1.Transportation grants for
rural veterans service organizations
(a)
(1)The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a grant
program to provide innovative transportation options to veterans in highly
rural areas.
(2)Grants awarded under this section may be used by State
veterans service agencies and veterans service organizations to—
(A)assist veterans in
highly rural areas to travel to Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers;
and
(B)otherwise assist
in providing medical care to veterans in highly rural areas.
(3)The amount of a grant under this section may not exceed
$50,000.
(4)The recipient of a grant under this section may not
be required to provide matching funds as a condition for receiving such
grant.
(5)Recovery of
unused grant fundsIf a
recipient of a grant does not use the full amount of funds received under this
section by not later than September 30 of the fiscal year in which such grant
was awarded, the United States shall be entitled to recover from such recipient
the total of all unused grant amounts made under this section to such
recipient.
(b)The
Secretary shall prescribe regulations for—
(1)evaluating grant
applications under this section; and
(2)otherwise
administering the program established by this section.
(c)Not later than February 1 of each year, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing information related to
each grant awarded under this section during the preceding year,
including—
(1)the name of the
grant recipient; and
(2)the amount of the
grant.
(d)Veterans Service
Organization DefinitionIn this section, the term veterans
service organization means any organization recognized by the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs for the representation of veterans under section 5902 of
title 38, United States Code.
(e)Authorization of
AppropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to carry out this section.