Rural Veterans Travel Enhancement Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4524 To amend title 38, United States Code, to make permanent the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to transport individuals to and from facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs in connection with rehabilitation, counseling, examination, treatment, and care, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 Mr. LARSEN of Washington (for himself, Ms. JACKSON LEE, and Mr. THORN- BERRY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to make permanent the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to transport individuals to and from facilities of the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs in connection with rehabilita- tion, counseling, examination, treatment, and care, 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 ‘‘Rural Veterans Travel 4 Enhancement Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:32 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4524.IH H4524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4524 IH SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF VET CENTERS AS DEPARTMENT OF 1 VETERANS AFFAIRS FACILITIES FOR PUR- 2 POSES OF PAYMENTS OR ALLOWANCES FOR 3 BENEFICIARY TRAVEL. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 111 of title 38, United 5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 6 lowing new subsection: 7 ‘‘(h)(1) Vet Centers shall be treated as Department 8 facilities for purposes of providing payment of actual ex- 9 penses of travel or allowance for travel to or from a De- 10 partment facility under this section. 11 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘Vet Center’ means 12 a center for readjustment counseling and related mental 13 health services for veterans under section 1712A of this 14 title.’’. 15 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Section 111(h) of such title, as 16 added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to travel 17 occurring on or after the date of the enactment of this 18 Act. 19 SEC. 3. MAKING PERMANENT AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY 20 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO TRANSPORT INDI- 21 VIDUALS TO AND FROM FACILITIES OF DE- 22 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 23 Section 111A(a) of title 38, United States Code, is 24 amended— 25 (1) by striking paragraph (2); and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:32 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4524.IH H4524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4524 IH (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(1)’’. 1 SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS FOR VETERANS 2 SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS FOR TRANSPOR- 3 TATION OF HIGHLY RURAL VETERANS. 4 Section 307(d) of the Caregivers and Veterans Omni- 5 bus Health Services Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–163; 6 38 U.S.C. 1710 note) is amended by striking ‘‘through 7 2020’’ and inserting ‘‘through 2022’’. 8 SEC. 5. MEDICAL EXAMINATION PROTOCOL FOR VOLUN- 9 TEER DRIVERS PARTICIPATING IN PROGRAM 10 OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FOR VET- 11 ERANS. 12 Section 111A(b) of title 38, United States Code, is 13 amended— 14 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Secretary’’; 15 and 16 (2) by adding at the end the following new 17 paragraph: 18 ‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 90 days after the date of the 19 enactment of the Rural Veterans Travel Enhancement Act 20 of 2019, the Secretary shall develop and establish a na- 21 tional protocol for the administration of medical examina- 22 tions for volunteer drivers to participate in the program 23 described in paragraph (1). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:32 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4524.IH H4524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4524 IH ‘‘(B) In developing the protocol required by subpara- 1 graph (A), the Secretary shall consult with such persons 2 as the Secretary determines have an interest in the pro- 3 gram described in paragraph (1). 4 ‘‘(C)(i) The Secretary shall implement the protocol 5 by first conducting a one-year pilot program using the pro- 6 tocol. 7 ‘‘(ii) After conducting the pilot program required by 8 clause (i), the Secretary shall assess the pilot program and 9 make such changes to the protocol as the Secretary con- 10 siders appropriate. 11 ‘‘(iii) After making changes to the protocol under 12 clause (ii), the Secretary shall implement the protocol in 13 phases during the course of one year.’’. 14 SEC. 6. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES 15 REPORT ON TRANSPORTATION SERVICES 16 FOR VETERANS. 17 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp- 19 troller General of the United States shall submit to the 20 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 21 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep- 22 resentatives a report on the program the establishment of 23 which was facilitated under section 111A(b) of title 38, 24 United States Code. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Oct 03, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4524.IH H4524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4524 IH (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub- 1 section (a) shall include the following: 2 (1) A description of the program described in 3 subsection (a), including descriptions of the fol- 4 lowing: 5 (A) The purpose of the program. 6 (B) The activities carried out under the 7 program. 8 (2) An assessment of the sufficiency of the pro- 9 gram with respect to the purpose of the program. 10 (3) An assessment of the cost effectiveness of 11 the program in relation to alternatives. 12 (4) An assessment of the health benefits for 13 veterans who have participated in the program. 14 (5) An assessment of the sufficiency of staffing 15 of employees of the department who are responsible 16 for facilitating the maintenance of the program. 17 (6) An assessment, with respect to the purpose 18 of the program, of the number of vehicles owned by 19 and operating in conjunction with the program. 20 (7) An assessment of the awareness and usage 21 of the program by veterans and their families. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:32 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4524.IH H4524 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS