Sergeant Daniel Somers Veterans Network of Support Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5324 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program on information sharing between the Department of Veterans Affairs and designated relatives and friends of veterans regarding the assistance and benefits available to the veterans, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 5, 2019 Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. BANKS, Mrs. DAVIS of California, and Mr. CISNEROS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program on information sharing between the De- partment of Veterans Affairs and designated relatives and friends of veterans regarding the assistance and benefits available to the veterans, 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 ‘‘Sergeant Daniel 4 Somers Veterans Network of Support Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5324.IH H5324 2 •HR 5324 IH SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON INFORMATION SHARING BE- 1 TWEEN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 2 AND DESIGNATED RELATIVES AND FRIENDS 3 OF VETERANS REGARDING THE ASSISTANCE 4 AND BENEFITS AVAILABLE TO THE VET- 5 ERANS. 6 (a) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIRED.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 9 retary of Veterans Affairs shall commence carrying 10 out a pilot program— 11 (A) to encourage members of the Armed 12 Forces who are transitioning from service in the 13 Armed Forces to civilian life, before separating 14 from such service, to designate up to 10 per- 15 sons to whom information regarding the assist- 16 ance and benefits available to the veterans 17 under laws administered by the Secretary shall 18 be disseminated using the contact information 19 obtained under paragraph (7); and 20 (B) provides such persons, within 30 days 21 after the date on which such persons are des- 22 ignated under subparagraph (A), the option to 23 elect to receive such information. 24 (2) DURATION.—The Secretary shall carry out 25 the pilot program during a period beginning on the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5324.IH H5324 3 •HR 5324 IH date of the commencement of the pilot program that 1 is not less than two years. 2 (3) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary shall dis- 3 seminate information described in paragraph (1)(A) 4 under the pilot program no less than quarterly. 5 (4) TYPES OF INFORMATION.—The types of in- 6 formation to be disseminated under the pilot pro- 7 gram to persons who elect to receive such informa- 8 tion shall include information regarding the fol- 9 lowing: 10 (A) Services and benefits offered to vet- 11 erans and their family members by the Depart- 12 ment of Veterans Affairs. 13 (B) Challenges and stresses that might ac- 14 company transitioning from service in the 15 Armed Forces to civilian life. 16 (C) Services available to veterans and their 17 family members to cope with the experiences 18 and challenges of service in the Armed Forces 19 and transition from such service to civilian life. 20 (D) Services available through community 21 partner organizations to support veterans and 22 their family members. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5324.IH H5324 4 •HR 5324 IH (E) Services available through Federal, 1 State, and local government agencies to support 2 veterans and their family members. 3 (F) The environmental health registry pro- 4 gram, health and wellness programs, and re- 5 sources for preventing and managing diseases 6 and illnesses. 7 (G) A toll-free telephone number through 8 which such persons who elect to receive infor- 9 mation under the pilot program may request in- 10 formation regarding the program. 11 (H) Such other matters as the Secretary, 12 in consultation with members of the Armed 13 Forces and such persons who elect to receive in- 14 formation under the pilot program, determines 15 to be appropriate. 16 (5) PRIVACY OF INFORMATION.—In carrying 17 out the pilot program, the Secretary may not dis- 18 seminate information under paragraph (4) in viola- 19 tion of laws and regulations pertaining to the pri- 20 vacy of members of the Armed Forces, including re- 21 quirements pursuant to— 22 (A) section 552a of title 5, United States 23 Code; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5324.IH H5324 5 •HR 5324 IH (B) the Health Insurance Portability and 1 Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104– 2 191). 3 (6) NOTICE AND MODIFICATIONS.—In carrying 4 out the pilot program, the Secretary shall, with re- 5 spect to a veteran— 6 (A) ensure that such veteran is notified of 7 the ability to modify designations made by such 8 veteran under paragraph (1)(A); and 9 (B) upon the request of a veteran, author- 10 ize such veteran to modify such designations at 11 any time. 12 (7) CONTACT INFORMATION.—In making a des- 13 ignation under the pilot program, a veteran shall 14 provide necessary contact information, specifically 15 including an email address, to facilitate the dissemi- 16 nation of information regarding the assistance and 17 benefits available to the veteran under laws adminis- 18 tered by the Secretary. 19 (8) OPT-IN AND OPT-OUT OF PILOT PRO- 20 GRAM.— 21 (A) OPT-IN BY MEMBERS.—A veteran may 22 participate in the pilot program only if the vet- 23 eran voluntarily elects to participate in the pro- 24 gram. A veteran seeking to make such an elec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5324.IH H5324 6 •HR 5324 IH tion shall make such election in a manner, and 1 by including such information, as the Secretary 2 shall specify for purposes of the pilot program. 3 (B) OPT-IN BY DESIGNATED RECIPI- 4 ENTS.—A person designated pursuant to para- 5 graph (1)(A) may receive information under the 6 pilot program only if the person makes the elec- 7 tion described in paragraph (1)(B). 8 (C) OPT-OUT.—In carrying out the pilot 9 program, the Secretary shall, with respect to a 10 person who has elected to receive information 11 under such pilot program, cease disseminating 12 such information to that person upon request of 13 such person. 14 (b) SURVEY AND REPORT ON PILOT PROGRAM.— 15 (1) SURVEY.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 17 after the date of the commencement of the pilot 18 program and not less frequently than once each 19 year thereafter for the duration of the pilot pro- 20 gram, the Secretary shall administer a survey 21 to persons who elected to receive information 22 under the pilot program for the purpose of re- 23 ceiving feedback regarding the quality of infor- 24 mation disseminated under this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5324.IH H5324 7 •HR 5324 IH (B) ELEMENTS.—Each survey conducted 1 under subparagraph (A) shall include solicita- 2 tion of the following: 3 (i) Feedback on the following: 4 (I) The nature of information 5 disseminated under the pilot program. 6 (II) Satisfaction with the pilot 7 program. 8 (III) The utility of the pilot pro- 9 gram. 10 (IV) Overall pilot program suc- 11 cesses and challenges. 12 (ii) Recommendations for improving 13 the pilot program. 14 (iii) Reasons for opting in or out of 15 the pilot program. 16 (iv) Such other feedback or matters as 17 the Secretary considers appropriate. 18 (2) REPORT.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than three 20 years after the date on which the pilot program 21 commences, the Secretary shall submit to the 22 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate 23 and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5324.IH H5324 8 •HR 5324 IH House of Representatives a final report on the 1 pilot program. 2 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 3 under subparagraph (A) shall include the fol- 4 lowing: 5 (i) The results of the survey adminis- 6 tered under paragraph (1). 7 (ii) The number of participants en- 8 rolled in the pilot program who are vet- 9 erans. 10 (iii) The number of persons des- 11 ignated under subsection (a)(1)(A). 12 (iv) The number of such persons who 13 opted in or out of the pilot program under 14 subsection (a)(8). 15 (v) The average period such persons 16 remained in the pilot program. 17 (vi) An assessment of the feasibility 18 and advisability of making the pilot pro- 19 gram permanent. 20 (vii) Identification of legislative or ad- 21 ministrative action that may be necessary 22 if the pilot program is made permanent. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5324.IH H5324 9 •HR 5324 IH (viii) A plan to expand the pilot pro- 1 gram if the pilot program is made perma- 2 nent. 3 (ix) If the Secretary finds under 4 clause (vi) that making the pilot program 5 permanent is not feasible or advisable, a 6 justification for such finding. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5324.IH H5324