[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1689 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1689

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to require a comprehensive 
  policy on reporting and tracking sexual assault incidents and other 
safety incidents that occur at medical facilities of the Department of 
               Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 12, 2011

  Mr. Toomey 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 require a comprehensive 
  policy on reporting and tracking sexual assault incidents and other 
safety incidents that occur at medical facilities of 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 ``Veterans Sexual Assault Prevention 
Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON REPORTING AND TRACKING SEXUAL ASSAULT 
              INCIDENTS AND OTHER SAFETY INCIDENTS.

    (a) Policy.--Subchapter I of chapter 17 of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1709. Comprehensive policy on reporting and tracking sexual 
              assault incidents and other safety incidents
    ``(a) Policy Required.--Not later than February 1, 2012, the 
Secretary shall develop and implement a centralized and comprehensive 
policy on the reporting and tracking of sexual assault incidents and 
other safety incidents that occur at each medical facility of the 
Department, including--
            ``(1) suspected, alleged, attempted, or confirmed cases of 
        sexual assault, regardless of whether such assaults lead to 
        prosecution or conviction;
            ``(2) criminal and purposefully unsafe acts;
            ``(3) alcohol or substance abuse related acts (including by 
        employees of the Department); and
            ``(4) any kind of event involving alleged or suspected 
        abuse of a patient.
    ``(b) Scope.--The policy required by subsection (a) shall cover 
each of the following:
            ``(1) For purposes of reporting and tracking sexual assault 
        incidents and other safety incidents, definitions of the 
        terms--
                    ``(A) `safety incident';
                    ``(B) `sexual assault'; and
                    ``(C) `sexual assault incident'.
            ``(2) The development and use of specific risk-assessment 
        tools to examine any risks related to sexual assault that a 
        veteran may pose while being treated at a medical facility of 
        the Department, including clear and consistent guidance on the 
        collection of information related to--
                    ``(A) the legal history of the veteran; and
                    ``(B) the medical record of the veteran.
            ``(3) The mandatory training of employees of the Department 
        on security issues, including awareness, preparedness, 
        precautions, and police assistance.
            ``(4) The mandatory implementation, use, and regular 
        testing of appropriate physical security precautions and 
        equipment, including surveillance camera systems, computer-
        based panic alarm systems, stationary panic alarms, and 
        electronic portable personal panic alarms.
            ``(5) Clear, consistent, and comprehensive criteria and 
        guidance with respect to an employee of the Department 
        communicating and reporting sexual assault incidents and other 
        safety incidents to--
                    ``(A) supervisory personnel of the employee at--
                            ``(i) a medical facility of the Department;
                            ``(ii) an office of a Veterans Integrated 
                        Service Network; and
                            ``(iii) the central office of the Veterans 
                        Health Administration; and
                    ``(B) a law enforcement official of the Department.
            ``(6) Clear and consistent criteria and guidelines with 
        respect to an employee of the Department referring and 
        reporting to the Office of Inspector General of the Department 
        sexual assault incidents and other safety incidents that meet 
        the regulatory criminal threshold in accordance with sections 
        1.201 and 1.204 of title 38, Code of Federal Regulations.
            ``(7) An accountable oversight system within the Veterans 
        Health Administration that includes--
                    ``(A) systematic information sharing of reported 
                sexual assault incidents and other safety incidents 
                among officials of the Administration who have 
                programmatic responsibility; and
                    ``(B) a centralized reporting, tracking, and 
                monitoring system for such incidents.
            ``(8) Consistent procedures and systems for law enforcement 
        officials of the Department with respect to investigating, 
        tracking, and closing reported sexual assault incidents and 
        other safety incidents.
            ``(9) Clear and consistent guidance for the clinical 
        management of the treatment of sexual assaults that are 
        reported more than 72 hours after the assault.
    ``(c) Updates to Policy.--The Secretary shall review and revise the 
policy required by subsection (a) on a periodic basis as the Secretary 
considers appropriate and in accordance with best practices.
    ``(d) Annual Report.--(1) Not later than 60 days after the date on 
which the Secretary develops the policy required by subsection (a), and 
by not later than January 1 of each year thereafter, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and 
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives a 
report on the implementation of the policy during the preceding fiscal 
year.
    ``(2) Each report required by paragraph (1) shall include, for the 
fiscal year covered by such report, the following:
            ``(A) The number and type of sexual assault incidents and 
        other safety incidents reported by each medical facility of the 
        Department.
            ``(B) A detailed description of the implementation of the 
        policy required by subsection (a), including any revisions made 
        to such policy from the previous year.
            ``(C) The effectiveness of such policy on improving the 
        safety and security of the medical facilities of the 
        Department, including the performance measures used to evaluate 
        such effectiveness.
    ``(e) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to 
carry out this section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding after the item relating to section 
1708 the following:

``1709. Comprehensive policy on reporting and tracking of sexual 
                            assault incidents and other safety 
                            incidents.''.
    (c) Interim Report.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 
to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the 
development of the performance measures described in section 
1709(d)(2)(C) of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 
(a).

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT FOR ANNUAL REPORTS ON STAFFING FOR NURSES 
              AT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH-CARE FACILITIES.

    Section 7451(e) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
striking paragraphs (4), (5), and (6).
                                 <all>