S.Amdt. 3355

SA 3355. Mr. FLAKE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 524, to authorize the Attorney General to award
grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse
and heroin use; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title VII, add the following:

SEC. 705. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES STUDY ON
VETERANS TREATMENT COURTS AND VETERANS JUSTICE
OUTREACH PROGRAM.

(a) Study and Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall--
(1) complete a study on the effectiveness of Veterans
Treatment Courts and the Veterans Justice Outreach Program of
the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
(2) submit to Congress a report on the findings of the
Comptroller General with respect to the study completed under
paragraph (1).
(b) Elements.--As part of the study required by subsection
(a), the Comptroller General shall assess the following:
(1) The extent to which Veterans Treatment Courts--
(A) provide a benefit to veterans with a mental illness or
substance abuse problem; and
(B) provide timely access to services furnished by the
Veterans Health Administration.
(2) The number of Veterans Treatment Courts in operation.
(3) The number of Veterans Treatment Courts in the process
of being established.
(4) Whether there are sufficient numbers of Veterans
Justice Outreach Specialists assigned, under the Veterans
Justice Outreach Program of the Department of Veterans
Affairs, to Veterans Treatment Courts.
(5) The number of veterans assigned to each Veterans
Justice Outreach Specialist that is assigned to a Veterans
Treatment Court.
(6) Whether having additional Veterans Justice Outreach
Specialists will allow veterans to better access services
furnished by the Veterans Health Administration and will
allow for the establishment of additional Veterans Treatment
Courts.
______