[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3694 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3694

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to provide grants to rural counties to ensure they are 
  able to offer a sufficient level of advice and casework services to 
help veterans learn about and obtain the benefits they have earned, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 7, 2005

    Mr. Wu introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to provide grants to rural counties to ensure they are 
  able to offer a sufficient level of advice and casework services to 
help veterans learn about and obtain the benefits they have earned, 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 ``Rural Veterans Services Outreach 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS GRANT PROGRAM FOR RURAL COUNTY 
              VETERAN SERVICE OFFICERS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Grants.--Chapter 5 of title 38, United States Code, is 
        amended by inserting after section 531 the following new 
        section:
``Sec. 532. Grants to assist certain rural counties in employing county 
              veteran service officers; professional qualifications
    ``(a) Grant Program.--The Secretary shall carry out a program to 
make grants in accordance with this section to provide financial 
assistance to eligible counties to assist in the employment of county 
veteran service officers.
    ``(b) Amount of Grant.--The amount of a grant under this section to 
any county for any 12-month period shall be $12,000.
    ``(c) Eligible County.--For purposes of this section, an eligible 
county is a county--
            ``(1) in which not less than 1,000 veterans reside;
            ``(2) in which no more than one veterans service 
        organization provides advice and casework services for benefits 
        provided under laws administered by the Secretary; and
            ``(3) which, in accordance with standards and 
        classification of the Census Bureau, consists entirely of 
        territory, population, and housing units outside of territory 
        classified by the Census Bureau as an `urban area'.
    ``(d) County Veteran Service Officer.--For purposes of this 
section, a county veteran service officer is an employee of a county 
(regardless of job title) whose duties include providing to veterans 
residing in the county advice and casework services related to benefits 
provided under laws administered by the Secretary.
    ``(e) Grant Application.--An eligible county seeking a grant under 
this section shall submit to the Secretary an application for the 
grant. The application shall be in such form and shall contain such 
information as the Secretary may require, including information 
establishing that the county is an eligible county under this section.
    ``(f) Grant Criteria.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations for that purpose, the Secretary shall make a grant under 
this section to any eligible county that--
            ``(1) does not have a county veterans service officer;
            ``(2) has a county veterans service officer who performs 
        county veterans service officer functions on less than a full-
        time basis, if the county is able to demonstrate a need for 
        additional services by a county veterans service officer; or
            ``(3) has a full-time county veterans service officer, but 
        only if--
                    ``(A) the county is a county in which not less than 
                5,000 veterans reside; and
                    ``(B) the county is able to demonstrate a need for 
                additional services by a county veterans service 
                officer.
    ``(g) Grant Frequency.--Grants under this section shall be made on 
an annual basis.
    ``(h) Professional Qualifications.--It is the sense of Congress 
that the appropriate officials in counties with one or more county 
veterans service officers should take such steps as are available to 
them to encourage and facilitate any such county veterans service 
officer in that county in obtaining certification (either from the 
Department or from appropriate State authorities) with respect to 
professional qualifications to perform the functions of a county 
veterans service officer.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the 
        item relating to section 531 the following new item:

``532. Grants to assist certain rural counties in employing county 
                            veteran service officers; professional 
                            qualifications.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Section 532 of title 38, United States Code, 
as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on October 1, 2005.
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