[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 130 (Tuesday, October 17, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H9918-H9947]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VETERANS BENEFITS AND HEALTH CARE IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2000
Mr. STUMP. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in
the Senate amendments to the House amendments to the Senate bill (S.
1402) to amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance programs
providing education benefits for veterans, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:
Senate amendments to house amendments:
In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the House
amendment to the text of the bill, insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans
Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. References to title 38, United States Code.
TITLE I--EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROVISIONS
Subtitle A--Montgomery GI Bill Educational Assistance
Sec. 101. Increase in rates of basic educational assistance under
Montgomery GI Bill.
Sec. 102. Uniform requirement for high school diploma or equivalency
before application for Montgomery GI Bill benefits.
Sec. 103. Repeal of requirement for initial obligated period of active
duty as condition of eligibility for Montgomery GI Bill
benefits.
Sec. 104. Additional opportunity for certain VEAP participants to
enroll in basic educational assistance under Montgomery
GI Bill.
Sec. 105. Increased active duty educational assistance benefit for
contributing members.
Subtitle B--Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance
Sec. 111. Increase in rates of survivors' and dependents' educational
assistance.
Sec. 112. Election of certain recipients of commencement of period of
eligibility for survivors' and dependents' educational
assistance.
Sec. 113. Adjusted effective date for award of survivors' and
dependents' educational assistance.
Sec. 114. Availability under survivors' and dependents' educational
assistance of preparatory courses for college and
graduate school entrance exams.
Subtitle C--General Educational Assistance
Sec. 121. Revision of educational assistance interval payment
requirements.
Sec. 122. Availability of education benefits for payment for licensing
or certification tests.
Sec. 123. Increase for fiscal years 2001 and 2002 in aggregate annual
amount available for State approving agencies for
administrative expenses.
TITLE II--HEALTH PROVISIONS
Subtitle A--Personnel Matters
Sec. 201. Annual national pay comparability adjustment for nurses
employed by Department of Veterans Affairs.
Sec. 202. Special pay for dentists.
Sec. 203. Exemption for pharmacists from ceiling on special salary
rates.
Sec. 204. Temporary full-time appointments of certain medical
personnel.
Sec. 205. Qualifications of social workers.
Sec. 206. Physician assistant adviser to Under Secretary for Health.
Sec. 207. Extension of voluntary separation incentive payments.
Subtitle B--Military Service Issues
Sec. 211. Findings and sense of Congress concerning use of military
histories of veterans in Department of Veterans Affairs
health care.
Sec. 212. Study of post-traumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans.
Subtitle C--Medical Administration
Sec. 221. Department of Veterans Affairs Fisher Houses.
Sec. 222. Exception to recapture rule.
Sec. 223. Sense of Congress concerning cooperation between the
Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
Defense in the procurement of medical items.
Sec. 224. Technical and conforming changes.
[[Page H9919]]
Subtitle D--Construction Authorization
Sec. 231. Authorization of major medical facility projects.
Sec. 232. Authorization of appropriations.
Subtitle E--Real Property Matters
Sec. 241. Change to enhanced use lease congressional notification
period.
Sec. 242. Release of reversionary interest of the United States in
certain real property previously conveyed to the State of
Tennessee.
Sec. 243. Demolition, environmental cleanup, and reversion of
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Allen
Park, Michigan.
Sec. 244. Conveyance of certain property at the Carl Vinson Department
of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dublin, Georgia.
Sec. 245. Land conveyance, Miles City Department of Veterans Affairs
Medical Center complex, Miles City, Montana.
Sec. 246. Conveyance of Fort Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs
Medical Center, Colorado, to the State of Colorado.
Sec. 247. Effect of closure of Fort Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs
Medical Center on administration of health care for
veterans.
TITLE III--COMPENSATION, INSURANCE, HOUSING, EMPLOYMENT, AND MEMORIAL
AFFAIRS PROVISIONS
Subtitle A--Compensation Program Changes
Sec. 301. Strokes and heart attacks incurred or aggravated by members
of reserve components in the performance of duty while
performing inactive duty training to be considered to be
service-connected.
Sec. 302. Special monthly compensation for women veterans who lose a
breast as a result of a service-connected disability.
Sec. 303. Benefits for persons disabled by participation in compensated
work therapy program.
Sec. 304. Revision to limitation on payments of benefits to incompetent
institutionalized veterans.
Sec. 305. Review of dose reconstruction program of the Defense Threat
Reduction Agency.
Subtitle B--Life Insurance Matters
Sec. 311. Premiums for term Service Disabled Veterans' Insurance for
veterans older than age 70.
Sec. 312. Increase in automatic maximum coverage under Servicemembers'
Group Life Insurance and Veterans' Group Life Insurance.
Sec. 313. Eligibility of certain members of the Individual Ready
Reserve for Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance.
Subtitle C--Housing and Employment Programs
Sec. 321. Elimination of reduction in assistance for specially adapted
housing for disabled veterans for veterans having joint
ownership of housing units.
Sec. 322. Veterans employment emphasis under Federal contracts for
recently separated veterans.
Sec. 323. Employers required to grant leave of absence for employees to
participate in honor guards for funerals of veterans.
Subtitle D--Cemeteries and Memorial Affairs
Sec. 331. Eligibility for interment of certain Filipino veterans of
World War II in national cemeteries.
Sec. 332. Payment rate of certain burial benefits for certain Filipino
veterans of World War II.
Sec. 333. Plot allowance for burial in State veterans cemeteries.
TITLE IV--OTHER MATTERS
Sec. 401. Benefits for the children of women Vietnam veterans who
suffer from certain birth defects.
Sec. 402. Extension of certain expiring authorities.
Sec. 403. Preservation of certain reporting requirements.
Sec. 404. Technical amendments.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE.
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this
Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an
amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the
reference shall be considered to be made to a section or
other provision of title 38, United States Code.
TITLE I--EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROVISIONS
Subtitle A--Montgomery GI Bill Educational Assistance
SEC. 101. INCREASE IN RATES OF BASIC EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE
UNDER MONTGOMERY GI BILL.
(a) Active Duty Educational Assistance.--Section 3015 is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``$528'' and
inserting ``$650''; and
(2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``$429'' and
inserting ``$528''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
shall take effect on November 1, 2000, and shall apply with
respect to educational assistance allowances paid under
chapter 30 of title 38, United States Code, for months after
October 2000.
SEC. 102. UNIFORM REQUIREMENT FOR HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA OR
EQUIVALENCY BEFORE APPLICATION FOR MONTGOMERY
GI BILL BENEFITS.
(a) Active Duty Program.--(1) Section 3011 is amended--
(A) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (2) and
inserting the following new paragraph (2):
``(2) who completes the requirements of a secondary school
diploma (or equivalency certificate), or successfully
completes (or otherwise receives academic credit for) the
equivalent of 12 semester hours in a program of education
leading to a standard college degree, before applying for
benefits under this section; and''; and
(B) by striking subsection (e).
(2) Section 3017(a)(1)(A)(ii) is amended by striking
``clause (2)(A)'' and inserting ``clause (2)''.
(b) Selected Reserve Program.--Section 3012 is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (2) and
inserting the following new paragraph (2):
``(2) who completes the requirements of a secondary school
diploma (or equivalency certificate), or successfully
completes (or otherwise receives academic credit for) the
equivalent of 12 semester hours in a program of education
leading to a standard college degree, before applying for
benefits under this section; and''; and
(2) by striking subsection (f).
(c) Withdrawal of Election Not To Enroll.--Paragraph (4) of
section 3018(b) is amended to read as follows:
``(4) before applying for benefits under this section--
``(A) completes the requirements of a secondary school
diploma (or equivalency certificate); or
``(B) successfully completes (or otherwise receives
academic credit for) the equivalent of 12 semester hours in a
program of education leading to a standard college degree;
and''.
(d) Educational Assistance Program for Members of Selected
Reserve.--Paragraph (2) of section 16132(a) of title 10,
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(2) before applying for benefits under this section, has
completed the requirements of a secondary school diploma (or
an equivalency certificate);''.
(e) Delimiting Period.--(1) In the case of an individual
described in paragraph (2), with respect to the time
limitation under section 3031 of title 38, United States
Code, for use of eligibility and entitlement of basic
educational assistance under chapter 30 of such title, the
10-year period applicable under such section shall begin on
the later of--
(A) the date of the enactment of this Act; or
(B) the date of the individual's last discharge or release
from active duty.
(2) An individual referred to in paragraph (1) is an
individual who--
(A) before the date of the enactment of this Act, was not
eligible for such basic educational assistance by reason of
the requirement of a secondary school diploma (or equivalency
certificate) as a condition of eligibility for such
assistance as in effect on the date preceding the date of the
enactment of this Act; and
(B) becomes entitled to basic educational assistance under
section 3011(a)(2), 3012(a)(2), or 3018(b)(4) of title 38,
United States Code, by reason of the amendments made by this
section.
SEC. 103. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT FOR INITIAL OBLIGATED PERIOD
OF ACTIVE DUTY AS CONDITION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR
MONTGOMERY GI BILL BENEFITS.
(a) Active Duty Program.--Section 3011 is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1)(A)--
(A) by striking clause (i) and inserting the following new
clause (i):
``(i) who serves an obligated period of active duty of at
least two years of continuous active duty in the Armed
Forces; or''; and
(B) in clause (ii)(II), by striking ``in the case of an
individual who completed not less than 20 months'' and all
that follows through ``was at least three years'' and
inserting ``if, in the case of an individual with an
obligated period of service of two years, the individual
completes not less than 20 months of continuous active duty
under that period of obligated service, or, in the case of an
individual with an obligated period of service of at least
three years, the individual completes not less than 30 months
of continuous active duty under that period of obligated
service'';
(2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ``individual's
initial obligated period of active duty'' and inserting
``obligated period of active duty on which an individual's
entitlement to assistance under this section is based'';
(3) in subsection (h)(2)(A), by striking ``during an
initial period of active duty,'' and inserting ``during the
obligated period of active duty on which entitlement to
assistance under this section is based,''; and
(4) in subsection (i), by striking ``initial''.
(b) Selected Reserve Program.--Section 3012 is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1)(A)(i), by striking ``, as the
individual's'' and all that follows through ``Armed Forces''
and inserting ``an obligated period of active duty of at
least two years of continuous active duty in the Armed
Forces''; and
(2) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ``initial''.
(c) Duration of Assistance.--Section 3013 is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ``individual's
initial obligated period of active duty'' and inserting
``obligated period of active duty on which such entitlement
is based''; and
(2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``individual's
initial obligated period of active duty'' and inserting
``obligated period of active duty on which such entitlement
is based''.
(d) Amount of Assistance.--Section 3015 is amended--
(1) in the second sentence of subsection (a), by inserting
before ``a basic educational assistance allowance'' the
following: ``in the case of an individual entitled to an
educational assistance allowance under this chapter whose
obligated
[[Page H9920]]
period of active duty on which such entitlement is based is
three years,'';
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ``and whose initial
obligated period of active duty is two years,'' and inserting
``whose obligated period of active duty on which such
entitlement is based is two years,''; and
(3) in subsection (c)(2), by striking subparagraphs (A) and
(B) and inserting the following new subparagraphs (A) and
(B):
``(A) whose obligated period of active duty on which such
entitlement is based is less than three years;
``(B) who, beginning on the date of the commencement of
such obligated period of active duty, serves a continuous
period of active duty of not less than three years; and''.
(e) Delimiting Period.--(1) In the case of an individual
described in paragraph (2), with respect to the time
limitation under section 3031 of title 38, United States
Code, for use of eligibility and entitlement of basic
educational assistance under chapter 30 of such title, the
10-year period applicable under such section shall begin on
the later of--
(A) the date of the enactment of this Act; or
(B) the date of the individual's last discharge or release
from active duty.
(2) An individual referred to in paragraph (1) is an
individual who--
(A) before the date of the enactment of this Act, was not
eligible for basic educational assistance under chapter 30 of
such title by reason of the requirement of an initial
obligated period of active duty as condition of eligibility
for such assistance as in effect on the date preceding the
date of the enactment of this Act; and
(B) on or after such date becomes eligible for such
assistance by reason of the amendments made by this section.
SEC. 104. ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR CERTAIN VEAP
PARTICIPANTS TO ENROLL IN BASIC EDUCATIONAL
ASSISTANCE UNDER MONTGOMERY GI BILL.
(a) Special Enrollment Period.--Section 3018C is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(e)(1) A qualified individual (described in paragraph
(2)) may make an irrevocable election under this subsection,
during the one-year period beginning on the date of the
enactment of this subsection, to become entitled to basic
educational assistance under this chapter. Such an election
shall be made in the same manner as elections made under
subsection (a)(5).
``(2) A qualified individual referred to in paragraph (1)
is an individual who meets each of the following
requirements:
``(A) The individual was a participant in the educational
benefits program under chapter 32 of this title on or before
October 9, 1996.
``(B) The individual has continuously served on active duty
since October 9, 1996 (excluding the periods referred to in
section 3202(1)(C) of this title), through at least April, 1,
2000.
``(C) The individual meets the requirements of subsection
(a)(3).
``(D) The individual, when discharged or released from
active duty, is discharged or released therefrom with an
honorable discharge.
``(3)(A) Subject to the succeeding provisions of this
paragraph, with respect to a qualified individual who makes
an election under paragraph (1) to become entitled to basic
education assistance under this chapter--
``(i) the basic pay of the qualified individual shall be
reduced (in a manner determined by the Secretary concerned)
until the total amount by which such basic pay is reduced is
$2,700; and
``(ii) to the extent that basic pay is not so reduced
before the qualified individual's discharge or release from
active duty as specified in subsection (a)(4), at the
election of the qualified individual--
``(I) the Secretary concerned shall collect from the
qualified individual; or
``(II) the Secretary concerned shall reduce the retired or
retainer pay of the qualified individual by,
an amount equal to the difference between $2,700 and the
total amount of reductions under clause (i), which shall be
paid into the Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous
receipts.
``(B)(i) The Secretary concerned shall provide for an 18-
month period, beginning on the date the qualified individual
makes an election under paragraph (1), for the qualified
individual to pay that Secretary the amount due under
subparagraph (A).
``(ii) Nothing in clause (i) shall be construed as
modifying the period of eligibility for and entitlement to
basic education assistance under this chapter applicable
under section 3031 of this title.
``(C) The provisions of subsection (c) shall apply to
qualified individuals making elections under this subsection
in the same manner as they applied to individuals making
elections under subsection (a)(5).
``(4) With respect to qualified individuals referred to in
paragraph (3)(A)(ii), no amount of educational assistance
allowance under this chapter shall be paid to the qualified
individual until the earlier of the date on which--
``(A) the Secretary concerned collects the applicable
amount under subclause (I) of such paragraph; or
``(B) the retired or retainer pay of the qualified
individual is first reduced under subclause (II) of such
paragraph.
``(5) The Secretary, in conjunction with the Secretary of
Defense, shall provide for notice to participants in the
educational benefits program under chapter 32 of this title
of the opportunity under this subsection to elect to become
entitled to basic educational assistance under this
chapter.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 3018C(b) is amended by
striking ``subsection (a)'' and inserting ``subsection (a) or
(e)''.
(c) Coordination Provisions.--(1) If this Act is enacted
before the provisions of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 are enacted into law,
section 1601 of that Act, including the amendments made by
that section, shall not take effect. If this Act is enacted
after the provisions of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 are enacted into law,
then as of the enactment of this Act, the amendments made by
section 1601 of that Act shall be deemed for all purposes not
to have taken effect and that section shall cease to be in
effect.
(2) If the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 is
enacted before the provisions of the Floyd D. Spence National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 are enacted
into law, section 1611 of the Floyd D. Spence National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, including the
amendments made by that section, shall not take effect. If
the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 is enacted after
the provisions of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 are enacted into law,
then as of the enactment of the Veterans Claims Assistance
Act of 2000, the amendments made by section 1611 of the Floyd
D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2001 shall be deemed for all purposes not to have taken
effect and that section shall cease to be in effect.
SEC. 105. INCREASED ACTIVE DUTY EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE
BENEFIT FOR CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS.
(a) Authority To Make Contributions for Increased
Assistance Amount.--(1) Section 3011, as amended by section
102(a)(1)(B), is amended by inserting after subsection (d)
the following new subsection (e):
``(e)(1) Any individual eligible for educational assistance
under this section who does not make an election under
subsection (c)(1) may contribute amounts for purposes of
receiving an increased amount of basic educational assistance
as provided for under section 3015(g) of this title. Such
contributions shall be in addition to any reductions in the
basic pay of such individual under subsection (b).
``(2) An individual covered by paragraph (1) may make the
contributions authorized by that paragraph at any time while
on active duty.
``(3) The total amount of the contributions made by an
individual under paragraph (1) may not exceed $600. Such
contributions shall be made in multiples of $4.
``(4) Contributions under this subsection shall be made to
the Secretary. The Secretary shall deposit any amounts
received by the Secretary as contributions under this
subsection into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.''.
(2) Section 3012, as amended by section 102(b)(2), is
amended by inserting after subsection (e) the following new
subsection (f):
``(f)(1) Any individual eligible for educational assistance
under this section who does not make an election under
subsection (d)(1) may contribute amounts for purposes of
receiving an increased amount of basic educational assistance
as provided for under section 3015(g) of this title. Such
contributions shall be in addition to any reductions in the
basic pay of such individual under subsection (c).
``(2) An individual covered by paragraph (1) may make the
contributions authorized by that paragraph at any time while
on active duty.
``(3) The total amount of the contributions made by an
individual under paragraph (1) may not exceed $600. Such
contributions shall be made in multiples of $4.
``(4) Contributions under this subsection shall be made to
the Secretary. The Secretary shall deposit any amounts
received by the Secretary as contributions under this
subsection into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.''.
(b) Increased Assistance Amount.--Section 3015 is amended--
(1) by striking ``subsection (g)'' each place it appears in
subsections (a)(1) and (b)(1) and inserting ``subsection
(h)'';
(2) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (f) the following new
subsection (g):
``(g) In the case of an individual who has made
contributions authorized by section 3011(e) or 3012(f) of
this title, the monthly amount of basic educational
assistance allowance applicable to such individual under
subsection (a), (b), or (c) shall be the monthly rate
otherwise provided for under the applicable subsection
increased by--
``(1) an amount equal to $1 for each $4 contributed by such
individual under section 3011(e) or 3012(f), as the case may
be, for an approved program of education pursued on a full-
time basis; or
``(2) an appropriately reduced amount based on the amount
so contributed, as determined under regulations which the
Secretary shall prescribe, for an approved program of
education pursued on less than a full-time basis.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall take effect on May 1, 2001.
(d) Transitional Provision for Individuals Discharged
Between Enactment and Effective Date.--(1) During the period
beginning on May 1, 2001, and ending on July 31, 2001, an
individual described in paragraph (2) may make contributions
under section 3011(e) or 3012(f) of title 38, United States
Code (as added by subsection (a)), whichever is applicable to
that individual, without regard to paragraph (2) of that
section and otherwise in the same manner as an individual
eligible for educational assistance under chapter 30 of such
title who is on active duty.
(2) Paragraph (1) applies in the case of an individual
who--
(A) is discharged or released from active duty during the
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and
ending on April 30, 2001; and
(B) is eligible for educational assistance under chapter 30
of title 38, United States Code.
[[Page H9921]]
Subtitle B--Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance
SEC. 111. INCREASE IN RATES OF SURVIVORS' AND DEPENDENTS'
EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.
(a) Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance.--
Section 3532 is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1)--
(A) by striking ``$485'' and inserting ``$588'';
(B) by striking ``$365'' and inserting ``$441''; and
(C) by striking ``$242'' and inserting ``$294'';
(2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ``$485'' and
inserting ``$588'';
(3) in subsection (b), by striking ``$485'' and inserting
``$588''; and
(4) in subsection (c)(2)--
(A) by striking ``$392'' and inserting ``$475'';
(B) by striking ``$294'' and inserting ``$356''; and
(C) by striking ``$196'' and inserting ``$238''.
(b) Correspondence Course.--Section 3534(b) is amended by
striking ``$485'' and inserting ``$588''.
(c) Special Restorative Training.--Section 3542(a) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``$485'' and inserting ``$588'';
(2) by striking ``$152'' each place it appears and
inserting ``$184''; and
(3) by striking ``$16.16'' and all that follows and
inserting ``such increased amount of allowance that is equal
to one-thirtieth of the full-time basic monthly rate of
special training allowance.''.
(d) Apprenticeship Training.--Section 3687(b)(2) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``$353'' and inserting ``$428'';
(2) by striking ``$264'' and inserting ``$320'';
(3) by striking ``$175'' and inserting ``$212''; and
(4) by striking ``$88'' and inserting ``$107''.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a)
through (d) shall take effect on November 1, 2000, and shall
apply with respect to educational assistance allowances paid
under chapter 35 of title 38, United States Code, for months
after October 2000.
(f) Annual Adjustments to Amounts of Assistance.--
(1) Chapter 35.--(A) Subchapter VI of chapter 35 is amended
by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 3564. Annual adjustment of amounts of educational
assistance
``With respect to any fiscal year, the Secretary shall
provide a percentage increase (rounded to the nearest dollar)
in the rates payable under sections 3532, 3534(b), and
3542(a) of this title equal to the percentage by which--
``(1) the Consumer Price Index (all items, United States
city average) for the 12-month period ending on the June 30
preceding the beginning of the fiscal year for which the
increase is made, exceeds
``(2) such Consumer Price Index for the 12-month period
preceding the 12-month period described in paragraph (1).''.
(B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 35 is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 3563
the following new item:
``3564. Annual adjustment of amounts of educational assistance.''.
(2) Chapter 36.--Section 3687 is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
``(d) With respect to any fiscal year, the Secretary shall
provide a percentage increase (rounded to the nearest dollar)
in the rates payable under subsection (b)(2) equal to the
percentage by which--
``(1) the Consumer Price Index (all items, United States
city average) for the 12-month period ending on the June 30
preceding the beginning of the fiscal year for which the
increase is made, exceeds
``(2) such Consumer Price Index for the 12-month period
preceding the 12-month period described in paragraph (1).''.
(3) Effective date.--Sections 3654 and 3687(d) of title 38,
United States Code, as added by this subsection, shall take
effect on October 1, 2001.
SEC. 112. ELECTION OF CERTAIN RECIPIENTS OF COMMENCEMENT OF
PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY FOR SURVIVORS' AND
DEPENDENTS' EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.
Section 3512(a)(3) is amended by striking ``8 years
after,'' and all that follows through the end and inserting
``8 years after the date that is elected by that person to be
the beginning date of entitlement under section 3511 of this
title or subchapter V of this chapter if--
``(A) the Secretary approves that beginning date;
``(B) the eligible person makes that election after the
person's eighteenth birthday but before the person's twenty-
sixth birthday; and
``(C) that beginning date--
``(i) in the case of a person whose eligibility is based on
a parent who has a service-connected total disability
permanent in nature, is between the dates described in
subsection (d); and
``(ii) in the case of a person whose eligibility is based
on the death of a parent, is between--
``(I) the date of the parent's death; and
``(II) the date of the Secretary's decision that the death
was service-connected;''.
SEC. 113. ADJUSTED EFFECTIVE DATE FOR AWARD OF SURVIVORS' AND
DEPENDENTS' EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--Section 5113 is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c);
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ``subsection (b) of this
section'' and inserting ``subsections (b) and (c)''; and
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new
subsection:
``(b)(1) When determining the effective date of an award
under chapter 35 of this title for an individual described in
paragraph (2) based on an original claim, the Secretary may
consider the individual's application as having been filed on
the eligibility date of the individual if that eligibility
date is more than one year before the date of the initial
rating decision.
``(2) An individual referred to in paragraph (1) is an
eligible person who--
``(A) submits to the Secretary an original application for
educational assistance under chapter 35 of this title within
one year of the date that the Secretary makes the rating
decision;
``(B) claims such educational assistance for pursuit of an
approved program of education during a period preceding the
one-year period ending on the date on which the application
was received by the Secretary; and
``(C) would have been entitled to such educational
assistance for such course pursuit if the individual had
submitted such an application on the individual's eligibility
date.
``(3) In this subsection:
``(A) The term `eligibility date' means the date on which
an individual becomes an eligible person.
``(B) The term `eligible person' has the meaning given that
term under section 3501(a)(1) of this title under
subparagraph (A)(i), (A)(ii), (B), or (D) of such section by
reason of either (i) the service-connected death or (ii)
service-connected total disability permanent in nature of the
veteran from whom such eligibility is derived.
``(C) The term `initial rating decision' means with respect
to an eligible person a decision made by the Secretary that
establishes (i) service connection for such veteran's death
or (ii) the existence of such veteran's service-connected
total disability permanent in nature, as the case may be.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
shall apply to applications first made under section 3513 of
title 38, United States Code, that--
(1) are received on or after the date of the enactment of
this Act; or
(2) on the date of the enactment of this Act, are pending
(A) with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or (B) exhaustion
of available administrative and judicial remedies.
SEC. 114. AVAILABILITY UNDER SURVIVORS' AND DEPENDENTS'
EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE OF PREPARATORY COURSES
FOR COLLEGE AND GRADUATE SCHOOL ENTRANCE EXAMS.
(a) In General.--Section 3501(a)(5) is amended by adding at
the end the following new sentence: ``Such term also includes
any preparatory course described in section 3002(3)(B) of
this title.''.
(b) Scope of Availability.--Section 3512(a) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (5);
(2) by striking the period at the end of clause (6) and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) if the person is pursuing a preparatory course
described in section 3002(3)(B) of this title, such period
may begin on the date that is the first day of such course
pursuit, notwithstanding that such date may be before the
person's eighteenth birthday, except that in no case may such
person be afforded educational assistance under this chapter
for pursuit of secondary schooling unless such course pursuit
would otherwise be authorized under this subsection.''.
Subtitle C--General Educational Assistance
SEC. 121. REVISION OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE INTERVAL PAYMENT
REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--Subclause (C) of the third sentence of
section 3680(a) is amended to read as follows:
``(C) during periods between school terms where the
educational institution certifies the enrollment of the
eligible veteran or eligible person on an individual term
basis if (i) the period between those terms does not exceed
eight weeks, and (ii) both the terms preceding and following
the period are not shorter in length than the period.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall apply with respect to payments of educational
assistance under title 38, United States Code, for months
beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 122. AVAILABILITY OF EDUCATION BENEFITS FOR PAYMENT FOR
LICENSING OR CERTIFICATION TESTS.
(a) In General.--Sections 3452(b) and 3501(a)(5) (as
amended by section 114(a)) are each amended by adding at the
end the following new sentence: ``Such term also includes
licensing or certification tests, the successful completion
of which demonstrates an individual's possession of the
knowledge or skill required to enter into, maintain, or
advance in employment in a predetermined and identified
vocation or profession, provided such tests and the licensing
or credentialing organizations or entities that offer such
tests are approved by the Secretary in accordance with
section 3689 of this title.''.
(b) Amount of Payment.--
(1) Chapter 30.--Section 3032 is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
``(f)(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the amount of
educational assistance payable under this chapter for a
licensing or certification test described in section 3452(b)
of this title is the lesser of $2,000 or the fee charged for
the test.
``(2) The number of months of entitlement charged in the
case of any individual for such licensing or certification
test is equal to the number (including any fraction)
determined by dividing the total amount of educational
assistance paid such individual for such test by the full-
time monthly institutional rate of educational assistance
which, except for paragraph (1), such individual would
otherwise be paid under subsection (a)(1), (b)(1), (d), or
(e)(1) of section 3015 of this title, as the case may be.
``(3) In no event shall payment of educational assistance
under this subsection for such a test
[[Page H9922]]
exceed the amount of the individual's available entitlement
under this chapter.''.
(2) Chapter 32.--Section 3232 is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
``(c)(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the amount of
educational assistance payable under this chapter for a
licensing or certification test described in section 3452(b)
of this title is the lesser of $2,000 or the fee charged for
the test.
``(2) The number of months of entitlement charged in the
case of any individual for such licensing or certification
test is equal to the number (including any fraction)
determined by dividing the total amount paid to such
individual for such test by the full-time monthly
institutional rate of the educational assistance allowance
which, except for paragraph (1), such individual would
otherwise be paid under this chapter.
``(3) In no event shall payment of educational assistance
under this subsection for such a test exceed the amount of
the individual's available entitlement under this chapter.''.
(3) Chapter 34.--Section 3482 is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
``(h)(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the amount of
educational assistance payable under this chapter for a
licensing or certification test described in section 3452(b)
of this title is the lesser of $2,000 or the fee charged for
the test.
``(2) The number of months of entitlement charged in the
case of any individual for such licensing or certification
test is equal to the number (including any fraction)
determined by dividing the total amount paid to such
individual for such test by the full-time monthly
institutional rate of the educational assistance allowance
which, except for paragraph (1), such individual would
otherwise be paid under this chapter.
``(3) In no event shall payment of educational assistance
under this subsection for such a test exceed the amount of
the individual's available entitlement under this chapter.''.
(4) Chapter 35.--Section 3532 is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
``(f)(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the amount of
educational assistance payable under this chapter for a
licensing or certification test described in section
3501(a)(5) of this title is the lesser of $2,000 or the fee
charged for the test.
``(2) The number of months of entitlement charged in the
case of any individual for such licensing or certification
test is equal to the number (including any fraction)
determined by dividing the total amount paid to such
individual for such test by the full-time monthly
institutional rate of the educational assistance allowance
which, except for paragraph (1), such individual would
otherwise be paid under this chapter.
``(3) In no event shall payment of educational assistance
under this subsection for such a test exceed the amount of
the individual's available entitlement under this chapter.''.
(c) Requirements for Licensing and Credentialing Testing.--
(1) Chapter 36 is amended by inserting after section 3688 the
following new section:
``Sec. 3689. Approval requirements for licensing and
certification testing
``(a) In General.--(1) No payment may be made for a
licensing or certification test described in section 3452(b)
or 3501(a)(5) of this title unless the Secretary determines
that the requirements of this section have been met with
respect to such test and the organization or entity offering
the test. The requirements of approval for tests and
organizations or entities offering tests shall be in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter and chapters
30, 32, 34, and 35 of this title and with regulations
prescribed by the Secretary to carry out this section.
``(2) To the extent that the Secretary determines
practicable, State approving agencies may, in lieu of the
Secretary, approve licensing and certification tests, and
organizations and entities offering such tests, under this
section.
``(b) Requirements for Tests.--(1) Subject to paragraph
(2), a licensing or certification test is approved for
purposes of this section only if--
``(A) the test is required under Federal, State, or local
law or regulation for an individual to enter into, maintain,
or advance in employment in a predetermined and identified
vocation or profession; or
``(B) the Secretary determines that the test is generally
accepted, in accordance with relevant government, business,
or industry standards, employment policies, or hiring
practices, as attesting to a level of knowledge or skill
required to qualify to enter into, maintain, or advance in
employment in a predetermined and identified vocation or
profession.
``(2) A licensing or certification test offered by a State,
or a political subdivision of a State, is deemed approved by
the Secretary for purposes of this section.
``(c) Requirements for Organizations or Entities Offering
Tests.--(1) Each organization or entity that is not an entity
of the United States, a State, or political subdivision of a
State, that offers a licensing or certification test for
which payment may be made under chapter 30, 32, 34, or 35 of
this title and that meets the following requirements, shall
be approved by the Secretary to offer such test:
``(A) The organization or entity certifies to the Secretary
that the licensing or certification test offered by the
organization or entity is generally accepted, in accordance
with relevant government, business, or industry standards,
employment policies, or hiring practices, as attesting to a
level of knowledge or skill required to qualify to enter
into, maintain, or advance in employment in a predetermined
and identified vocation or profession.
``(B) The organization or entity is licensed, chartered, or
incorporated in a State and has offered the test for a
minimum of two years before the date on which the
organization or entity first submits to the Secretary an
application for approval under this section.
``(C) The organization or entity employs, or consults with,
individuals with expertise or substantial experience with
respect to all areas of knowledge or skill that are measured
by the test and that are required for the license or
certificate issued.
``(D) The organization or entity has no direct financial
interest in--
``(i) the outcome of the test; or
``(ii) organizations that provide the education or training
of candidates for licenses or certificates required for
vocations or professions.
``(E) The organization or entity maintains appropriate
records with respect to all candidates who take the test for
a period prescribed by the Secretary, but in no case for a
period of less than three years.
``(F)(i) The organization or entity promptly issues notice
of the results of the test to the candidate for the license
or certificate.
``(ii) The organization or entity has in place a process to
review complaints submitted against the organization or
entity with respect to the test or the process for obtaining
a license or certificate required for vocations or
professions.
``(G) The organization or entity furnishes to the Secretary
such information with respect to the test as the Secretary
requires to determine whether payment may be made for the
test under chapter 30, 32, 34, or 35 of this title, including
personal identifying information, fee payment, and test
results. Such information shall be furnished in the form
prescribed by the Secretary.
``(H) The organization or entity furnishes to the Secretary
the following information:
``(i) A description of the licensing or certification test
offered by the organization or entity, including the purpose
of the test, the vocational, professional, governmental, and
other entities that recognize the test, and the license of
certificate issued upon successful completion of the test.
``(ii) The requirements to take the test, including the
amount of the fee charged for the test and any prerequisite
education, training, skills, or other certification.
``(iii) The period for which the license or certificate
awarded upon successful completion of the test is valid, and
the requirements for maintaining or renewing the license or
certificate.
``(I) Upon request of the Secretary, the organization or
entity furnishes such information to the Secretary that the
Secretary determines necessary to perform an assessment of--
``(i) the test conducted by the organization or entity as
compared to the level of knowledge or skills that a license
or certificate attests; and
``(ii) the applicability of the test over such periods of
time as the Secretary determines appropriate.
``(2) With respect to each organization or entity that is
an entity of the United States, a State, or political
subdivision of a State, that offers a licensing or
certification test for which payment may be made under 30,
32, 34, or 35 of this title, the following provisions of
paragraph (1) shall apply to the entity: subparagraphs (E),
(F), (G), and (H).
``(d) Administration.--Except as otherwise specifically
provided in this section or chapter 30, 32, 34, or 35 of this
title, in implementing this section and making payment under
any such chapter for a licensing or certification test, the
test is deemed to be a `course' and the organization or
entity that offers such test is deemed to be an `institution'
or `educational institution', respectively, as those terms
are applied under and for purposes of sections 3671, 3673,
3674, 3678, 3679, 3681, 3682, 3683, 3685, 3690, and 3696 of
this title.
``(e) Professional Certification and Licensure Advisory
Committee.--(1) There is established within the Department a
committee to be known as the Professional Certification and
Licensure Advisory Committee (hereinafter in this section
referred to as the `Committee').
``(2) The Committee shall advise the Secretary with respect
to the requirements of organizations or entities offering
licensing and certification tests to individuals for which
payment for such tests may be made under chapter 30, 32, 34,
or 35 of this title, and such other related issues as the
Committee determines to be appropriate.
``(3)(A) The Secretary shall appoint seven individuals with
expertise in matters relating to licensing and certification
tests to serve as members of the Committee.
``(B) The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Defense
shall serve as ex officio members of the Committee.
``(C) A vacancy in the Committee shall be filled in the
manner in which the original appointment was made.
``(4)(A) The Secretary shall appoint the chairman of the
Committee.
``(B) The Committee shall meet at the call of the chairman.
``(5) The Committee shall terminate December 31, 2006.''.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 36 is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 3688
the following new item:
``3689. Approval requirements for licensing and certification
testing.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall take effect on March 1, 2001, and shall apply with
respect to licensing and certification tests approved by the
Secretary on Veterans Affairs on or after such date.
(e) Startup Funding.--From amounts appropriated to the
Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2001 for
readjustment benefits, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall use an amount not to exceed $3,000,000 to develop the
systems and procedures required to make payments under
chapters 30, 32, 34, and 35 of title
[[Page H9923]]
38, United States Code, for licensing and certification
tests.
SEC. 123. INCREASE FOR FISCAL YEARS 2001 AND 2002 IN
AGGREGATE ANNUAL AMOUNT AVAILABLE FOR STATE
APPROVING AGENCIES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.
Section 3674(a)(4) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence, by inserting ``or, for each of
fiscal years 2001 and 2002, $14,000,000'' after
``$13,000,000''; and
(2) in the second sentence, by striking ``$13,000,000''
both places it appears and inserting ``the amount applicable
to that fiscal year under the preceding sentence''.
TITLE II--HEALTH PROVISIONS
Subtitle A--Personnel Matters
SEC. 201. ANNUAL NATIONAL PAY COMPARABILITY ADJUSTMENT FOR
NURSES EMPLOYED BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS.
(a) Revised Pay Adjustment Procedures.--(1) Subsection (d)
of section 7451 is amended--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``The rates'' and inserting ``Subject to
subsection (e), the rates''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by striking ``section 5305'' and inserting ``section
5303''; and
(II) by inserting ``and to be by the same percentage''
after ``to have the same effective date'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Such'' in the second
sentence and inserting ``Except as provided in paragraph
(1)(A), such'';
(C) in paragraph (3)(B)--
(i) by inserting after the first sentence the following new
sentence: ``To the extent practicable, the director shall use
third-party industry wage surveys to meet the requirements of
the preceding sentence.'';
(ii) by inserting before the penultimate sentence the
following new sentence: ``To the extent practicable, all
surveys conducted pursuant to this subparagraph or
subparagraph (A) shall include the collection of salary
midpoints, actual salaries, lowest and highest salaries,
average salaries, bonuses, incentive pays, differential pays,
actual beginning rates of pay, and such other information
needed to meet the purpose of this section.''; and
(iii) in the penultimate sentence, by inserting ``or
published'' after ``completed''; and
(D) by striking clause (iii) of paragraph (3)(C).
(2) Subsection (e) of such section is amended to read as
follows:
``(e)(1) An adjustment in a rate of basic pay under
subsection (d) may not reduce the rate of basic pay
applicable to any grade of a covered position.
``(2) The director of a Department health-care facility, in
determining whether to carry out a wage survey under
subsection (d)(3) with respect to rates of basic pay for a
grade of a covered position, may not consider as a factor in
such determination the absence of a current recruitment or
retention problem for personnel in that grade of that
position. The director shall make such a determination based
upon whether, in accordance with criteria established by the
Secretary, there is a significant pay-related staffing
problem at that facility in any grade for a position. If the
director determines that there is such a problem, or that
such a problem is likely to exist in the near future, the
Director shall provide for a wage survey in accordance with
subsection (d)(3).
``(3) The Under Secretary for Health may, to the extent
necessary to carry out the purposes of subsection (d), modify
any determination made by the director of a Department
health-care facility with respect to adjusting the rates of
basic pay applicable to covered positions. If the
determination of the director would result in an adjustment
in rates of basic pay applicable to covered positions, any
action by the Under Secretary under the preceding sentence
shall be made before the effective date of such pay
adjustment. Upon such action by the Under Secretary, any
adjustment shall take effect on the first day of the first
pay period beginning after such action. The Secretary shall
ensure that the Under Secretary establishes a mechanism for
the timely exercise of the authority in this paragraph.
``(4) Each director of a Department health-care facility
shall provide to the Secretary, not later than July 31 each
year, a report on staffing for covered positions at that
facility. The report shall include the following:
``(A) Information on turnover rates and vacancy rates for
each grade in a covered position, including a comparison of
those rates with the rates for the preceding three years.
``(B) The director's findings concerning the review and
evaluation of the facility's staffing situation, including
whether there is, or is likely to be, in accordance with
criteria established by the Secretary, a significant pay-
related staffing problem at that facility for any grade of a
covered position and, if so, whether a wage survey was
conducted, or will be conducted with respect to that grade.
``(C) In any case in which the director conducts such a
wage survey during the period covered by the report,
information describing the survey and any actions taken or
not taken based on the survey, and the reasons for taking (or
not taking) such actions.
``(D) In any case in which the director, after finding that
there is, or is likely to be, in accordance with criteria
established by the Secretary, a significant pay-related
staffing problem at that facility for any grade of a covered
position, determines not to conduct a wage survey with
respect to that position, a statement of the reasons why the
director did not conduct such a survey.
``(5) Not later than September 30 of each year, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs
of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on
staffing for covered positions at Department health care
facilities. Each such report shall include the following:
``(A) A summary and analysis of the information contained
in the most recent reports submitted by facility directors
under paragraph (4).
``(B) The information for each such facility specified in
paragraph (4).''.
(3) Subsection (f) of such section is amended--
(A) by striking ``February 1 of 1991, 1992, and 1993'' and
inserting ``March 1 of each year''; and
(B) by striking ``subsection (d)(1)(A)'' and inserting
``subsection (d)''.
(4) Such section is further amended by striking subsection
(g) and redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (g).
(b) Required Consultations With Nurses.--(1) Subchapter II
of chapter 73 is further amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``Sec. 7323. Required consultations with nurses
``The Under Secretary for Health shall ensure that--
``(1) the director of a geographic service area, in
formulating policy relating to the provision of patient care,
shall consult regularly with a senior nurse executive or
senior nurse executives; and
``(2) the director of a medical center shall include a
registered nurse as a member of any committee used at that
medical center to provide recommendations or decisions on
medical center operations or policy affecting clinical
services, clinical outcomes, budget, or resources.''.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section
7322 the following new item:
``7323. Required consultations with nurses.''.
SEC. 202. SPECIAL PAY FOR DENTISTS.
(a) Full-Time Status Pay.--Paragraph (1) of section 7435(b)
is amended by striking ``$3,500'' and inserting ``$9,000''.
(b) Tenure Pay.--The table in paragraph (2)(A) of that
section is amended to read as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rate
``Length of Service -------------------------
Minimum Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 year but less than 2 years.................. $1,000 $2,000
2 years but less than 4 years................. 4,000 5,000
4 years but less than 8 years................. 5,000 8,000
8 years but less than 12 years................ 8,000 12,000
12 years but less than 20 years............... 12,000 15,000
20 years or more.............................. 15,000 18,000.''.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(c) Scarce Specialty Pay.--Paragraph (3)(A) of that section
is amended by striking ``$20,000'' and inserting ``$30,000''.
(d) Responsibility Pay.--(1) The table in paragraph (4)(A)
of that section is amended to read as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rate
``Position -------------------------
Minimum Maximum
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chief of Staff or in an Executive Grade....... $14,500 $25,000
Director Grade................................ 0 25,000
Service Chief (or in a comparable position as 4,500 15,000.''.
determined by the Secretary).................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) The table in paragraph (4)(B) of that section is
amended to read as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
``Position Rate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deputy Service Director.................................... $20,000
Service Director........................................... 25,000
Deputy Assistant Under Secretary for Health................ 27,500
Assistant Under Secretary for Health (or in a comparable 30,000.''.
position as determined by the Secretary)..................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(e) Geographic Pay.--Paragraph (6) of that section is
amended by striking ``$5,000'' and inserting ``$12,000''.
(f) Special Pay for Post-Graduate Training.--Such section
is further amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(8) For a dentist who has successfully completed a post-
graduate year of hospital-based training in a program
accredited by the American Dental Association, an annual rate
of $2,000 for each of the first two years of service after
successful completion of that training.''.
(g) Crediting of Increased Tenure Pay for Civil Service
Retirement.--Section 7438(b) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new
paragraph (5):
``(5) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), a dentist
employed as a dentist in the Veterans Health Administration
on the date of the enactment of the Veterans Benefits and
Health Care Improvement Act of 2000 shall be entitled to have
special pay paid to the dentist under section 7435(b)(2)(A)
of this title (referred to as `tenure pay') considered basic
pay for the purposes of chapter 83 or 84, as appropriate, of
title 5 only as follows:
``(A) In an amount equal to the amount that would have been
so considered under such section on the day before such date
based on the rates of special pay the dentist was entitled to
receive under that section on the day before such date.
``(B) With respect to any amount of special pay received
under that section in excess of the amount such dentist was
entitled to receive under such section on the day before such
date, in an amount equal to 25 percent of such excess amount
for each two years that the physician or dentist has
completed as a physician or dentist in the Veterans Health
Administration after such date.''.
(h) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply with respect to agreements entered into by
dentists under subchapter III of chapter 74 of title 38,
United States Code, on or after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
[[Page H9924]]
(i) Transition.--In the case of an agreement entered into
by a dentist under subchapter III of chapter 74 of title 38,
United States Code, before the date of the enactment of this
Act that expires after that date, the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs and the dentist concerned may agree to terminate that
agreement as of the date of the enactment of this Act in
order to permit a new agreement in accordance with section
7435 of such title, as amended by this section, to take
effect as of that date.
SEC. 203. EXEMPTION FOR PHARMACISTS FROM CEILING ON SPECIAL
SALARY RATES.
Section 7455(c)(1) is amended by inserting ``,
pharmacists,'' after ``anesthetists''.
SEC. 204. TEMPORARY FULL-TIME APPOINTMENTS OF CERTAIN MEDICAL
PERSONNEL.
(a) Physician Assistants Awaiting Certification or
Licensure.--Paragraph (2) of section 7405(c) is amended to
read as follows:
``(2) A temporary full-time appointment may not be made for
a period in excess of two years in the case of a person who--
``(A) has successfully completed--
``(i) a full course of nursing in a recognized school of
nursing, approved by the Secretary; or
``(ii) a full course of training for any category of
personnel described in paragraph (3) of section 7401 of this
title, or as a physician assistant, in a recognized education
or training institution approved by the Secretary; and
``(B) is pending registration or licensure in a State or
certification by a national board recognized by the
Secretary.''.
(b) Medical Support Personnel.--That section is further
amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new
paragraph (3):
``(3)(A) Temporary full-time appointments of persons in
positions referred to in subsection (a)(1)(D) shall not
exceed three years.
