[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5332 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5332

   To provide improved benefits and procedures for the transition of 
 members of the Armed Forces from combat zones to noncombat zones and 
  for the transition of veterans from service in the Armed Forces to 
                             civilian life.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 8, 2004

  Mr. Meehan introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on 
Armed Services and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide improved benefits and procedures for the transition of 
 members of the Armed Forces from combat zones to noncombat zones and 
  for the transition of veterans from service in the Armed Forces to 
                             civilian life.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Matthew Boisvert 
Help Extend Respect Owed to Every Soldier (HEROES) Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
                         TITLE I--INITIAL CARE

Sec. 101. Access of veterans service organizations and military service 
                            organizations to veterans at military and 
                            veterans hospitals.
Sec. 102. Authority to provide civilian clothing to members traveling 
                            in connection with medical evacuation.
                         TITLE II--HEALTH CARE

Sec. 201. Minimum standards for postdeployment medical examinations.
Sec. 202. Requirement for vouchers for psychiatric services not offered 
                            in Department of Veterans Affairs clinics.
Sec. 203. Health registry for veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and 
                            Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sec. 204. Rescission of Department of Veterans Affairs memorandum.
                    TITLE III--TRANSITION ASSISTANCE

Sec. 301. Disabled Servicemembers Support System.
Sec. 302. Reauthorization of Service Members Occupational Conversion 
                            and Training Act.
Sec. 303. Sense of Congress on DoD/VA information sharing.
                        TITLE IV--HOMEOWNERSHIP

Sec. 401. Mortgage assistance.
                           TITLE V--EDUCATION

Sec. 501. Repeal of $1,200 reduction in basic pay required for 
                            participation by members of the Armed 
                            Forces in the Montgomery GI Bill 
                            educational assistance program.

                         TITLE I--INITIAL CARE

SEC. 101. ACCESS OF VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS AND MILITARY SERVICE 
              ORGANIZATIONS TO VETERANS AT MILITARY AND VETERANS 
              HOSPITALS.

    (a) Access to VA Facilities.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall allow access by representatives of military and veterans' service 
organizations and by representatives of veterans' services agencies of 
States to veterans being furnished hospital care and medical services 
by the Secretary in order to provide information and counseling to 
those veterans on the care and services authorized to be provided under 
laws administered by the Secretary. Access to veterans under this 
subsection shall be provided at each facility of the Department at 
which the Secretary furnishes care and services to veterans and at each 
non-Department facility at which the Secretary furnishes such care and 
services.
    (b) Access to DOD Facilities.--The Secretary of Defense shall allow 
access by representatives of military and veterans' service 
organizations and by representatives of veterans' services agencies of 
States to members of the Armed Forces being furnished hospital care and 
medical services by the Secretary in order to provide information and 
counseling to those veterans on the care and services authorized to be 
provided under laws administered by the Secretary of Defense and under 
laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Access to 
servicemembers under this subsection shall be provided at each military 
treatment facility at each other facility at which the Secretary 
furnishes such care and services.
    (c) Consent Required.-- Access to a veteran under this section is 
subject to the consent of the veteran.

SEC. 102. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE CIVILIAN CLOTHING TO MEMBERS TRAVELING 
              IN CONNECTION WITH MEDICAL EVACUATION.

    Section 1047 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(b) Certain Enlisted Members.--'' before 
        ``The Secretary''; and
            (2) by inserting after the section heading the following:
    ``(a) Members Traveling in Connection With Medical Evacuation.--The 
Secretary of the military department concerned may furnish civilian 
clothing and personal care products to a member at a cost not to exceed 
$250, or reimburse a member for the purchase of civilian clothing in an 
amount not to exceed $250, in the case of a member who--
            ``(1) is medically evacuated for treatment in a medical 
        facility by reason of an illness or injury incurred or 
        aggravated while on active duty; or
            ``(2) after being medically evacuated as described in 
        paragraph (1), is in an authorized travel status from a medical 
        facility to another location approved by the Secretary.''.

                         TITLE II--HEALTH CARE

SEC. 201. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR POSTDEPLOYMENT MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS.

    (a) Quality Assurance.--The Secretary of Defense, acting through 
the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, shall establish 
an effective quality assurance program that will help ensure that the 
Armed Forces comply with the requirements of section 1074f(d) of title 
10, United States Code.
    (b) Uniform Applicability.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
content and standards prescribed for predeployment and postdeployment 
medical examinations are applied uniformly at all installations and 
medical facilities of the Armed Forces where medical examinations 
required under this section are performed for members of the Armed 
Forces returning from a deployment as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom 
or Operation Enduring Freedom.
    (c) Inclusion of Screening for Mental Health Disorders.--Any such 
postdeployment examination shall include content and standards for 
screening for mental health disorders. In the case of acute post-
traumatic stress disorder and delayed onset post-traumatic stress 
disorder, such examination shall specifically include a personal 
evaluation to identify stressors experienced by servicemembers that 
have the potential to lead to post-traumatic stress disorders. An 
examination consisting solely or primarily of an assessment 
questionnaire completed by a member does not meet the requirements of 
this subsection for a medical examination and does not meet the 
requirements of this section for an assessment. An examination of a 
member required under this section may not be waived by the Secretary 
(or any official exercising the Secretary's authority under this 
section) or by the member.

