[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2985 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2985

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to issue, upon request, veteran identification cards 
                          to certain veterans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 21, 2011

  Mr. Akin (for himself and Mr. Reyes) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to issue, upon request, veteran identification cards 
                          to certain veterans.

    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 ``Veteran's I.D. Card Act''.

SEC. 2. VETERANS IDENTIFICATION CARD.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Currently, veteran identification cards are issued to 
        veterans who have either completed the statutory time-in-
        service requirement for retirement from the Armed Forces or who 
        have received a medical-related discharge from the Armed 
        Forces.
            (2) A veteran who has served a minimum obligated time in 
        service, but who does not meet the criteria described in 
        paragraph (1), does not receive a means of identifying the 
        veteran's status as a veteran other than using the official DD-
        214 discharge papers of the veteran.
            (3) Goods, services, and promotional activities are often 
        offered by public and private institutions to veterans who 
        demonstrate proof of service in the military but it is 
        impractical for a veteran to always carry official DD-214 
        discharge papers to demonstrate such proof.
            (4) A general purpose veteran identification card made 
        available to a veteran who does not meet the criteria described 
        in paragraph (1) would be useful to such veteran in order to 
        demonstrate the status of the veteran without having to carry 
        and use official DD-214 discharge papers.
            (5) The Department of Veterans Affairs has the 
        infrastructure in place across the United States to produce 
        photographic identification cards and accept a small payment to 
        cover the cost of these cards.
    (b) Provision of Veteran Identification Cards.--Chapter 57 of title 
38, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 5705 the 
following new section:
``Sec. 5706. Veterans identification card
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall issue an 
identification card described in subsection (b) to any covered veteran 
who--
            ``(1) requests such card;
            ``(2) was discharged from the Armed Forces under honorable 
        conditions;
            ``(3) presents a copy of the DD-214 form or other official 
        document from the official military personnel file of the 
        veteran that describes the service of the veteran; and
            ``(4) pays the fee under subsection (c)(1).
    ``(b) Identification Card.--An identification card described in 
this subsection is a card that--
            ``(1) displays a photograph of the covered veteran;
            ``(2) displays the name of the covered veteran;
            ``(3) explains that such card is not proof of any benefits 
        to which the veteran is entitled to;
            ``(4) contains an identification number that is not a 
        social security number; and
            ``(5) serves as proof that such veteran--
                    ``(A) honorably served in the Armed Forces; and
                    ``(B) has a DD-214 form or other official document 
                in the official military personnel file of the veteran 
                that describes the service of the veteran.
    ``(c) Costs of Card.--(1) The Secretary shall charge a fee to each 
veteran who receives an identification card issued under this section, 
including a replacement identification card.
    ``(2)(A) The fee charged under paragraph (1) shall equal an amount 
that the Secretary determines is necessary to issue an identification 
card under this section.
    ``(B) In determining the amount of the fee under subparagraph (A), 
the Secretary shall ensure that the total amount of fees collected 
under paragraph (1) equals an amount necessary to carry out this 
section, including costs related to any additional equipment or 
personnel required to carry out this section.
    ``(C) The Secretary shall review and reassess the determination 
under subparagraph (A) during each five-year period in which the 
Secretary issues an identification card under this section.
    ``(3) Amounts collected under this subsection shall be deposited in 
an account of the Department available to carry out this section. 
Amounts so deposited shall be merged with amounts in such account and 
shall be subject to the same conditions and limitations as amounts 
otherwise in such account.
    ``(d) Effect of Card on Benefits.--(1) An identification card 
issued under this section shall not serve as proof of any benefits that 
the veteran may be entitled to under this title.
    ``(2) A covered veteran who is issued an identification card under 
this section shall not be entitled to any benefits under this title by 
reason of possessing such card.
    ``(e) Administrative Measures.--(1) The Secretary shall ensure that 
any information collected or used with respect to an identification 
card issued under this section is appropriately secured.
    ``(2) The Secretary may determine any appropriate procedures with 
respect to issuing a replacement identification card.
    ``(3) In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall coordinate 
with the National Personnel Records Center.
    ``(4) The Secretary may conduct such outreach to advertise the 
identification card under this section as the Secretary considers 
appropriate.
    ``(f) Covered Veteran Defined.--In this section, the term `covered 
veteran' means a veteran who--
            ``(1) is not entitled to retired pay under chapter 1223 of 
        title 10; and
            ``(2) is not enrolled in the system of patient enrollment 
        under section 1705 of this title.''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
5705 the following new item:

``5706. Veterans identification card.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall take 
effect on the date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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