[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2558 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2558

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs to make certain grants to assist nursing homes for 
                   veterans located on tribal lands.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 26, 2019

Ms. Sinema (for herself and Mr. Cramer) 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 authorize the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs to make certain grants to assist nursing homes for 
                   veterans located on tribal lands.

    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 ``Nursing Home Care for Native 
American Veterans Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR STATE HOMES LOCATED ON TRIBAL LANDS.

    (a) State Home Defined.--Section 101(19) of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting ``or Indian tribe (as defined in section 
4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 
U.S.C. 5304))'' after ``(other than a possession)''.
    (b) Payments to State Homes.--Section 1741 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(h) In this subchapter, the term `State' means each of the 
several States and each Indian tribe (as defined in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
5304)).''.
    (c) State Home Construction.--
            (1) In general.--Section 8131(2) of title 38, United States 
        Code, is amended by inserting ``includes each Indian tribe (as 
        defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
        Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) but'' before ``does 
        not''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 8132 of such title is 
        amended by striking ``several''.
    (d) Additional Legislative or Administrative Action.--
            (1) Consultation with indian tribes.--Not later than 180 
        days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
        of Veterans Affairs shall consult with Indian tribes to 
        determine if any legislative or administrative action is 
        necessary to modify the State home program to function 
        efficiently in support of State homes operated by Indian tribes 
        pursuant to the amendments made by this section.
            (2) Report to congress.--Not later than 90 days after 
        completing consultations under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 
        recommending legislative action that the Secretary considers 
        appropriate to modify the State home program described in such 
        paragraph in light of those consultations.
            (3) Modifications.--Not later than 180 days after 
        completing consultations under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        shall make any modifications to regulations implementing the 
        State home program, for which legislative action is not 
        necessary, as the Secretary considers appropriate in light of 
        those consultations.
    (e) Technical Support and Assistance.--The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall provide technical support and assistance to Indian tribes 
in carrying out the State home program at State homes operated by 
Indian tribes pursuant to the amendments made by this section.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the 
                Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the 
                Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United 
                States of the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
                House of Representatives.
            (2) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            (3) State home.--The term ``State home'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 101(19) of title 38, United States 
        Code.
            (4) State home program.--The term ``State home program'' 
        means the program of the Department of Veterans Affairs for 
        which payments are made under subchapter V of chapter 17 of 
        title 38, United States Code, and assistance is provided under 
        subchapter III of chapter 81 of such title.
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