[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3581 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3581

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the family caregiver 
   program of the Department of Veterans Affairs to include services 
  related to mental health and neurological disorders, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2023

   Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the family caregiver 
   program of the Department of Veterans Affairs to include services 
  related to mental health and neurological disorders, 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 ``Caregiver Outreach and Program 
Enhancement Act'' or the ``COPE Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO AWARD GRANTS TO 
              ENTITIES TO IMPROVE PROVISION OF MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT TO 
              FAMILY CAREGIVERS OF VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 17 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1720K. Grants to provide mental health support to family 
              caregivers of veterans
    ``(a) Authority.--The Secretary may award grants to carry out, 
coordinate, improve, or otherwise enhance mental health counseling, 
treatment, or support to the family caregivers of veterans 
participating in the family caregiver program.
    ``(b) Application.--(1) To be eligible for a grant under this 
section, an entity shall submit to the Secretary an application 
therefor at such time, in such manner, and containing such information 
as the Secretary may require.
    ``(2) Each application submitted under paragraph (1) shall include 
the following:
            ``(A) A detailed plan for the use of the grant.
            ``(B) A description of the programs or efforts through 
        which the entity will meet the outcome measures developed by 
        the Secretary under subsection (g).
            ``(C) A description of how the entity will distribute grant 
        amounts equitably among areas with varying levels of 
        urbanization.
            ``(D) A plan for how the grant will be used to meet the 
        unique needs of veterans residing in rural areas, American 
        Indian or Alaska Native veterans, elderly veterans, women 
        veterans, and veterans from other underserved communities.
    ``(c) Distribution.--The Secretary shall seek to ensure that grants 
awarded under this section are equitably distributed among entities 
located in States with varying levels of urbanization.
    ``(d) Priority.--The Secretary shall prioritize awarding grants 
under this section that will serve the following areas:
            ``(1) Areas with high rates of veterans enrolled in the 
        family caregiver program.
            ``(2) Areas with high rates of--
                    ``(A) suicide among veterans; or
                    ``(B) referrals to the Veterans Crisis Line.
    ``(e) Required Activities.--Any grant awarded under this section 
shall be used--
            ``(1) to expand existing programs, activities, and 
        services;
            ``(2) to establish new or additional programs, activities, 
        and services; or
            ``(3) for travel and transportation to facilitate carrying 
        out paragraph (1) or (2).
    ``(f) Outcome Measures.--(1) The Secretary shall develop and 
provide to each entity that receives a grant under this section written 
guidance on the following:
            ``(A) Outcome measures.
            ``(B) Policies of the Department.
    ``(2) In developing outcome measures under paragraph (1), the 
Secretary shall consider the following goals:
            ``(A) Increasing the utilization of mental health services 
        among family caregivers of veterans participating in the family 
        caregiver program.
            ``(B) Reducing barriers to mental health services among 
        family caregivers of veterans participating in such program.
    ``(g) Tracking Requirements.--(1) The Secretary shall establish 
appropriate tracking requirements with respect to the entities 
receiving a grant under this section.
    ``(2) Not less frequently than annually, the Secretary shall submit 
to Congress a report on such tracking requirements.
    ``(h) Performance Review.--The Secretary shall--
            ``(1) review the performance of each entity that receives a 
        grant under this section; and
            ``(2) make information regarding such performance publicly 
        available.
    ``(i) Remediation Plan.--(1) In the case of an entity that receives 
a grant under this section and does not meet the outcome measures 
developed by the Secretary under subsection (g), the Secretary shall 
require the entity to submit to the Secretary a remediation plan under 
which the entity shall describe how and when it plans to meet such 
outcome measures.
    ``(2) The Secretary may not award a subsequent grant under this 
section to an entity described in paragraph (1) unless the Secretary 
approves the remediation plan submitted by the entity under such 
paragraph.
    ``(j) Maximum Amount.--The amount of a grant awarded under this 
section may not exceed 10 percent of amounts made available for grants 
under this section for the fiscal year in which the grant is awarded.
    ``(k) Supplement, Not Supplant.--Any grant awarded under this 
section shall be used to supplement and not supplant funding that is 
otherwise available through the Department to provide mental health 
support among family caregivers of veterans participating in the family 
caregiver program.
    ``(l) Outreach to Family Caregivers.--The Secretary shall include, 
in the outreach materials regularly mailed to a family caregiver who 
participates in the family caregiver program, notice of mental health 
support provided by recipients of grants under this section that are 
located in the relevant Veterans Integrated Service Network.
    ``(m) Funding.--(1) Amounts for the activities of the Department 
under this section shall be budgeted and appropriated through a 
separate appropriation account.
    ``(2) In the budget justification materials submitted to Congress 
in support of the budget of the Department for any fiscal year (as 
submitted with the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of 
title 31), the Secretary shall include a separate statement of the 
amount requested to be appropriated for that fiscal year for the 
account specified in paragraph (1).
    ``(n) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary, for each of fiscal years 2023 through 
2025, $50,000,000 to carry out this section.
    ``(o) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The terms `caregiver' and `family caregiver' have the 
        meanings given those terms in section 1720G of this title.
            ``(2) The term `family caregiver program' means the program 
        of comprehensive assistance for family caregivers under section 
        1720G of this title.
            ``(3) The term `Veterans Crisis Line' means the toll-free 
        hotline for veterans established under section 1720F of this 
        title.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such subchapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``1720K. Grants to provide mental health support to family caregivers 
                            of veterans.''.

SEC. 3. GAO REPORT ON MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT FOR CAREGIVERS.

    (a) Report Required.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
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 provision of mental health support to caregivers of 
veterans.
    (b) Contents.--The report submitted under subsection (a) shall 
include the following:
            (1) An assessment of the need for mental health support 
        among caregivers participating in the caregiver programs.
            (2) An assessment of options for mental health support in 
        facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs and in the 
        community for caregivers participating in the caregiver 
        programs.
            (3) An assessment of the availability and accessibility of 
        mental health support in facilities of the Department and in 
        the community for caregivers participating in the caregiver 
        programs.
            (4) An assessment of the awareness among caregivers of the 
        availability of mental health support in facilities of the 
        Department and in the community for caregivers participating in 
        the caregiver programs.
            (5) An assessment of barriers to mental health support in 
        facilities of the Department and in the community for 
        caregivers participating in the caregiver programs.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Caregiver.--The term ``caregiver'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 1720G of title 38, United States 
        Code.
            (2) Caregiver programs.--The term ``caregiver programs'' 
        means--
                    (A) the program of comprehensive assistance for 
                family caregivers under subsection (a) of section 1720G 
                of title 38, United States Code; and
                    (B) the program of support services for caregivers 
                under subsection (b) of such section.
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