``(B) Temporary full-time appointments under this paragraph
may be renewed for one or more additional periods not in
excess of three years each.''.
SEC. 205. QUALIFICATIONS OF SOCIAL WORKERS.
Section 7402(b)(9) is amended by striking ``a person must''
and all that follows and inserting ``a person must--
``(A) hold a master's degree in social work from a college
or university approved by the Secretary; and
``(B) be licensed or certified to independently practice
social work in a State, except that the Secretary may waive
the requirement of licensure or certification for an
individual social worker for a reasonable period of time
recommended by the Under Secretary for Health.''.
SEC. 206. PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT ADVISER TO UNDER SECRETARY FOR
HEALTH.
Section 7306(a) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following new
paragraph (9):
``(9) The Advisor on Physician Assistants, who shall be a
physician assistant with appropriate experience and who shall
advise the Under Secretary for Health on all matters relating
to the utilization and employment of physician assistants in
the Administration.''.
SEC. 207. EXTENSION OF VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE
PAYMENTS.
The Department of Veterans Affairs Employment Reduction
Assistance Act of 1999 (title XI of Public Law 106-117; 5
U.S.C. 5597 note) is amended as follows:
(1) Section 1102(c) is amended to read as follows:
``(c) Limitation.--The plan under subsection (a) shall be
limited to a total of 7,734 positions within the Department,
allocated among the elements of the Department as follows:
``(1) The Veterans Health Administration, 6,800 positions.
``(2) The Veterans Benefits Administration, 740 positions.
``(3) Department of Veterans Affairs Staff Offices, 156
positions.
``(4) The National Cemetery Administration, 38
positions.''.
(2) Section 1105(a) is amended by striking ``26 percent''
and inserting ``15 percent''.
(3) Section 1109(a) is amended by striking ``December 31,
2000'' and inserting ``December 31, 2002''.
Subtitle B--Military Service Issues
SEC. 211. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING USE OF
MILITARY HISTORIES OF VETERANS IN DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH CARE.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Pertinent military experiences and exposures may affect
the health status of Department of Veterans Affairs patients
who are veterans.
(2) The Department of Veterans Affairs has begun to
implement a Veterans Health Initiative to develop systems to
ensure that both patient care and medical education in the
Veterans Health Administration are specific to the special
needs of veterans and should be encouraged to continue these
efforts.
(3) Protocols eliciting pertinent information relating to
the military history of veterans may be beneficial to
understanding certain conditions for which veterans may be at
risk and thereby facilitate the treatment of veterans for
those conditions.
(4) The Department of Veterans Affairs is in the process of
developing a Computerized Patient Record System that offers
the potential to aid in the care and monitoring of such
conditions.
(b) Sense of Congress.--Congress--
(1) urges the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to assess the
feasibility and desirability of using a computer-based system
to conduct clinical evaluations relevant to military
experiences and exposures; and
(2) recommends that the Secretary accelerate efforts within
the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that relevant
military histories of veterans are included in Department
medical records.
SEC. 212. STUDY OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN VIETNAM
VETERANS.
(a) Study on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.--Not later
than 10 months after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enter into a contract
with an appropriate entity to carry out a study on post-
traumatic stress disorder.
(b) Follow-Up Study.--The contract under subsection (a)
shall provide for a follow-up study to the study conducted in
accordance with section 102 of the Veterans Health Care
Amendments of 1983 (Public Law 98-160). Such follow-up study
shall use the data base and sample of the previous study.
(c) Information To Be Included.--The study conducted
pursuant to this section shall be designed to yield
information on--
(1) the long-term course of post-traumatic stress disorder;
(2) any long-term medical consequences of post-traumatic
stress disorder;
(3) whether particular subgroups of veterans are at greater
risk of chronic or more severe problems with such disorder;
and
(4) the services used by veterans who have post-traumatic
stress disorder and the effect of those services on the
course of the disorder.
(d) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the Committees
of Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of
Representatives a report on the results of the study under
this section. The report shall be submitted no later than
October 1, 2004.
Subtitle C--Medical Administration
SEC. 221. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FISHER HOUSES.
(a) Authority.--Subchapter I of chapter 17 is amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1708. Temporary lodging
``(a) The Secretary may furnish persons described in
subsection (b) with temporary lodging in a Fisher house or
other appropriate facility in connection with the
examination, treatment, or care of a veteran under this
chapter or, as provided for under subsection (e)(5), in
connection with benefits administered under this title.
``(b) Persons to whom the Secretary may provide lodging
under subsection (a) are the following:
``(1) A veteran who must travel a significant distance to
receive care or services under this title.
``(2) A member of the family of a veteran and others who
accompany a veteran and provide the equivalent of familial
support for such veteran.
``(c) In this section, the term `Fisher house' means a
housing facility that--
``(1) is located at, or in proximity to, a Department
medical facility;
``(2) is available for residential use on a temporary basis
by patients of that facility and others described in
subsection (b)(2); and
``(3) is constructed by, and donated to the Secretary by,
the Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Armed Services
Foundation.
``(d) The Secretary may establish charges for providing
lodging under this section. The proceeds from such charges
shall be credited to the medical care account and shall be
available until expended for the purposes of providing such
lodging.
``(e) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to carry
out this section. Such regulations shall include provisions--
``(1) limiting the duration of lodging provided under this
section;
``(2) establishing standards and criteria under which
charges are established for such lodging under subsection
(d);
``(3) establishing criteria for persons considered to be
accompanying a veteran under subsection (b)(2);
``(4) establishing criteria for the use of the premises of
temporary lodging facilities under this section; and
``(5) establishing any other limitations, conditions, and
priorities that the Secretary considers appropriate with
respect to lodging under this section.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the
item relating to section 1707 the following new item:
``1708. Temporary lodging.''.
SEC. 222. EXCEPTION TO RECAPTURE RULE.
Section 8136 is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(a)'' at the beginning of the text of
the section; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(b) The establishment and operation by the Secretary of
an outpatient clinic in facilities described in subsection
(a) shall not constitute grounds entitling the United States
to any recovery under that subsection.''.
SEC. 223. SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING COOPERATION BETWEEN
THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND THE
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE IN THE PROCUREMENT OF
MEDICAL ITEMS.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The procurement and distribution of medical items,
including prescription drugs, is a multibillion-dollar annual
business for both the Department of Defense and the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
[[Page H9925]]
(2) Those departments prescribe common high-use drugs to
many of their 12,000,000 patients who have similar medical
profiles.
(3) The health care systems of those departments should
have management systems that can share and communicate
clinical and management information useful for both systems.
(4) The institutional barriers separating the two
departments have begun to be overcome in the area of medical
supplies, in part as a response to recommendations by the
General Accounting Office and the Commission on
Servicemembers and Veterans Transition Assistance.
(5) There is significant potential for improved savings and
services by improving cooperation between the two departments
in the procurement and management of prescription drugs,
while remaining mindful that the two departments have
different missions.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans
Affairs should increase, to the maximum extent consistent
with their respective missions, their level of cooperation in
the procurement and management of prescription drugs.
SEC. 224. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING CHANGES.
(a) Requirement To Provide Care.--Section 1710A(a) is
amended by inserting ``(subject to section 1710(a)(4) of this
title)'' after ``Secretary'' the first place it appears.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 1710(a)(4) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``the requirement in section 1710A(a) of
this title that the Secretary provide nursing home care,''
after ``medical services,''; and
(2) by striking the comma after ``extended care services''.
(c) Outpatient Treatment.--Section 201 of the Veterans
Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act (Public Law 106-117;
113 Stat. 1561) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
``(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection
(b) shall apply with respect to medical services furnished
under section 1710(a) of title 38, United States Code, on or
after the effective date of the regulations prescribed by the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the amounts
required to be established under paragraphs (1) and (2) of
section 1710(g) of that title, as amended by subsection
(b).''.
(d) Ratification.--Any action taken by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs under section 1710(g) of title 38, United
States Code, during the period beginning on November 30,
1999, and ending on the date of the enactment of this Act is
hereby ratified.
Subtitle D--Construction Authorization
SEC. 231. AUTHORIZATION OF MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY PROJECTS.
(a) Fiscal Year 2001 Projects.--The Secretary of Veterans
Affairs may carry out the following major medical facility
projects, with each project to be carried out in an amount
not to exceed the amount specified for that project:
(1) Construction of a 120-bed gero-psychiatric facility at
the Department of Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care
System, Menlo Park Division, California, $26,600,000.
(2) Construction of a nursing home at the Department of
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Beckley, West Virginia,
$9,500,000.
(3) Seismic corrections, clinical consolidation, and other
improvements at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical
Center, Long Beach, California, $51,700,000.
(4) Construction of a utility plant and electrical vault at
the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Miami,
Florida, $23,600,000.
(b) Additional Fiscal Year 2000 Project.--The Secretary is
authorized to carry out a project for the renovation of
psychiatric nursing units at the Department of Veterans
Affairs Medical Center, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in an amount
not to exceed $14,000,000.
SEC. 232. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the Construction, Major
Projects, account--
(1) for fiscal years 2001 and 2002, a total of $87,800,000
for the projects authorized in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)
of section 231(a);
(2) for fiscal year 2001, an additional amount of
$23,600,000 for the project authorized in paragraph (4) of
that section; and
(3) for fiscal year 2002, an additional amount of
$14,500,000 for the project authorized in section 401(1) of
the Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act (Public
Law 106-117; 113 Stat. 1572).
(b) Limitation.--The projects authorized in section 231(a)
may only be carried out using--
(1) funds appropriated for fiscal year 2001 or fiscal year
2002 (or, in the case of the project authorized in section
231(a)(4), for fiscal year 2001) pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations in subsection (a);
(2) funds appropriated for Construction, Major Projects,
for a fiscal year before fiscal year 2001 that remain
available for obligation; and
(3) funds appropriated for Construction, Major Projects,
for fiscal year 2001 or fiscal year 2002 (or, in the case of
the project authorized in section 231(a)(4), for fiscal year
2001) for a category of activity not specific to a project.
(c) Revision to Prior Limitation.--Notwithstanding the
limitation in section 403(b) of the Veterans Millennium
Health Care and Benefits Act (Public Law 106-117; 113 Stat.
1573), the project referred to in subsection (a)(3) may be
carried out using--
(1) funds appropriated for fiscal year 2002 pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations in subsection (a)(3);
(2) funds appropriated for Construction, Major Projects,
for fiscal year 2001 that remain available for obligation;
and
(3) funds appropriated for Construction, Major Projects,
for fiscal year 2001 or fiscal year 2002 for a category of
activity not specific to a project.
Subtitle E--Real Property Matters
SEC. 241. CHANGE TO ENHANCED USE LEASE CONGRESSIONAL
NOTIFICATION PERIOD.
Paragraph (2) of section 8163(c) is amended to read as
follows:
``(2) The Secretary may not enter into an enhanced use
lease until the end of the 90-day period beginning on the
date of the submission of notice under paragraph (1).''.
SEC. 242. RELEASE OF REVERSIONARY INTEREST OF THE UNITED
STATES IN CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY PREVIOUSLY
CONVEYED TO THE STATE OF TENNESSEE.
(a) Release of Interest.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall execute such legal instruments as necessary to release
the reversionary interest of the United States described in
subsection (b) in a certain parcel of real property conveyed
to the State of Tennessee pursuant to the Act entitled ``An
Act authorizing the transfer of certain property of the
Veterans' Administration (in Johnson City, Tennessee) to the
State of Tennessee'', approved June 6, 1953 (67 Stat. 54).
(b) Specified Reversionary Interest.--Subsection (a)
applies to the reversionary interest of the United States
required under section 2 of the Act referred to in subsection
(a), requiring use of the property conveyed pursuant to that
Act to be primarily for training of the National Guard and
for other military purposes.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 2 of such Act is
repealed.
SEC. 243. DEMOLITION, ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP, AND REVERSION OF
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER,
ALLEN PARK, MICHIGAN.
(a) Authority.--(1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
enter into a multiyear contract with the Ford Motor Land
Development Corporation (hereinafter in this section referred
to as the ``Corporation'') to undertake project management
responsibility to--
(A) demolish the buildings and auxiliary structures
comprising the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center,
Allen Park, Michigan; and
(B) remediate the site of all hazardous material and
environmental contaminants found on the site.
(2) The contract under paragraph (1) may be entered into
notwithstanding sections 303 and 304 of the Federal Property
and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253, 254).
The contract shall be for a period specified in the contract
not to exceed seven years.
(b) Contract Cost and Source of Funding.--(1) The Secretary
may expend no more than $14,000,000 for the contract required
by subsection (a). The contract shall provide that all costs
for the demolition and site remediation under the contract in
excess of $14,000,000 shall be borne by the Corporation.
(2) Payments by the Secretary under the contract shall be
made in annual increments of no more than $2,000,000,
beginning with fiscal year 2001, for the duration of the
contract. Such payments shall be made from the nonrecurring
maintenance portion of the annual Department of Veterans
Affairs medical care appropriation.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the amount
obligated upon the award of the contract may not exceed
$2,000,000 and the amount obligated with respect to any
succeeding fiscal year may not exceed $2,000,000. Any funds
obligated for the contact shall be subject to the
availability of appropriated funds.
(c) Reversion of Property.--Upon completion of the
demolition and remediation project under the contract to the
satisfaction of the Secretary, the Secretary shall, on behalf
of the United States, formally abandon the Allen Park
property (title to which will then revert in accordance with
the terms of the 1937 deed conveying such property to the
United States).
(d) Flagpole and Memorial.--The contract under subsection
(a) shall require that the Corporation shall erect and
maintain on the property abandoned by the United States under
subsection (c) a flagpole and suitable memorial identifying
the property as the location of the former Allen Park Medical
Center. The Secretary and the Corporation shall jointly
determine the placement of the memorial and flagpole and the
form of, and appropriate inscription on, the memorial.
(e) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may
require such additional terms and conditions with regard to
the contract with the Corporation under subsection (a) and
with the reversion of the property under subsection (c) as
the Secretary considers appropriate to protect the interest
of the United States.
SEC. 244. CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY AT THE CARL VINSON
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER,
DUBLIN, GEORGIA.
(a) Conveyance to State Board of Regents.--The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall convey, without consideration, to the
Board of Regents of the State of Georgia all right, title,
and interest of the United States in and to two tracts of
real property, including any improvements thereon, at the
Carl Vinson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center,
Dublin, Georgia, consisting of 39 acres, more or less, in
Laurens County, Georgia.
(b) Conveyance to Community Service Board of Middle
Georgia.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall convey,
without consideration, to the Community Service Board of
Middle Georgia all right, title, and interest of the
[[Page H9926]]
United States in and to three tracts of real property,
including any improvements thereon, at the Carl Vinson
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dublin,
Georgia, consisting of 58 acres, more or less, in Laurens
County, Georgia.
(c) Conditions on Conveyance.--The conveyance under
subsection (a) shall be subject to the condition that the
real property conveyed under that subsection be used in
perpetuity solely for education purposes. The conveyance
under subsection (b) shall be subject to the condition that
the real property conveyed under that subsection be used in
perpetuity solely for education and health care purposes.
(d) Survey.--The exact acreage and legal description of the
real property to be conveyed under this section shall be
determined by a survey or surveys satisfactory to the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The cost of any such survey
shall not be borne by the Secretary.
(e) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs may require such additional terms and
conditions in connection with the conveyances under this
section as the Secretary considers appropriate to protect the
interests of the United States.
SEC. 245. LAND CONVEYANCE, MILES CITY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER COMPLEX, MILES CITY,
MONTANA.
(a) Conveyance Required.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall convey, without consideration, to Custer County,
Montana (in this section referred to as the ``County''), all
right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the
parcels of real property consisting of the Miles City
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center complex, which
has served as a medical and support complex for the
Department of Veterans Affairs in Miles City, Montana.
(b) Timing of Conveyance.--The conveyance required by
subsection (a) shall be made as soon as practicable after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Conditions of Conveyance.--The conveyance required by
subsection (a) shall be subject to the condition that the
County--
(1) use the parcels conveyed, whether directly or through
an agreement with a public or private entity, for veterans
activities, community and economic development, or such other
public purposes as the County considers appropriate; or
(2) convey the parcels to an appropriate public or private
entity for use for the purposes specified in paragraph (1).
(d) Conveyance of Improvements.--(1) As part of the
conveyance required by subsection (a), the Secretary may also
convey to the County any improvements, equipment, fixtures,
and other personal property located on the parcels conveyed
under that subsection that are not required by the Secretary.
(2) Any conveyance under this subsection shall be without
consideration.
(e) Use Pending Conveyance.--Until such time as the real
property to be conveyed under subsection (a) is conveyed by
deed under this section, the Secretary may continue to lease
the real property, together with any improvements thereon,
under the terms and conditions of the current lease of the
real property.
(f) Maintenance Pending Conveyance.--The Secretary shall be
responsible for maintaining the real property to be conveyed
under subsection (a), and any improvements, equipment,
fixtures, and other personal property to be conveyed under
subsection (d), in its condition as of the date of the
enactment of this Act until such time as the real property,
and such improvements, equipment, fixtures, and other
personal property are conveyed by deed under this section.
(g) Legal Description.--The exact acreage and legal
description of the real property to be conveyed under
subsection (a) shall be determined by a survey satisfactory
to the Secretary.
(h) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may
require such additional terms and conditions in connection
with the conveyance under this section as the Secretary
determines appropriate to protect the interests of the United
States.
SEC. 246. CONVEYANCE OF FORT LYON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER, COLORADO, TO THE STATE
OF COLORADO.
(a) Conveyance Authorized.--The Secretary of Veterans
Affairs may convey, without consideration, to the State of
Colorado all right, title, and interest of the United States
in and to a parcel of real property, including improvements
thereon, consisting of approximately 512 acres and comprising
the Fort Lyon Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
The purpose of the conveyance is to permit the State of
Colorado to use the property for purposes of a correctional
facility.
(b) Public Access.--(1) The Secretary may not make the
conveyance of real property authorized by subsection (a)
unless the State of Colorado agrees to provide appropriate
public access to Kit Carson Chapel (located on that real
property) and the cemetery located adjacent to that real
property.
(2) The State of Colorado may satisfy the condition
specified in paragraph (1) with respect to Kit Carson Chapel
by relocating the chapel to Fort Lyon National Cemetery,
Colorado, or another appropriate location approved by the
Secretary.
(c) Plan Regarding Conveyance.--(1) The Secretary may not
make the conveyance authorized by subsection (a) before the
date on which the Secretary implements a plan providing the
following:
(A) Notwithstanding sections 1720(a)(3) and 1741 of title
38, United States Code, that veterans who are receiving
inpatient or institutional long-term care at Fort Lyon
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center as of the date
of the enactment of this Act are provided appropriate
inpatient or institutional long-term care under the same
terms and conditions as such veterans are receiving inpatient
or institutional long-term care as of that date.
(B) That the conveyance of the Fort Lyon Department of
Veterans Affairs Medical Center does not result in a
reduction of health care services available to veterans in
the catchment area of the Medical Center.
(C) Improvements in veterans' overall access to health care
in the catchment area through, for example, the opening of
additional outpatient clinics.
(2) The Secretary shall prepare the plan referred to in
paragraph (1) in consultation with appropriate
representatives of veterans service organizations and other
appropriate organizations.
(3) The Secretary shall publish a copy of the plan referred
to in paragraph (1) before implementation of the plan.
(d) Environmental Restoration.--The Secretary may not make
the conveyance authorized by subsection (a) until the
Secretary completes the evaluation and performance of any
environmental restoration activities required by the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), and by any
other provision of law.
(e) Personal Property.--As part of the conveyance
authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary may convey,
without consideration, to the State of Colorado any
furniture, fixtures, equipment, and other personal property
associated with the property conveyed under that subsection
that the Secretary determines is not required for purposes of
the Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities to
be established by the Secretary in southern Colorado or for
purposes of Fort Lyon National Cemetery.
(f) Legal Description.--The exact acreage and legal
description of the real property to be conveyed under
subsection (a) shall be determined by a survey satisfactory
to the Secretary. Any costs associated with the survey shall
be borne by the State of Colorado.
(g) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may
require such other terms and conditions in connection with
the conveyances authorized by subsections (a) and (e) as the
Secretary considers appropriate to protect the interests of
the United States.
SEC. 247. EFFECT OF CLOSURE OF FORT LYON DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER ON
ADMINISTRATION OF HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS.
(a) Payment for Nursing Home Care.--Notwithstanding any
limitation under section 1720 or 1741 of title 38, United
States Code, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may pay the
State of Colorado, or any private nursing home care facility,
for costs incurred in providing nursing home care to any
veteran who is relocated from the Fort Lyon Department of
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Colorado, to a facility of
the State of Colorado or such private facility, as the case
may be, as a result of the closure of the Fort Lyon
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
(b) Obligation To Provide Extended Care Services.--Nothing
in section 246 or this section may be construed to alter or
otherwise affect the obligation of the Secretary to meet the
requirements of section 1710B(b) of title 38, United States
Code, relating to staffing and levels of extended care
services in fiscal years after fiscal year 1998.
(c) Report on Veterans Health Care in Southern Colorado.--
Not later than one year after the conveyance, if any,
authorized by section 246, the Under Secretary for Health of
the Department of Veterans Affairs, acting through the
Director of Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 19,
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the
Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the
status of the health care system for veterans under that
Network in southern Colorado. The report shall describe any
improvements to the system in southern Colorado that have
been put into effect in the period beginning on the date of
the conveyance and ending on the date of the report.
TITLE III--COMPENSATION, INSURANCE, HOUSING, EMPLOYMENT, AND MEMORIAL
AFFAIRS PROVISIONS
Subtitle A--Compensation Program Changes
SEC. 301. STROKES AND HEART ATTACKS INCURRED OR AGGRAVATED BY
MEMBERS OF RESERVE COMPONENTS IN THE
PERFORMANCE OF DUTY WHILE PERFORMING INACTIVE
DUTY TRAINING TO BE CONSIDERED TO BE SERVICE-
CONNECTED.
(a) Scope of Term ``Active Military, Naval, or Air
Service''.--Section 101(24) is amended to read as follows:
``(24) The term `active military, naval, or air service'
includes--
``(A) active duty;
``(B) any period of active duty for training during which
the individual concerned was disabled or died from a disease
or injury incurred or aggravated in line of duty; and
``(C) any period of inactive duty training during which the
individual concerned was disabled or died--
``(i) from an injury incurred or aggravated in line of
duty; or
``(ii) from an acute myocardial infarction, a cardiac
arrest, or a cerebrovascular accident occurring during such
training.''.
(b) Travel to or From Training Duty.--Section 106(d) is
amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(d)'';
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;
(3) by inserting ``or covered disease'' after ``injury''
each place it appears;
(4) by designating the second sentence as paragraph (2);
[[Page H9927]]
(5) by designating the third sentence as paragraph (3); and
(6) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term `covered
disease' means any of the following:
``(A) Acute myocardial infarction.
``(B) A cardiac arrest.
``(C) A cerebrovascular accident.''.
