[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6319 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6319

 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish centers to 
 provide enhanced services to veterans with amputations and prosthetic 
                    devices, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 13, 2006

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL



 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish centers to 
 provide enhanced services to veterans with amputations and prosthetic 
                    devices, 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 Amputee and Rehabilitation 
Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. AMPUTATION AND PROSTHETIC REHABILITATION CENTERS IN DEPARTMENT 
              OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
establish in the Veterans Health Administration not less than five 
centers to provide enhanced rehabilitation services to veterans who 
have suffered amputations or who are equipped with prosthetic devices. 
Each such center shall be established at a health-care facility of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs. Each such center shall be known as an 
``Amputation and Prosthetic Rehabilitation Center''.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of the centers established pursuant to 
this section are--
            (1) to provide regional clinical facilities of the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs with special expertise in 
        prosthetics, rehabilitation with the use of prosthetics, 
        treatment, and coordination of care for veterans who have 
        suffered an amputation of any functional part of the body due 
        to a service-connected disability;
            (2) to provide state-of-the art prosthetic limb evaluations 
        and fabrications for such veterans; and
            (3) to provide information and supportive services to all 
        facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs concerning the 
        care and treatment of such veterans who are equipped with a 
        prosthetic device.
    (c) Geographic Distribution.--In order to establish such centers so 
as to be accessible to as many veterans as possible in the United 
States, the Secretary shall establish at least one such center within 
each of the following geographic services areas of the Veterans Health 
Administration: Veterans Integrated Service Network 1 (New England), 
Veterans Integrated Service Network 8 (Florida), Veterans Integrated 
Service Network 17 (Texas), Veterans Integrated Service Network 22 
(Southern California), and Veterans Integrated Service Network 23 
(Midwest).
    (d) Staff and Resources.--The Secretary shall ensure that each 
center established pursuant to this section includes the following:
            (1) A modern, well-equipped, and appropriately certified 
        laboratory facility capable of providing state-of-the-art and 
        complex prosthetic devices to all veterans with an amputation 
        due to a service-connected disability.
            (2) Certified and experienced prosthetists, including 
        prosthetists with certifications in new fabrication techniques.
            (3) An accredited Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 
        service with staff who are well-trained in current prosthetic 
        services and emerging trends for treatment of amputations.
            (4) A modern gait laboratory, permanently located within 
        the center.
    (e) Availability of Appropriations.--Amounts appropriated pursuant 
to this section shall remain available until expended.
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