SEC. 202. REQUIREMENT FOR VOUCHERS FOR PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES NOT OFFERED 
              IN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CLINICS.

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall provide vouchers to 
veterans entitled to psychiatric and mental health services at medical 
facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs for use at non-
Department facilities in the case of eligible veterans who reside more 
than 50 miles from the nearest such facility of the Department.

SEC. 203. HEALTH REGISTRY FOR VETERANS OF OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM AND 
              OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
establish and maintain a special record containing health status 
information concerning individuals who as members of the Armed Forces 
served during Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. 
The registry shall be used to record demographic information on those 
individuals and their mental and physical health history, including 
signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.
    (b) Claims for Compensation.--The Secretary shall include in the 
information maintained in the record under subsection (a) information 
on claims for veterans' disability compensation due to ill health.
    (c) Compatibility With DOD Registry.--The Secretary shall ensure 
that the information in the record under this section be collected and 
maintained so as to enable easy cross-reference with a registry for the 
Department of Defense established under this Act.
    (d) Notification of Research Developments.--The Secretary shall 
notify individuals in the Registry from time to time on significant 
developments in research on the health consequences of military service 
during the operations specified in subsection (a).

SEC. 204. RESCISSION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEMORANDUM.

    (a) Rescission of Memorandum.--The memorandum of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs dated July 18, 2002, from the Deputy Under Secretary 
for Health for Operations and Management with the subject ``Status of 
VHA Enrollment and Associated Issues'' is hereby rescinded. Marketing 
activities of Directors of health service networks (known as ``Veterans 
Integrated Service Networks'') of the Department of Veterans Affairs to 
enroll new veterans within their respective networks shall be carried 
out without regard to such memorandum.
    (b) Funding Limitation.--No funds available to the Department of 
Veterans Affairs may be used to carry out the memorandum referred to in 
subsection (a) or otherwise to implement the policy contained in that 
memorandum.

                    TITLE III--TRANSITION ASSISTANCE

SEC. 301. DISABLED SERVICEMEMBERS SUPPORT SYSTEM.

    (a) DSSS Program.--The Secretary of each military department shall 
carry out a program to provide a support system for members of the 
Armed Forces who incur severe disabilities on or after September 11, 
2001. The program shall include a system of advocacy and follow-up with 
personal support to assist those members as they transition from 
military service to the civilian community.
    (b) Service Executive Agent.--The Secretary of each military 
department shall designate an executive agent for each of the Armed 
Forces under that Secretary's jurisdiction to have the authority and 
responsibility to carry out the program under this section throughout 
that Armed Force and, in cooperation with the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, for members of the Coast Guard with severe disabilities.
    (c) Personnel.--The Secretary shall ensure that there are 
sufficient personnel assigned to the program so that the the ratio of 
severely disabled members or former members eligible for the program at 
any time to the number of personnel assigned to the program with 
specific responsibility for advocacy and follow-up for assigned members 
and former members is not greater than 30:1.
    (d) Authorization.--There are authorized to be appropriated for 
fiscal years 2005 through 2009 such sums as may be necessary to carry 
out the programs under this section.

SEC. 302. REAUTHORIZATION OF SERVICE MEMBERS OCCUPATIONAL CONVERSION 
              AND TRAINING ACT.

    (a) Employment Training Assistance.--The Secretary of Defense shall 
carry out a program to assist eligible persons in obtaining employment 
through participation in programs of significant training for 
employment in stable and permanent positions. The program shall be 
carried out through payments to employers who employ and train eligible 
persons in such positions, to defray the costs of necessary training.
    (b) Agreements With State Agencies.--The Secretary (or other 
implementing official) may enter into contracts or agreements with 
State approving agencies (as designated pursuant to section 3671 of 
title 38, United States Code) or other State agencies to carry out 
duties under the program. The Secretary (or other implementing 
official) shall require each such State approving agency or other State 
agency to submit to the Secretary (or other official) a monthly 
certification of charges submitted for expenses under the program.
    (c) Eligible Persons.--For purposes of the program under this 
section, a person is an eligible person if the person is an eligible 
person under the Service Members Occupational Conversion and Training 
Act of 1992 (10 U.S.C. 1143 note) or if the person, while a member of 
the Armed Forces on active duty, served in Operation Enduring Freedom 
or Operation Iraqi Freedom.
    (d) Incorporation of Provisions of 1992 Act.--In carrying out the 
program under this section, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent 
practicable, incorporate the provisions of the Service Members 
Occupational Conversion and Training Act of 1992 (10 U.S.C. 1143 note).

SEC. 303. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON DOD/VA INFORMATION SHARING.