SEC. 302. SPECIAL MONTHLY COMPENSATION FOR WOMEN VETERANS WHO
LOSE A BREAST AS A RESULT OF A SERVICE-
CONNECTED DISABILITY.
Section 1114(k) is amended--
(1) by striking ``or has suffered'' and inserting ``has
suffered''; and
(2) by inserting after ``air and bone conduction,'' the
following: ``or, in the case of a woman veteran, has suffered
the anatomical loss of one or both breasts (including loss by
mastectomy),''.
SEC. 303. BENEFITS FOR PERSONS DISABLED BY PARTICIPATION IN
COMPENSATED WORK THERAPY PROGRAM.
Section 1151(a)(2) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``proximately caused''; and
(2) by inserting before the period at the end the
following: ``, or (B) by participation in a program (known as
a `compensated work therapy program') under section 1718 of
this title''.
SEC. 304. REVISION TO LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS OF BENEFITS TO
INCOMPETENT INSTITUTIONALIZED VETERANS.
Section 5503(b)(1) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) by striking ``$1,500'' and inserting ``the amount equal
to five times the section 1114(j) rate''; and
(B) by striking ``$500'' and inserting ``one-half that
amount''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `section
1114(j) rate' means the monthly rate of compensation in
effect under section 1114(j) of this title for a veteran with
a service-connected disability rated as total.''.
SEC. 305. REVIEW OF DOSE RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM OF THE
DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY.
(a) Review by National Academy of Sciences.--Not later than
30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Defense shall enter into a contract with the
National Academy of Sciences to carry out periodic reviews of
the program of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the
Department of Defense known as the ``dose reconstruction
program''.
(b) Review Activities.--The periodic reviews of the dose
reconstruction program under the contract under subsection
(a) shall consist of the periodic selection of random samples
of doses reconstructed by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency
in order to determine--
(1) whether or not the reconstruction of the sampled doses
is accurate;
(2) whether or not the reconstructed dosage number is
accurately reported;
(3) whether or not the assumptions made regarding radiation
exposure based upon the sampled doses are credible; and
(4) whether or not the data from nuclear tests used by the
Defense Threat Reduction Agency as part of the reconstruction
of the sampled doses is accurate.
(c) Duration of Review.--The periodic reviews under the
contract under subsection (a) shall occur over a period of 24
months.
(d) Report.--(1) Not later than 60 days after the
conclusion of the period referred to in subsection (c), the
National Academy of Sciences shall submit to Congress a
report on its activities under the contract under this
section.
(2) The report shall include the following:
(A) A detailed description of the activities of the
National Academy of Sciences under the contract.
(B) Any recommendations that the National Academy of
Sciences considers appropriate regarding a permanent system
of review of the dose reconstruction program of the Defense
Threat Reduction Agency.
Subtitle B--Life Insurance Matters
SEC. 311. PREMIUMS FOR TERM SERVICE DISABLED VETERANS'
INSURANCE FOR VETERANS OLDER THAN AGE 70.
(a) Cap on Premiums.--Section 1922 is amended by adding at
the end the following new subsection:
``(c) The premium rate of any term insurance issued under
this section shall not exceed the renewal age 70 premium
rate.''.
(b) Report.--Not later than September 30, 2001, the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a
report setting forth a plan to liquidate the unfunded
liability under the life insurance program under section 1922
of title 38, United States Code, not later than October 1,
2011.
SEC. 312. INCREASE IN AUTOMATIC MAXIMUM COVERAGE UNDER
SERVICEMEMBERS' GROUP LIFE INSURANCE AND
VETERANS' GROUP LIFE INSURANCE.
(a) Maximum Under Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance.--
Section 1967 is amended in subsections (a), (c), and (d) by
striking ``$200,000'' each place it appears and inserting
``$250,000''.
(b) Maximum Under Veterans' Group Life Insurance.--Section
1977(a) is amended by striking ``$200,000'' each place it
appears and inserting ``$250,000''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall take effect on the first day of the first month that
begins more than 120 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 313. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE INDIVIDUAL
READY RESERVE FOR SERVICEMEMBERS' GROUP LIFE
INSURANCE.
(a) Eligibility.--Section 1965(5) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (B);
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D);
and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new
subparagraph (C):
``(C) a person who volunteers for assignment to a
mobilization category in the Individual Ready Reserve, as
defined in section 12304(i)(1) of title 10; and''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Sections 1967(a), 1968(a), and
1969(a)(2)(A) are amended by striking ``section 1965(5)(B) of
this title'' each place it appears and inserting
``subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 1965(5) of this title''.
Subtitle C--Housing and Employment Programs
SEC. 321. ELIMINATION OF REDUCTION IN ASSISTANCE FOR
SPECIALLY ADAPTED HOUSING FOR DISABLED VETERANS
FOR VETERANS HAVING JOINT OWNERSHIP OF HOUSING
UNITS.
Section 2102 is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
``(c) The amount of assistance afforded under subsection
(a) for a veteran authorized assistance by section 2101(a) of
this title shall not be reduced by reason that title to the
housing unit, which is vested in the veteran, is also vested
in any other person, if the veteran resides in the housing
unit.''.
SEC. 322. VETERANS EMPLOYMENT EMPHASIS UNDER FEDERAL
CONTRACTS FOR RECENTLY SEPARATED VETERANS.
(a) Employment Emphasis.--Subsection (a) of section 4212 is
amended in the first sentence by inserting ``recently
separated veterans,'' after ``veterans of the Vietnam era,''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Subsection (d)(1) of that
section is amended by inserting ``recently separated
veterans,'' after ``veterans of the Vietnam era,'' each place
it appears in subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(c) Recently Separated Veteran Defined.--Section 4211 is
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(6) The term `recently separated veteran' means any
veteran during the one-year period beginning on the date of
such veteran's discharge or release from active duty.''.
SEC. 323. EMPLOYERS REQUIRED TO GRANT LEAVE OF ABSENCE FOR
EMPLOYEES TO PARTICIPATE IN HONOR GUARDS FOR
FUNERALS OF VETERANS.
(a) Definition of Service in the Uniformed Services.--
Section 4303(13) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' after ``National Guard duty''; and
(2) by inserting before the period at the end ``, and a
period for which a person is absent from employment for the
purpose of performing funeral honors duty as authorized by
section 12503 of title 10 or section 115 of title 32.''.
(b) Required Leave of Absence.--Section 4316 is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(e)(1) An employer shall grant an employee who is a
member of a reserve component an authorized leave of absence
from a position of employment to allow that employee to
perform funeral honors duty as authorized by section 12503 of
title 10 or section 115 of title 32.
``(2) For purposes of section 4312(e)(1) of this title, an
employee who takes an authorized leave of absence under
paragraph (1) is deemed to have notified the employer of the
employee's intent to return to such position of
employment.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a)
and (b) shall take effect 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
Subtitle D--Cemeteries and Memorial Affairs
SEC. 331. ELIGIBILITY FOR INTERMENT OF CERTAIN FILIPINO
VETERANS OF WORLD WAR II IN NATIONAL
CEMETERIES.
(a) Eligibility of Certain Commonwealth Army Veterans.--
Section 2402 is amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(8) Any individual whose service is described in section
107(a) of this title if such individual at the time of
death--
``(A) was a citizen of the United States or an alien
lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United
States; and
``(B) resided in the United States.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 107(a)(3) is amended to
read as follows:
``(3) chapters 11, 13 (except section 1312(a)), 23, and 24
(to the extent provided for in section 2402(8)) of this
title.''.
(c) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply with respect to deaths occurring on or after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 332. PAYMENT RATE OF CERTAIN BURIAL BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN
FILIPINO VETERANS OF WORLD WAR II.
(a) Payment Rate.--Section 107 is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``Payments'' and
inserting ``Subject to subsection (c), payments''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new section:
``(c)(1) In the case of an individual described in
paragraph (2), the second sentence of subsection (a) shall
not apply.
``(2) Paragraph (1) applies to any individual whose service
is described in subsection (a) and who dies after the date of
the enactment of this subsection if the individual, on the
individual's date of death--
``(A) is a citizen of, or an alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence in, the United States;
``(B) is residing in the United States; and
``(C) either--
``(i) is receiving compensation under chapter 11 of this
title; or
``(ii) if the individual's service had been deemed to be
active military, naval, or air service, would have been paid
pension under section
[[Page H9928]]
1521 of this title without denial or discontinuance by reason
of section 1522 of this title.''.
(b) Applicability.--No benefits shall accrue to any person
for any period before the date of the enactment of this Act
by reason of the amendments made by subsection (a).
SEC. 333. PLOT ALLOWANCE FOR BURIAL IN STATE VETERANS
CEMETERIES.
(a) In General.--Section 2303(b)(1)(A) is amended to read
as follows: ``(A) is used solely for the interment of persons
who are (i) eligible for burial in a national cemetery, and
(ii) members of a reserve component of the Armed Forces not
otherwise eligible for such burial or former members of such
a reserve component not otherwise eligible for such burial
who are discharged or released from service under conditions
other than dishonorable, and''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall apply with respect to the burial of persons dying on or
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
TITLE IV--OTHER MATTERS
SEC. 401. BENEFITS FOR THE CHILDREN OF WOMEN VIETNAM VETERANS
WHO SUFFER FROM CERTAIN BIRTH DEFECTS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 18 is amended by adding at the end
the following new subchapter:
``SUBCHAPTER II--CHILDREN OF WOMEN VIETNAM VETERANS BORN WITH CERTAIN
BIRTH DEFECTS
``Sec. 1811. Definitions
``In this subchapter:
``(1) The term `eligible child' means an individual who--
``(A) is the child (as defined in section 1821(1) of this
title) of a woman Vietnam veteran; and
``(B) was born with one or more covered birth defects.
``(2) The term `covered birth defect' means a birth defect
identified by the Secretary under section 1812 of this title.
``Sec. 1812. Covered birth defects
``(a) Identification.--The Secretary shall identify the
birth defects of children of women Vietnam veterans that--
``(1) are associated with the service of those veterans in
the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era; and
``(2) result in permanent physical or mental disability.
``(b) Limitations.--(1) The birth defects identified under
subsection (a) may not include birth defects resulting from
the following:
``(A) A familial disorder.
``(B) A birth-related injury.
``(C) A fetal or neonatal infirmity with well-established
causes.
``(2) In any case where affirmative evidence establishes
that a covered birth defect of a child of a woman Vietnam
veteran results from a cause other than the active military,
naval, or air service of that veteran in the Republic of
Vietnam during the Vietnam era, no benefits or assistance may
be provided the child under this subchapter.
``Sec. 1813. Health care
``(a) Needed Care.--The Secretary shall provide an eligible
child such health care as the Secretary determines is needed
by the child for that child's covered birth defects or any
disability that is associated with those birth defects.
``(b) Authority for Care To Be Provided Directly or by
Contract.--The Secretary may provide health care under this
section directly or by contract or other arrangement with a
health care provider.
``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the
definitions in section 1803(c) of this title shall apply with
respect to the provision of health care under this section,
except that for such purposes--
``(1) the reference to `specialized spina bifida clinic' in
paragraph (2) of that section shall be treated as a reference
to a specialized clinic treating the birth defect concerned
under this section; and
``(2) the reference to `vocational training under section
1804 of this title' in paragraph (8) of that section shall be
treated as a reference to vocational training under section
1814 of this title.
``Sec. 1814. Vocational training
``(a) Authority.--The Secretary may provide a program of
vocational training to an eligible child if the Secretary
determines that the achievement of a vocational goal by the
child is reasonably feasible.
``(b) Applicable Provisions.--Subsections (b) through (e)
of section 1804 of this title shall apply with respect to any
program of vocational training provided under subsection (a).
``Sec. 1815. Monetary allowance
``(a) Monetary Allowance.--The Secretary shall pay a
monthly allowance to any eligible child for any disability
resulting from the covered birth defects of that child.
``(b) Schedule for Rating Disabilities.--(1) The amount of
the monthly allowance paid under this section shall be based
on the degree of disability suffered by the child concerned,
as determined in accordance with a schedule for rating
disabilities resulting from covered birth defects that is
prescribed by the Secretary.
``(2) In prescribing a schedule for rating disabilities for
the purposes of this section, the Secretary shall establish
four levels of disability upon which the amount of the
allowance provided by this section shall be based. The levels
of disability established may take into account functional
limitations, including limitations on cognition,
communication, motor abilities, activities of daily living,
and employability.
``(c) Amount of Monthly Allowance.--The amount of the
monthly allowance paid under this section shall be as
follows:
``(1) In the case of a child suffering from the lowest
level of disability prescribed in the schedule for rating
disabilities under subsection (b), $100.
``(2) In the case of a child suffering from the lower
intermediate level of disability prescribed in the schedule
for rating disabilities under subsection (b), the greater
of--
``(A) $214; or
``(B) the monthly amount payable under section 1805(b)(3)
of this title for the lowest level of disability prescribed
for purposes of that section.
``(3) In the case of a child suffering from the higher
intermediate level of disability prescribed in the schedule
for rating disabilities under subsection (b), the greater
of--
``(A) $743; or
``(B) the monthly amount payable under section 1805(b)(3)
of this title for the intermediate level of disability
prescribed for purposes of that section.
``(4) In the case of a child suffering from the highest
level of disability prescribed in the schedule for rating
disabilities under subsection (b), the greater of--
``(A) $1,272; or
``(B) the monthly amount payable under section 1805(b)(3)
of this title for the highest level of disability prescribed
for purposes of that section.
``(d) Indexing to Social Security Benefit Increases.--
Amounts under paragraphs (1), (2)(A), (3)(A), and (4)(A) of
subsection (c) shall be subject to adjustment from time to
time under section 5312 of this title.
``Sec. 1816. Regulations
``The Secretary shall prescribe regulations for purposes of
the administration of this subchapter.''.
(b) Consolidation of Provisions Applicable to Both
Subchapters.--Chapter 18 is further amended by adding after
subchapter II, as added by subsection (a), the following new
subchapter:
``SUBCHAPTER III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
``Sec. 1821. Definitions
``In this chapter:
``(1) The term `child' means an individual, regardless of
age or marital status, who--
``(A) is the natural child of a Vietnam veteran; and
``(B) was conceived after the date on which that veteran
first entered the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era.
``(2) The term `Vietnam veteran' means an individual who
performed active military, naval, or air service in the
Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era, without regard to
the characterization of that individual's service.
``(3) The term `Vietnam era' with respect to--
``(A) subchapter I of this chapter, means the period
beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975; and
``(B) subchapter II of this chapter, means the period
beginning on February 28, 1961, and ending on May 7, 1975.
``Sec. 1822. Applicability of certain administrative
provisions
``(a) Applicability of Certain Provisions Relating to
Compensation.--The provisions of this title specified in
subsection (b) apply with respect to benefits and assistance
under this chapter in the same manner as those provisions
apply to compensation paid under chapter 11 of this title.
``(b) Specified Provisions.--The provisions of this title
referred to in subsection (a) are the following:
``(1) Section 5101(c).
``(2) Subsections (a), (b)(2), (g), and (i) of section
5110.
``(3) Section 5111.
``(4) Subsection (a) and paragraphs (1), (6), (9), and (10)
of subsection (b) of section 5112.
``Sec. 1823. Treatment of receipt of monetary allowance and
other benefits
``(a) Coordination With Other Benefits Paid to the
Recipient.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
receipt by an individual of a monetary allowance under this
chapter shall not impair, infringe, or otherwise affect the
right of the individual to receive any other benefit to which
the individual is otherwise entitled under any law
administered by the Secretary.
``(b) Coordination With Benefits Based on Relationship of
Recipients.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
receipt by an individual of a monetary allowance under this
chapter shall not impair, infringe, or otherwise affect the
right of any other individual to receive any benefit to which
such other individual is entitled under any law administered
by the Secretary based on the relationship of such other
individual to the individual who receives such monetary
allowance.
``(c) Monetary Allowance Not To Be Considered as Income or
Resources for Certain Purposes.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, a monetary allowance paid an individual
under this chapter shall not be considered as income or
resources in determining eligibility for, or the amount of
benefits under, any Federal or federally assisted program.
``Sec. 1824. Nonduplication of benefits
``(a) Monetary Allowance.--In the case of an eligible child
under subchapter II of this chapter whose only covered birth
defect is spina bifida, a monetary allowance shall be paid
under subchapter I of this chapter. In the case of an
eligible child under subchapter II of this chapter who has
spina bifida and one or more additional covered birth
defects, a monetary allowance shall be paid under subchapter
II of this chapter.
``(b) Vocational Rehabilitation.--An individual may only be
provided one program of vocational training under this
chapter.''.
(c) Repeal of Recodified Provisions.--The following
provisions are repealed:
[[Page H9929]]
(1) Section 1801.
(2) Subsections (c) and (d) of section 1805.
(3) Section 1806.
(d) Designation of Subchapter I.--Chapter 18 is further
amended by inserting before section 1802 the following:
``SUBCHAPTER I--CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS BORN WITH SPINA BIFIDA''.
(e) Conforming Amendments.--(1) Section 1802 is amended by
striking ``this chapter'' and inserting ``this subchapter''.
(2) Section 1805(a) is amended by striking ``this chapter''
and inserting ``this section''.
(f) Clerical Amendments.--(1) The chapter heading of
chapter 18 is amended to read as follows:
``CHAPTER 18--BENEFITS FOR CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS''.
(2) The tables of chapters before part I, and at the
beginning of part II, are each amended by striking the item
relating to chapter 18 and inserting the following new item:
``18. Benefits for Children of Vietnam Veterans.............1802''.....
(3) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 18 is
amended--
(A) by inserting at the beginning the following:
``SUBCHAPTER I--CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS BORN WITH SPINA BIFIDA'';
(B) by striking the items relating to sections 1801 and
1806; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``SUBCHAPTER II--CHILDREN OF WOMEN VIETNAM VETERANS BORN WITH CERTAIN
BIRTH DEFECTS
``1811. Definitions.
``1812. Covered birth defects.
``1813. Health care.
``1814. Vocational training.
``1815. Monetary allowance.
``1816. Regulations.
``SUBCHAPTER III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
``1821. Definitions.
``1822. Applicability of certain administrative provisions.
``1823. Treatment of receipt of monetary allowance and other benefits.
``1824. Nonduplication of benefits.''.
(g) Effective Date.--(1) Except as provided in paragraph
(2), the amendments made by this section shall take effect on
the first day of the first month beginning more than one year
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall identify birth
defects under section 1812 of title 38, United States Code
(as added by subsection (a) of this section), and shall
prescribe the regulations required by subchapter II of
chapter 18 of that title (as so added), not later than the
effective date specified in paragraph (1).
SEC. 402. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN EXPIRING AUTHORITIES.
(a) Enhanced Loan Asset Sale Authority.--Section 3720(h)(2)
is amended by striking ``December 31, 2002'' and inserting
``December 31, 2008''.
(b) Home Loan Fees.--Section 3729 is amended by striking
everything after the section heading and inserting the
following:
``(a) Requirement of Fee.--(1) Except as provided in
subsection (c), a fee shall be collected from each person
obtaining a housing loan guaranteed, insured, or made under
this chapter, and each person assuming a loan to which
section 3714 of this title applies. No such loan may be
guaranteed, insured, made, or assumed until the fee payable
under this section has been remitted to the Secretary.
``(2) The fee may be included in the loan and paid from the
proceeds thereof.
``(b) Determination of Fee.--(1) The amount of the fee
shall be determined from the loan fee table in paragraph (2).
The fee is expressed as a percentage of the total amount of
the loan guaranteed, insured, or made, or, in the case of a
loan assumption, the unpaid principal balance of the loan on
the date of the transfer of the property.
``(2) The loan fee table referred to in paragraph (1) is as
follows:
``LOAN FEE TABLE
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Active duty Other
Type of loan veteran Reservist obligor
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A)(i) Initial loan described 2.00 2.75 NA
in section 3710(a) to
purchase or construct a
dwelling with 0-down, or any
other initial loan described
in section 3710(a) other than
with 5-down or 10-down
(closed before October 1,
2008)........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A)(ii) Initial loan described 1.25 2.00 NA
in section 3710(a) to
purchase or construct a
dwelling with 0-down, or any
other initial loan described
in section 3710(a) other than
with 5-down or 10-down
(closed on or after October
1, 2008).....................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(B)(i) Subsequent loan 3.00 3.00 NA
described in section 3710(a)
to purchase or construct a
dwelling with 0-down, or any
other subsequent loan
described in section 3710(a)
(closed before October 1,
2008)........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(B)(ii) Subsequent loan 1.25 2.00 NA
described in section 3710(a)
to purchase or construct a
dwelling with 0-down, or any
other subsequent loan
described in section 3710(a)
(closed on or after October
1, 2008).....................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(C)(i) Loan described in 1.50 2.25 NA
section 3710(a) to purchase
or construct a dwelling with
5-down (closed before October
1, 2008).....................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page H9930]]
(C)(ii) Loan described in .75 1.50 NA
section 3710(a) to purchase
or construct a dwelling with
5-down (closed on or after
October 1, 2008).............
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(D)(i) Initial loan described 1.25 2.00 NA
in section 3710(a) to
purchase or construct a
dwelling with 10-down (closed
before October 1, 2008)......
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(D)(ii) Initial loan described .50 1.25 NA
in section 3710(a) to
purchase or construct a
dwelling with 10-down (closed
on or after October 1, 2008).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(E) Interest rate reduction 0.50 0.50 NA
refinancing loan.............
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(F) Direct loan under section 1.00 1.00 NA
3711.........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(G) Manufactured home loan 1.00 1.00 NA
under section 3712 (other
than an interest rate
reduction refinancing loan)..
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(H) Loan to Native American 1.25 1.25 NA
veteran under section 3762
(other than an interest rate
reduction refinancing loan)..
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(I) Loan assumption under 0.50 0.50 0.50
section 3714.................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(J) Loan under section 3733(a) 2.25 2.25 2.25''.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
``(3) Any reference to a section in the `Type of loan'
column in the loan fee table in paragraph (2) refers to a
section of this title.
``(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2):
``(A) The term `active duty veteran' means any veteran
eligible for the benefits of this chapter other than a
Reservist.
``(B) The term `Reservist' means a veteran described in
section 3701(b)(5)(A) of this title.
``(C) The term `other obligor' means a person who is not a
veteran, as defined in section 101 of this title or other
provision of this chapter.
``(D) The term `initial loan' means a loan to a veteran
guaranteed under section 3710 or made under section 3711 of
this title if the veteran has never obtained a loan
guaranteed under section 3710 or made under section 3711 of
this title.
``(E) The term `subsequent loan' means a loan to a veteran,
other than an interest rate reduction refinancing loan,
guaranteed under section 3710 or made under section 3711 of
this title if the veteran has previously obtained a loan
guaranteed under section 3710 or made under section 3711 of
this title.
``(F) The term `interest rate reduction refinancing loan'
means a loan described in section 3710(a)(8),
3710(a)(9)(B)(i), 3710(a)(11), 3712(a)(1)(F), or 3762(h) of
this title.
