Supporting Veteran Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2915 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve the provision of services and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs for vet- erans who experience domestic violence, intimate partner violence, or sexual assault, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 20, 2019 Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Ms. MCSALLY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve the provision of services and benefits from the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs for veterans who experience domestic violence, intimate partner violence, or sexual assault, 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 ‘‘Supporting Veteran 4 Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2915.IS S2915 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2915 IS SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 1 The purpose of this Act is to better integrate the 2 medical, housing, mental health, and other benefits pro- 3 vided by the Department of Veterans Affairs with existing 4 community-based domestic violence, intimate partner vio- 5 lence, and sexual assault services— 6 (1) to provide a more efficient and coordinated 7 network of support for veterans experiencing domes- 8 tic violence, intimate partner violence, or sexual as- 9 sault; and 10 (2) to better understand the effect of domestic 11 violence, intimate partner violence, and sexual as- 12 sault on veterans. 13 SEC. 3. PROGRAM TO ASSIST VETERANS WHO EXPERIENCE 14 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, INTIMATE PARTNER 15 VIOLENCE, OR SEXUAL ASSAULT. 16 (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Vet- 17 erans Affairs shall carry out a program to assist veterans 18 that have experienced or are experiencing domestic vio- 19 lence, intimate partner violence, or sexual assault in ac- 20 cessing benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, 21 including coordinating access to medical treatment cen- 22 ters, housing assistance, and other benefits from the De- 23 partment. 24 (b) PARTNERSHIP.—The Secretary shall carry out 25 the program under subsection (a) in partnership with— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2915.IS S2915 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2915 IS (1) domestic violence shelters and programs; 1 (2) rape crisis centers; 2 (3) State domestic violence and sexual assault 3 coalitions; and 4 (4) such other health care or other service pro- 5 viders that serve domestic violence, intimate partner 6 violence, or sexual assault victims as determined by 7 the Secretary, particularly those providing emer- 8 gency services or housing assistance. 9 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the 10 program under subsection (a), the Secretary may conduct 11 the following activities: 12 (1) Training for community-based domestic vio- 13 lence, intimate partner violence, or sexual assault 14 service providers on— 15 (A) identifying veterans who have been vic- 16 tims of domestic violence, intimate partner vio- 17 lence, or sexual assault; 18 (B) coordinating with local service pro- 19 viders of the Department; and 20 (C) connecting veterans with appropriate 21 housing, mental health, medical, and other fi- 22 nancial assistance or benefits from the Depart- 23 ment. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2915.IS S2915 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2915 IS (2) Assistance to service providers to ensure ac- 1 cess of veterans to domestic violence, intimate part- 2 ner violence, and sexual assault emergency services, 3 particularly in underserved areas, including services 4 for members of Indian tribes. 5 (3) Such other outreach and assistance as the 6 Secretary determines necessary for the provision of 7 assistance under subsection (a). 8 (d) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, INTIMATE PARTNER VIO- 9 LENCE, AND SEXUAL ASSAULT OUTREACH COORDINA- 10 TORS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to effectively assist 12 veterans who have experienced domestic violence, in- 13 timate partner violence, or sexual assault, the Sec- 14 retary may establish local coordinators to provide 15 outreach under the program required by subsection 16 (a). 17 (2) LOCAL COORDINATOR KNOWLEDGE.—The 18 Secretary shall ensure that each coordinator estab- 19 lished under paragraph (1) is knowledgeable about— 20 (A) the dynamics of domestic violence, inti- 21 mate partner violence, and sexual assault, in- 22 cluding safety concerns, legal protections, and 23 the need for the provision of confidential serv- 24 ices; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2915.IS S2915 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2915 IS (B) the eligibility of veterans for services 1 and benefits from the Department that are rel- 2 evant to recovery from domestic violence, inti- 3 mate partner violence, and sexual assault, par- 4 ticularly emergency housing assistance, mental 5 health care, other health care, and disability 6 benefits; and 7 (C) local community resources addressing 8 domestic violence, intimate partner violence, 9 and sexual assault. 10 (3) LOCAL COORDINATOR ASSISTANCE.—Each 11 coordinator established under paragraph (1) shall 12 assist domestic violence shelters and rape crisis cen- 13 ters in providing services to veterans. 