[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4325 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4325

    To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand the Center for 
 Minority Veterans and the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans to 
 include services for historically underserved veterans, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 23, 2023

  Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick (for herself, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. 
Budzinski, Mr. McGarvey, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Castro of Texas, Mr. Johnson of 
  Georgia, Mr. Carbajal, and Mr. Lieu) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand the Center for 
 Minority Veterans and the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans to 
 include services for historically underserved veterans, 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 ``Historically Underserved Veterans 
Inclusion Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF CENTER FOR MINORITY VETERANS AND ADVISORY 
              COMMITTEE ON MINORITY VETERANS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
              VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Center for Minority and Historically Underserved Veterans.--
Section 317 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the heading, by inserting ``and Historically 
        Underserved'' after ``Minority'';
            (2) by inserting ``Executive'' before ``Director'' each 
        place it appears;
            (3) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by inserting ``and Historically Underserved'' 
                after ``Minority''; and
                    (B) by striking ``the Center a'' and inserting 
                ``the Center an'';
            (4) in subsection (d), by striking ``veterans who are 
        minorities'' each place it appears and inserting ``covered 
        veterans'';
            (5) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ```veterans who are 
                        minorities''' means and inserting ```covered 
                        veterans'''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``and veterans who are 
                        historically underserved'' after ``minority 
                        group members''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by striking ``The term'' and inserting 
                        ``The terms'';
                            (ii) by inserting ``and `veterans who are 
                        historically underserved''' after ``minority 
                        group member'';
                            (iii) by striking ``has the meaning given 
                        such term'' and inserting ``have the meanings 
                        given such terms''; and
                            (iv) by striking ``section 544(d)'' and 
                        inserting ``section 544''.
    (b) Advisory Committee on Minority and Historically Underserved 
Veterans.--Section 544 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the heading, by inserting ``and Historically 
        Underserved'' after ``Minority'';
            (2) by striking ``veterans who are minority group members'' 
        each place it appears and inserting ``covered veterans'';
            (3) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``and 
                Historically Underserved'' after ``Minority'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)(v)--
                                    (I) by striking ``women''; and
                                    (II) by inserting ``who are women'' 
                                before ``and are''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by adding at the 
                        end the following new clauses:
            ``(vii) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (or 
        a representative of the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
        Development designated by the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
        Development).
            ``(viii) The Secretary of Education (or a representative of 
        the Secretary of Education designated by the Secretary of 
        Education).
            ``(ix) The Attorney General (or a representative of the 
        Attorney General designated by the Attorney General).
            ``(x) The Administrator of the Small Business 
        Administration (or a representative of the Administrator of the 
        Small Business Administration designated by the Administrator 
        of the Small Business Administration).
            ``(xi) The Director of the Office of National Drug Control 
        Policy (or a representative of the Director of the Office of 
        National Drug Control Policy designated by the Director of the 
        Office of National Drug Control Policy).''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
    ``(5) The duties of the Committee are to advise the Secretary on 
the following:
            ``(A) Modifying programs of the Department relating to 
        policy, regulations, and legislative affairs to improve the 
        representation of covered veterans within the Department.
            ``(B) Expanding benefits and services under the laws 
        administered by the Secretary for covered veterans, including 
        such benefits and services relating to health care, suicide 
        prevention, and homelessness.
            ``(C) Incorporating research and practices from outreach 
        programs to improve the provision of health care and burial 
        benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary to 
        covered veterans.
            ``(D) Addressing issues raised by State and local 
        organizations that serve covered veterans.
            ``(E) Issuing, to private, non-profit, and faith-based 
        organizations that serve covered veterans, guidance relating to 
        addressing the needs of covered veterans.
            ``(F) Helping covered veterans receive benefits and 
        services under the laws administered by the Secretary to which 
        covered veterans are entitled.
            ``(G) Improving the methods by which covered veterans may 
        submit feedback to the Department with respect to policies and 
        regulations of the Secretary, including through stakeholder 
        forums, social media, and virtual town halls.
            ``(H) Developing outreach and engagement to covered 
        veterans.
            ``(I) Commemorating the contributions of covered veterans 
        to their respective communities.
            ``(J) To explore options on how the Secretary may 
        incorporate lessons learned utilizing journey mapping, human 
        center design, social determinants of wellness metrics, or 
        other means to illustrate the life experience cycle of minority 
        and historically underserved veterans to create a more holistic 
        understanding of important life cycle events and their 
        impact.'';
            (4) by striking subsection (e);
            (5) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e);
            (6) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(d)(1) The Secretary shall, on a biennial basis, carry out a 
review to identify any disparities among groups of veterans in the 
receipt of benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary. In 
carrying out any such review, the Secretary shall consider relevant 
recommendations from the Committee and data analysis conducted by the 
Department.
    ``(2) Not later than 120 days after the date on which Secretary 
completes any such review, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees 
on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 
report that includes, if applicable, recommendations with respect to 
extending services of Center for Minority and Historically Underserved 
Veterans under section 517 of this title to groups of veterans the 
Secretary determines to be historically underserved pursuant to such 
review.''; and
            (7) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated)--
                    (A) by striking ``section,'' and all that follows 
                through ``who is--'' and inserting ``section:'';
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as 
                subparagraphs (A) through (E), respectively (and 
                adjusting the margins accordingly);
                    (C) by inserting before subparagraph (A) (as so 
                redesignated) the following new paragraphs:
            ``(1) The term `covered veterans' means veterans who are 
        minority group members and veterans who are historically 
        underserved.
            ``(2) The term `minority group member' means an individual 
        who is--'';
                    (D) in paragraph (2) (as added by subparagraph 
                (C))--
                            (i) in subparagraph (D) (as so 
                        redesignated), by striking ``or'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (E) (as so 
                        redesignated), by striking the period at the 
                        end and inserting a semicolon; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end of the following 
                        new subparagraphs:
                    ``(F) Middle Eastern or North African American; or
                    ``(G) identified with more than one race or 
                ethnicity described in subparagraphs (A) through 
                (F).''; and
                    (E) by adding after paragraph (2) (as added by 
                subparagraph (D)) the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) The term `veterans who are historically underserved' 
        means veterans the Committee determines have experienced 
        difficulty in receiving benefits under the laws administered by 
        the Secretary to which such veterans are entitled on the basis 
        of one or more of the following:
                    ``(A) Sexual orientation.
                    ``(B) Gender identity.
                    ``(C) English language proficiency.
                    ``(D) United States citizenship.
                    ``(E) Religion.
                    ``(F) Membership in a group of veterans the 
                Secretary determines appropriate pursuant to the 
                biennial review required under subsection (d).''.
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