``(G) The term `0-down' means a downpayment, if any, of
less than 5 percent of the total purchase price or
construction cost of the dwelling.
``(H) The term `5-down' means a downpayment of at least 5
percent or more, but less than 10 percent, of the total
purchase price or construction cost of the dwelling.
``(I) The term `10-down' means a downpayment of 10 percent
or more of the total purchase price or construction cost of
the dwelling.
``(c) Waiver of Fee.--A fee may not be collected under this
section from a veteran who is receiving compensation (or who,
but for the receipt of retirement pay, would be entitled to
receive compensation) or from a surviving spouse of any
veteran (including a person who died in the active military,
naval, or air service) who died from a service-connected
disability.''.
(c) Procedures Applicable to Liquidation Sales on Defaulted
Home Loans Guaranteed by the Department of Veterans
Affairs.--Section 3732(c)(11) is amended by striking
``October 1, 2002'' and inserting ``October 1, 2008''.
(d) Income Verification Authority.--Section 5317(g) is
amended by striking ``September 30, 2002'' and inserting
``September 30, 2008''.
(e) Limitation on Pension for Certain Recipients of
Medicaid-Covered Nursing Home Care.--Section 5503(f)(7) is
amended by striking ``September 30, 2002'' and inserting
``September 30, 2008''.
(f) Annual Report of Committee on Mentally Ill Veterans.--
Section 7321(d)(2) is amended by striking ``three'' and
inserting ``six''.
(g) Authority To Establish Research and Education
Corporations.--Section 7368 is amended by striking ``December
31, 2000'' and inserting ``December 31, 2003''.
SEC. 403. PRESERVATION OF CERTAIN REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Inapplicability of Prior Reports Termination Provision
to Certain Reports of the Department of Veterans Affairs.--
Section 3003(a)(1) of the Federal Reports Elimination and
Sunset Act of 1995 (31 U.S.C. 1113 note) does not apply to
any report required to be submitted under any of the
following: sections 503(c), 529, 541(c), 542(c), 3036, and
7312(d) of title 38, United States Code.
(b) Repeal of Reporting Requirements Terminated by Prior
Law.--Sections 8111A(f) and 8201(h) are repealed.
(c) Sunset of Certain Reporting Requirements.--
(1) Annual report on equitable relief cases.--Section
503(c) is amended by adding at the end the following new
sentence: ``No report shall be required under this subsection
after December 31, 2004.''.
(2) Biennial report of advisory committee on former
prisoners of war.--Section 541(c)(1) is amended by inserting
``through 2003'' after ``each odd-numbered year''.
(3) Biennial report of advisory committee on women
veterans.--Section 542(c)(1) is amended by inserting
``through 2004'' after ``each even-numbered year''.
(4) Biennial reports on montgomery gi bill.--Subsection (d)
of section 3036 is amended to read as follows:
``(d) No report shall be required under this section after
January 1, 2005.''.
(5) Annual report of special medical advisory group.--
Section 7312(d) is amended by adding at the end the following
new sentence: ``No report shall be required under this
subsection after December 31, 2004.''.
(d) Cost Information To Be Provided With Each Report
Required by Congress.--(1)(A) Chapter 1 is amended by adding
at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 116. Reports to Congress: cost information
``Whenever the Secretary submits to Congress, or any
committee of Congress, a report that is required by law or by
a joint explanatory statement of a committee of conference of
the Congress, the Secretary shall include with the report--
``(1) a statement of the cost of preparing the report; and
``(2) a brief explanation of the methodology used in
preparing that cost statement.''.
[[Page H9931]]
(B) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter
is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``116. Reports to Congress: cost information.''.
(2) Section 116 of title 38, United States Code, as added
by paragraph (1) of this subsection, shall apply with respect
to any report submitted by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
after the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 404. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
(a) Title 38.--Title 38, United States Code, is amended as
follows:
(1) Section 1116(a)(2)(F) is amended by inserting ``of
disability'' after ``to a degree''
(2) Section 1318(b)(3) is amended by striking ``not later
than'' and inserting ``not less than''.
(3) Section 1712(a)(4)(A) is amended by striking
``subsection (a) of this section (other than paragraphs
(3)(B) and (3)(C) of that subsection)'' and inserting ``this
subsection''.
(4) Section 1720A(c)(1) is amended by striking ``for such
disability'' and all that follows through ``to such member''
and inserting ``for such disability. Care and services
provided to a member so transferred''.
(5) Section 2402(7) is amended by striking ``chapter 67 of
title 10'' and inserting ``chapter 1223 of title 10''.
(6) Section 3012(g)(2) is amended by striking
``subparagraphs'' both places it appears and inserting
``subparagraph''.
(7) Section 3684(c) is amended by striking ``calender'' and
inserting ``calendar''.
(8) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 41 is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 4110A
the following new item:
``4110B. Coordination and nonduplication.''.
(9) The text of section 4213 is amended to read as follows:
``(a) Amounts and periods of time specified in subsection
(b) shall be disregarded in determining eligibility under any
of the following:
``(1) Any public service employment program.
``(2) Any emergency employment program.
``(3) Any job training program assisted under the Economic
Opportunity Act of 1964.
``(4) Any employment or training program carried out under
title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C.
2801 et seq.).
``(5) Any other employment or training (or related) program
financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.
``(b) Subsection (a) applies with respect to the following
amounts and periods of time:
``(1) Any amount received as pay or allowances by any
person while serving on active duty.
``(2) Any period of time during which such person served on
active duty.
``(3) Any amount received under chapters 11, 13, 30, 31,
32, and 36 of this title by an eligible veteran.
``(4) Any amount received by an eligible person under
chapters 13 and 35 of this title.
``(5) Any amount received by an eligible member under
chapter 106 of title 10.''.
(10) Section 7603(a)(1) is amended by striking
``subsection'' and inserting ``subchapter''.
(b) Other Laws.--
(1) Effective November 30, 1999, and as if included therein
as originally enacted, section 208(c)(2) of the Veterans
Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act (Public Law 106-117;
113 Stat. 1568) is amended by striking ``subsection (c)(1)''
and inserting ``subsection (c)(3)''.
(2) Effective November 21, 1977, and as if included therein
as originally enacted, section 402(e) of the Veterans'
Benefits Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-114; 111 Stat. 2294) is
amended by striking ``second sentence'' and inserting ``third
sentence''.
Amend the amendment of the House to the title so as to
read: ``An Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to
increase the rates of educational assistance under the
Montgomery GI Bill, to improve procedures for the adjustment
of rates of pay for nurses employed by the Department of
Veterans Affairs, to make other improvements in veterans
educational assistance, health care, and benefits programs,
and for other purposes.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Stump) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump).
General Leave
Mr. STUMP. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and to include extraneous material on S. 1402, the legislation
now under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arizona?
There was no objection.
Mr. STUMP. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. STUMP asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. STUMP. Madam Speaker, this bill represents an agreement we have
reached before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs on issues
brought before the House and Senate in this session of the 106th
Congress. It improves many of the benefits and health care programs
serving veterans today.
Let me touch on just a few of the major provisions. This bill makes a
number of improvements to the Montgomery GI Bill, the veterans'
education assistance program named for our former colleague, the
gentleman from Mississippi, Sonny Montgomery. I saw him here on the
floor earlier, and I would like to welcome him back. It raises the
monthly benefit rate from $552 to $650, and permits GIs to earn an
additional $150 a month by contributing $600 to their account while
they are in service.
Since 1998, we have raised the GI bill monthly allowance by some 48
percent. This bill also increases the educational benefit payable each
month to a student who is a child or a spouse of a veteran who is
totally disabled or who died of a service-connected cause.
Additionally, the bill authorizes the VA to provide an annual pay
increase to some 35,000 VA nurses as well as the VA dentists.
There are a good many provisions in this bill, and at this time I
would like to commend the chairman of our Subcommittee on Health, the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) for the outstanding job he has
done. Overseeing the VA health care system is a very challenging task
at times, and the gentleman from Florida has done a magnificent job of
doing just that.
Madam Speaker, I submit for the Record an explanatory statement on
the Senate amendments to the House amendments to S. 1402.
The Senate amendments to the House amendments to S. 1402,
as amended, reflect a compromise agreement that the House and
Senate Committees on Veterans' Affairs have reached on H.R.
284, H.R. 4268, H.R. 4850, H.R. 5109, H.R. 5139, H.R. 5346,
H. Con. Res. 413, S. 1076, S. 1402, and S. 1810. On May 23,
2000, the House passed S. 1402 with an amendment consisting
of the text of H.R. 4268 as reported. H.R. 4850 passed the
House on July 25, 2000. H.R. 5109 passed the House on
September 21, 2000. H.R. 284 passed the House on October 3,
2000. S. 1076 passed the Senate on September 8, 1999, and S.
1810 passed the Senate on September 21, 2000. S. 1402 passed
the Senate on July 26, 1999. H. Con. Res. 413 was introduced
on September 28, 2000. H.R. 5346 was introduced on September
29, 2000. H.R. 5139 passed the House on October 3, 2000.
The House and Senate Committees on Veterans' Affairs have
prepared the following explanation of S. 1402, as amended
(hereinafter referred to as the ``Compromise Agreement'').
Differences between the provisions contained in the
Compromise Agreement and the related provisions of H.R. 284,
H.R. 4268, H.R. 4850, H.R. 5109, S. 1076, S. 1402, and S.
1810 are noted in this document, except for clerical
corrections, conforming changes made necessary by the
Compromise Agreement and minor drafting, technical and
clarifying changes.
TITLE I--EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROVISIONS
Subtitle A--Montgomery GI Bill Educational Assistance
increase in rates on basic educational assistance under the montgomery
gi bill
Current Law
Section 3011 of title 38, United States Code, establishes
basic educational assistance entitlement under the All-
Volunteer Force Educational Assistance Program (commonly
referred to as the ``Montgomery GI Bill'' or ``MGIB'') Active
Duty program. Section 3015 establishes the base amount of
such educational assistance at the monthly rate of $528 for a
3-year period of service and $429 for a 2-year period of
service. These amounts increased to $552 per month and $449
per month, respectively, on October 1, 2000.
House Bill
Section 2 of the House amendments to S. 1402 would increase
the current monthly rate of basic education benefits to $600
per month effective October 1, 2000, and to $720 per month on
October 1, 2002, for full-time students. The monthly rate for
2-year enlistees would increase to $487 per month effective
October 1, 2000, and to $585 per month on October 1, 2002.
This section provides parallel increases for part-time
students and similar adjustments to the rates paid for
correspondence and other types of training. No cost-of-living
increases would be made in fiscal years 2001 and 2003.
Senate Bill
Section 4 of S. 1402 would increase the monthly rate of
basic education benefits to $600 per month for 3-year
enlistees and $488 per month for 2-year enlistees.
Compromise Agreement
Under section 101 of the compromise agreement, effective
November 1, 2000, the basic education benefit would be
increased from $552 per month (effective October 1, 2000) to
$650 per month for a 3-year period of service, and $528 per
month for a 2-year period of service.
UNIFORM REQUIREMENT FOR HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA OR EQUIVALENCY BEFORE
APPLICATION FOR MONTGOMERY GI BILL BENEFITS
Current Law
To be eligible to receive educational assistance, section
3011(a)(2) of title 38, United
[[Page H9932]]
States Code, requires that a servicemember complete the
requirements of a secondary school diploma (or equivalent
certificate) before the end of the individual's initial
obligation period of active duty. Section 3012(a)(2) contains
a similar requirement for servicemembers who serve 2 years of
active duty as part of a 6-year Selected Reserve commitment.
Senate Bill
Section 111 of S. 1810 would create a single, uniform
secondary school diploma requirement as a prerequisite for
eligibility for education benefits--a requirement that, prior
to applying for benefits, the applicant will have received a
high school diploma or equivalency certificate, or will have
completed the equivalent of 12 semester hours in a program of
education leading to a standard college degree.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provisions.
Compromise Agreement
Section 102 of the compromise agreement follows the Senate
language, modified to reflect a new 10-year eligibility
period for individuals affected by this provision, which
would begin tolling on such individual's last discharge (or
release from active duty) or the effective date of this Act,
whichever is later.
repeal of requirement for initial obligated period of active duty as
condition of eligibility for montgomery gi bill benefits
Current Law
Sections 3011(a)(1)(A)(i) and 3012(a)(1)(A)(i) of title 38,
United States Code, set forth initial-period-of-active-duty
requirements to earn basic educational assistance entitlement
under the Montgomery GI Bill. The period within which a
servicemember's eligibility for educational assistance can be
established is currently restricted to the initial period of
active duty service.
Senate Bill
Section 112 of S. 1810 would strike the requirement that
MGIB benefit entitlement be predicated on serving an
``initial'' period of obligated service and substitute in its
place a requirement that an obligated period of active duty
be served.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 103 of the compromise agreement follows the Senate
language with a clarifying amendment that for an obligated
period of service of at least 3 years, the servicemember
would have to complete at least 30 months of continuous
active duty under that period of obligated service. In
addition, the compromise agreement contains a modification to
reflect a new 10-year eligibility period for individuals
affected by this provision, which would begin tolling on such
individual's last discharge (or release from active duty) or
the effective date of this Act, whichever is later.
additional opportunity for certain veap participants to enroll in basic
educational assistance under montgomery gi bill
Current Law
Section 3018C of title 38, United States Code, furnishes an
opportunity for certain post-Vietnam-era Veterans'
Educational Assistance Program (VEAP) participants to convert
to the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) if the individual was a
participant in VEAP on October 9, 1996, was serving on active
duty on that date, meets high school diploma or equivalency
requirements before applying for MGIB benefits, is discharged
from active duty after the individual makes the election to
convert, and during the 1-year period beginning on October 9,
1996, makes an irrevocable election to receive benefits under
the MGIB in lieu of VEAP, and also elects a $1,200 pay
reduction.
House Bill
Section 3 of the House amendments to S. 1402 would furnish
individuals who have served continuously on active duty since
October 9, 1996, through at least April 1, 2000, and who
either turned down a previous opportunity to convert to the
MBIB or had a zero balance in their VEAP account, the option
to pay $2,700 to convert to the MGIB program; individuals
would have 12 months to elect to convert and 18 months to
make payment.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 104 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
increased active duty educational assistance benefit for contributing
members
Current Law
Section 3011(b) of title 38, United States Code, requires
servicemembers who elect to participate in the Montgomery GI
Bill program to participate in a voluntary pay reduction of
$100 per month for the first 12 months of active service to
establish entitlement to basic educational assistance.
Senate Bill
Section 6 of S. 1810 would allow service-
members who have not opted out of MGIB participation to
increase the monthly rate of educational benefits they will
receive after service by making contributions, at any time
prior to leaving service, over and above the $1,200 basic pay
reduction necessary to establish MGIB eligibility. Under
section 6, a servicemember could contribute up to an
additional $600 in multiple of $4. The monthly rate of basic
educational assistance would be increased by $1 per month for
each $4 so contributed. Thus, MGIB participants who ``use
up'' their full 36 months of MGIB benefits would receive a 9-
to-1 return on their additional contribution investment. A
maximum in-service contribution of $600 would yield an
additional $5,400 of entitlement to the 36-month MGIB
benefit.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 105 of the compromise agreement follows the Senate
language with amendments to make this provision effective May
1, 2001, and to make eligible any servicemember who was on
active duty on the date of enactment and subsequently
discharged between date of enactment and May 1, 2001 to have
until July 31, 2001. These individuals would have until July
31, 2001, to make an election to ``buy up'' additional
benefits.
Subtitle B--Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance
increase in rates of survivors' and dependents' educational assistance
Current Law
Section 3532 of title 38, United States Code, provides
survivors' and dependents' educational assistance (DEA)
allowances of $485 per month for full-time school attendance,
with lesser amounts for part-time training. Generally,
eligible survivors and dependents include unremarried spouses
of veterans who died or are permanently or totally disabled
or servicemembers who are missing in action or captured for
more than 90 days by a hostile force or detained or interned
for more than 90 days by a foreign government. Under section
3534, such benefits are also available for correspondence
courses, special restorative training, and apprenticeship
training.
House Bill
Section 4 of the House amendments to S. 1402 would increase
DEA benefits for full-time classroom training students to
$600 per month effective October 1, 2000, and $720 per month
effective October 1, 2002, with parallel increases for part-
time students and similar adjustments to the rates paid for
correspondence and other types of training. Apprenticeship
training would increase from $353 to $437 per month effective
October 1, 2000, and $524 per month effective October 1,
2002. This provision also requires annual cost-of-living
allowances for DEA benefits.
Senate Bill
Section 5 of S. 1402 would increase the full-time rate of
DEA benefits by 13.6 percent to $550 per month, and make
parallel increases in the benefit rates afforded to three-
quarter time and half-time students. Increases of 13.6
percent in the amounts for correspondence courses, special
restorative training, and apprenticeship training would also
be afforded.
Compromise Agreement
Under section 111 of the compromise agreement, effective
November 1, 2000, the basic education benefit for survivors
and dependents would increase from $485 per month to $588 per
month, with future annual cost-of-living increases effective
October 1, 2001.
election of certain recipients of commencement period of eligibility
for survivors' and dependents' educational assistance
Current Law
Section 3512(a)(3) of title 38, United States Code,
provides that if the Secretary first finds that the parent
from whom eligibility for DEA benefits is derived has a total
and permanent service-connected disability, or if the death
of the parent from whom eligibility is derived occurs between
an eligible child's 18th and 26th birthdays, then such
eligibility period shall end 8 years after whichever date
last occurs: 1) the date on which the Secretary first finds
that the parent from whom eligibility is derived has a total
and permanent service-connected disability, or 2) the date of
death of the parent from whom eligibility is derived. ``First
finds'' is defined in this section as either the date the
Secretary notifies an eligible parent of total and permanent
service-connected disability or the effective date of such
disability award.
Senate Bill
Section 114 of S. 1810 would allow a child to elect the
beginning date of eligibility for DEA benefits that is
between 1) in the case of a child whose eligibility is based
on a parent who has a total and permanent service-connected
disability, the effective date of the rating determination
and the date of notification by the Secretary for such
disability, 2) in the case of a child whose eligibility is
based on the death of a parent, the date of the parent's
death and the date of the Secretary's decision that the death
was service-connected.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 112 of the compromise agreement contains the Senate
language.
[[Page H9933]]
adjusted effective date for award of survivors' and dependents'
educational assistance
Current Law
Section 5113 of title 38, United States Code, states that
except for the effective date of adjusted benefits, dates
relating to awards under chapters 30, 31, 32, 34, and 35, or
chapter 1606 of title 10 shall, to the extent feasible,
correspond to effective dates relating to awards of
disability compensation.
House Bill
Section 4 of the House amendments to S. 1402 would permit
the award of DEA benefits to be retroactive to the date of
the entitling event, that is, service-connected death or
award of a total and permanent service-connected disability.
This provision would be limited to eligible person who submit
an original claim for DEA benefits within 1 year after the
date of the rating decision first establishing the person's
entitlement.
Senate Bill
Section 115 of S. 1810 would tie the effective date of
award for DEA benefits to the date of the entitling event,
i.e., the date of a veteran's service-connected death or
award of a permanent and total disability rating. This
provision would be limited to eligible persons who submit an
original claim for DEA benefits within 1 year after the date
of the rating decision first establishing the person's
entitlement.
Compromise Agreement
Section 113 of the compromise agreement contains the Senate
language.
availability under survivors' and dependents' educational assistance of
preparatory courses for college and graduate school requirements
Current Law
Sections 3002(3) and 3501(a)(5) of title 38, United States
Code, define the ``program of education'' for which veterans
and surviving spouses and children, receive educational
assistance benefits. Section 701 of Public Law 106-118
modified section 3002(3) of title 38, United States Code, to
permit a veteran to use benefits for preparatory courses.
Examples of preparatory courses include courses for
standardized tests used for admission to college or graduate
school.
Senate Bill
Section 113 of S. 1810 would allow survivors' and
dependents' educational assistance benefits to be provided
for use on preparatory courses.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 114 of the compromise agreement follows the Senate
language with an amendment clarifying that qualifying persons
may pursue preparatory courses prior to the person's 18th
birthday.
Subtitle C--General Educational Assistance
revision of educational assistance interval payment requirements
Current Law
Section 3680(a)(C) of title 38, United States Code, allows
VA to pay educational assistance for periods between a term,
semester, or quarter if the interval between these periods
does not exceed one calendar month.
House Bill
Section 6 of the House amendments to S. 1402 would allow
monthly educational assistance benefits to be paid between
term, quarter, or semester intervals of up to 8 weeks.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 121 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
availability of education benefits for payment for licensing or
certification tests
Current Law
Chapters 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, and 36 of title 38, United
States Code, do not currently authorize use of VA educational
assistance benefits for occupational licensing or
certification tests.
House Bill
Section 7 of the House amendments to S. 1402 would allow
veterans' and DEA benefits to be used for up to $2,000 in
fees for civilian occupational licensing or certification
examinations that are necessary to enter, maintain, or
advance into employment in a vocation or profession. This
section would establish various requirements regarding the
use of such entitlement and requirements for organizations or
entities offering licensing or certification tests. This
section also establishes minimum approval requirements of a
licensing or certification body, requirements for tests,
requirements for organizations or entities offering these
tests, VA administrative authority (including a requirement
to develop the computer systems and procedures to make
payments to beneficiaries for these tests), and a seven-
member, organization-specific VA Professional Certification
and Licensing Advisory Committee.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 122 of the compromise agreement follows the House
language with an amendment that the Secretary shall name
seven individuals to the VA professional Certification and
Licensing Advisory Committee, an amendment that deletes
specific names of organizations from which members shall be
named, and an amendment that deletes the requirement that
members shall service without compensation.
increase for fiscal years 2001 and 2002 in aggregate annual amount
available for state approving agencies for administrative expenses
Current Law
Section 3674(a)(4) of title 38, United States Code, makes
available amounts not exceeding $13 million in each fiscal
year for duties carried out by State Approving Agencies
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 123 of the compromise agreement amends the amount
available for State Approving Agencies to $14 million for
fiscal year 2001 and fiscal year 2002.
title ii--health provisions
Subtitle A--Personnel Matters
annual national pay comparability adjustment for nurses employed by the
department of veterans affairs
Current Law
The rate of pay for VA nurses is determined using a
mechanism contained in Subchapter IV of Chapter 74, title 38,
United States Code. The law links changes in total pay to
nurse compensation trends in local health care labor markets.
This locality pay feature has not always produced the results
envisioned by Congress. For example, even though many VA
nurses received very substantial one-time increases as a
consequence of the 1900 restructuring of basic pay, some VA
nurses have not received any additional pay raises since that
time.
