[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 627 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 627

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to suspend for five years the 
    authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the 
copayment amount in effect for medication furnished by the Secretary on 
    an outpatient basis for the treatment of non-service-connected 
disabilities and to provide an increase in the maximum annual rates of 
 pension payable to surviving spouses of veterans of a period of war, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 5, 2003

 Mr. Strickland (for himself, Mr. Berry, Mr. Baca, Mr. Brown of Ohio, 
 Mr. Carson of Oklahoma, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Inslee, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, 
  Mr. LaTourette, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Norton, Mr. Paul, Mr. 
    Sanders, Mr. Sandlin, Ms. Woolsey, Ms. Solis, Mr. Serrano, Mr. 
    Whitfield, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Ney, Mr. Ackerman, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. 
    McDermott, Mr. Mica, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Frost, Mr. Crowley, Ms. 
 McCollum, Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island, Mr. Capuano, and Mr. Costello) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
   Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, 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 amend title 38, United States Code, to suspend for five years the 
    authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the 
copayment amount in effect for medication furnished by the Secretary on 
    an outpatient basis for the treatment of non-service-connected 
disabilities and to provide an increase in the maximum annual rates of 
 pension payable to surviving spouses of veterans of a period of war, 
                        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' Prescription Drug and 
Surviving Spouses Assistance Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. SUSPENSION OF AUTHORITY TO INCREASE COPAYMENT AMOUNT.

    Section 1722A(d) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(d)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) The Secretary may not exercise the authority provided by 
subsection (b)(1) during the five-year period beginning on the date of 
the enactment of this paragraph, and any increase before that date in 
the copayment amount in effect under subsection (a) shall not be in 
effect during that five-year period.''.

SEC. 3. INCREASE IN MAXIMUM ANNUAL RATES OF PENSION FOR SURVIVING 
              SPOUSES OF VETERANS OF A PERIOD OF WAR.

    (a) Increase.--Section 1541 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``as increased'' and 
        inserting ``as increased under subsection (f), and as further 
        increased'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), and (h) as 
        subsections (g), (h), and (i), respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new 
        subsection (f):
    ``(f)(1) Effective for months after November of the year of the 
enactment of this subsection, the annual rate of pension payable to a 
surviving spouse under a provision referred to in paragraph (2) shall 
be increased for any year by the amount equal to the difference 
between--
            ``(A) the current poverty line (as that term is defined in 
        section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 
        U.S.C. 9902(2)) for that year for a one-person family unit in 
        the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia; and
            ``(B) the annual rate of pension in effect under subsection 
        (b) in November of that year.
    ``(2) A provision referred to in this paragraph is any of the 
following provisions of this section:
            ``(A) Subsection (b).
            ``(B) The first sentence of subsection (c).
            ``(C) Subsection (d)(1).
            ``(D) The first sentence of subsection (d)(2).
            ``(E) The first sentence of subsection (e)(1).''.
    (b) Disregard of Increased Amount for Purposes of Medicaid 
Eligibility.--Section 1902(r)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1396a(r)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
    ``(C) In determining for purposes of this title the income of a 
surviving spouse of a veteran who receives a monthly pension under 
section 1541 of title 38, United States Code, such income shall not 
include any amount attributable to the application of subsection (f) of 
that section.''.
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