[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5007 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5007

To require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide mental health 
 services in languages other than English, as needed, for veterans and 
family members with limited English proficiency, to expand the scope of 
mental health services provided to family members of veterans, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 16, 2006

  Ms. Solis introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide mental health 
 services in languages other than English, as needed, for veterans and 
family members with limited English proficiency, to expand the scope of 
mental health services provided to family members of veterans, 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. PROVISION OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES BY DEPARTMENT OF 
              VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR VETERANS AND FAMILY MEMBERS WITH 
              LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Requirement.--Chapter 17 of title 38, United States 
        Code, is amended by inserting after section 1712B the following 
        new section:
``Sec. 1713. Mental health services; languages other than English
    ``(a) Availability of Counseling in Languages Other Than English.--
In providing counseling and other mental health services authorized by 
law to a veteran who has limited proficiency in English, the Secretary 
shall ensure that such counseling and services are available to that 
veteran in both English and a language other than English in which the 
veteran is proficient, if requested by the veteran.
    ``(b) Identification of Limited English Proficient Veterans.--For 
purposes of this section, the Secretary shall develop procedures for 
identifying veterans who have limited proficiency in English and of 
informing those veterans of the provisions of subsection (a).''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the 
        item relating to section 1712B the following new item:

``1713. Mental health services; languages other than English''.
    (b) Family Members.--Section 1782 of such title is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(e) Additional Counseling.--In addition to services authorized by 
subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary shall, in connection with the 
service of a veteran in the active military, naval, or air service, 
provide to an individual described in subsection (c) such counseling 
and mental health services as are requested by the individual, except 
to the extent that the Secretary determines that such counseling and 
mental health services are not needed.
    ``(f) Bilingual Counseling.--(1) In providing counseling and mental 
health services under this section and bereavement counseling under 
section 1783 of this title, the Secretary shall ensure, in the case of 
an individual who has limited proficiency in English, that such 
counseling and services are available to that individual in both 
English and a language other than English in which the individual is 
proficient, if requested by the individual.
    ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, the Secretary shall develop 
procedures for identifying individuals who have limited proficiency in 
English and of informing those individuals of the provisions of 
paragraph (1).''.
    (c) Effective Date.--Section 1713 of title 38, United States Code, 
as added by subsection (a)(1), and subsections (e) and (f) of section 
1782 of such title, as added by subsection (b), shall take effect at 
the end of the 120-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 2. CODIFICATION FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OF REQUIREMENTS 
              OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 13166.

    (a) System for Access to Services.--The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall implement a system by which persons with limited English 
proficiency can meaningfully access the services provided by the 
Department of Veterans Affairs consistent with, and without unduly 
burdening, the fundamental mission of that Department. The Secretary 
shall work to ensure that recipients of financial assistance under 
programs of the Department provide meaningful access to applicants and 
beneficiaries with limited English proficiency.
    (b) Plan.--The Secretary shall implement a plan to improve access 
to programs and activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs by 
eligible persons with limited English proficiency. The plan shall be 
consistent with the standards set forth in the guidance issued by the 
Attorney General and shall include the steps the Secretary will take to 
ensure that eligible persons with limited English proficiency can 
meaningfully access the programs and activities of the Department.

SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION.

    In developing and implementing the plan under section 2(b), the 
Secretary shall, at a minimum, carry out the following:
            (1) The Secretary shall conduct a thorough assessment of 
        the language needs of the population served by the Department 
        of Veterans Affairs, including identifying the non-English 
        languages that are likely to be encountered.
            (2) The Secretary shall develop and implement a 
        comprehensive language assistance program, which shall 
        include--
                    (A) hiring bilingual staff and interpreters for 
                patient and client contact positions; and
                    (B) translating written materials (such as consent 
                forms, notice of free language assistance, and outreach 
                materials) into languages other than English.
            (3) The Secretary shall train staff of the Department on 
        the access policy of the Department with respect to persons 
        with limited English proficiency and on carrying out that 
        policy.
            (4) The Secretary shall establish vigilant monitoring and 
        oversight to ensure that persons with limited English 
        proficiency have meaningful access to health care and services.
            (5) The Secretary shall establish a task force to evaluate 
        implementation and to prioritize needed actions to implement 
        the access plan for persons with limited English proficiency.
            (6) The Secretary shall develop a specific plan to ensure 
        seamless transition of veterans and their families from 
        benefits and services provided by the Department of Defense to 
        benefits and services provided by the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs, including bilingual readjustment and bereavement 
        counseling.
            (7) The Secretary shall establish a process to translate 
        vital documents and other materials, including materials on the 
        World Wide Web, brochures distributed as part of outreach 
        efforts to servicemembers transitioning into civilian life, and 
        the post-deployment health reassessment program.
            (8) The Secretary shall conduct outreach to veterans and 
        their families in communities which may have higher proportions 
        of populations with limited English proficiency to ensure they 
        are aware of eligibility for benefits and services from the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION BY VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION OF 
              DIRECTIVE ON IMPROVING ACCESS TO SERVICES FOR PERSONS 
              WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.

    (a) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 
to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of 
Representatives a report on the implementation by the Veterans Health 
Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs of the directive 
of the Veterans Health Administration designated ``VHA Directive 2002-
006'' that was issued by the Under Secretary for Health of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs on January 31, 2002, and that issued 
policy to implement prohibitions on discrimination on the basis of 
national origin for persons with limited English proficiency in 
Federally-conducted programs and activities and in Federal financial 
assisted programs.
    (b) Capacity to Provide Services to LEP Servicemembers.--The 
Secretary shall include in the report an analysis of the capacity of 
the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide services to members of 
the Armed Forces with limited English proficiency.
                                 <all>