[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 716 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 716

To amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance services provided by 
   vet centers, to clarify and improve the provision of bereavement 
    counseling by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 6, 2005

Mr. Akaka (for himself, Mr. Rockefeller, and Mr. Conrad) 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 enhance services provided by 
   vet centers, to clarify and improve the provision of bereavement 
    counseling by 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 ``Vet Center Enhancement Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF OUTREACH ACTIVITIES OF VET CENTERS.

    (a) Additional Outreach Workers.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall employ not more than 50 veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom or 
Operation Iraqi Freedom for the purpose of providing outreach to 
veterans on the availability of readjustment counseling and related 
mental health services for veterans under section 1712A of title 38, 
United States Code.
    (b) Construction With Current Outreach Program.--The veterans 
employed under subsection (a) are in addition to any veterans employed 
by the Secretary for the purpose described in that subsection under the 
February 2004 program of the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide 
outreach described in that subsection.
    (c) Assignment to Vet Centers.--The Secretary may assign any 
veteran employed under subsection (a) to any vet center that the 
Secretary considers appropriate in order to meet the purpose described 
in that subsection.
    (d) Inapplicability and Termination of Limitation on Duration of 
Employment.--Any limitation on the duration of employment of veterans 
under the program described in subsection (b) is hereby terminated, and 
shall not apply to veterans employed under such program or under this 
section.
    (e) Employment Status.--Veterans employed under subsection (a) 
shall be employed in career conditional status, which is the employment 
status in which veterans are employed under the program described in 
subsection (b).
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Vet center.--The term ``vet center'' means a center for 
        the provision of readjustment counseling and related mental 
        health services under section 1712A of title 38, United States 
        Code.
            (2) Veteran of operation enduring freedom or operation 
        iraqi freedom.--The term ``veteran of Operation Enduring 
        Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom'' means any veteran who 
        served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during 
        Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom.

SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF BEREAVEMENT COUNSELING.

    (a) Clarification of Members of Immediate Family Eligible for 
Counseling.--Subsection (b) of section 1783 of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``The Secretary''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, the members of the immediate 
family of a member of the Armed Forces described in paragraph (1) 
include the parents of such member.''.
    (b) Provision of Counseling Through Vet Centers.--Such section is 
further amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection (c):
    ``(c) Provision of Counseling Through Vet Centers.--Bereavement 
counseling may be provided under this section through the facilities 
and personnel of centers for the provision of readjustment counseling 
and related mental health services under section 1712A of this 
title.''.

SEC. 4. FUNDING FOR VET CENTER PROGRAM.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of 
Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2006, $180,000,000 for the provision 
of readjustment counseling and related mental health services through 
centers under section 1712A of title 38, United States Code, including 
for the discharge of the requirements of this Act (and the amendments 
made by this Act).
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