[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3612 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3612
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the outreach
activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 21, 2003
Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas (for herself, Mr. Frost, Mr. Bell,
and Mr. Owens) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the outreach
activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Outreach Improvement Act of
2003''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF OUTREACH.
Section 101 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following new paragraph:
``(34) The term `outreach' means the act or process of reaching out
in a systematic manner to proactively provide information, services,
and benefits counseling to veterans, and to the spouses, children, and
parents of veterans who may be eligible to receive benefits under the
laws administered by the Secretary, to ensure that such individuals are
fully informed about, and assisted in applying for, any benefits and
programs under such laws.''.
SEC. 3. AUTHORITIES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR ENHANCEMENT OF OUTREACH OF
ACTIVITIES DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 5 of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new subchapter:
``SUBCHAPTER IV--OUTREACH
``Sec. 561. Outreach activities: funding
``(a) The Secretary shall establish a separate account for the
funding of the outreach activities of the Department, and shall
establish within such account a separate subaccount for the funding of
the outreach activities of each element of the Department specified in
subsection (c).
``(b) In the budget justification materials submitted to Congress
in support of the Department budget for any fiscal year (as submitted
with the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31),
the Secretary shall include a separate statement of the amount
requested for such fiscal year for activities as follows:
``(1) For outreach activities of the Department in
aggregate.
``(2) For outreach activities of each element of the
Department specified in subsection (c).
``(c) The elements of the Department specified in this subsection
are as follows:
``(1) The Veterans Health Administration.
``(2) The Veterans Benefits Administration.
``(3) The National Cemetery Administration.
``Sec. 562. Outreach activities: coordination of activities within
Department
``(a) The Secretary shall establish and maintain procedures for
ensuring the effective coordination of the outreach activities of the
Department between and among the following:
``(1) The Office of the Secretary.
``(2) The Office of Public Affairs.
``(3) The Veterans Health Administration.
``(4) The Veterans Benefits Administration.
``(5) The National Cemetery Administration.
``(b) The Secretary shall--
``(1) periodically review the procedures maintained under
subsection (a) for the purpose of ensuring that such procedures
meet the requirement in that subsection; and
``(2) make such modifications to such procedures as the
Secretary considers appropriate in light of such review in
order to better achieve that purpose.
``Sec. 563. Outreach activities: cooperative activities with States;
grants to States for improvement of outreach
``(a) It is the purpose of this section to assist States in
carrying out programs that offer a high probability of improving
outreach and assistance to veterans, and to the spouses, children, and
parents of veterans who may be eligible to receive veterans' or
veterans'-related benefits, to ensure that such individuals are fully
informed about, and assisted in applying for, any veterans' and
veterans'-related benefits and programs (including under State
veterans' programs).
``(b) The Secretary shall ensure that outreach and assistance is
provided under programs referred to in subsection (a) in locations
proximate to populations of veterans and other individuals referred to
in that subsection, as determined utilizing criteria for determining
the proximity of such populations to veterans health care services.
``(c) The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements and
arrangements with veterans agencies of the States in order to carry
out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise enhance outreach by the
Department and the States (including outreach with respect to State
veterans' programs).
``(d)(1) The Secretary may award grants to veterans agencies of
States in order to achieve purposes as follows:
``(A) To carry out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise
enhance outreach, including activities pursuant to cooperative
agreements and arrangements under subsection (c).
``(B) To carry out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise
enhance activities to assist in the development and submittal
of claims for veterans' and veterans'-related benefits,
including activities pursuant to cooperative agreements and
arrangements under subsection (c).
``(2) A veterans agency of a State receiving a grant under this
subsection may use the grant amount for purposes described in paragraph
(1) or award all or any portion of such grant amount to local
governments in such State, other public entities in such State, or
private non-profit organizations in such State for such purposes.
``(e) Amounts available for the Department for outreach in the
account under section 561 of this title shall be available for
activities under this section, including grants under subsection
(d).''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of
chapter 5 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following
new items:
``SUBCHAPTER IV--OUTREACH
``561. Outreach activities: funding.
``562. Outreach activities: coordination of activities within
Department.
``563. Outreach activities: cooperative activities with States; grants
to States for improvement of outreach.''.
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