COPE Act

IIB 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3581 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 5, 2023 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs AN ACT To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the family caregiver program of the Department of Veterans Affairs to include services related to mental health and neuro- logical disorders, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 06, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3581.RFS H3581 2 HR 3581 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Caregiver Outreach 2 and Program Enhancement Act’’ or the ‘‘COPE Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF- 4 FAIRS TO AWARD GRANTS TO ENTITIES TO 5 IMPROVE PROVISION OF MENTAL HEALTH 6 SUPPORT TO FAMILY CAREGIVERS OF VET- 7 ERANS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 17 of 9 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 10 end the following new section: 11 ‘‘§ 1720K. Grants to provide mental health support to 12 family caregivers of veterans 13 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may award grants 14 to carry out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise enhance 15 mental health counseling, treatment, or support to the 16 family caregivers of veterans participating in the family 17 caregiver program. 18 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—(1) To be eligible for a grant 19 under this section, an entity shall submit to the Secretary 20 an application therefor at such time, in such manner, and 21 containing such information as the Secretary may require. 22 ‘‘(2) Each application submitted under paragraph (1) 23 shall include the following: 24 ‘‘(A) A detailed plan for the use of the grant. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 06, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3581.RFS H3581 3 HR 3581 RFS ‘‘(B) A description of the programs or efforts 1 through which the entity will meet the outcome 2 measures developed by the Secretary under sub- 3 section (g). 4 ‘‘(C) A description of how the entity will dis- 5 tribute grant amounts equitably among areas with 6 varying levels of urbanization. 7 ‘‘(D) A plan for how the grant will be used to 8 meet the unique needs of veterans residing in rural 9 areas, American Indian or Alaska Native veterans, 10 elderly veterans, women veterans, and veterans from 11 other underserved communities. 12 ‘‘(c) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall seek to en- 13 sure that grants awarded under this section are equitably 14 distributed among entities located in States with varying 15 levels of urbanization. 16 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize 17 awarding grants under this section that will serve the fol- 18 lowing areas: 19 ‘‘(1) Areas with high rates of veterans enrolled 20 in the family caregiver program. 21 ‘‘(2) Areas with high rates of— 22 ‘‘(A) suicide among veterans; or 23 ‘‘(B) referrals to the Veterans Crisis Line. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 06, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3581.RFS H3581 4 HR 3581 RFS ‘‘(e) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Any grant awarded 1 under this section shall be used— 2 ‘‘(1) to expand existing programs, activities, 3 and services; 4 ‘‘(2) to establish new or additional programs, 5 activities, and services; or 6 ‘‘(3) for travel and transportation to facilitate 7 carrying out paragraph (1) or (2). 8 ‘‘(f) OUTCOME MEASURES.—(1) The Secretary shall 9 develop and provide to each entity that receives a grant 10 under this section written guidance on the following: 11 ‘‘(A) Outcome measures. 12 ‘‘(B) Policies of the Department. 13 ‘‘(2) In developing outcome measures under para- 14 graph (1), the Secretary shall consider the following goals: 15 ‘‘(A) Increasing the utilization of mental health 16 services among family caregivers of veterans partici- 17 pating in the family caregiver program. 18 ‘‘(B) Reducing barriers to mental health serv- 19 ices among family caregivers of veterans partici- 20 pating in such program. 21 ‘‘(g) TRACKING REQUIREMENTS.—(1) The Secretary 22 shall establish appropriate tracking requirements with re- 23 spect to the entities receiving a grant under this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 06, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3581.RFS H3581 5 HR 3581 RFS ‘‘(2) Not less frequently than annually, the Secretary 1 shall submit to Congress a report on such tracking re- 2 quirements. 3 ‘‘(h) PERFORMANCE REVIEW.—The Secretary 4 shall— 5 ‘‘(1) review the performance of each entity that 6 receives a grant under this section; and 7 ‘‘(2) make information regarding such perform- 8 ance publicly available. 9 ‘‘(i) REMEDIATION PLAN.—(1) In the case of an enti- 10 ty that receives a grant under this section and does not 11 meet the outcome measures developed by the Secretary 12 under subsection (g), the Secretary shall require the entity 13 to submit to the Secretary a remediation plan under which 14 the entity shall describe how and when it plans to meet 15 such outcome measures. 