Honoring All Veterans Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3010 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs AN ACT To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a mission statement of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3010.RFS H3010 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 3010 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Honoring All Veterans 2 Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. MISSION STATEMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF VET- 4 ERANS AFFAIRS. 5 (a) REQUIRED MISSION STATEMENT.—Section 301 6 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 7 the end the following new subsection: 8 ‘‘(d) The mission statement of the Department shall 9 be as follows: ‘To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to 10 care for those ‘‘who shall have borne the battle’’ and for 11 their families, caregivers, and survivors.’.’’. 12 (b) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days after the 13 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet- 14 erans Affairs shall— 15 (1) publish in the Federal Register and on the 16 internet website of the Department of Veterans Af- 17 fairs a notification explaining the mission statement 18 of the Department as specified in subsection (d) of 19 section 301 of title 38, United States Code, as added 20 by subsection (a) of this section; and 21 (2) update each internet website of the Depart- 22 ment of Veterans Affairs and other electronic ref- 23 erences that use a previous mission statement. 24 (c) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 30 days after the 25 date of the enactment of the this Act, the Secretary shall 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3010.RFS H3010 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 3010 RFS develop and issue guidance to all elements of the Depart- 1 ment regarding the mission statement of the Department 2 as specified in subsection (d) of section 301 of title 38, 3 United States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this 4 section. The guidance shall include the following: 5 (1) A notification explaining the mission state- 6 ment. 7 (2) Instructions and a timeline for updating all 8 previous mission statement references at each such 9 element. 10 (3) A method to monitor and evaluate the com- 11 pliance by facilities of the Department with the 12 guidance, including a reporting mechanism for such 13 facilities to report back to the Secretary on the 14 progress made in updating all non-electronic mission 15 statement references. 16 (4) Any other information that the Secretary 17 determines necessary to ensure timely compliance 18 with the guidance. 19 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 20 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 21 to Congress a report containing a review and assessment 22 of the progress of each element of the Department in com- 23 plying with the guidance under subsection (c), including— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3010.RFS H3010 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 3010 RFS (1) any reasons explaining why an element of 1 the Department has failed to implement the guid- 2 ance; and 3 (2) a plan to address any such failure to imple- 4 ment the guidance and ensure that each element of 5 the Department fully implements and complies with 6 the guidance. 7 Passed the House of Representatives September 22, 2020. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3010.RFS H3010 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS