[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5951 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5951

    To establish the Veterans Crisis Response Corps, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 23, 2018

 Mr. Schiff (for himself, Mr. Moulton, and Ms. Jackson Lee) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
   Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, Foreign Affairs, and Armed Services, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To establish the Veterans Crisis Response Corps, 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 Crisis Response Corps Act 
of 2018''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States has a long history of responding to 
        natural and man-made crises both domestic and abroad. These 
        efforts secure the safety and security of our citizens at home 
        and overseas, help to build a more peaceful, prosperous, and 
        secure world, to the long-term benefit of the United States and 
        the international community.
            (2) Following major natural disasters, the Department of 
        Defense has an unmatched logistical and operational capacity to 
        provide rapid response across the globe. In recent years, 
        Department of Defense assets have played a key role in 
        responding to domestic and international crises including the 
        2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, 
        the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the 2011 earthquake and tsunami 
        in Japan, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and Hurricanes Irma and 
        Maria in 2017.
            (3) The Department of Defense's crisis response mission 
        serves the interests of the United States by supporting 
        domestic response to aid the homeland and abroad by deepening 
        cooperation with regional partners, and providing a platform 
        for public diplomacy and outreach.
            (4) The Department of Defense's role following disasters is 
        temporary, typically spanning the immediate aftermath of a 
        disaster, focusing on the provision of equipment, support, food 
        and water, and medical care. When Department of Defense assets 
        withdraw, the work of repairing infrastructure can take months 
        or years.
            (5) More than 2,400,000 members of the Armed Forces have 
        separated from the Armed Forces since September 11, 2001. 
        Unemployment remains a serious problem for veterans, with 
        500,000 veterans unemployed at some point in 2016. Many 
        veterans leave the Armed Forces with a continued desire to 
        serve, as well as skills and experience that make them 
        invaluable in a disaster relief and reconstruction setting.
            (6) Nonprofit organizations such as Team Rubicon, the 
        Mission Continues, and others provide service opportunities for 
        veterans to apply their skills to community service projects, 
        including disaster relief and reconstruction.
            (7) There is a pressing need to provide service and 
        employment opportunities for veterans and it is in the 
        interests of the United States to assist in reconstruction 
        projects following national disasters in order to promote 
        American values and as an exercise of public diplomacy.
            (8) The establishment of a Veterans Crisis Response Corps 
        would leverage the unique skills of veterans to the benefit of 
        the United States, supporting the safety and security of the 
        homeland, building good will overseas and providing productive, 
        meaningful work opportunities to veterans.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF VETERANS CRISIS RESPONSE CORPS.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the executive branch of 
the Federal Government an independent agency to be known as the 
Veterans Crisis Response Corps.
    (b) Director.--There shall be a Director of the Veterans Crisis 
Response Corps, who is the head of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps. 
The Director shall be appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate.
    (c) Mission.--The Veterans Crisis Response Corps shall--
            (1) organize members of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps 
        to participate in disaster relief and reconstruction projects 
        following domestic or international manmade or natural 
        disasters;
            (2) in carrying out such projects, deploy members of the 
        Corps in support of the United States Agency designated to lead 
        the response to perform reconstruction tasks and provide 
        support services, training, technical assistance, and other 
        assistance in post-disaster areas;
            (3) supplement and enhance the humanitarian relief and 
        reconstruction support provided by other departments and 
        agencies of the Federal Government, including the Department of 
        Defense, the Department of State, the United States Agency for 
        International Development, the Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency, and nongovernmental organizations and international aid 
        organizations, by deploying a highly skilled and highly 
        experienced workforce of veterans; and
            (4) identify high-impact reconstruction projects in the 
        United States that would make use of the skills of members of 
        the Veterans Crisis Response Corps and leverage and coordinate 
        with other elements of the Federal Government and 
        nongovernmental organizations.
    (d) Powers.--The Director may establish general policies of the 
Veterans Crisis Response Corps, including with respect to--
            (1) establishing rules for conducting the general business 
        of the Corps;
            (2) entering into contracts;
            (3) directing the establishment and maintenance of 
        divisions or other offices within the Corps;
            (4) coordinating and overseeing the operation of the 
        activities of the Corps;
            (5) adopting and using a seal;
            (6) appointing and supervising personnel employed by the 
        Corps;
            (7) distributing business among such personnel and units of 
        the Corps;
            (8) obligating and expending funds made available to the 
        Corps; and
            (9) performing such other functions as may be authorized or 
        required by law.
    (e) Personnel.--The Director may fix the number of, and appoint and 
direct, employees of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps, in accordance 
with the applicable provisions of title 5, United States Code. Unless 
otherwise provided expressly by law, any individual appointed under 
this subsection shall be an employee as defined in section 2105 of 
title 5, United States Code, and subject to the provisions of such 
title and other laws generally applicable to the employees of an 
Executive agency.

SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP IN CORPS.

    (a) Eligibility.--
            (1) Volunteer.--Subject to paragraph (2), a veteran may 
        elect to serve as a member of the Veterans Crisis Response 
        Corps.
            (2) Requirements.--The Director may prescribe requirements, 
        including with respect to physical and mental health, for 
        veterans to serve as members of the Veterans Crisis Response 
        Corps.
    (b) Duty Required.--
            (1) Training.--The Director shall require that each member 
        of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps meet the training 
        requirements pursuant to section 6.
            (2) Deployments.--Members of the Veterans Crisis Response 
        Corps may elect to accept a deployment in support of a disaster 
        relief or reconstruction project pursuant to section 5. Such a 
        deployment may not exceed a one-year period. The Director may 
        not require that a member accept a deployment.
            (3) List.--The Director shall maintain a list of members of 
        the Veterans Crisis Response Corps who elect to accept 
        deployments in support of a disaster relief or reconstruction 
        project pursuant to section 5.
    (c) Separation.--A member of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps may 
be separated from the Corps as follows:
            (1) Upon the election of the member.
            (2) Upon the determination of the Director that--
                    (A) the member has failed to meet the training 
                requirements pursuant to section 5 or other 
                requirements pursuant to this Act; or
                    (B) such separation is in the best interests of the 
                Veterans Crisis Response Corps.