House Bill
Section 101 of H.R. 5109 would reform the local labor
market survey process and replace it with a discretionary
survey technique. The bill would provide more flexibility to
VA medical center directors to obtain the data needed to
complete necessary surveys and also restrict their authority
to withhold indicated rate increases. Directors would be
prohibited from reducing nurse pay. In addition, the House
bill would also guarantee VA nurses a national comparability
increase equivalent to the amount provided to other federal
employees. The bill also would require Veterans Health
Administration network directors to consult with nurses on
questions of policy affecting the work of VA nurses, and
would provide for registered nurses' participation on medical
center committees considering clinical care, budget matters,
or resource allocation involving the care and treatment of
veteran patients.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 201 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
special pay for dentists
Current Law
Subchapter III of Chapter 74, title 38, United States Code,
authorizes special pay to physicians and dentists employed in
the Veterans Health Administration. This authority is
intended to improve recruitment and retention of dentists and
physicians.
House Bill
Section 102 of H.R. 5109 would revise and increase the
rates of special pay for VA dentists. This is the first
proposed change in these rates since 1991.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 202 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language. The Committees urge medical center directors to
utilize the full range of pay increases authorized, including
increases in the higher range, to optimize dentist
recruitment and retention efforts.
EXEMPTION FOR PHARMACISTS FROM CEILING ON SPECIAL SALARY RATES
Current Law
Under section 7455 of title 38, United States Code, VA has
authority to increase rates of basic pay for certain health
care personnel--either nationally, locally or on another
geographic basis--when deemed necessary for successful
recruiting and retention. Special rates may be granted in
response to salaries in local labor market, but may not
enable VA to be a pay leader. With limited exceptions, the
law restricts such ``special salary rates'' to a maximum pay
rate, but exempts two categories of health care personnel
from that statutory ceiling: nurse anesthetists and physical
therapists.
House Bill
Section 103 of H.R. 5109 adds VA pharmacists to the
existing categories of VA personnel exempted from such
statutory pay ceilings. This amendment would enable VA to
improve retention of the most senior members of the current
pharmacy workforce and would improve its competitiveness in
recruiting new pharmacists.
[[Page H9934]]
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 203 of the compromise agreement contains the
Housing language.
TEMPORARY FULL-TIME APPOINTMENTS OF CERTAIN MEDICAL PERSONNEL
Current Law
Section 7405 of title 38, United States Code, authorizes VA
to provide temporary appointments of individuals in certain
professions, including nursing, pharmacy, and respiratory,
physical, and occupational therapy, who have successfully
completed a full course of study but who are pending
registration, licensure, or certification. Upon obtaining the
required credentials, these professionals may be converted to
career appointments. This temporary appointment authority
provides VA a means of recruiting new health professionals
still in the process of meeting the technical qualification
standards pertinent to their fields.
However, VA must now limit physician assistants (PAs)
waiting to take the PA certification examination to a general
1 year, nonrenewable appointment. Since the national
certification examination is only offered once a year, this
1-year appointment limits VA's efforts to provide a smooth
transition from a training appointment to a permanent
appointment for such graduates.
House Bill
Section 105 of H.R. 5109 would amend section 7405(c)(2) of
title 38, United States Code, to add the position of
physician assistant to the existing of professional and
technical occupations for which VA may make temporary
graduate technician appointments, provided these individuals
have completed training programs acceptable to the Secretary.
Under this appointment authority, graduate physician
assistants would have up to 2 years to obtain professionals
certification or licensure.
Senate Bill
Section 203 of S. 1810 would accomplish the same ends as
the above-described language with respect to physician
assistant temporary graduate technician appointments.
Compromise Agreement
Section 204(a) of the compromise agreement contains the
House language.
MEDICAL SUPPORT PERSONNEL
Current Law
Section 7405 of title 38 United States Code, permits the
temporary appointment of certain medical support personnel
who work primarily in the laboratories and other facilities
of VA principal investigators who have been awarded VA
research and development funds through VA's scientific merit
review process. These technicians are appointed for a maximum
term of 2 years. The normal VA cycle of 3-year research
awards conflicts with the 2-year maximum term for
appointments of these key personnel in VA's research and
development program.
House Bill
Section 105 of H.R. 5109 would amend section 7405(c)(3) of
title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary to
make and to renew temporary full time appointments for
periods not to exceed 3 years.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 204(b) of the compromise agreement contains the
House language.
QUALIFICATIONS OF SOCIAL WORKERS
Current Law
Section 7402(b)(9) of title 38, United States Code,
requires that a VA social worker become licensed, certified,
or registered in the state in which he or she works within 3
years of initial appointments in this capacity by the VA.
Certain states, such as California, impose prerequisites to
the licensure examination that routinely require more than 3
years to satisfy. Many states do not provide reciprocity
in social work licensure, and thus will not grant a
license in the absence of a new state licensing
examination. At present, VA social workers are the only VA
health care practitioners who cannot use their states
licenses to gain credentials in other states' VA medical
centers.
House Bill
Section 106 of H.R. 5109 would allow the Secretary, on the
recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health, to waive
the 3-year requirement in order to provide sufficient time to
newly graduated or transferred VA social workers to prepare
for their state licensure examinations.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 205 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
physician assistant advisor to the under secretary for health
Current Law
Section 7306 of title 38, United States Code, establishes
the Office of the Under Secretary for Health and requires
that the office include representatives of certain health
care professions. VA is the nation's largest single employer
of physician assistants (PAs), with over 1,100 physician
assistants on VA's employment rolls. Nevertheless, PAs are
not represented by a number of their field in the office of
the Under Secretary for Health.
House Bill
Section 104 of H.R. 5109 would establish a PA consultant
position which would be filled by a VHA physician assistant
designated by the Under Secretary for Health. This individual
could be assigned to the field with occasional official
visits as needed to VHA headquarters or elsewhere as required
to fulfill assigned duties of the position. The PA consultant
would advise the Under Secretary on all matters relating to
the utilization and employment of physician assistants in the
Veterans Health Administration.
Senate Bill
Section 202 of S. 1810 would add an Advisor on Physician
Assistants to the immediate Office of the Under Secretary for
Health, would require this individual to serve in an advisory
capacity and would require that the PA advisor shall advise
the Under Secretary on matters regarding general and expanded
utilization, clinical privileges, and employment (including
various specific matters associated therewith) of physician
assistants in the Veterans health Administration.
Compromise Agreement
Section 206 of the compromise agreement incorporates
portions of both the House and Senate language. The
Committees call upon VA to provide the individual selected as
Advisor on Physician Assistants with necessary support and
resources to enable this consultant to fulfill the assigned
responsibilities of the position.
extension of voluntary separation incentive payments
Current Law
Public Law 106-117, the Veterans Millennium Health Care and
Benefits Act of 1999, authorized a temporary program of
voluntary separation incentive payments to assist VA in
restructuring its workforce. This program limited VA to a 15-
month authorization period for such ``buyouts'' of VA
employees, limited to 4,700 the number of staff who could
participate, and required VA to make a contribution of 26
percent of the average salary of participating employees to
the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. This
provision also requires a one-for-one employee replacement
for each such buyout approved under this policy.
House Bill
Section 107 of H.R. 5109 would amend title XI of Public Law
106-117 to increase the number of VA positions subject to
buyouts to 8,110. The House measure would also adjust the
contribution made by VA to the retirement fund to 15 percent,
an amount equivalent to the amount that most other Federal
agencies must contribute to the fund for their buyout
participants. The measure extends VA's buyout authority from
December 31, 2000 to December 31, 2002.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 207 of the compromise agreement follows the House
language, but limits the number of VA positions subject to
buyouts to 7,734 and allocates the position for activities of
the Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits
Administration, National Cemetery Administration, and VA
staff offices.
Subtitle B--Military Service Issues
military service history
Current Law
No provision.
House Bill
Section 301 of H.R. 5109 would require VA to take and
maintain a thorough history of each veteran's health,
including a military medical history. Ascertaining that a
veteran was a prisoner of war, participated directly in
combat, or was exposed to sustained subfreezing conditions,
toxic substances, environmental hazards, or nuclear ionizing
radiation often facilitates diagnosis and treatment of
veterans. The House bill would provide veterans assurance
that such a policy becomes a matter of routine clinical
practice in VA.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 211 of the compromise agreement adopts the intent
of the House proposal, but in the form of a Sense of the
Congress Resolution to express the sense of Congress that VA
proceed to implement a system of record keeping to record
veterans' military history.
STUDY OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) IN VIETNAM VETERANS
Current Law
Public Law 98-160 directed VA to conduct a large-scale
survey on the prevalence and incidence of PTSD and other
psychological problems in Vietnam veterans. The study found
that 15 percent of male and 8.5 percent of female Vietnam
veterans suffered from PTSD. Among those exposed to high
levels of war zone stress, however, PTSD rates were
dramatically higher. Also, the study found that nearly one-
third of Vietnam veterans had suffered from PTSD at some
point after military service.
House Bill
Section 302 of HR 5109 would direct the VA to enter into a
contract with an ``appropriate entity'' to carry out a
follow-up study to the study conducted under Public Law 98-
160.
[[Page H9935]]
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 212 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language. The Committees agree the new study should be kept
distinct and independent from VA, as in the original. The
compromise agreement is not intended to pre-judge the entity
that will win this award.
Subtitle C--Medical Administration
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FISHER HOUSES
Current Law
Current law does not explicitly provide VA with authority
to house veterans overnight to expedite outpatient care or
next-day hospital admissions. Nor does current law provide
explicit authority for VA to accept, maintain, or operate
facilities for housing families or others who accompany
veterans to VA facilities. However, most VA medical centers
offer veterans who live some distance from a medical facility
from which they are receiving care or services help with some
form of lodging to facilitate scheduled visits or admissions.
Indeed, more than 115 facilities offer lodging of some kind
on VA grounds, and services are available in non-VA
facilities at a number of other locations. Also, over the
years, many VA medical centers have converted unused wards
and other available space to establish temporary lodging
facilities for use by patients. The Under Secretary for
Health has encouraged medical centers to establish such
facilities to avert the need for hospitalizing patients when
outpatient treatment is more appropriate. This guidance to VA
facilities suggested that facilities could provide lodging
without charge to outpatients and their family members and
others accompanying veterans when ``medically necessary.''
The guidance also sanctioned the use of a revocable license
for family members under which an individual could be
required to pay VA a fee equal to the fair-market value of
the services being furnished.
House Bill
Section 404 of H.R. 5109 would clarify VA's authority to
provide temporary overnight accommodations in ``Fisher
Houses,'' built with funds donated by the Zachary and
Elizabeth M. Fisher Foundation. Four such facilities are now
being operated in conjunction with VA medical centers and
other similar facilities located at or near a VA facility.
These accommodations are available to veterans who have
business at a VA medical facility and must travel a
significant distance to receive Department services, and to
other individuals accompany veterans. Section 404 would also
give VA clear authority to charge veterans (and those
accompanying them) for overnight accommodations and apply
fees collected to support continuation of these services. The
measure would require VA to promulgate regulations to address
matters such as the appropriate limitations on the use of the
facilities and the length of time individuals may stay in the
facilities.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 221 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
exception to the recapture rule
Current Law
Section 8136 of title 38, United States Code, requires VA
to ``recapture'' the amount of a grant to a state home for
purposes of building or renovating a state veterans home, if,
within 20 years, the state home ceases to be used for
providing domiciliary, nursing home, or hospital care for
veterans. This provision could be interpreted to require
recapture of the grant if the state home allows VA to
establish an outpatient clinic in the home.
House Bill
Section 406 of H.R. 5109 would clarify that establishment
of an outpatient clinic in a state home would not constitute
grounds entitling the United States to recover its grant.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 222 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
sense of congress concerning cooperation between the department of
veterans affairs and the department of defense in the procurement of
medical items
Current Law
Under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and
Department of Defense (DOD) Health Resources Sharing and
Emergency Operations Act, Public Law 97-174, VA and DOD have
the authority to share medical resources. In 1999, VA and DOD
entered into sharing agreements amounting to $60 million out
of combined budgets of approximately $35 billion. This is
resource sharing of less than two-tenths of one percent. On
May 25, 2000, the General Accounting Office reported that
greater joint pharmaceutical procurements alone could lead to
as much as $345 million in annual recurring savings.
House Bill
H. Con. Res. 413 would encourage expanded joint procurement
of medical items, to include prescription drugs.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 223 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
Subtitle D--Construction Authorization
authorization of major medical facility projects
Current Law
Section 8104 of title 38, United States Code, provides that
no funds may be appropriated for any fiscal year, and VA may
not obligate or expend funds (other than for planning and
design) for any medical construction project involving a
total expenditure of more than $4 million unless funds for
that project have been specifically authorized by law.
House Bill
Section 201 of H.R. 5109 would authorize the construction
of a gero-psychiatric care building at the Department of
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Palo Alto, California ($26.6
million); the construction of a utility plant and electrical
vault at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center,
Miami, Florida ($23.6 million); and, seismic corrections,
clinical consolidation and other improvements at the
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Long Beach,
California ($51.7 million). Also, the House bill would
authorize the renovation of psychiatric nursing units at the
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Murfreesboro,
Tennessee, using funds previously appropriated for this
specific purpose ($14 million).
Senate Bill
Section 301 of S. 1810 would authorize construction of a
120-bed gero-psychiatric facility at the Department of
Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park
Division, California ($26.6 million); and, construction of a
nursing home at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical
Center, Beckley, West Virginia ($9.5 million). In section 302
of S. 1810, the Senate would amend section 401 of the
Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act of 1999,
Public Law 106-117, to add as a seventh project authorized by
that act for fiscal year 2000-2001 the Murfreesboro
construction project ($14 million).
Compromise Agreement
Section 231 of the compromise agreement incorporates each
of the projects authorized by either body and includes
specific authorization for the Murfreesboro project. Also,
the compromise agreement provides that the authorizations for
Palo Alto, Long Beach, and Beckley will be for 2 years,
covering fiscal years 2001 and 2002, while the authorization
for the Miami project will be only for fiscal year 2001. The
compromise agreement also renews and extends the prior
authorization of a project at the Lebanon, Pennsylvania VA
Medical Center through the end of fiscal year 2002.
The Miami electrical plant and utility vault project is
authorized only for fiscal year 2001. While the compromise
agreement authorizes the project to proceed, we note that the
current estimate to replace these facilities is $32 million.
Given this level of anticipated expenditure, the Committees
urge the Secretary to examine innovative ways to reduce VA's
outlay, at least on an initial basis. For example, the
Committees note that the Miami facility is located in the
midst of a very densely developed community of health and
public safety-related institutions, including the Jackson
Memorial Hospital and Metro-Dade police headquarters, among
others. Given the need for such crucial institutions,
including the VA medical center, to have dependable, stable,
weather-proof and even fail-safe electrical sources, the
Committees urge the Secretary to consider a ``performance-
based contract'' for these services through the local utility
(Florida Power and Light), or by consortium with multiple
partners in need of similar improvements, assurances and
security of utilities. At a minimum, the Secretary must
carefully examine the reported cost of this project to ensure
that it is being planned to meet known needs, rather than
planned for the ``highest possible use.''
authorization of appropriations
House
The House bill (H.R. 5109, section 202) would authorize
appropriations for fiscal years 2001 and 2002 of $101.9
million for construction of the facilities authorized in
section 201 thereof.
Senate Bill
S. 1810, section 303, would authorize appropriations for
fiscal years 2001 and 2002 of $36.1 million for construction
for the facilities authorized in section 301. Also, section
303 alters the authorization funding level of projects
authorized in Public Law 106-117 by including the
Murfreesboro project discussed above.
Compromise Agreement
Section 232 of the compromise agreement authorizes
appropriations for the amounts indicated in each measure for
these projects, affecting both fiscal year 2001 and fiscal
2002, as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
authorized
Authorizations (in
millions)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beckley.................................................... $9.5
[[Page H9936]]
Lebanon*................................................... 14.5
Long Beach................................................. 51.7
Miami**.................................................... 23.6
Murfreesboro............................................... 14.0
Palo Alto.................................................. 26.6
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Indicates authorization of appropriation in fiscal year 2002 only.
**Indicates authorization of appropriation in fiscal year 2001 only.
extension of construction authorization at the lebanon, pennsylvania va
medical center
Current Law
Section 401 of Public Law 106-117 (113 Stat. 1572)
authorized a major construction project at the Lebanon,
Pennsylvania, VA Medical Center. The project was authorized
for fiscal year 2002 and fiscal year 2001.
House
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 232(a)(3) of the compromise agreement extends
through fiscal year 2002 the prior authorization for
construction of a long-term care facility at the Department
of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in
an amount not to exceed $14.5 million.
Subtitle E--Real Property Matters
change to enhanced use lease congressional notification period
Current Law
Section 8163(a) of title 38, United States Code, requires
the Secretary to notify Congress of VA's intention to pursue
an enhanced-use lease of unused VA property, then wait a
period of ``60 legislative days'' prior to proceeding with
the specific lease objective(s). In the Veterans' Millennium
Health care Act, Public Law 106-117, Congress eased limits in
law on leasing underused VA property based on a finding that
long-term leasing could be used more extensively to enhance
health care delivery to veterans.
House
Section 407 of H.R. 5109 would amend the waiting period for
VA notifications to Congress from 60 ``legislative'' days to
90 ``calendar'' days. This change would shorten the length of
time VA must wait before entering into an enhanced-use lease.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 241 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
release of reversionary interest of the united states in certain real
property previously conveyed to the state of tennessee
Current Law
In 1953, by Act of congress (67 Stat. 54), the federal
government transferred certain property of the Veterans
Administration (now Department of Veterans Affairs) in
Johnson City (now Mountain Home), Tennessee, to the State of
Tennessee, for use by the Army National Guard of the State of
Tennessee. The act of transfer retained a reversionary
interest in the land on the part of the government in the
event that the State of Tennessee ceased to use the land as a
training area for the guard and for ``other military
purposes.'' The land is no longer being used by the Tennessee
National Guard and has no practical use by the government.
Local municipal officials desire the land as a site for a
public park and recreation area, and the State of Tennessee
has made a commitment to transfer the land for these purposes
but may not do so absent a recision of the federal
government's reversionary interest in the property.
House Bill
Section 407 of H.R. 5109 would rescind the government's
reversionary interest in the Tennessee property.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 242 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
transfer of the allen park, michigan, va medical center to ford motor
land development corporation
Current Law
In 1937, the Henry Ford family donated a 39-acre plot to VA
expressly for the establishment of the Allen Park, Michigan
VA Hospital. The conveyance provided that VA must return the
land, in the same condition as it was received, if VA ceased
to utilize it for veterans' health care. In 1996, VA
activated a new VA Medical Center in Detroit.
House Bill
H.R. 5346 would transfer the land, the site of the former
Allen Park, Michigan VA Medical Center, and all improvements
thereon, to the Ford Motor Land Development Corporation, a
subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. Having been replaced in
1996 by a new VA Medical Center in Detroit, the facility now
is in disrepair. The bill would require up to 7 years of
cooperation between VA and Ford in demolition, environmental
cleanup (including remediation of hazardous material and
environmental contaminants found on the site), and
restoration of the property to its prior state. VA
contributions would be limited to $2 million per year over
the period, and Ford would be responsible for any amount over
VA's total contribution ($14 million) required to complete
the restoration. At the conclusion of restorative work, the
Secretary would formally abandon the property, which would
then revert to Ford Motor Land Development Corporation, in
accordance with the reversionary clause contained in the
original 1937 gift.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 243 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
transfer of land at the carl vinson va medical center, dublin, georgia
Current Law
No provision.
House Bill
H.R. 5139 would convey to the Board of Regents of the State
of Georgia two tracts of real property, including
improvements, consisting of 39 acres at the Carl Vinson
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dublin,
Georgia. The bill also conveys to the Community Service Board
of Middle Georgia three tracts of property consisting of 58
acres, including improvements, at the Carl Vinson facility.
The bill requires these properties be used in perpetuity for
education or health care.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 244 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
land conveyance of miles city, montana veterans affairs medical center
to custer county, montana
Current Law
No provision.
Senate Bill
Section 312 of S. 1810 would transfer VA medical center
facilities in Miles City, Montana, to Custer County, Montana,
while authorizing VA to lease space in which VA would operate
an outpatient clinic. Custer County would devote the
transferred land to assisted living apartments for the
elderly and to a number of other economic enhancement and
community activity uses, including education and training
courses through Miles Community College, a technology center,
local fire department training, and use by the Montana Area
Food Bank. VA, in turn, is relieved of the requirement to
spend over $500,000 per year maintaining a facility that is
poorly suited to provide health care to the veterans of
eastern Montana. VA would devote the saved funds to expanding
Montana veterans' access to care by activating additional
community based outpatient clinics in Montana.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 245 of the compromise agreement follows the Senate
language. The compromise agreement anticipates that VA will
work with the civic leadership of Custer County, Montana in
order to identify potential improvements that may be
reasonably necessary to effectuate the transfer of the Miles
City property to Custer County. Also, the compromise
agreement calls for the Secretary to determine to what extent
it may be necessary to stipulate any conditions about the
transfer, or conditions for VA's future use of this property,
prior to the transfer of ownership of this property to Custer
County. The compromise agreement further envisions funds
appropriated to VA for non-recurring maintenance may be used,
as authorized by law, to facilitate the transfer of VA's
interest in the Miles City VA Medical Center to Custer
County.
transfer of the fort lyon, colorado, va medical center to the state of
colorado
Current Law
No provision.
Senate Bill
Sections 313 and 314 of S. 1810 would transfer the VA
Medical Center, Ft. Lyon, Colorado to the State of Colorado
for use by the State as a corrections facility. Under the
terms of the bill, the conveyance would take place only when
arrangements are made to protect the interests of affected
patients and employees of the facility. With respect to
patients, the bill would require VA to make alternate
arrangements to ensure that appropriate medical care and
nursing home care services continue to be provided, on the
same basis that care had been provided at Ft. Lyon, to all
veterans receiving such services at the medical center. Under
the bill, the VA would be authorized to provide care in
community facilities at VA expense, notwithstanding other
statutory limitations--e.g., title 38, United States Code,
section 1720, which limits to 6 months the duration for which
such care might be provided to veterans for nonservice-
connected disabilities--or by state homes where VA would pay
full costs and reimburse the veterans' share of copayments.
Further, VA would be authorized to offer voluntary separation
incentive
[[Page H9937]]
payments to eligible employees of the Ft. Lyon VA medical
center. In addition, the State would be required to allow
public access to the Kit Carson Chapel located on the grounds
of the VA medical center. And, finally, the VA would report
on the status of the VA health care system in southern
Colorado, not later than 1 year after the conveyance.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparabale provision.
Compromise Agreement
Sections 246 and 247 of the compromise agreement follow the
Senate language, except for the provision extending VA's
authority to offer voluntary separation incentive payments
[subsection (c) of section 314 of S. 1810].
The inclusion of this language in this legislation should
not be misconstrued as an erosion of, or acquiescence in, the
requirement enacted in Public Law 106-117, the Veterans
Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act of 1999, for VA to
maintain VA-provided long-term care capacity at the 1998
level. VA continues to be obligated by law to ensure that the
cumulative effect of its actions does not result in a
reduction in VA's ability to provide institutional long-term
care.
It should be noted that section 207 of this bill provides a
2-year extension of VA-wide authority to offer voluntary
separation incentive payments to VA employees. The Committees
find that the provision specifically granting the Fort Lyon
facility a 1-year authority to offer voluntary separation
incentive payments is redundant. Further, the Committees were
concerned that retaining the Fort Lyon-specific provision in
final legislation could have the unintended effect of
limiting the 2-year, VA-wide buyout authority, granted in
section 207, to 1 year when applied in the case of Fort Lyon.
The Committees expect VA to use the authority granted in
section 207, as an important human resources management tool,
in its conveyance of the Fort Lyon facility.
TITLE III--COMPENSATION, INSURANCE, HOUSING, EMPLOYMENT, AND MEMORIAL
AFFAIRS PROVISIONS
Subtitle A--Compensation Programs Changes
presumption of service connection for heart attack or stroke suffered
by a member of a reserve component in the performance of duty while
performing in active duty training
Current Law
Under section 101(24) of title 38, United States Code,
guardsmen and reservists who sustain an ``injury'' during
inactive duty training are eligible for certain veterans'
benefits, but are not eligible to receive disability
compensation for a condition characterized as a ``disease''
that is incurred or aggravated during such training.
House Bill
Section 201(a) of H.R. 4850 would amend section 101(24) to
include an acute myocardial infarction, a cardiac arrest, or
a cerebrovascular accident resulting in disability or death
and occurring during any period of inactive duty training for
the purposes of service-connected benefits administered by
VA.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 301 of the compromise agreement contains the House
provision.
special monthly compensation for women veterans who lose a breast as a
result of a service-connected disability
Current Law
Section 1114(k) of title 38, United States Code, authorizes
a special rate of compensation if a veteran, as the result of
a service-connected disability, has suffered the anatomical
loss or loss of use of one or more creative organs, or one
foot, or one hand, or both buttocks, or blindness of one eye,
having only light perception, or has suffered complete loss
of the ability to speak, or deafness of both ears. The
special monthly compensation is payable in addition to the
compensation payable by reason of ratings assigned under the
rating schedule.
House Bill
Section 202 of H.R. 4850 would amend section 1114(k) by
making veterans eligible for special monthly compensation due
to the service-connected loss of one or both breasts due to a
radical mastectomy or modified radical mastectomy.
Senate Bill
Section 103 of S. 1810 would amend section 1114(k) by
making female veterans eligible for special monthly
compensation due to the loss of one or both breasts,
including loss by mastectomy.
Compromise Agreement
Section 302 of the compromise agreement contains the Senate
provision.
benefits for persons disabled by participation in compensated work
therapy program
Current Law
Section 1151 of title 38, United States Code, provides
compensation, under certain circumstances, to veterans who
are injured as a result of VA health care or participation in
VA vocational rehabilitation. Section 1718 of title 38,
United States Code, authorizes the ``Compensated Work Therapy
Program (CWT),'' which pays veterans to work in a variety of
positions on contracts with governmental and industrial
entities. CWT work is intended to be therapeutic by helping
veterans re-enter the work force, enabling them to increase
self-confidence and by improving their ability to adjust to
the work setting. However, current law provides no mechanism
to compensate CWT participants who may be injured as a result
of participation.
House Bill
Section 402 of H.R. 5109 would allow VA to provide
disability benefits under section 1151 to CWT participants
injured while participating in this program.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contains no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 303 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
revision to limitation on payments of benefits to incompetent
institutionalized veterans
Current Law
Under section 5503 of title 38, United States Code, VA is
prohibited from paying compensation and pension benefits to
an incompetent veteran who has assets of $1,500 or more if
the veteran is being provided institutional care with or
without charge by VA (or another governmental provider) and
he or she has no dependents. Such payments are restored if
the veteran's assets drop to $500 in value. If VA later
determines that the veteran is competent for at least 6
months, the withheld payments are made in a lump sum.
Senate Bill
Section 205 of S. 1076 would repeal the limitation on
benefit payments imposed by section 5503 of title 38, United
States Code.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Under section 304 of the compromise agreement, the amount
of resources that an incompetent veteran may retain and still
qualify for payments is increased from $1,500 to five times
the benefit amount payable to a service-connected disabled
veteran rated at 100 percent. If payments are withheld, they
may be restored if the veteran's assets drop to one-half of
that amount. The Committees expect that in notifying veterans
and fiduciaries of the applicability of this requirement, VA
will briefly indicate the assets that are counted or excluded
in determining net worth. (See 38 C.F.R. Sec. 13.109)
review of dose reconstruction program of the defense threat reduction
agency
Current Law
VA provides service-connected compensation benefits to
veterans who were exposed to ionizing radiation in service
(due to participation in the occupation forces of Hiroshima
or Nagasaki immediately after World War II, or in nuclear
testing activities during the Cold War era) and who,
subsequently, are diagnosed with the presumptive diseases
listed in section 1112(c)(2) of title 38, United States Code.
VA may also compensate radiation-exposed veterans with
diseases not presumed to be service-connected if it
determines that it is as likely as not that the disease is
the result of exposure, taking into account the amount of
exposure and the radiogenic properties of the disease; but VA
utilizes dose reconstruction analysis provided by the
Department of Defense to determine the estimated exposure.
Senate Bill
Section 171 of S. 1810 specifies that the Department of
Defense (DOD) shall contract with the National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) to carry out periodic reviews of the dose
reconstruction program. NAS would review whether DOD's
reconstruction of sampled doses is accurate, whether DOD
assumptions regarding exposure based upon sampled doses are
credible, and whether data from nuclear testing used by DOD
in its reconstructions are accurate. The review would last 24
months and culminate in a report detailing NAS' findings and
recommendations, if any, for a permanent review program.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 305 of the compromise agreement follows the Senate
language.
Subtitle B--Life Insurance Matters
premiums for term service disabled veterans' insurance for veterans
older than age 70
Current Law
VA Administers the Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance
(SDVI) program under chapter 19 of title 38, United States
Code. SDVI term policy premiums increase every 5 years to
reflect the increased risk of death as individuals age.
Senate Bill
Section 131 of S. 1810 would cap premiums for SDVI term
policies at the age 70 renewal rate.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 311 of the compromise agreement follows the Senate
language with an amendment requiring VA to report to
Congress, not
[[Page H9938]]
later than September 30, 2001, on plans to liquidate the
unfunded liability in the SDVI program not later than October
1, 2011.
increase in automatic maximum coverage under servicemembers' group life
insurance and veterans' group life insurance
Current Law
The Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program
provides up to $200,000 in coverage to individuals on active
duty in the Armed Forces, members of the Ready Reserves, the
Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, the Public Health Service, cadets and
midshipmen of the four service academies, and members of the
Reserve Officer Training Corps. The maximum coverage of
$200,000 is automatically provided unless the servicemember
declines coverage are elects coverage at a reduced amount.
Senate Bill
Section 132 of S. 1810 would increase the maximum amount of
coverage available through the SGLI program from $200,000 to
$250,000.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 312 of the compromise agreement contains the Senate
language.
eligibility of certain members of the individual ready reserve for
service-
members' group life insurance
Current Law
Members of the Selected Reserve are eligible for enrollment
in the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program.
Members of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) are eligible
for SGLI only when called to active duty. Members of the IRR
are currently eligible for Veterans Group Life Insurance, but
only a small percentage participates.
House Bill
Section 301 of H.R. 4850 would provide those members of the
IRR who are subject to involuntary call-up authority to
enroll in the Serivcemembers' Group Life Insurance program.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 313 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
Subtitle C--Housing and Employment Programs
elimination of reduction in assistance for specially adapted housing
for disabled veterans having joint ownership of housing units
Current Law
Under chapter 21 of title 38, United States Code, veterans
with severe disabilities such as loss of ambulatory function
are eligible for specially adapted housing grants of up to
$43,000 to finance the purchase or remodeling of housing
units with special adaptions necessary to accommodate their
disabilities. No particular form of ownership is specified in
current law. Under regulations promulgated by the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs, co-ownership of the property by the
veteran and another person is not relevant to the amount of
the grant if the co-owner is the veteran's spouse. If,
however, the co-owner is a person other than the veteran's
spouse, the maximum grant amount is reduced by regulation to
reflect the veteran's partial ownership of the property
interest, e.g., if the veteran jointly owns the property with
one other person such as a sibling, the maximum grant is
$21,500. (See 38 CFR Sec. 36.4402)
Senate Bill
Section 121 of S. 1810 would amend section 2102 of chapter
21 of title 38, United States Code, to allow VA to make non-
reduced grants for specially adapted housing in cases where
title to the housing unit is not vested solely in the
veteran, if the veteran resides in the housing unit.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 321 of the compromise agreement contains the Senate
language.
veteran's employment emphasis under federal contracts for recently
separated veterans
Current Law
Section 4212 of title 38, United States Code, requires that
certain Federal contractors and subcontractors take
affirmative action to employ and advance ``special disabled
veterans'' (generally, veterans with serious employment
handicaps or disability ratings of 30 percent or higher),
Vietnam-era veterans, and other veterans who are ``preference
eligible'' (generally, veterans who have served during
wartime or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign
badge has been authorized).
Senate Bill
Section 151 of S. 1810 would add recently separated
veterans (veterans who have been discharged or released from
active duty within a 1-year period) to the definition of
veterans to whom Federal contractors and subcontractors must
extend affirmative action to employ and advance in
employment.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 322 of the compromise agreement contains the Senate
language.
employers required to grant leave of absence for employees to
participate as honor guards for funerals of veterans
Current Law
Section 4303(13) of title 38, United States Code, defines
``service in the uniformed services,'' as the performance of
duty on a voluntary or involuntary basis. Section 4316
defines the rights, benefits, and obligations of persons
absent from employment for service in a uniformed service.
House Bill
H.R. 284 would add to the definition of ``service in the
uniformed services'' a period for which a person is absent
from employment for the purpose of performing funeral honors
authorized duty under section 12503 of title 10, United
States Code, or section 115 of title 32, United States Code.
An employer would be required to grant an employee who is a
member of a reserve component an authorized leave of absence
from a position of employment to allow the employee to
perform funeral duties. For purposes of intent to return to a
position of employment with an employer, H.R. 284 would
stipulate that an employee who takes an authorized leave of
absence to perform funeral honors duty would be deemed to
have notified the employer of the employee's intent to return
to such position of employment.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 323 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
Subtitle D--Cemeteries and Memorial Affairs
eligibility of certain filipino veterans of world war ii for interment
in national cemeteries
Current Law
Section 2402(4) of title 38, United States Code, provides
that eligibility for burial in any open VA national cemetery
include any citizen of the United States who, during any war
in which the United States is or has been engaged, served in
the armed forces of any government allied with the United
States during that war, and whose last such service
terminated honorably.
Senate Bill
Section 141 of S. 1810 would amend section 2402(4) of title
38, United States Code, to provide for the eligibility of a
Philippine Commonwealth Army veteran for burial in a national
cemetery if, at the time of death, the Commonwealth Army
veteran is a naturalized citizen of the United States, and he
is a resident of the United States.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 331 of the compromise agreement follows the Senate
language with an amendment requiring that the veteran be a
citizen of, or lawfully admitted for permanent residence in,
the United States, and be receiving compensation or be
determined to have been eligible for pension had the
veteran's service been deemed to be active military, naval,
or air service.
payment rate of burial benefits for certain filipino veterans of world
war ii
Current Law
Former members of the Philippine Commonwealth Army may
qualify for VA disability compensation, burial benefits, and
National Service Life Insurance benefits, and their survivors
may qualify for dependency and indemnity compensation. These
benefits are paid at one-half the rate they are provided to
U.S. veterans. (See 38 U.S.C. Sec. 107).
Senate Bill
Section 201 of S. 1076 would authorize payment of the full-
rate funeral expense and plot allowance to survivors of
Philippine Commonwealth Army veterans who, at the time of
death, a) are citizens of the United States residing in the
U.S. and b) are receiving compensation for a service-
connected disability or would have been eligible for VA
pension benefits had their service been deemed to have been
active military, naval, or air service.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 332 of the compromise agreement follows the Senate
language with an amendment that as an alternate requirement
to citizenship, permanent resident status would suffice for
purposes of establishing eligibility.
plot allowance for burial in state veterans' cemeteries
Current Law
Section 2303(b)(1) provides a plot allowance of $150 for
each veteran buried in a State-owned veterans' cemetery,
provided that only persons eligible for burial in a national
cemetery are buried in that cemetery.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
[[Page H9939]]
Compromise Agreement
Section 333 of the compromise agreement would allow a State
to bury in a State veterans' cemetery members of the Armed
Forces or former members discharged or released from service
under conditions other than dishonorable--who are not
otherwise eligible for burial in a national cemetery--without
the State losing its eligibility for a plot allowance.
TITLE IV--OTHER MATTERS
benefits for the children of women vietnam veterans who suffer from
certain birth defects
Current Law
VA has authority to compensate veterans (including
additional amounts of compensation for dependents) for
service-connected disease or injury. VA may, pursuant to
Public Law 104-204, provides benefits to children of Vietnam
veterans born with ``all forms and manifestations'' of spina
bifida except spina bifida occulta. Children with spina
bifida born of Vietnam veterans currently are eligible for
(1) a monthly allowance, varying by degree of disability of
the person with spina bifida, (2) health care for any
disability associated with that person's spina bifida, and
930 vocational training, job placement, and post-job
placement services.
Senate Bill
Section 162 of S. 1810 would extend (with a single
variation) to the children born with birth defects to women
Vietnam veterans the same benefits as those now afforded to
Vietnam veterans' children born with spina bifida under
chapter 18 of title 38, United States Code.
House Bill
The House bills contains no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 401 of the compromise agreement generally follows
the Senate language. The former chapter 18 has been
redesignated as subchapter I, the compromise agreement from
section 401 of S. 1810 has been designated as subchapter II
of chapter 18 and certain general definitional and
administrative provisions applicable to both subchapters I
and II of chapter 18 have been placed in a new subchapter
III.
The definition of ``child'' in the Senate bill has been
moved to a general definitions section (new section 1821)
contained in subchapter III. A separate definition of
``eligible child'' (for purposes of subchapter II) has been
provided in a new section 1811. The definition of ``female
Vietnam veteran'' contained in S. 1810 has been removed from
subchapter II and replaced by general definitions of Vietnam
veteran and Vietnam era in new section 1821.
S. 1810 would have excluded spina bifida from the
definition of a covered birth defect in subchapter II. Thus,
the Senate bill could have been interpreted so as to require
a child to choose to receive a monthly monetary allowance and
health care based only on spina bifida or based only on non-
spina bifida disabilities, but not both. Because the
Committees wish to include spina bifida with all other
covered disabilities for purposes of rating the disabilities
from which an eligible child may suffer, the prohibition in
proposed section 1812(b)(2) has been deleted from the
compromise bill. The compromise agreement is intended to
ensure that children of women Vietnam veterans who suffer
both from spina bifida and any other covered birth defect
will have all of their disabilities considered in determining
the appropriate disability rating and the amount of monetary
benefits to be paid under subchapter II of chapter 18. If the
only covered birth defect present is spina bifida, the
eligible child would be compensated under the spina bifida
provisions of subchapter I of chapter 18.
The requirement in S. 1810 that birth defects identified by
the Secretary be listed in regulations has been omitted. In
drafting this legislation, the Committees considered the
report of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health
Administration, Environmental Epidemiology Service, entitled
``Women Vietnam Veterans Reproductive Outcomes Health Study''
(October, 1998). Because this report identifies a wide
variety of birth defects identified in the children of women
Vietnam veterans, the Committees concluded that it was not
necessary to provide a rating for each separate defect. Thus,
the Committees intend that, in addition to whatever specific
defects the Secretary may identify, the Secretary may also
describe defects in generic terms, such as ``a congenial
muscular impairment resulting in the inability to stand or
walk without assistive devices.'' Language authorizing the
Secretary to take into account functional limitations when
formulating a schedule for rating disabilities under the new
subchapter was added to specifically allow for ratings based
upon generic descriptions of functional limitations imposed
by the disabilities.
The limitation contained in the Senate bill which barred
assistance under the new authority to an individual who
qualified for spina bifida benefits has been deleted to
assure that children who suffer from spina bifida and any
other covered defect may receive a monetary allowance under
subchapter II and health care which takes into account the
disabilities imposed by spina bifida and any other condition.
extension of certain expiring authorities
Current Law
The following authorities expire on September 30, 2002: 1)
VA's authority to verify the eligibility of recipients, of,
or applicants for, VA needs-based benefits and VA means-
tested medical care by gaining access to income records of
the Department of Health and Human Services/Social Security
Administration and the Internal Revenue Service, 2) the
reduction to $90 per month for VA pension and death pension
benefits to veterans or other beneficiaries without
dependents who are receiving Medicaid-covered nursing home
care, 3) the Secretary's authority to charge borrowers who
obtain VA-guaranteed, insured or direct home loans a ``home
loan'' fee, and 4) procedures applicable to liquidation sales
of defaulted home loans guaranteed by VA. The Secretary's
(enhanced loan asset) authority to issue and guarantee
securities representing an interest in home loans expires on
December 31, 2002.
House Bill
Section 8 of H.R. 4268 would extend temporary authorities
to 2008 that would otherwise expire on September 30, 2002,
including: 1) VA income verification authority through which
VA verifies the eligibility for VA needs-based benefits and
VA means-tested medical care, by gaining access to income
records of the Department of Health and Human Services/Social
Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service, 2)
limitation on VA pension and death pension payments to
beneficiaries without dependents receiving Medicaid-covered
nursing home care, 3) VA-enhanced loan asset authority
guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on VA-
issued certificates or other securities, VA home loan fees of
\3/4\
of one percent of the total loan amount, and 4) procedures
applicable to liquidation sales on defaulted home loans
guaranteed by VA.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 402 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
PRESERVATION OF CERTAIN REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Current Law
The Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995
repealed a number of agency report requirements that Congress
had imposed during the 20th century. The effect of that law,
which otherwise would have taken effect last year, was
temporarily suspended until May 15, 2000, by a provision in
last year's omnibus appropriations act, Public Law 106-113.
House Bill
Section 10 of H.R. 4268 would reinstate the requirements
that the Secretary provide periodic reports concerning
equitable relief granted by the Secretary to an individual
beneficiary (expires December 31, 2004); work and activities
of the Department; programs and activities examined by the
Advisory Committees on a) former prisoners of war (expires
December 31, 2003) and b) women veterans (expires after
biennial reports submitted in 2004); operation of the
Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program (expires
December 31, 2004); and activities of the Secretary's special
medical advisory group (expires December 31, 2004). It also
requires the Secretary to include with any report that is
required by law or by a joint explanatory statement of a
Congressional conference committee an estimate of the cost of
preparing the report.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
Section 403 of the compromise agreement contains the House
language.
LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS NOT ADOPTED
EXPANSION OF LIST OF DISEASES PRESUMED TO BE SERVICE-CONNECTED FOR
RADIATION-EXPOSED VETERANS
Current Law
Section 1112(c)(2) of title 38, United States Code, lists
16 diseases which, if they become manifest in a radiation-
exposed veteran at any time in his or her lifetime, would be
considered to have been incurred in or aggravated during
active service.
Senate Bill
Section 102 of S. 1810 would amend section 1112(c)(2) by
adding lung cancer, tumors of the brain and central nervous
system, and ovarian cancer to the list of diseases presumed
to be service-connected if they are contracted by radiation-
exposed veterans.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
INCREASE IN MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF HOUSING LOAN GUARANTEE
Current Law
Under section 3703(a)(1)(A)(IV) of title 38, United States
Code, VA guarantees 25 percent of a home loan amount for
loans of more than $144,000, with a maximum guaranty of
$50,750. Under current mortgage loan industry practices, a
loan guaranty of $50,750 is sufficient to allow a veteran to
borrow up to $203,000 toward the purchase of a home with
no down payment.
Senate Bill
Section 122 of S. 1810 would amend section 3703(a)(1) to
increase the maximum amount of the VA guaranty from $50,750
to $63,175.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
[[Page H9940]]
termination of collection of loan fees from veterans rated eligible for
compensation at pre-discharge rating examinations
Current Law
Section 3729(c) of title 38, United States Code, provides
that a loan fee may not be collected from a veteran who is
receiving disability compensation (or who, but for the
receipt of retirement pay, would be entitled to receive
compensation) or from a surviving spouse of any veteran who
died from a service-connected disability (including a person
who died in the active military, naval, or air service).
Senate Bill
Section 123 of S. 1810 would amend section 3729 to add an
additional category of fee-exempt borrower; persons who have
been evaluated by VA prior to discharge from military service
and who are expected to qualify for a compensable service-
connected disability upon discharge, but who are not yet
receiving disability compensation because they are still on
active duty.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
family coverage under servicemembers' group life insurance
Current Law
Spouses and dependent children are not eligible for any VA-
administered insurance program.
Senate Bill
Section 133 of S. 1810 would create a new section 1967A
within chapter 19 of title 38, United States Code. This
section would provide to SGLI-insured servicemembers an
opportunity to provide for coverage of their spouses and
children. The amount of coverage for a spouse would be equal
to the coverage of the insured servicemember, up to a maximum
of $50,000. The lives of an insured servicemembers' dependent
children would be insured for $5,000.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
comptroller general audit of veterans' employment and training service
of the department of labor
Current Law
Not applicable.
Senate Bill
Section 152 of S. 1810 would require the Comptroller
General of the United States to carry out a comprehensive
audit of the Veterans' Employment and Training Service of the
Department of Labor. The audit would commence not earlier
than January 1, 2001, and would be completed not later than 1
year after enactment of this provision. Its purpose would be
to provide a basis for future evaluations of the
effectiveness of the Service in meeting its mission. The
audit would review the requirements applicable to the Service
under law, evaluate the organizational structure of the
Service, and any other matters related to the Service that
the Comptroller General considers appropriate.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
accelerated payments of basic educational assistance
Current Law
Current law does not provide for accelerated educational
assistance payments tin VA-administered education programs.
Senate Bill
Section 9 of S. 1402 would authorize VA to make accelerated
payments under the terms of regulations that VA would
promulgate to allow MGIB participants to receive a
semester's, a quarter's, or a term's worth of benefits at the
beginning of the semester, quarter, or term. For courses not
so organized, VA could make an accelerated payment up to a
limit established by VA regulation, not to exceed the cost of
the course.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
eligibility of members of the armed forces to withdraw elections not to
receive montgomery gi bill basic educational assistance
Current Law
Sections 3011(c)(1) (for active duty service of at least 3
years) and 3012(d)(1) (for active duty service of 2 years and
4 continuous years in the Selected Reserve) of title 38,
United States Code, provide that any servicemember may make
an election not to receive educational assistance under
chapter 30 of title 38, United States Code. Any such election
shall be made at the time the individual initially enters
active duty. For servicemembers who elect to sign up for the
Montgomery GI Bill, section 3011(b) requires a pay reduction
of $100 per month for the first 12 months of active service.
