[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3387 Introduced in House (IH)]

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108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3387

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve health care programs 
 of the Department of Veterans Affairs and to extend certain expiring 
                              authorities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 29, 2003

  Mr. Evans (for himself and Mr. Rodriguez) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve health care programs 
 of the Department of Veterans Affairs and to extend certain expiring 
                              authorities.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES TO TITLE 38.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Health Programs Improvement 
Act of 2003''.
    (b) References to Title 38.--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.

SEC. 2. CARE FOR NEWBORN CHILDREN OF WOMEN VETERANS RECEIVING MATERNITY 
              CARE.

    (a) Authority to Provide Newborn Infant Care.--Subchapter VIII of 
chapter 17 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1785. Care for newborn children of women veterans receiving 
              maternity care
    ``The Secretary may furnish care to a newborn child of a woman 
veteran who is receiving maternity care furnished by the Department for 
up to 14 days after the birth of the child if the veteran delivered the 
child in a Department facility or in a non-Department facility under a 
Department contract for the delivery services.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such subchapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 1784 the following new item:

``1785. Care for newborn children of women veterans receiving maternity 
                            care.''.

SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF REHABILITATIVE SERVICES.

    (a) Rehabilitative Services Through Medical Care Authority.--
Section 1701(8) is amended by striking ``(other than those types of 
vocational rehabilitation services provided under chapter 31 of this 
title)''.
    (b) Section 1718 is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``subsection (b) of this section'' 
                and inserting ``subsection (b) or (d)''; and
                    (B) by striking ``paragraph (2) of such 
                subsection'' and inserting ``subsection (b)(2)'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and (f) as 
        subsections (e), (f), and (g), respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
        subsection (d):
    ``(d) In providing to a veteran rehabilitative services under this 
chapter, the Secretary may furnish the veteran with the following:
            ``(1) Work skills training and development services.
            ``(2) Employment support services.
            ``(3) Job development and placement services.''.

SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF EXPIRED SPECIAL TREATMENT AUTHORITIES.

    (a) Vietnam-Era Herbicide-Exposed Veterans.--Section 1710(e)(3)(A) 
is amended by striking ``December 31, 2002'' and inserting ``December 
31, 2008''.
    (b) Persian Gulf Veterans.--Section 1710(e)(3)(B) is amended by 
striking ``December 31, 2002'' and inserting ``December 31, 2008''.

SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT FOR PATIENTS TO PROVIDE CERTAIN HEALTH-PLAN 
              INFORMATION.

    (a) Subchapter I of chapter 17 is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:
``Sec. 1709. Provision of health-plan contract information
    ``(a) An individual who applies for or is in receipt of hospital, 
nursing home, or domiciliary care, medical, rehabilitative, or 
preventive health services, or other medical care under laws 
administered by the Secretary shall, at the time of such application, 
or otherwise when requested by the Secretary, furnish the Secretary 
with such current information as the Secretary may require to identify 
any health-plan contract, as defined in section 1729(i)(1) of this 
title, under which such individual is covered. Such identifying 
information may include, as applicable, the name, address, and 
telephone number of such health-plan contract, the name of the 
individual's spouse, if the individual's coverage is under the spouse's 
health-plan contract, the plan number, and the plan's group code.
    ``(b) The Secretary shall deny the individual's application for, or 
terminate the individual's enrollment in, the system of patient 
enrollment established by the Secretary under section 1705 of this 
title if the individual does not provide the health-plan contract 
identifying information required or requested to be furnished pursuant 
to subsection (a). The Secretary, following such denial or termination, 
may, upon receipt of the information required or requested, approve the 
individual's application or reinstate the individual's enrollment (if 
otherwise in order), for such medical care and services provided on and 
after the date of such receipt of information.
    ``(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as authority to 
deny medical care or treatment to an individual in a medical 
emergency.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
1708 the following new item:

``1709. Provision of health-plan contract information.''.

SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR LEASE TO NONPROFITS OR STATES OF 
              PROPERTIES ON WHICH VETERANS HAVE DEFAULTED ON GUARANTEED 
              HOME LOANS.

    (a) Extension.--Section 2041(c) is amended by striking ``December 
31, 2003'' and inserting ``December 31, 2008''.
    (b) Technical Correction.--The first sentence of section 2041(a)(2) 
is amended by striking ``this chapter'' and inserting ``chapter 37 of 
this title''.

SEC. 7. FIVE-YEAR EXTENSION OF CERTAIN ANNUAL REPORTS.

    (a) Report on Committee on Care of Severely Chronically Mentally 
Ill Veterans.--Section 7321(d)(2) is amended by striking ``February 1, 
1998, and February 1 of each of the six following years'' and inserting 
``February 1 of each year through 2009''.
    (b) PTSD Report.--Section 110(e)(2) of the Veterans Health Care Act 
of 1984 (38 U.S.C. 1712A note) is amended by striking ``February 1, 
2001, and February 1 of each of the three following years'' and 
inserting ``February 1 of each year through 2009''.

SEC. 8. FIVE-YEAR EXTENSION OF READJUSTMENT COUNSELING FOR VIETNAM-ERA 
              VETERANS.

    Section 1712(a)(1)(B)(ii) is amended by striking ``January 1, 
2004'' and inserting ``January 1, 2009''.

SEC. 9. PERMANENT AUTHORITY FOR SEXUAL TRAUMA COUNSELING.

    Section 1720D(a) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``During the period 
        through December 31, 2004, the'' and inserting ``The''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``, during the period 
        through December 31, 2004,''.
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