[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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