16 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not award a subsequent 17 grant under this section to an entity described in para- 18 graph (1) unless the Secretary approves the remediation 19 plan submitted by the entity under such paragraph. 20 ‘‘(j) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 21 awarded under this section may not exceed 10 percent of 22 amounts made available for grants under this section for 23 the fiscal year in which the grant is awarded. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 06, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3581.RFS H3581 6 HR 3581 RFS ‘‘(k) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Any grant 1 awarded under this section shall be used to supplement 2 and not supplant funding that is otherwise available 3 through the Department to provide mental health support 4 among family caregivers of veterans participating in the 5 family caregiver program. 6 ‘‘(l) OUTREACH TO FAMILY CAREGIVERS.—The Sec- 7 retary shall include, in the outreach materials regularly 8 mailed to a family caregiver who participates in the family 9 caregiver program, notice of mental health support pro- 10 vided by recipients of grants under this section that are 11 located in the relevant Veterans Integrated Service Net- 12 work. 13 ‘‘(m) FUNDING.—(1) Amounts for the activities of 14 the Department under this section shall be budgeted and 15 appropriated through a separate appropriation account. 16 ‘‘(2) In the budget justification materials submitted 17 to Congress in support of the budget of the Department 18 for any fiscal year (as submitted with the budget of the 19 President under section 1105(a) of title 31), the Secretary 20 shall include a separate statement of the amount re- 21 quested to be appropriated for that fiscal year for the ac- 22 count specified in paragraph (1). 23 ‘‘(n) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 24 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary, for each 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 06, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3581.RFS H3581 7 HR 3581 RFS of fiscal years 2024 through 2026, $50,000,000 to carry 1 out this section. 2 ‘‘(o) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 ‘‘(1) The terms ‘caregiver’ and ‘family care- 4 giver’ have the meanings given those terms in sec- 5 tion 1720G of this title. 6 ‘‘(2) The term ‘family caregiver program’ 7 means the program of comprehensive assistance for 8 family caregivers under section 1720G of this title. 9 ‘‘(3) The term ‘Veterans Crisis Line’ means the 10 toll-free hotline for veterans established under sec- 11 tion 1720F of this title.’’. 12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 13 at the beginning of such subchapter is amended by adding 14 at the end the following new item: 15 ‘‘1720K. Grants to provide mental health support to family caregivers of vet- erans.’’. SEC. 3. CONTRIBUTIONS TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO MITI- 16 GATE THE RISK OF FLOODING ON LOCAL 17 PROPERTY ADJACENT TO MEDICAL FACILI- 18 TIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF- 19 FAIRS. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8108 of title 38, United 21 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, or to mitigate the 22 risk of flooding, including the risk of flooding associated 23 with rising sea levels’’ before the period at the end. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 06, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3581.RFS H3581 8 HR 3581 RFS (b) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 1 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 2 Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af- 3 fairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 4 report that includes an assessment of— 5 (1) the extent to which each medical facility (as 6 such term is defined in section 8101(3) of title 38, 7 United States Code) is at risk of flooding, including 8 the risk of flooding associated with rising sea levels; 9 and 10 (2) whether additional resources are necessary 11 to address the risk of flooding at each such facility. 12 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 13 authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Vet- 14 erans Affairs for each of fiscals year 2024 through 2028 15 $25,000,000 to carry out the amendment made by sub- 16 section (a). 17 SEC. 4. GAO REPORT ON MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT FOR 18 CAREGIVERS. 19 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp- 21 troller General of the United States shall submit to the 22 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 23 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 06, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3581.RFS H3581 9 HR 3581 RFS resentatives a report on the provision of mental health 1 support to caregivers of veterans. 2 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub- 3 section (a) shall include the following: 4 (1) An assessment of the need for mental 5 health support among caregivers participating in the 6 caregiver programs. 7 (2) An assessment of options for mental health 8 support in facilities of the Department of Veterans 9 Affairs and in the community for caregivers partici- 10 pating in the caregiver programs. 11 (3) An assessment of the availability and acces- 12 sibility of mental health support in facilities of the 13 Department and in the community for caregivers 14 participating in the caregiver programs. 15 (4) An assessment of the awareness among 16 caregivers of the availability of mental health sup- 17 port in facilities of the Department and in the com- 18 munity for caregivers participating in the caregiver 19 programs. 20 (5) An assessment of barriers to mental health 21 support in facilities of the Department and in the 22 community for caregivers participating in the care- 23 giver programs. 24 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 06, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3581.RFS H3581 10 HR 3581 RFS (1) The term ‘‘caregiver’’ has the meaning 1 given that term in section 1720G of title 38, United 2 States Code. 3 (2) The term ‘‘caregiver programs’’ means— 4 (A) the program of comprehensive assist- 5 ance for family caregivers under subsection (a) 6 of section 1720G of title 38, United States 7 Code; and 8 (B) the program of support services for 9 caregivers under subsection (b) of such section. 10 SEC. 5. ANNUAL REVIEW OF SECURITY AT COVERED FA- 11 CILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET- 12 ERANS AFFAIRS. 13 (a) ANNUAL SURVEY.—Not later than one year after 14 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there- 15 after for each of the following five years, the Secretary 16 of Veterans Affairs, in coordination with the Director of 17 the Office of Security and Law Enforcement of the De- 18 partment of Veterans Affairs, shall conduct an annual sur- 19 vey of covered employees to collect information regarding 20 security at each covered facility. Each annual survey shall 21 include questions about— 22 (1) the type and frequency of criminal activity 23 experienced at the covered facility during the 12 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 06, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3581.RFS H3581 11 HR 3581 RFS months prior to the date the covered employee com- 1 pletes the survey; 2 (2) the number of vacant positions for Depart- 3 ment police officers at the covered facility and the 4 number of days each vacant position has been va- 5 cant; 6 (3) the availability and adequacy of covered 7 equipment; 8 (4) the availability and adequacy of resources, 9 classes, or other time set aside for training Depart- 10 ment police officers who work at each covered facil- 11 ity about any skill or tactic related to law enforce- 12 ment, including the proper use of force, firearms 13 qualifications and training, procedures for respond- 14 ing to an active threat, and any other training re- 15 quired for Department police officers; 16 (5) any security weakness; 17 (6) an analysis of the relationship between the 18 covered facility (including the Department police of- 19 ficers who work at the covered facility) and local law 20 enforcement agencies; 21 (7) efforts by the personnel of the covered facil- 22 ity to address and reduce criminal activity at, or in 23 close proximity to, the covered facility; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Dec 06, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3581.RFS H3581 12 HR 3581 RFS (8) recommendations for the Secretary to better 1 address and reduce criminal activity at, or in close 2 proximity to, covered facilities. 3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 4 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 each of the following five years, the Secretary shall submit 6 to each of the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen- 7 ate and the House of Representatives an annual report 8 regarding security at covered facilities that includes— 9 (1) the results of the annual survey described 10 under subsection (a) for the year covered by the re- 11 port; 12 (2) an analysis, made in coordination with the 13 Director of the Office of Security and Law Enforce- 14 ment of such Department and each director and po- 15 lice chief of a Veterans Integrated Service Network, 16 of the results of the annual survey described under 17 subsection (a) for the year covered by the report; 18 (3) a plan of action that describes how the Sec- 19 retary plans to address any security weakness identi- 20 fied in the results of the annual survey and includes 21 clearly-stated goals with measurable benchmarks for 22 each goal and deadlines for each benchmark; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 [Text truncated for display. 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