Green Star Families Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3077 To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a counseling program for certain survivor of veterans deceased as the result of suicide. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 2, 2023 Mr. VAN DREW introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a coun- seling program for certain survivor of veterans deceased as the result of suicide. 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 ‘‘Green Star Families 4 Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3077.IH H3077 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3077 IH SEC. 2. COUNSELING PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN FAMILY 1 MEMBERS AND CAREGIVERS OF VETERANS 2 DECEASED AS A RESULT OF SUICIDE. 3 (a) COUNSELING PROGRAM.—Subchapter II of chap- 4 ter 17 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by add- 5 ing at the end the following new section: 6 ‘‘§ 1720K. Counseling program for certain family 7 members and caregivers of veterans de- 8 ceased as a result of suicide 9 ‘‘(a) COUNSELING PROGRAM.—(1) Subject to para- 10 graph (2), the Secretary shall furnish, at no cost to the 11 recipient, counseling services to— 12 ‘‘(A) the next of kin of covered veterans; and 13 ‘‘(B) former volunteer caregivers of covered vet- 14 erans. 15 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may provide counseling services 16 under this section only if the Secretary determines such 17 counseling services are— 18 ‘‘(A) reasonably accessible to the an individual 19 described in paragraph (1); and 20 ‘‘(B) substantially equivalent or superior to 21 similar services furnished by the Secretary to an in- 22 dividual described in paragraph (1). 23 ‘‘(3) To carry out subsection (a), the Secretary may 24 enter into an agreement with a Federal, State, or private 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3077.IH H3077 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3077 IH entity. The Secretary may provide fair compensation to 1 such entity pursuant to such agreement. 2 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC AWARENESS.—In carrying out the pro- 3 gram under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 4 ‘‘(1) publish information relating to the pro- 5 gram on an internet website of the Department; and 6 ‘‘(2) provide information relating to the pro- 7 gram to any individual described in paragraph (1). 8 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 9 ‘‘(1) The terms ‘covered veteran’ and ‘next of 10 kin’ has the meaning given that term in section 904 11 of title 36. 12 ‘‘(2) The term ‘covered veterans service organi- 13 zation’ includes— 14 ‘‘(A) an organization recognized by the 15 Secretary for the representation of veterans 16 under section 5902 of this title; and 17 ‘‘(B) an organization— 18 ‘‘(i) that is described in section 19 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) of the Internal 20 Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from 21 taxation under section 501(a) of such 22 Code; and 23 ‘‘(ii) that carries out activities relating 24 to veterans and their assistance. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3077.IH H3077 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3077 IH ‘‘(3) The term ‘family member’ means, with re- 1 spect to a covered veteran, an individual— 2 ‘‘(A) who is a member of the family of the 3 veteran, including— 4 ‘‘(i) a parent or legal guardian; 5 ‘‘(ii) a spouse; 6 ‘‘(iii) a child; 7 ‘‘(iv) a step-family member; and 8 ‘‘(v) an extended family member; or 9 ‘‘(B) who, prior to the death of the covered 10 veteran, lived with the covered veteran. 11 ‘‘(4) The term ‘former volunteer caregiver’ 12 means, with respect to a covered veteran, an indi- 13 vidual— 14 ‘‘(A) who is at least 18 years of age; and 15 ‘‘(B) who, prior to the death of the covered 16 veteran, and in connection with a covered vet- 17 erans service organization, furnished the cov- 18 ered veteran with counseling, social work, or 19 other personal care services— 20 ‘‘(i) without compensation to such in- 21 dividual; and 22 ‘‘(ii) for a period of at least three 23 months. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3077.IH H3077 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3077 IH ‘‘(5) The term ‘personal care services’ has the 1 meaning given that term in section 1720G of this 2 title.’’. 3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 4 at the beginning of subchapter II of chapter 17 of such 5 title is amended by inserting, after the item relating to 6 section 1720J, the following new item: 7 ‘‘1720K. Counseling program for certain family members and caregivers of vet- erans deceased as a result of suicide.’’. (c) IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE.—The Secretary of 8 Veterans Affairs shall carry out section 1720K of such 9 title, as added by subsection (a), by not later than 90 days 10 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3077.IH H3077 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB