[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5953 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5953


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 1, 2010

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to display in each facility 
 of the Department of Veterans Affairs a Women Veterans Bill of Rights 
    and to display in each prosthetics and orthotics clinic of the 
  Department an Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights, 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. DISPLAY OF WOMEN VETERANS BILL OF RIGHTS.

    (a) Display.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that 
the Women Veterans Bill of Rights described in subsection (b) is 
printed on signs in accessible formats and displayed prominently and 
conspicuously in each facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
and distributed widely to women veterans.
    (b) Women Veterans Bill of Rights.--The Women Veterans Bill of 
Rights described in this subsection is a sign stating that women 
veterans should have the following rights:
            (1) The right to a coordinated, comprehensive, primary 
        women's health care, at every Department of Veterans Affairs 
        medical facility, including the recognized models of best 
        practices, systems, and structures for care delivery that 
        ensure that every woman veteran has access to a Department of 
        Veterans Affairs primary care provider who can meet all her 
        primary care needs, including gender-specific, acute and 
        chronic illness, preventive, and mental health care.
            (2) The right to be treated with dignity and respect at all 
        Department of Veterans Affairs facilities.
            (3) The right to innovation in care delivery promoted and 
        incentivized by the Veterans Health Administration to support 
        local best practices fitted to the particular configuration and 
        women veteran population.
            (4) The right to request and get treatment by clinicians 
        with specific training and experience in women's health issues.
            (5) The right to enhanced capabilities of medical 
        providers, clinical support, non-clinical, and administrative, 
        to meet the comprehensive health care needs of women veterans.
            (6) The right to request and expect gender equity in 
        provision of clinical health care services.
            (7) The right to equal access to health care services as 
        that of their male counterparts.
            (8) The right to parity to their male veteran counterpart 
        regarding the outcome of performance measures of health care 
        services.
            (9) The right to be informed, through outreach campaigns, 
        of benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of 
        Veterans Affairs and to be included in Department outreach 
        materials for any benefits and service to which they are 
        entitled.
            (10) The right to be featured proportionately, including by 
        age and ethnicity, in Department outreach materials, including 
        electronic and print media that clearly depict them as being 
        the recipient of the benefits and services provided by the 
        Department.
            (11) The right to be recognized as an important separate 
        population in new strategic plans for service delivery within 
        the health care system of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
            (12) The right to equal consideration in hiring and 
        employment for any job to which they apply.
            (13) The right to equal consideration in securing Federal 
        contracts.
            (14) The right to equal access and accommodations in 
        homeless programs that will meet their unique family needs.
            (15) The right to have their claims adjudicated equally, 
        fairly, and accurately without bias or disparate treatment.
            (16) The right to have their military sexual trauma and 
        other injuries compensated in a way that reflects the level of 
        trauma sustained.
            (17) The right to expect that all veteran service officers, 
        especially those who are trained by the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs Training Responsibility Involvement Preparation program 
        for claims processing, are required to receive training to be 
        aware of and sensitive to the signs of military sexual trauma, 
        domestic violence, and personal assault.
            (18) The right to the availability of female personnel to 
        assist them in the disability claims application and appellate 
        processes of the Department.
            (19) The right to the availability of female compensation 
        and pension examiners.
            (20) The right to expect specialized training be provided 
        to disability rating personnel regarding military sexual trauma 
        and gender-specific illnesses so that these claims can be 
        adjudicated more accurately.
            (21) The right to expect the collection of gender-specific 
        data on disability ratings, for the performance of longitudinal 
        and trend analyses, and for other applicable purposes.
            (22) The right to a method to identify and track outcomes 
        for all claims involving personal assault trauma, regardless of 
        the resulting disability.
            (23) The right for women veterans' programs and women 
        veteran coordinators to be measured and evaluated for 
        performance, consistency, and accountability.
            (24) The right to burial benefits under the laws 
        administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

SEC. 2. DISPLAY OF INJURED AND AMPUTEE VETERANS BILL OF RIGHTS.

    (a) Display.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that 
the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights described in subsection 
(b) is printed on signs in accessible formats and displayed prominently 
and conspicuously in each prosthetics and orthotics clinic of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs.
    (b) Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights.--The Injured and 
Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights described in this subsection is a 
statement that injured and amputee veterans should have the following 
rights:
            (1) The right to access the highest quality prosthetic and 
        orthotic care, including the right to the most appropriate 
        technology and best qualified practitioners.
            (2) The right to continuity of care in the transition from 
        the Department of Defense health program to the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs health care system, including comparable 
        benefits relating to prosthetic and orthotic services.
            (3) The right to select the practitioner that best meets 
        their orthotic and prosthetic needs, whether or not that 
        practitioner is an employee of the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs, a private practitioner who has entered into a contract 
        with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide prosthetic 
        and orthotic services, or a private practitioner with 
        specialized expertise.
            (4) The right to consistent and portable health care, 
        including the right to obtain comparable services and 
        technology at any medical facility of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs across the country.
            (5) The right to timely and efficient prosthetic and 
        orthotic care, including a speedy authorization process with 
        expedited authorization available for veterans visiting from 
        another area of the country.
            (6) The right to play a meaningful role in rehabilitation 
        decisions, including the right to receive a second opinion 
        regarding prosthetic and orthotic treatment options.
            (7) The right to receive appropriate treatment, including 
        the right to receive both a primary prosthesis or orthosis and 
        a functional spare.
            (8) The right to be treated with respect and dignity and 
        have an optimal quality of life both during and after 
        rehabilitation.
            (9) The right to transition and readjust to civilian life 
        in an honorable manner, including by having ample access to 
        vocational rehabilitation, employment programs, and housing 
        assistance.
    (c) Monitoring and Resolution of Complaints.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting 
        through the veteran liaison at each medical center of the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs, shall collect information 
        relating to the alleged mistreatment of injured and amputee 
        veterans.
            (2) Quarterly reports.--For each fiscal quarter, the 
        veteran liaison at each medical center of the Department shall 
        submit to the Chief Consultant of Prosthetics and Sensory Aids 
        of the Department a report on any information collected under 
        paragraph (1) during that quarter.
            (3) Investigation and addressing of complaints.--The Chief 
        Consultant, in cooperation with appropriate employees of a 
        medical center of the Department, shall investigate and address 
        any information collected under paragraph (1) at that medical 
        center.

SEC. 3. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.

    (a) Education of Department Employees.--The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall ensure that--
            (1) all employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
        receive training on the Women Veterans Bill of Rights described 
        in section 1; and
            (2) employees of the Department who work at prosthetics and 
        orthotics clinics and who work as patient advocates with 
        veterans who receive care at such clinics, including Federal 
        recovery coordinators and case managers, receive training on 
        the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights described in 
        section 2.
    (b) Outreach to Veterans.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
conduct outreach to inform veterans about the Women Veterans Bill of 
Rights described in section 1 and the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill 
of Rights described in section 2 by--
            (1) ensuring that such Bills of Rights are available on the 
        Internet website of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
            (2) conducting other types of outreach targeted at specific 
        groups of veterans, which may include outreach conducted on 
        other Internet websites or through veterans service 
        organizations.

SEC. 4. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN SERVICES.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to establish a right to any 
service excluded under 38 CFR 17.38, as in effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 30, 2010.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.