14 SEC. 4. NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON VETERANS EXPERI- 15 ENCING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR SEXUAL AS- 16 SAULT. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Af- 18 fairs, in consultation with the Attorney General and the 19 Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall establish 20 a national task force (in this section referred to as the 21 ‘‘Task Force’’) to develop a comprehensive national pro- 22 gram, including by integrating facilities, services, and ben- 23 efits of the Department of Veterans Affairs into existing 24 networks of community-based domestic violence and sex- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2915.IS S2915 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2915 IS ual assault services, to address domestic violence and sex- 1 ual assault among veterans. 2 (b) CONSULTATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.—In car- 3 rying out this section, the Task Force shall consult with— 4 (1) representatives from not fewer than three 5 national organizations or State coalitions with dem- 6 onstrated expertise in domestic violence prevention, 7 response, or advocacy; and 8 (2) representatives from not fewer than three 9 national organizations or State coalitions, particu- 10 larly those representing underserved or ethnic mi- 11 nority communities, with demonstrated expertise in 12 sexual assault prevention, response, or advocacy. 13 (c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Task Force shall in- 14 clude the following: 15 (1) To review existing services and policies of 16 the Department and develop a comprehensive na- 17 tional program to address domestic violence and sex- 18 ual assault prevention, response, and treatment. 19 (2) To review the feasibility and advisability of 20 establishing an expedited process to secure emer- 21 gency, temporary benefits, including housing or 22 other benefits, for veterans who are experiencing do- 23 mestic violence or sexual assault. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2915.IS S2915 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2915 IS (3) To review and make recommendations re- 1 garding the feasibility and advisability of estab- 2 lishing dedicated, temporary housing assistance for 3 veterans experiencing domestic violence or sexual as- 4 sault. 5 (4) To identify any requirements regarding do- 6 mestic violence assistance or sexual assault response 7 and services that are not being met by the Depart- 8 ment and make recommendations on how the De- 9 partment can meet such requirements. 10 (5) To review and make recommendations re- 11 garding the feasibility and advisability of providing 12 direct services or contracting for community-based 13 services for veterans in response to a sexual assault, 14 including through the use of sexual assault nurse ex- 15 aminers, particularly in underserved or remote 16 areas, including services for members of Indian 17 tribes. 18 (6) To review the availability of counseling serv- 19 ices provided by the Department and through peer 20 network support, and to provide recommendations 21 for the enhancement of such services, to address— 22 (A) the perpetration of domestic violence 23 and sexual assault; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2915.IS S2915 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2915 IS (B) the recovery of veterans from domestic 1 violence and sexual assault. 2 (7) To review and make recommendations to 3 expand services available for veterans at risk of per- 4 petrating domestic violence, intimate partner vio- 5 lence, or sexual assault. 6 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after 7 the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less fre- 8 quently than once each year thereafter, the Task Force 9 shall submit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Con- 10 gress a report on the activities of the Task Force, includ- 11 ing such recommendations for legislative or administrative 12 action as the Task Force may have. 13 SEC. 5. NATIONAL BASELINE STUDY ON PROBLEM OF DO- 14 MESTIC VIOLENCE, INTIMATE PARTNER VIO- 15 LENCE, AND SEXUAL ASSAULT AMONG VET- 16 ERANS AND SPOUSES OF VETERANS. 17 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation 18 with the Attorney General, shall conduct a national base- 19 line study to examine the scope of the problem of domestic 20 violence, intimate partner violence, and sexual assault 21 among veterans and spouses of veterans. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2915.IS S2915 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2915 IS SEC. 6. ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF INTIMATE PARTNER 1 VIOLENCE ON WOMEN VETERANS BY ADVI- 2 SORY COMMITTEE ON WOMEN VETERANS. 3 Section 542(c)(1) of title 38, United States Code, is 4 amended— 5 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 6 the end; 7 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub- 8 paragraph (D); and 9 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol- 10 lowing new subparagraph (C): 11 ‘‘(C) an assessment of the effects of intimate 12 partner violence on women veterans; and’’. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2915.IS S2915 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS