[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3927 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3927

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance veterans' programs 
  and the ability of the Department of Veterans Affairs to administer 
                            those programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 12, 2002

 Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Evans) (both by request) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance veterans' programs 
  and the ability of the Department of Veterans Affairs to administer 
                            those programs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Table of contents.
Sec. 2. References to title 38, United States Code.
               TITLE I--VETERANS HEALTH CARE IMPROVEMENTS

Sec. 101. Care for newborn children of enrolled women veterans.
Sec. 102. Outpatient dental care for all former prisoners of war.
Sec. 103. Pay comparability for Director of Nursing Service.
                  TITLE II--VETERANS' BENEFIT PROGRAMS

Sec. 201. Limitation on provision of certain benefits.
Sec. 202. Clarification of procedures regarding disqualification of 
                            certain individuals for memorialization in 
                            veterans cemeteries.
Sec. 203. Clarification of the period for appealing rulings of the 
                            Board of Veterans Appeals.
             TITLE III--PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION IMPROVEMENTS

Sec. 301. Repeal of cap on number of noncareer members of Senior 
                            Executive Service serving in Department of 
                            Veterans Affairs.
Sec. 302. Repeal of preceding-service requirement for Deputy Assistant 
                            Secretaries.
Sec. 303. Revolving supply fund amendments.
Sec. 304. Redefinition of ``minority group member'' for purposes of 
                            Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans.

SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE.

    Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an 
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 
of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to 
be made to a section or other provision of title 38, United States 
Code.

               TITLE I--VETERANS HEALTH CARE IMPROVEMENTS

SEC. 101. CARE FOR NEWBORN CHILDREN OF ENROLLED WOMEN VETERANS.

    Section 1701 is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (6)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (A);
                    (B) by adding ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (B); and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
                    ``(C) care for newborn children.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(11) The term `care for newborn children' means care 
        provided to an infant of a woman veteran enrolled in the 
        Department health care system. Such care may be provided until 
        the mother is discharged from the hospital after delivery of 
        the child or for 14 days after the date of birth of the child, 
        whichever period is shorter, and only if the Department 
        contracted for the delivery of the child.''.

SEC. 102. OUTPATIENT DENTAL CARE FOR ALL FORMER PRISONERS OF WAR.

    Section 1712(a)(1)(F) is amended by striking ``for a period of not 
less than 90 days''.

SEC. 103. PAY COMPARABILITY FOR DIRECTOR OF NURSING SERVICE.

    Section 7306(a)(5) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new sentence: ``The position shall be exempt from the provisions of 
section 7451 of this title and shall be paid at the maximum rate 
payable to a Senior Executive Service employee under sections 5304(g) 
and 5382 of title 5.''.
    Section 7404(d) is amended by striking ``section'' the first place 
it appears and inserting ``sections 7306(a)(5) and''.

                  TITLE II--VETERANS' BENEFIT PROGRAMS

SEC. 201. LIMITATION ON PROVISION OF CERTAIN BENEFITS.

    (a) Prohibitions.--(1) Section 112 is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection:
    ``(c) A certificate shall not be furnished under this program on 
behalf of a deceased veteran described in section 2411(b) of this 
title.''.
    (2) Section 2301 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(f) A flag shall not be furnished under this section on behalf of 
a deceased veteran described in section 2411(b) of this title.''.
    (3) Section 2306 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(f)(1) A headstone or marker shall not be furnished under 
subsection (a) for the unmarked grave of an individual described in 
section 2411(b) of this title.
    ``(2) A memorial headstone or marker shall not be furnished under 
subsection (b) for the purpose of commemorating an individual described 
in section 2411(b) of this title.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to deaths occurring on or after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 202. CLARIFICATION OF PROCEDURES REGARDING DISQUALIFICATION OF 
              CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS FOR MEMORIALIZATION IN VETERANS 
              CEMETERIES.

    Section 2411(a)(2) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The prohibition'' and inserting ``In the 
        case of a person described in subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2), the 
        prohibition''; and
            (2) by striking ``or finding under subsection (b)'' and 
        inserting ``referred to in subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2), 
        respectively,''.

SEC. 203. CLARIFICATION OF THE PERIOD FOR APPEALING RULINGS OF THE 
              BOARD OF VETERANS APPEALS.

    (a) Clarification.--Paragraph (1) of section 7266(a) is amended by 
striking ``notice of the decision is mailed pursuant to section 7104(e) 
of this title'' and inserting ``a copy of the decision, pursuant to 
section 7104(e) of this title, is mailed or sent to the claimant's 
representative or, if the claimant is not represented, mailed to the 
claimant''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to decisions of the Board of Veterans' Appeals that are made on 
or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

             TITLE III--PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION IMPROVEMENTS

SEC. 301. REPEAL OF CAP ON NUMBER OF NONCAREER MEMBERS OF SENIOR 
              EXECUTIVE SERVICE SERVING IN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
              AFFAIRS.

    Section 709 is amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (a); and
            (2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections 
        (a) and (b), respectively.

SEC. 302. REPEAL OF PRECEDING-SERVICE REQUIREMENT FOR DEPUTY ASSISTANT 
              SECRETARIES.

    Section 308(d) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(1)'' after ``(d)''; and
            (2) by striking paragraph (2).

SEC. 303. REVOLVING SUPPLY FUND AMENDMENTS.

    Section 8121(a) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``and for medical supplies, equipment, and 
        services for the Department of Defense'' after ``Department'';
            (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``of the Department and 
        the Department of Defense'' after ``appropriations''; and
            (3) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``of the Department and 
        the Department of Defense'' after ``appropriations''.

SEC. 304. REDEFINITION OF ``MINORITY GROUP MEMBER'' FOR PURPOSES OF 
              ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON MINORITY VETERANS.

    Section 544(d) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) In this section, the term ``minority group member'' means an 
individual who is any of the following:
            ``(1) American Indian or Alaska Native.
            ``(2) Asian.
            ``(3) African American.
            ``(4) Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
            ``(5) Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino.''.
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