SEC. 5. DISASTER RELIEF AND RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.

    (a) Project Selection.--In consultation with the Coordination 
Council established under section 7, the Director shall select disaster 
relief and reconstruction projects in the United States or outside the 
United States for the Veterans Crisis Response Corps to carry out.
    (b) Interagency Preference.--The Veterans Crisis Response Corps 
shall be the preferred source of personnel for surge capacity to all 
United States Agencies providing relief and reconstruction.
    (c) Priority.--To the extent practicable, the Director shall 
prioritize the selection of disaster relief and reconstruction projects 
under subsection (a) that--
            (1) will benefit from the skilled and experienced labor of 
        the Veterans Crisis Response Corps;
            (2) support defined needs of the lead United States Agency; 
        and
            (3) may be carried out using funds made available by an 
        element of the Federal Government other than the Veterans 
        Crisis Response Corps, or by a State or local government, a 
        foreign country, or a nongovernmental organization.
    (d) Types of Projects.--Disaster relief and reconstruction projects 
selected under subsection (a) shall include projects relating to--
            (1) responding to natural disasters, including through the 
        provision of food, water, shelter, and medical care;
            (2) carrying out reconstruction following natural 
        disasters, including repair of critical infrastructure;
            (3) water and energy projects, including the construction 
        of water infrastructure, electrical infrastructure and 
        generation, and transportation hubs; and
            (4) other projects that the Director determines fulfil the 
        mission of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps.
    (e) Agreements.--The Director may enter into agreements with 
nongovernmental organizations under which--
            (1) members of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps assist 
        the nongovernmental entity to carry out disaster relief and 
        reconstruction projects that the Director determines fulfil the 
        mission of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps; and
            (2) the Director may provide to the nongovernmental entity 
        funds in amounts necessary to carry out paragraph (1).

SEC. 6. TRAINING OF MEMBERS OF THE VETERANS CRISIS RESPONSE CORPS.

    (a) Required Training.--The Director shall establish a system of 
required training for members of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps 
that is carried out on a regular schedule.
    (b) Mandatory Participation.--The Director shall require members of 
the Veterans Crisis Response Corps to participate in training under 
subsection (a) as a condition of remaining eligible for deployment in 
support of a disaster relief or reconstruction project pursuant to 
section 5.

SEC. 7. COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, AND PROTECTIONS FOR MEMBERS OF THE 
              VETERANS CRISIS RESPONSE CORPS.

    (a) Compensation.--The Director shall determine a rate of 
compensation for members of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps during a 
duty period. In determining such rate, the Director shall take into 
account the final rank in the Armed Forces of the members, the specific 
skills possessed by members, and other factors as determined 
appropriate by the Director.
    (b) Health Care.--During a duty period, a member of the Veterans 
Crisis Response Corps shall be treated as a member of the National 
Guard on active duty for a period of more than 30 days for purposes of 
being eligible for health care benefits under the TRICARE program (as 
defined in section 1072 of title 10, United States Code).
    (c) Employment and Reemployment Rights.--Section 4303(16) of title 
38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new sentence: ``Such term also includes the Veterans Crisis Response 
Corps when in a duty period (as defined in section 9 of the Veterans 
Crisis Response Corps Act of 2018).''.

SEC. 8. COORDINATION COUNCIL.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a council to be known as 
the ``Coordination Council'' to--
            (1) advise the Director;
            (2) assist the Director in identifying and prioritizing 
        disaster relief and reconstruction projects under section 5 
        that are suitable to the mission and resources of the Veterans 
        Crisis Response Corps;
            (3) coordinate the deployments of members of the Veterans 
        Crisis Response Corps in support of a disaster relief or 
        reconstruction project pursuant to section 5; and
            (4) as requested by the Director, provide technical 
        support, training, logistical support, and other appropriate 
        support.
    (b) Membership.--The Council shall consist of the following:
            (1) The Secretary of Defense.
            (2) The Secretary of State.
            (3) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
            (4) The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
            (5) The Administrator of the United States Agency for 
        International Development.
            (6) The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency.
            (7) The Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for 
        National and Community Service.
            (8) Other members in the non-voting, consulting status as 
        determined by the Council.

SEC. 9. REPORTS.

    (a) Reports.--Not less than once each year, the Director shall 
submit to Congress a report on the operations of the Veterans Crisis 
Response Corps.
    (b) Matters Included.--Each report under subsection (a) shall 
include the following:
            (1) A detail of any activities carried out by the Veterans 
        Crisis Response Corps during the period covered by the report.
            (2) Any recommendations the Director determines appropriate 
        to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the Veterans 
        Crisis Response Corps.

SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``duty period'' means a period in which a 
        member of the Veterans Crisis Response Corps is--
                    (A) deployed in support of a disaster relief or 
                reconstruction project pursuant to section 5; or
                    (B) engaged in training pursuant to section 6.
            (2) The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 101(2) of title 38, United States Code.
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