[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3350 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3350

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the waiver period 
with respect to a deductible made by a veteran for certain travel costs 
   necessary to receive treatment at facilities of the Department of 
                           Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 3, 2011

   Mr. Griffin of Arkansas introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the waiver period 
with respect to a deductible made by a veteran for certain travel costs 
   necessary to receive treatment at facilities of the Department of 
                           Veterans Affairs.

    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 Travel Benefits 
Modernization Act''.

SEC. 2. WAIVER PERIOD FOR DEDUCTIBLE REQUIRED BY VETERANS TO RECEIVE 
              CERTAIN TRAVEL COSTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 111(c)(4) of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(4)(A) The Secretary may waive the deduction requirement of 
paragraph (1) in the case of the travel of any veteran for whom the 
imposition of the deduction would cause severe financial hardship. 
Except as provided by subparagraph (C), any waiver granted under this 
subparagraph shall be valid until the date that is the earlier of--
            ``(i) the date that is one year after the date on which the 
        waiver is granted; or
            ``(ii) the date on which the Secretary determines that the 
        deduction would no longer cause the veteran severe financial 
        hardship.
    ``(B) The Secretary shall prescribe in regulations the conditions 
under which a finding of severe financial hardship is warranted for 
purposes of this paragraph.
    ``(C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any waiver granted under 
this paragraph to a veteran between the period beginning on January 1, 
2011, and ending on June 1, 2012, shall be deemed to be valid until the 
date that is the earlier of--
            ``(i) the birthday of the veteran occurring after June 1, 
        2012; or
            ``(ii) the date on which the Secretary determines that the 
        deduction would no longer cause the veteran severe financial 
        hardship.''.
    (b) Clarification in Veterans Health Administration Handbook.--Not 
later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall revise the Veterans Health 
Administration Handbook to clarify the waiver period of waivers granted 
under section 111(c)(4) of title 38, United States Code, as amended by 
subsection (a).
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to waivers granted under section 111(c)(4) of title 
38, United States Code, on or after the date that is 30 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
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