536 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 514 To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the benefits and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to women veterans, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 14, 2019 Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mrs. CAPITO, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. SCHATZ, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. WARREN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. REED, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. HARRIS, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. BROWN, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. KING, Ms. SMITH, Mr. KAINE, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. MORAN, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. COONS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. WARNER, Mr. JONES, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. MUR- KOWSKI, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. MANCHIN, and Mr. BENNET) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 Reported by Mr. MORAN, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the benefits and services provided by the Department of Vet- erans Affairs to women veterans, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\S514.RS S514 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 514 RS 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Deborah Sampson Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—READJUSTMENT AND RELATED ASSISTANCE Sec. 101. Provision of reintegration and readjustment services to veterans and family members in group retreat settings. Sec. 102. Expansion of capabilities of Women Veterans Call Center to include text messaging. TITLE II—LEGAL AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES Sec. 201. Department of Veterans Affairs public-private partnership on legal services for women veterans. Sec. 202. Additional amount for Supportive Services for Veteran Families grant program to support organizations that have a focus on pro- viding assistance to women veterans and their families. Sec. 203. Gap analysis of Department of Veterans Affairs programs that pro- vide assistance to women veterans who are homeless. TITLE III—NEWBORN CARE Sec. 301. Extension of period of eligibility for care for newborn children from the Department of Veterans Affairs. TITLE IV—ELIMINATING BARRIERS TO ACCESS Sec. 401. Women Veterans Retrofit Initiative. Sec. 402. Staffing of women’s health primary care providers at medical facili- ties of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 403. Additional funding for primary care and emergency care clinicians in Women Veterans Health Care Mini-Residency Program. Sec. 404. Establishment of women veteran training module for non-Department of Veterans Affairs health care providers. Sec. 405. Study on staffing of Women Veteran Program Manager program at medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs and training of staff. TITLE V—DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING Sec. 501. Requirement for collection and analysis of data on Department of Veterans Affairs benefits and services and disaggregation of such data by sex and minority status. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6411 E:\BILLS\S514.RS S514 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 514 RS Sec. 502. Report on availability of prosthetics for women veterans from the De- partment of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 503. Requirement for Department of Veterans Affairs internet website to provide information on services available to women veterans. Sec. 504. Report on locations where women veterans are using health care from Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 505. Report on models of medical facilities of Department of Veterans Af- fairs for the treatment of women. Sec. 506. Report on staffing of Department of Veterans relating to the treat- ment of women. TITLE I—READJUSTMENT AND 1 RELATED ASSISTANCE 2 SEC. 101. PROVISION OF REINTEGRATION AND READJUST- 3 MENT SERVICES TO VETERANS AND FAMILY 4 MEMBERS IN GROUP RETREAT SETTINGS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1712A of title 38, United 6 States Code, is amended— 7 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B)— 8 (A) in clause (ii), by redesignating sub- 9 clauses (I) and (II) as items (aa) and (bb); 10 (B) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 11 subclauses (I) and (II); 12 (C) in the matter preceding subclause (I), 13 as redesignated by subparagraph (B), by strik- 14 ing ‘‘Counseling’’ and inserting ‘‘(i) Coun- 15 seling’’; and 16 (D) by adding at the end the following new 17 clause: 18 ‘‘(ii)(I) Except as provided in subclause (IV), coun- 19 seling furnished to an individual under subparagraph (A) 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S514.RS S514 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 514 RS may include reintegration and readjustment services de- 1 scribed in subclause (II) furnished in group retreat set- 2 tings. 3 ‘‘(II) Reintegration and readjustment services de- 4 scribed in this subclause are the following: 5 ‘‘(aa) Information on reintegration of the indi- 6 vidual into family, employment, and community. 7 ‘‘(bb) Financial counseling. 8 ‘‘(cc) Occupational counseling. 9 ‘‘(dd) Information and counseling on stress re- 10 duction. 11 ‘‘(ee) Information and counseling on conflict 12 resolution. 13 ‘‘(ff) Such other information and counseling as 14 the Secretary considers appropriate to assist the in- 15 dividual in reintegration into family, employment, 16 and community. 17 ‘‘(III) In furnishing reintegration and readjustment 18 services under subclause (I), the Secretary shall offer 19 women the opportunity to receive such services in group 20 retreat settings in which the only participants are women. 21 ‘‘(IV) An individual referred to in subparagraph 22 (C)(v) may receive reintegration and readjustment services 23 under subclause (I) only if the individual receives such 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S514.RS S514 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 514 RS services with a family member described in subclause (I) 1 or (II) of such subparagraph.’’. 2 (b) REQUEST FOR SERVICES.—Subsection (a)(2) of 3 such section is amended— 4 (1) by striking ‘‘Upon’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) 5 Upon’’; 6 (2) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)’’ and insert- 7 ing ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)(i)’’; and 8 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub- 9 paragraph: 10 ‘‘(B) Upon the request of an individual described in 11 paragraph (1)(C), the Secretary shall furnish the indi- 12 vidual reintegration and readjustment services in group 13 retreat settings under paragraph (1)(B)(ii).’’. 14 SEC. 102. EXPANSION OF CAPABILITIES OF WOMEN VET- 15 ERANS CALL CENTER TO INCLUDE TEXT MES- 16 SAGING. 17 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall expand the 18 capabilities of the Women Veterans Call Center of the De- 19 partment of Veterans Affairs to include a text messaging 20 capability. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S514.RS S514 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 514 RS TITLE II—LEGAL AND 1 SUPPORTIVE SERVICES 2 SEC. 201. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PUBLIC- 3 PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP ON LEGAL SERVICES 4 FOR WOMEN VETERANS. 5 (a) PARTNERSHIP REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 6 Veterans Affairs shall establish a partnership with at least 7 one nongovernmental organization to provide legal services 8 to women veterans. 9 (b) FOCUS.—The focus of the partnership established 10 under subsection (a) shall be on the 10 highest unmet 11 needs of women veterans as set forth in the most recently 12 completed Community Homelessness Assessment, Local 13 Education and Networking Groups for Veterans 14 (CHALENG for Veterans) survey. 15 SEC. 202. ADDITIONAL AMOUNT FOR SUPPORTIVE SERV- 16 ICES FOR VETERAN FAMILIES GRANT PRO- 17 GRAM TO SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS THAT 18 HAVE A FOCUS ON PROVIDING ASSISTANCE 19 TO WOMEN VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES. 20 Section 2044(e) of title 38, United States Code, is 21 amended— 22 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 23 following new subparagraph: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S514.RS S514 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 514 RS ‘‘(F) $400,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1 2020 through 2022.’’; and 2 (2) by adding at the end the following new 3 paragraph: 4 ‘‘(4) Not less than $20,000,000 shall be available 5 under paragraph (1)(H) for the provision of financial as- 6 sistance under subsection (a) to organizations that have 7 a focus on providing assistance to women veterans and 8 their families.’’. 9 SEC. 203. GAP ANALYSIS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 10 AFFAIRS PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE ASSIST- 11 ANCE TO WOMEN VETERANS WHO ARE HOME- 12 LESS. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 14 shall complete an analysis of programs of the Department 15 of Veterans Affairs that provide assistance to women vet- 16 erans who are homeless or precariously housed to identify 17 the areas in which such programs are failing to meet the 18 needs of such women. 19 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 20 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 21 to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 22 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep- 23 resentatives a report on the analysis completed under sub- 24 section (a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S514.RS S514 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 514 RS TITLE III—NEWBORN CARE 1 SEC. 301. EXTENSION OF PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY FOR 2 CARE FOR NEWBORN CHILDREN FROM THE 3 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 4 Section 1786(a) of title 38, United States Code, is 5 amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by strik- 6 ing ‘‘seven days’’ and inserting ‘‘14 days’’. 7 TITLE IV—ELIMINATING 8 BARRIERS TO ACCESS 9 SEC. 401. WOMEN VETERANS RETROFIT INITIATIVE. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 11 shall retrofit existing medical facilities of the Department 12 of Veterans Affairs with fixtures, materials, and other out- 13 fitting measures to support the provision of care to women 14 veterans at such facilities. 15 (b) PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after the date 16 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 17 to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 18 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep- 19 resentatives a plan to address deficiencies in environment 20 of care for women veterans at medical facilities of the De- 21 partment. 22 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 23 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 24 $20,000,000 to carry out subsection (a) in addition to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S514.RS S514 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 514 RS amounts otherwise made available to the Secretary for the 1 purposes set forth in such subsection. 2 SEC. 402. STAFFING OF WOMEN’S HEALTH PRIMARY CARE 3 PROVIDERS AT MEDICAL FACILITIES OF THE 4 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 5 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that 6 each medical facility of the Department of Veterans Af- 7 fairs has not fewer than one full-time or part-time wom- 8 en’s health primary care provider whose duties include, to 9 the extent possible, providing training to other health care 10 providers of the Department on the needs of women vet- 11 erans. 12 SEC. 403. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR PRIMARY CARE AND 13 EMERGENCY CARE CLINICIANS IN WOMEN 14 VETERANS HEALTH CARE MINI-RESIDENCY 15 PROGRAM. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 17 priated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs $1,000,000 18 for each fiscal year for the Women Veterans Health Care 19 Mini-Residency Program of the Department of Veterans 20 Affairs to provide opportunities for participation in such 21 program for primary care and emergency care clinicians. 22 (b) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS.—The amounts au- 23 thorized to be appropriated under subsection (a) shall be 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S514.RS S514 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 514 RS in addition to amounts otherwise made available to the 1 Secretary for the purposes set forth in such subsection. 2 SEC. 404. ESTABLISHMENT OF WOMEN VETERAN TRAINING 3 MODULE FOR NON-DEPARTMENT OF VET- 4 ERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet- 7 erans Affairs shall establish and make available to commu- 8 nity providers a training module that is specific to women 9 veterans. 10 (b) COMMUNITY PROVIDER DEFINED.—In this sec- 11 tion, the term ‘‘community provider’’ means a non-Depart- 12 ment of Veterans Affairs health care provider who pro- 13 vides health care to veterans under the laws administered 14 by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 15 SEC. 405. STUDY ON STAFFING OF WOMEN VETERAN PRO- 16 GRAM MANAGER PROGRAM AT MEDICAL 17 CENTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET- 18 ERANS AFFAIRS AND TRAINING OF STAFF. 19 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 20 conduct a study on the use of the Women Veteran Pro- 21 gram Manager program of the Department of Veterans 22 Affairs to determine— 23 (1) if the program is appropriately staffed at 24 each medical center of the Department; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Sep 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S514.RS S514 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 514 RS (2) whether each medical center of the Depart- 1 ment is staffed with a Women Veteran Program 2 Manager; and 3 (3) whether it would be feasible and advisable 4 to have a Women Veteran Program Ombudsman at 5 each medical center of the Department. 6 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 7 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 8 to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 9 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep- 10 resentatives a report on the study conducted under sub- 11 section (a). 12 (c) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall ensure that all 13 Women Veteran Program Managers and [Text truncated for display. 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