[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1990 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1990

    To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the outreach 
    activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 10, 2005

   Mr. Burr introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the outreach 
    activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 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 Outreach Improvement Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF OUTREACH ACTIVITIES WITHIN DEPARTMENT OF 
              VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 5 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subchapter:

                  ``SUBCHAPTER IV--OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

``Sec. 561. Purpose
    ``It is the purpose of this subchapter to provide assistance to 
States for carrying out programs that--
            ``(1) improve outreach and assistance to veterans and the 
        spouses, children, and parents of veterans; and
            ``(2) ensure that the individuals described in paragraph 
        (1) are fully informed about, and assisted in applying for, any 
        veterans and veterans-related benefits and programs (including 
        State veterans programs) for which such individuals may be 
        eligible.
``Sec. 562. Coordination within Department
    ``(a) The Secretary shall establish procedures to ensure the 
effective coordination of the outreach activities of the Department 
among--
            ``(1) the Office of the Secretary;
            ``(2) the Office of Public Affairs;
            ``(3) the Veterans Health Administration;
            ``(4) the Veterans Benefits Administration; and
            ``(5) the National Cemetery Administration.
    ``(b) The Secretary shall--
            ``(1) annually review the procedures established under 
        subsection (a) to ensure that such procedures accomplish the 
        objective described in subsection (a); and
            ``(2) modify those procedures, as the Secretary considers 
        appropriate, based upon the review under paragraph (1), to 
        improve the attainment of the objective described in subsection 
        (a).
``Sec. 563. Cooperative agreements with States
    ``(a) The Secretary shall ensure that assistance is provided by the 
Secretary for outreach and assistance under State and county veteran 
service programs referred to in section 561 of this title in 
locations--
            ``(1) that have relatively large concentrations of 
        populations of veterans and other individuals referred to in 
        section 561 of this title; or
            ``(2) that are experiencing growth in the population of 
        veterans and other individuals referred to in section 561 of 
        this title.
    ``(b) The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with 
State veterans agencies to carry out, coordinate, improve, or otherwise 
enhance outreach by the Department and the States, including outreach 
with respect to State veterans programs.
``Sec. 564. Grants to States for outreach improvement
    ``(a) The Secretary may award grants to State veterans agencies, 
which grants may be used to carry out, coordinate, improve, or 
otherwise enhance--
            ``(1) outreach, including activities under a cooperative 
        agreement described in section 563(b) of this title; and
            ``(2) activities to assist in the development and submittal 
        of claims for veterans and veterans-related benefits, including 
        activities under a cooperative agreement described in section 
        563(b) of this title.
    ``(b) The Secretary shall allocate grant funds to States under this 
section based on the percentage of the veteran population residing in 
the respective States.
    ``(c) A State veterans agency receiving grant funds under this 
section shall allocate--
            ``(1) a portion of such grant funds to local governments of 
        that State that are providing veterans outreach services, based 
        on the number of veterans residing within the jurisdiction of 
        each such local government;
            ``(2) a portion of such grant funds to local governments of 
        that State that are seeking to establish a program of veterans 
        outreach services; and
            ``(3) the remaining grant funds for outreach activities by 
        that State veterans agency.
    ``(d) Grant funds awarded to a State under this section--
            ``(1) may not be used by the State for administrative 
        costs;
            ``(2) may not be used to provide more than 50 percent of 
        the total cost of the activities described in subsection (a); 
        and
            ``(3) shall be used to expand existing outreach programs 
        and services and not to supplant existing State and local 
        funding for such programs and services.
    ``(e) Grant funds awarded under this section may be used to provide 
State and local government employees with--
            ``(1) sufficient training regarding veterans outreach 
        services to allow such employees to obtain accreditation, in 
        accordance with procedures approved by the Secretary; and
            ``(2) continuing education regarding veterans outreach 
        services, if such employees have been accredited, as described 
        in paragraph (1).
    ``(f)(1) If a unit of local government does not have a veteran 
services program, grant funds under this subsection may be used to 
establish such a program.
    ``(2) If a unit of local government does not have a veteran 
services program and does not seek to use grant funds under this 
section to establish such a program, the State veterans agency may use 
grant funds under this subsection to provide outreach services for 
veterans residing within the jurisdiction of such local government.
    ``(3) If State and local government veteran service programs in a 
State do not seek to receive a grant amount under this section, the 
allocation calculated for that State under subsection (b) shall be 
reallocated to those States with local government veteran service 
programs that are seeking grant funds under this section.
``Sec. 565. Funding
    ``(a) Amounts for outreach activities of the Department under this 
subchapter shall be budgeted and appropriated through a separate 
appropriation account.
    ``(b) The Secretary shall include, in the budget justification 
materials submitted to Congress in support of the Department budget for 
each fiscal year, a separate statement describing the amount requested 
to be appropriated for that fiscal year for the account specified in 
subsection (a).
``Sec. 566. Definitions
    ``In this subchapter:
            ``(1) The term `outreach' means the act or process of 
        taking steps in a systematic manner to provide information, 
        services, and benefits counseling to veterans, and the 
        survivors of veterans, who may be eligible to receive benefits 
        under the laws administered by the Secretary to ensure that 
        those individuals are fully informed about, and assisted in 
        applying for, any benefits and programs under such laws for 
        which they may be eligible.
            ``(2) The term `state veterans agency' means the department 
        or agency of the government of a State that is responsible for 
        programs and activities of that State government relating to 
        veterans benefits.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following:
                  ``subchapter iv--outreach activities
``561. Purpose.
``562. Coordination within Department.
``563. Cooperative agreements with States.
``564. Grants to States for outreach improvement.
``565. Funding.
``566. Definitions.''.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006, 2007, and 
2008 to carry out the provisions of subchapter IV of chapter 5 of title 
38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a).
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