CHARGE Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1436 To expand and extend benefits available to veterans in response to the COVID–19 pandemic, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 3, 2023 Mr. TESTER (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To expand and extend benefits available to veterans in re- sponse to the COVID–19 pandemic, and for other pur- poses. 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Critical Health Access Resource and Grant Extensions 5 Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘CHARGE Act of 2023’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—HOMELESSNESS MATTERS VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1436.IS S1436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1436 IS Sec. 101. Grants and per diem payments provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for services furnished to homeless veterans. Sec. 102. Authorization for use of certain funds for improved flexibility in pro- vision of assistance to homeless veterans. Sec. 103. Access to Department of Veterans Affairs telehealth services. TITLE II—MATTERS RELATING TO CAREGIVERS Sec. 201. Authorized virtual visits under caregiver programs of Department of Veterans Affairs. TITLE III—STATE VETERANS HOMES Sec. 301. State home defined. Sec. 302. Temporary waiver of occupancy rate requirements for receipt of per diem payments. Sec. 303. Provision of medicine, equipment, and supplies. TITLE I—HOMELESSNESS 1 MATTERS 2 SEC. 101. GRANTS AND PER DIEM PAYMENTS PROVIDED BY 3 THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR 4 SERVICES FURNISHED TO HOMELESS VET- 5 ERANS. 6 (a) LIMITATION ON TRANSITIONAL HOUSING 7 BEDS.—Section 2011 of title 38, United States Code, is 8 amended by adding at the end the following new sub- 9 section: 10 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION ON TRANSITIONAL HOUSING 11 BEDS.—The Secretary may not make grants under this 12 section or provide per diem payments under section 2012 13 of this title for more than 12,000 transitional housing 14 beds for homeless veterans furnished by grant recipients 15 or eligible entities under such sections on average each 16 year.’’. 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1436.IS S1436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1436 IS (b) REPORTS REQUIRED.—Section 2012 of such title 1 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub- 2 section: 3 ‘‘(f) REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days 4 after the date of the enactment of the CHARGE Act of 5 2023, and not less frequently than twice each year there- 6 after, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Vet- 7 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet- 8 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 9 on the rate for per diem payments under this section that 10 includes, for each Veterans Integrated Service Network of 11 the Department, the following data: 12 ‘‘(1) The average rate for such payments. 13 ‘‘(2) A list of locations where the rate for such 14 payments is within 10 percent of the maximum rate 15 for such payments authorized under this section. 16 ‘‘(3) The average length of stay by veterans 17 participating in programs described in section 18 2011(a) of this title.’’. 19 (c) MAXIMUM RATE.—During the three-year period 20 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, section 21 2012(a)(2)(B)(i)(II)(aa)(BB) of title 38, United States 22 Code, shall be applied and administered by substituting 23 ‘‘200’’ for ‘‘115’’. 24 (d) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1436.IS S1436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1436 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 540 days 1 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 2 retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com- 3 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 4 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 5 Representatives a strategic plan for the provision of 6 grants and per diem payments for services furnished 7 to homeless veterans under sections 2011 and 2012 8 of title 38, United States Code. 9 (2) ELEMENTS.—The plan required by para- 10 graph (1) shall include the following: 11 (A) A method for administering grant 12 funding equitably without using the rate au- 13 thorized for State homes for domiciliary care 14 under subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 1741 of 15 title 38, United States Code, as the Secretary 16 may increase from time to time under sub- 17 section (c) of that section, that takes into ac- 18 count— 19 (i) the wide variety of services fur- 20 nished by grant recipients and eligible enti- 21 ties under sections 2011 and 2012 of title 22 38, United States Code; 23 (ii) varying costs of living across dif- 24 ferent geographic locations; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1436.IS S1436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1436 IS (iii) varying availability of affordable 1 housing in different geographic locations; 2 (iv) circumstances of housing insecu- 3 rity in rural and Tribal communities; 4 (v) veterans with significant medical 5 care needs; and 6 (vi) the changing dynamic of the vet- 7 eran population nationwide. 8 (B) A plan and timeline for implementa- 9 tion of the method included under subpara- 10 graph (A). 11 (C) An estimate of increased costs or sav- 12 ings per year under the plan. 13 (D) An overview of the different grants 14 that will be available once the plan is imple- 15 mented. 16 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF CERTAIN FUNDS 17 FOR IMPROVED FLEXIBILITY IN PROVISION 18 OF ASSISTANCE TO HOMELESS VETERANS. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle VII of chapter 20 of title 20 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 21 the following new section: 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1436.IS S1436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1436 IS ‘‘§ 2069. Flexibility in provision of assistance to home- 1 less veterans 2 ‘‘(a) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary may provide to 3 homeless veterans and veterans participating in the pro- 4 gram carried out under section 8(o)(19) of the United 5 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)), as 6 the Secretary determines necessary, the following: 7 ‘‘(1) Assistance required for the safety and sur- 8 vival of the veteran (such as food, shelter, clothing, 9 blankets, and hygiene items). 10 ‘‘(2) Transportation required to support the 11 stability and health of the veteran (such as transpor- 12 tation for appointments with service providers, the 13 conduct of housing searches, and the obtainment of 14 food and supplies). 15 ‘‘(3) Communications equipment and services 16 (such as tablets, smartphones, disposable phones, 17 and related service plans) required to support the 18 stability and health of the veteran (such as through 19 the maintenance of contact with service providers, 20 prospective landlords, and family members). 21 ‘‘(4) Such other assistance as the Secretary de- 22 termines necessary. 23 ‘‘(b) HOMELESS VETERANS ON DEPARTMENT 24 LAND.—(1) The Secretary may collaborate, to the extent 25 practicable, with one or more organizations to manage the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1436.IS S1436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1436 IS use of land of the Department for homeless veterans for 1 living and sleeping. 2 ‘‘(2) Collaboration under paragraph (1) may include 3 the provision by either the Secretary or the head of the 4 organization concerned of food services and security for 5 property, buildings, and other facilities owned or con- 6 trolled by the Department. 7 ‘‘(c) SUNSET.—The authorities provided by this sec- 8 tion shall terminate on the date that is three years after 9 the date of the enactment of the CHARGE Act of 2023.’’. 10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 11 at the beginning of chapter 20 of such title is amended 12 by adding at the end the following new item: 13 ‘‘2069. Flexibility in provision of assistance to homeless veterans.’’. SEC. 103. ACCESS TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 14 TELEHEALTH SERVICES. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle VII of chapter 20 of title 16 38, United States Code, as amended by section 102(a), 17 is further amended by adding at the end the following new 18 section: 19 ‘‘§ 2070. Access to telehealth services 20 ‘‘To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure 21 that veterans participating in or receiving services from 22 a program under this chapter have access to telehealth 23 services to which such veterans are eligible under the laws 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1436.IS S1436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1436 IS administered by the Secretary, including by ensuring that 1 telehealth capabilities are available to— 2 ‘‘(1) such veterans; 3 ‘‘(2) case managers of the Department of pro- 4 grams for homeless veterans authorized under this 5 chapter; and 6 ‘‘(3) community-based service providers for 7 homeless veterans receiving funds from the Depart- 8 ment through grants or contracts.’’. 9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 10 at the beginning of chapter 20 of such title, as amended 11 by section 102(b), is further amended by adding at the 12 end the following new item: 13 ‘‘2070. Access to telehealth services.’’. TITLE II—MATTERS RELATING 14 TO CAREGIVERS 15 SEC. 201. AUTHORIZED VIRTUAL VISITS UNDER CAREGIVER 16 PROGRAMS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 17 AFFAIRS. 18 On or before September 30, 2023, notwithstanding 19 any requirement to the contrary under section 1720G of 20 title 38, United States Code, or part 71 of title 38, Code 21 of Federal Regulations, or successor regulations, the Sec- 22 retary of Veterans Affairs may complete any home visit 23 required under such section with respect to a veteran and 24 their caregiver through video conference or other available 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1436.IS S1436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1436 IS telehealth modality, if agreed to by the veteran or care- 1 giver. 2 TITLE III—STATE VETERANS 3 HOMES 4 SEC. 301. STATE HOME DEFINED. 5 In this title, the term ‘‘State home’’ has the meaning 6 given that term in section 101(19) of title 38, United 7 States Code. 8 SEC. 302. TEMPORARY WAIVER OF OCCUPANCY RATE RE- 9 QUIREMENTS FOR RECEIPT OF PER DIEM 10 PAYMENTS. 11 During the period beginning on the date of the enact- 12 ment of this Act and ending on September 30, 2024, occu- 13 pancy rate requirements for State homes for purposes of 14 receiving per diem payments set forth in section 51.40(c) 15 of title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, or successor regu- 16 lations, shall not apply. 17 SEC. 303. PROVISION OF MEDICINE, EQUIPMENT, AND SUP- 18 PLIES. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 20 may provide to State homes medicines, personal protective 21 equipment, medical supplies, and any other equipment, 22 supplies, and assistance available to the Department of 23 Veterans Affairs. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1436.IS S1436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1436 IS (b) PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT DE- 1 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘personal protective 2 equipment’’ means any protective equipment required to 3 prevent the wearer from contracting an infectious disease, 4 including gloves, N–95 respirator masks, gowns, goggles, 5 face shields, or other equipment required for safety. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 May 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1436.IS S1436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS