S.Amdt. 1135

SA 1135. Mr. LEE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 891 proposed by Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mrs.
Murray, Mr. Brown, Mr. Peters, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Stabenow,
Mr. Tester, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Carper, Mr. Leahy, and Mr.
Sanders) to the bill H.R. 1319, to provide for reconciliation pursuant
to title II of S. Con. Res. 5; which was ordered to lie on the table;
as follows:

At the end of title VIII, add the following:

SEC. 8___. WAIVER OF INCOME LIMITATIONS THAT PRECLUDE
VETERANS FROM RECEIVING COST-FREE COVID-19
VACCINE AT FACILITIES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS.

(a) Waiver of Income Limitations.--During the period
specified in subsection (b), the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs--

[[Page S1322]]

(1) for purposes of providing cost-free vaccines for COVID-
19 to veterans, shall waive any income limitation that would
otherwise preclude a veteran from receiving such a cost-free
vaccine at a facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs;
and
(2) may not charge a copayment or other cost sharing for a
veteran to receive such a vaccine at a facility of the
Department.
(b) Period Specified.--The period specified in this
subsection is the period that--
(1) begins on the date of the enactment of this Act; and
(2) ends on the date on which the national emergency
terminates under section 202 of the National Emergencies Act
(50 U.S.C. 1622).
(c) National Emergency.--The term ``national emergency''
means the national emergency declared by the President under
the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) with
respect to COVID-19.

SEC. 8___. FLEXIBILITY FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO
USE HEALTH CARE ENROLLMENT PRIORITY SYSTEM FOR
PROVISION OF COVID-19 VACCINE.

In distributing the vaccine for COVID-19 to veterans during
any period in which the supply of such vaccine is limited, as
determined by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the
Secretary may use the priority groups for enrollment of
veterans in the patient enrollment system of the Department
of Veterans Affairs under section 1705(a) of title 38, United
States Code, in determining priority for receipt of such
vaccine.
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