[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2414 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2414

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the appointment 
     of chiropractors in the Veterans Health Administration of the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 10, 2003

 Mr. Moran of Kansas (for himself, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Evans, 
Mr. Filner, and Mr. Gutierrez) introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the appointment 
     of chiropractors in the Veterans Health Administration 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 ``Department of Veterans Affairs 
Chiropractic Employment Act''.

SEC. 2. APPOINTMENT OF CHIROPRACTORS IN THE VETERANS HEALTH 
              ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Appointments.--Section 7401 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``and chiropractic care'' in the matter 
        preceding paragraph (1) after ``medical care''; and
            (2) by inserting ``chiropractors'' in paragraph (1) after 
        ``podiatrists''.
    (b) Qualifications of Appointees.--Section 7402(b) of such title is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (10) as paragraph (11); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following new 
        paragraph (10):
    ``(10) Chiropractor.--To be eligible to be appointed to a 
chiropractor position, a person must--
            ``(A) hold the degree of doctor of chiropractic, or its 
        equivalent, from a college of chiropractic approved by the 
        Secretary; and
            ``(B) be licensed to practice chiropractic in a State.''.
    (c) Period of Appointments and Promotions.--Section 7403(a)(2) of 
such title is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
            ``(H) Chiropractors.''.
    (d) Grades and Pay Scales.--Section 7404(b)(1) of such title is 
amended by striking the third center heading in the table and inserting 
the following:

    ``CLINICAL PODIATRIST, CHIROPRACTOR, AND OPTOMETRIST SCHEDULE''.

    (e) Temporary and Part-Time Appointments.--Section 7405(a) of such 
title is amended--
            (1) by adding at the end of paragraph (1) the following new 
        subparagraph:
                    ``(E) Chiropractors.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end of paragraph (2) the following new 
        subparagraph:
                    ``(D) Chiropractors.''.
    (f) Residencies and Internships.--Section 7406(c) of such title is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by inserting ``and chiropractic'' after 
                ``medical'' the first place it appears; and
                    (B) by inserting ``or chiropractic'' after 
                ``medical'' the second place it appears;
            (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``or chiropractic'' 
        after ``medical'' in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) and 
        in subparagraph (B);
            (3) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``or chiropractic'' 
        after ``medical'' in subparagraph (A); and
            (4) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``or chiropractic'' 
        after ``medical'' in subparagraph (C).
    (g) Malpractice and Negligence Protection.--Section 7316(a) of such 
title is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``or chiropractic'' after ``medical'' in 
        paragraphs (1) and (2); and
            (2) by inserting ``chiropractor,'' after ``podiatrist,'' in 
        paragraph (2).
    (h) Treatment as Scarce Medical Specialists for Contracting 
Purposes.--Section 7409(a) of such title is amended by inserting 
``chiropractors,'' in the second sentence after ``optometrists,''.
    (i) Reimbursement of Continuing Professional Education Expenses.--
Section 7411 of such title is amended by striking ``or dentist'' and 
inserting ``, dentist, or chiropractic''.
    (j) Collective Bargaining Exemption.--Section 7421(b) of such title 
is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(8) Chiropractors.''.
    (k) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect at the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>