    It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Defense and the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs--
            (1) should jointly identify ways to improve the 
        coordination and cooperation between the two departments to 
        support the provision of veterans' benefits to members and 
        former members of the Armed Forces who have been deployed as 
        described in section 1074f(a) of title 10, United States Code, 
        as well as to other members and former members of the Armed 
        Forces; and
            (2) in particular, should specifically address 
        compatibility of health care filing systems, consistency of 
        claims forms, consistency of medical examinations, and shared 
        electronic databases with appropriate privacy protections.

                        TITLE IV--HOMEOWNERSHIP

SEC. 401. MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--Section 230 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
1715u) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g)(1) The Secretary shall provide assistance and supplemental 
assistance under this subsection with respect to mortgages of members 
of the Armed Forces who are seriously injured during service in the 
Armed Forces, for the purpose of avoiding foreclosure on the mortgages.
    ``(2) An individual shall be eligible for assistance under this 
subsection only if--
            ``(A) the individual has been seriously injured while on 
        active duty in the Armed Forces; and
            ``(B) the income of the individual is materially reduced 
        (in the determination of the Secretary) because of such injury.
    ``(3) A mortgage shall be eligible for assistance under this 
subsection only if--
            ``(A) the mortgagor is an eligible member of the Armed 
        Forces; and
            ``(B) the dwelling that secures the loan subject to the 
        mortgage is the primary residence of the eligible member of the 
        Armed Forces.
    ``(4)(A) Subject only to the availability of amounts provided under 
appropriations Acts, the Secretary shall provide assistance under this 
subsection in the form of monthly payments made by the Secretary to the 
mortgagee of an eligible mortgage on behalf of any eligible member of 
the Armed Forces.
    ``(B) Assistance payments under this paragraph shall be made for 
the 2-year period beginning upon the serious injury of the eligible 
member of the Armed Forces.
    ``(C) Assistance payments under this paragraph shall be in the 
amount determined by the Secretary to be necessary to pay any monthly 
charges during such period for principal, interest, taxes, assessments, 
ground rents, hazard insurance, and mortgage insurance premiums (unless 
otherwise provided under section 222(c)), and may include an amount 
necessary to make the payments on the mortgage current.
    ``(5)(A) Subject only to the availability of amounts provided under 
appropriations Acts, the Secretary shall provide supplemental 
assistance under this subsection in the form of monthly supplemental 
payments made by the Secretary to the mortgagee of an eligible mortgage 
on behalf of any eligible member of the Armed Forces.
    ``(B) Supplemental assistance payments under this paragraph shall 
be made for the period beginning upon the expiration of the 2-year 
period under paragraph (4)(B) and ending upon payment in full of the 
obligation under the eligible mortgage.
    ``(C) Supplemental assistance payments under this paragraph shall 
be made in the amount equal to the difference between--
            ``(i) the amount determined by the Secretary to be 
        necessary to pay any monthly charges for principal, interest, 
        taxes, assessments, ground rents, hazard insurance, and 
        mortgage insurance premiums (unless otherwise provided under 
        section 222(c)); and
            ``(ii) 30 percent of the monthly income of the household of 
        the mortgagor.
    ``(D) Supplemental assistance payments under this paragraph may 
include an amount necessary to make the payments on the mortgage 
current.
    ``(6) The Secretary may prescribe additional requirements to carry 
out this subsection.
    ``(7) For purposes of this subsection:
            ``(A) The term `active duty' means full-time duty in the 
        active military service of the United States. The term includes 
        full-time training duty, annual training duty, and attendance, 
        while in the active military service, at a school designated as 
        a service school by law or by the Secretary of the military 
        department concerned.
            ``(B) The term `Armed Forces' means the Army, Navy, Air 
        Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, and includes members of 
        the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the 
        Public Health Service when assigned to and serving with the 
        Armed Forces.
            ``(C) The term `eligible member of the Armed Forces' means 
        an individual who meets the requirements under paragraph (2).
            ``(D) The term `eligible mortgage' means a mortgage that 
        meets the requirements under paragraph (3). The term `mortgage' 
        means all first mortgages and includes mortgages not insured 
        under this title.
            ``(E) The term `income' means income from all sources and 
        members of the household, including any benefits and annuities, 
        as determined in accordance with criteria prescribed by the 
        Secretary.
    ``(8) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this subsection.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Assistance may be provided under the 
amendments made by subsection (a) only with respect to eligible members 
of the Armed Forces seriously injured on or after September 11, 2001.

                           TITLE V--EDUCATION

SEC. 501. REPEAL OF $1,200 REDUCTION IN BASIC PAY REQUIRED FOR 
              PARTICIPATION BY MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES IN THE 
              MONTGOMERY GI BILL EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    Any reduction in the basic pay of an individual referred to in 
section 3011(b) of title 38, United States Code, by reason of such 
section 3011(b), or of any individual referred to in section 3012(c) of 
such title by reason of such section 3012(c), as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act shall cease, commencing with the first month 
beginning after such date, and any obligation of such individual under 
such section 3011(b) or 3012(c), as the case may be, as of the day 
before such date shall be considered to be fully satisfied as of such 
date.
                                 <all>