Senate Bill
Section 8 of S. 1402 would authorize servicemembers who had
``opted out'' of MGIB participation (by electing not to
receive MGIB benefits and whose basic pay during the first 12
months of service, therefore, had not been reduced by $100
per month for 12 months) to regain eligibility for MGIB
benefits by making a $1,500 lump sum payment.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
codification of recurring provisions in annual department of veterans
affairs appropriations acts
Current Law
Each year the Congress appropriates funds to the Department
of Veterans Affairs as part of the Departments of Veterans
Affair and Housing and Urban Development, Independent
Agencies Appropriations Act (VA-HUD) appropriations bill).
Although the amount of the appropriations varies from year to
year, the purposes for which appropriations are made are
generally fixed, and change little, if any, from year to
year. Because the style of appropriations language
discourages normal punctuation or sentence structure, some of
the ``sentences'' making appropriations exceed a page in
length. This approach appears to make the appropriations
language difficult for the average person to read.
House Bill
Section 9 of H.R. 4268 would codify recurring provisions in
annual Department of Veterans Affairs Appropriations Acts.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
major construction project at the boston, massachusetts health care
system: integration of the boston, west roxbury, and brockton va
medical centers
Current Law
No provision.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
Compromise Agreement
The Committees take note of concerns registered by Members
of both Houses over the pace and poor planning associated
with an important project in the greater Boston VA
environment. The most recent information on the Boston
integration indicates that a new review--by the Capital
Assets Restructuring For Enhanced Services (CARES) contractor
for New England--will begin soon. The Committees expect VA to
complete the Boston integration plan in an expedited manner.
Further, the Committees expect the VA to submit a proposal,
or a major construction authorization request, to address
these infrastructure needs following completion of the CARES
validation of bed need in the area. The Committees support
this process and look forward to the results of the analysis
and any proposal VA consequently may make.
pilot program for coordination of hospital benefits
Current Law
No provision.
House Bill
Section 401 of H.R. 5109 would authorize a four-site VA
pilot program. Under the program, veterans with Medicare or
private health coverage (and a number of indigent veterans),
who rely on a VA community-based clinic, could voluntarily
choose nearby community hospital care for brief episodes of
medical-surgical inpatient care. The VA clinic would
coordinate care and cover required copayments.
Senate Bill
The Senate bills contain no comparable provision.
unification of medication copayments
Current Law
Under Section 1710(a)(2)(G) of title 38, United States
Code, VA provides medical care, without imposing an
obligation to make copayments for such care, to veterans who
are ``unable to defray the expenses of necessary care. . .
.'' This is determined by comparing the veteran's annual
income against an income threshold that is adjusted annually.
A separate provision of law, section 1722A of title 38,
United States Code, mandates that VA charge a copayment for
each 30-day supply of prescription medications provided to a
veteran on an outpatient basis if that medication is for the
treatment of a nonservice-connected condition.
Two categories of veterans are exempt from the copayment
obligation: veterans who have service-connected disability
ratings of 50 percent or higher, and veterans whose annual
income does not exceed the maximum amount of ``means tested''
VA pension that would be payable if such veterans were to
qualify for pension. Eligibility for pension is also
determined by calculating countable income against an income
threshold. This pension level is lower than the health care
eligibility income threshold. As a consequence, veterans who
are given priority access to VA health care and are exempted
from making copayments for that health care under one
measurement of their means are required to make copayments
for medications under a different measurement of their means.
Senate Bill
Section 201 of S. 1810 would unify the copayment exemption
thresholds at the health care eligibility income threshold.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
[[Page H9941]]
extension of maximum term of va leases to providers of homeless
veterans services
Current Law
VA's Home Loan Guaranty Program assists veterans by
facilitating their purchase, construction, and improvement of
homes. VA does so by encouraging private lenders to extend
favorable credit terms to veterans by guaranteeing repayment
of a portion of the lender-provided home loan.
In some circumstances, veterans default on mortgage loans
guaranteed by VA. In such cases, the lender will foreclose,
and VA, as a guarantor, may come into possession of the
property. Such properties, typically, are sold to the public
by VA. VA, however, has the option of leasing such properties
to public and nonprofit private providers of services to
homeless veterans so that such service-providers may offer
shelter and other services to homeless veterans and their
families. However, such leases to the providers of services
to homeless veterans may not exceed 3 years in term.
Senate Bill
Section 311 of S. 1810 would extend the maximum term of VA
leases to providers of services to homeless veterans from 3
to 20 years.
House Bill
The House bills contain no comparable provision.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. EVANS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and I rise in strong support of this bill's amendment. This legislation
contains many important provisions, a few of which I will highlight at
this time.
Among the most important is an increase in the Montgomery GI Bill
basic benefit of $650 a month. This will provide qualifying veterans
more than $23,000 to pursue their higher education goals. We are very
pleased that the former chairman, the gentleman from Mississippi, Sonny
Montgomery, is in the Chamber with us today. He deserves the credit for
the initiation of this program and its continued support.
This is an increase of $4200, or more than 23 percent, than the
benefit available when this year began. For VA nurses, an annual pay
adjustment is provided. At long last, VA nurses will now receive an
annual pay adjustment like other VA employees.
I am very pleased that the measure also requires the VA to carry out
a new study on Vietnam veterans and post- traumatic stress disorder.
Importantly, this provision also recognizes the increased occurrence of
birth defects in children born to women veterans who served in Vietnam
during that war.
Madam Speaker, I particularly want to thank the chairman of the
committee, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump) not only for his
leadership on this issue and the other veterans' issues being
considered here today, but for his stewardship of the House Committee
on Veterans' Affairs during the past 6 years. It has been a good run,
and we appreciate the gentleman's strong support for the veterans of
our country. We know he will be a continued fighter for their benefits
and compensation.
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 1402, the Veterans
Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000. This legislation will
benefit our nation's veterans, their dependents and survivors, and
strongly deserves overwhelming approval by this House.
This legislation contains many noteworthy education provisions which
will benefit not only those who serve in uniform, but our nation as a
whole. As the author of this legislation, with my good friend,
Congressman John Dingell, to provide a meaningful increase in veterans'
education benefits. I strongly believe this measure is an important
first step toward revitalizing one of the most successful and important
programs in modern history. Under this measure, effective November 1,
2000, the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) basic education benefit for
veterans will increase to $650 per month for those who serve three
years in the Armed Forces and to $528 per month for a two-year period
of service. For those serving three years, this increase will provide
qualifying veterans more than $23,000 to pursue their higher education
goals. This is an increase of $4200, or 23%, over the benefit available
when this year began. It is a needed step in restoring the purchasing
power of the Montgomery GI Bill benefit.
In addition, an increase in MGIB education benefits for eligible
survivors and dependents is provided. For the first time, an annual
cost-of-living increase will also be provided for educational benefits
being received by eligible survivors and dependents. Under this
legislation survivors' and dependents' education benefits would be
increased from $485 per month to $588 per month for full-time students,
and by lesser amounts for part-time and other types of training.
For the first time, servicemembers on active duty who are
particularly determined to achieve their educational goals are provided
the option to elect an enhanced MGIB. Under this provision, eligible
servicemembers could elect to make voluntary contributions while still
on active duty, up to a maximum additional contribution of $600. This
contribution would be in addition to the $1,200 reduction in pay that
is required of every servicemember who elects to participate in the
MGIB. In return for a maximum additional contribution of $600, the
servicemember would be eligible for up to $5,400 in additional
education assistance benefits under the MGIB program.
Other important provisions provide for a uniform requirement for a
high school diploma or GED before applying for MGIB benefits and the
repeal of the requirement for initial obligated period of active duty
as a condition of eligibility for MGIB benefits. Further, the
legislation provides that up to $2,000 in MGIB education benefits which
may be used for civilian occupational licensing or certification
examination fees that are necessary to enter, maintain or advance in
employment. In addition, survivors and dependents who are eligible for
MGIB benefits are authorized to use those benefits for preparatory
courses including standardized college entrance examinations.
Veterans are not using the MGIB benefits they have earned through
honorable military service. High-ability, college-bound young Americans
are choosing not to serve in the Armed Forces. The significant changes
in the MGIB readjustment program embodied in this compromise agreement
should help to increase program usage and enable the military service
to recruit the higher ability young people they need.
Several important changes regarding burial benefits are also included
in this legislation. Eligibility for burial in a VA national cemetery
is provided to Filipino veterans of World War II if, at the time of
death, the veteran was legally residing in the United States. In
addition, full-rate funeral expenses and plot allowances to survivors
of eligible Filipino veterans of World War II are authorized.
With the aging of our World War II population, an estimated 1,000
veteran burials occur each day and by the year 2008, it has been
estimated that 1,700 veterans' funerals will take place each day.
Importantly, this legislation includes a provision that would amend the
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) to
expressly require employers to grant reservists an authorized leave of
absence for performing funeral honors duty. This provision would ensure
that civilian employers support both reserve component servicemembers
and America's veterans to whom we all owe our gratitude and final
respect.
Another significant provision of this legislation regards veterans'
employment. This provision would add recently-separated servicemembers
as veterans to whom affirmative action must be extended, for purposes
of employment and advancement in employment, by Federal contractors and
subcontractors.
For VA nurses, an annual pay adjustment is provided. At long last, a
serious pay inequity affecting the largest group of employees in the
VA--its nurses--is addressed and VA nurses will now receive a annual
pay adjustment like other VA employees. Most experts agree that we have
entered or are on the threshold of another critical nurse shortage. The
current nurse workforce is aging and many nurses will retire within the
next five years. At the same time, the American Nurses Association
indicates that enrollment in nursing schools has dropped precipitously
just as we will be attempting to address the needs of an increasingly
large elderly population. Older people use far more health care
services than younger people do.
In addition, nurses have had to shoulder even more responsibility as
health care delivery is transformed. Nurses are continually asked to
work more independently, work additional shifts, and change the manner
in which they have practiced medicine to reflect current health care
delivery practices, which often means updating or learning new skills.
This very important nurse pay provision will correct a problem that has
been demoralizing our VA nurse workforce and I thank my colleagues for
supporting this provision.
Over the last five years, VA's dental workforce has literally been
decimated while VA has enrolled more veterans who require their
services. I want to commend the Ranking Member of our Benefits
Subcommittee, Bob Filner for recognizing this problem and for authoring
legislation that served as the framework for a provision contained in
this legislation. This measure will allow VA to shore up its dental
staff by providing VA with the authority to extend ranges of pay for
dentists who work full-time in the VA, who have special hospital-based
training, and who have dedicated their careers to VA. It will help VA
recruit and retain its dentists who have unique
[[Page H9942]]
skills in working with veterans who are often medically indigent or
have experienced traumatic service-incurred injuries. These valuable
personnel have learned from working with veterans, and VA should take
dramatic steps to revise the damage that has been done to this
workforce over the last few years.
Further, this legislation also provides VA physicians assistants
long-sought representation within VA Headquarters along with better
training opportunities. It will also help VA retain social workers,
pharmacists and medical support personnel. These measures are crucial
to sustaining a highly skilled health care staff.
This year marked the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war.
I am very pleased this measure requires VA to carry out a new study on
Vietnam veterans and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
This legislation recognizes the increased occurrence of birth defects
in children born to women veterans who served in Vietnam during the
Vietnam war. Appropriately this measure provides health care,
vocational rehabilitation and monetary benefits for children with birth
defects attributable to the service of their mother in Vietnam. Earlier
this year I introduced H.R. 4488 to provide these benefits. I am
pleased S. 1402, as amended, authorizes these benefits.
Further, this measure also provides eligibility for special monthly
compensation for women veterans for service-connected loss of one or
both breasts.
This legislation also calls for a new focus on ``military service''
in assessing factors that may affect veterans' health. This ``Veterans
Health Initiative'' is supported by many of the members of the Vietnam
Veterans in Congress Caucus as well as by the Vietnam Veterans of
America. Earlier this year we asked Secretary West to promote this
orientation within the Department. This initiative will promote this
activity by allowing VA to live up to its promise to be a system
focused on the specific needs of veterans--a true veterans' health care
system.
Veterans are often required to travel some distance to the nearest VA
facility and are often accompanied by family or friends. For many
years, VA has attempted to accommodate veterans who are not sick enough
to stay in the hospital, but who may be unable to meet early
appointment times with their physicians unless they stay nearby. If the
veteran travels with family, the family member usually must find other
accommodations. Fisher Houses are a source of lodging that have been
available to servicemembers for some time. There are some Fisher Houses
already accommodating veterans and their families. I am pleased this
provision will authorize a regularized approach to operating them in
concert with veterans' health care.
I am pleased that we are allowing VA to extend its buyout authority
for two additional years. This authority will allow VA to restructure
its workforce to bring in health care professionals and others with an
appropriate mix of skills to contribute to the changing needs of the
system. This authority is not without strings. In the health care
system, VA has had to replace each worker with another professional.
This has enabled VA to move appropriately skilled workers into areas
where they are needed. Buyouts are greatly preferable to employees than
the reductions-in-force that VA might otherwise have to employ. They
are also tailored to allow VA flexibility in updating the skills within
its workforce.
Mr. Speaker, the Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of
2000 which deserves the strong support of every member of the house, is
the product of the hard work of many people. In particular I want to
thank the Chairman and Ranking Democratic member of our three Veterans'
Affairs Subcommittees--Cliff Stearns and Luis Guiterrez, Jack Quinn and
Bob Filner, and Terry Everett and Corrine Brown--for their important
contributions.
I also applaud the significant contributions by our colleagues Bart
Stupak and David Minge. Bart Stupak authored legislation authorizing
service-connected disability for diseases manifest during inactive duty
for training. A provision based on his proposal is included in this
legislation.
David Minge proposed legislation to increase the amount of resources
an incompetent veteran with no dependents, may retain and still qualify
for payment of benefits while being provided institutional care at VA's
expense.
Contributions made by members of the other body, by veterans, veteran
service organizations, representatives of the Administration, our House
Legislative Counsel, particularly Bob Cover, and the members of our
Committee staffs are also acknowledged and certainly appreciated.
Mr. Speaker, I particularly thank the Chairman of the Committee, Bob
Stump, not only for his leadership of this measure and the other
veterans measures being considered today, but also for his stewardship
of the Veterans Affairs Committee during the past six years.
A member of the Committee since 1979, Bob Stump assumed the
Chairmanship of our Committee at the beginning of the 104th Congress.
Under current House rules, having served as Chairman during the 104th,
105th and 106th sessions of Congress, Bob is precluded from serving as
Chairman of Veterans Affairs during the 107th Congress.
For the last four years I have served as the Ranking Democratic
Member of the Committee. I am indebted and grateful to Bob for the
courtesy and cooperation that he has extended to me and to other
Democratic members of the Committee.
We have not always agreed on public policy, but our disagreements
have never prevented us from working together on behalf of veterans. It
has been my privilege to work with Bob to develop legislation to
address the most important needs of our veterans, their dependents and
survivors.
During his six-year tenure as Chairman, our Committee has enacted
significant legislation. We have accomplished much and assisted and
benefited many. A man of few words, Bob Stump would rather solve
problems than talk about them. Thank you, Bob. I salute you for a job
well done.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STUMP. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons), a member of the committee.
Mr. GIBBONS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me
this time, and I also want to thank him for allowing me the opportunity
to speak on this worthwhile bill. I would like to give great credit to
the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump), the chairman of the committee,
for his introduction of HCR-419, which is a bill that mirrors this bill
and was introduced on the House side and became a very important part
of our consideration in the deliberations of this bill.
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of S. 1402, as
amended, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support it as well. I
wanted to highlight just a few of the benefit provisions of the bill,
however, first I would like to also recognize one of our former
colleagues, a great friend of America, a great friend of all veterans,
the former representative from Mississippi, G. V. Sonny Montgomery, one
of the distinguished gentlemen who was responsible for the GI Bill.
And, of course, the bill carries his name, and rightfully so. It is a
great honor for me to have the privilege to have made friends with
Sonny Montgomery, and I treasure his work with veterans over all these
years.
Madam Speaker, effective on November 1, this bill increases the
Montgomery GI Bill benefit from $552 per month to $650 per month, thus
helping 309,000 veterans and students immediately. Since October of
1997, Congress has increased the Montgomery GI Bill by 48 percent from
$439 to $650 per month, and we still have more to go.
With the new buy-up provisions in this bill, current and future
service members can contribute up to an additional $600 and increase
their monthly benefit over 4 years of schooling from $650 per month to
$800 per month.
Second, effective November 1, the bill increases educational benefits
for 48,000 survivors and dependents from $485 to $588 per month, with
guaranteed COLAs in years ahead.
Third, the bill is welcome news for about 137,000 active duty service
members who either previously turned down an opportunity to convert
from the post-Vietnam era veterans' educational assistance program,
known as VEAP, to the Montgomery GI Bill or had a zero balance in their
VEAP account. For a $2700 buy-in, these individuals will receive full
Montgomery GI Bill benefits that will be valued at $23,400 with passage
of today's legislation.
Fourth, the bill will help about 25,000 service members who are
discharged from military service each year who need a civilian license
or certification to practice their vocation or profession. Now they
will be able to use their Montgomery GI Bill benefits to pay for such
examinations, which average about $150 each. The subcommittee has been
very active on this issue, and I am pleased we were able to include
this provision in our final package.
Fifth, the bill provides special monthly compensation for women
veterans who lose a breast as a result of service-connected disability.
Sixth, the bill makes eligible for burial in VA national cemeteries,
and for
[[Page H9943]]
a burial plot allowance in other cemeteries, certain Philippine
commonwealth army veterans of World War II.
Madam Speaker, in closing, I would like to pay tribute to the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump), chairman of the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs. The gentleman from Arizona enlisted in the Navy at
the age of 16 in 1943, and as a teenager and Navy corpsman,
participated with the Marines in the invasion of Iwo Jima and Okinawa
and the liberation of the Philippines.
The gentleman from Arizona has served on this committee for more than
17 years, and in the last 6 years was teamed first with Sonny
Montgomery then with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) to provide
the bipartisan leadership needed to get things done.
He has now completed his 6-year term as chairman using the simple
credo of doing right by America's sons and daughters who have protected
our priceless freedoms. We do not see Bob on the talk shows or doing
media interviews, nor do we hear him trumpeting his legislative
accomplishments. I suspect, Madam Speaker, that is because he would
say, ``That's our duty.''
The gentleman from Arizona is an individual who provided selfless
leadership, the kind of leadership that seems so common to his
generation, a generation that repeatedly demonstrates that they are
ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
I want the gentleman to know that he has my thanks and friendship, my
admiration and deep respect, as well as all America's respect,
especially our veterans in this country.
Mr. EVANS. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. STUMP. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Kuykendall).
(Mr. KUYKENDALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. KUYKENDALL. Madam Speaker, I would like to associate myself with
the remarks of the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons). Very eloquently
done.
Having spent some time in the Marines Corps myself and then having to
transition to the civilian world after an injury, I found out what it
was like to use the GI Bill to get a new education. I got a master's
degree in business with it. I found out what it was like to have a
disability associated with the military and how one gets taken care of
by the VA.
We make a promise to veterans. In many cases we promise them a very
hard life and after their 3 or 4 years service, we send them back into
society. The veterans that came back from World War II and Korea, with
the use of the GI Bill that we had in place then, changed the world.
That education program allowed hundreds of thousands of men and women
to get an education and, in turn, make this Nation's economy grow into
what it is today. They laid the foundation for the economic prosperity
we have today. They are now retirees in many cases and are moving on,
but this was possible due to the education those veterans received.
This bill continues that process. It continues it for veterans that
are currently serving and it continues it for those who are on benefits
today. Education, I believe, is part of the promise we owe them.
Increasing the education benefits is well deserved, and I do not think
we can ever do quite enough for these young men and women.
Finally, the health care portion. We have always had veterans, but we
do not always take care of them as well as we should. This goes a long
way towards improving this situation. It helps us improve some of the
specialists pay who are treating veterans; it helps us with our
facilities, as in the case of one in my area, by making it seismically
safe, so that when we have earthquakes in California, that hospital
will still be able to function helping veterans.
The bill also helps veterans by helping their families, when they
have passed away, to bury them where they can be with their comrades.
We have created several new cemeteries in this legislation.
All of these things, I think, go down the road of continuing our
promise to people who are willing to serve our Nation, whether it be
for a career or only for a short time, that we will look after them
after they have left that service.
{time} 1230
I commend S. 1402, urge its passage, and hope we implement it with
the utmost speed.
Mr. STUMP. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, let me once again thank the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Stearns), the chairman of our Subcommittee on Health, who could
not be here today because of a previous commitment in Florida. He has
done a great job in steering this committee for the last 4 years.
I want to thank the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) for his input
on this bill that we are dealing with right now and thank him for his
very kind remarks.
This is probably the last bill that we will bring to the floor under
suspensions this year, Madam Speaker, and I would like to thank each
and every member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs on both sides of
the aisle.
I especially would like to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Evans) and his staff for the great job they have done for veterans,
which just shows when we put partisan politics aside and work in the
best interest of the veterans that we can accomplish many good things.
I thank him very much.
I also would like to thank Senator Specter, the chairman of the VA on
the Senate side, as well as the ranking member, Senator Rockefeller,
for their work and accomplishments on this measure. This is a good
bill. Our veterans deserve it.
Mr. MINGE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support S. 1402, the
Veterans and Dependents Millennium Education Act. Specifically, I would
like to commend the conferees for including a modified version of my
legislation, H.R. 4935.
Section 304 of the Veterans and Dependents Millennium Education Act
will be a great benefit to our nation's most vulnerable veterans.
Current law concerning mentally ill veterans actually discourages them
from seeking the mental health services they so desperately need. If a
single, mentally ill veteran is institutionalized with an estate over
$1,500, his or her estate is essentially reduced to below $500. Upon
discharge, he or she would basically have no money for housing or other
needs.
Today's legislation will modernize the estate levels for
institutionalized mentally ill veterans. By tying the estate levels to
the service connected disability ratings, we will ensure that they will
be adequate and continue to adjust with the cost of inflation. I am
proud that Congress is acting to ensure that those who served our
country are not forgotten in their time of need.
There are many people who worked to make this effort possible. In the
tradition of veterans helping veterans, the Minnesota Veterans of
Foreign Wars visited my office last Spring to inform me of this
discriminatory treatment of mentally ill veterans. Former State
Commander of the VFW Dave Adams and Claims Director Tom Hanson are to
be especially commended for their work on this initiative. I would also
like to thank Representative Lane Evans, the Ranking Democrat on the
House Veterans' Affairs Committee, for all his help in securing
inclusion of this legislation. He and the Democratic staff have been
incredibly helpful throughout the whole process.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 1402.
Mr. BUYER. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 1402, the
Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000. This bill is
a comprehensive package of education, health, and compensation benefits
that passed the House as separate bills earlier this year. Clearly,
this is another monumental step in fulfilling America's promise to its
veterans and their families.
As agreed to by House and Senate negotiators, the bill will improve
Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) benefits in order to compete with the rising
costs of a college education. Specifically, the bill will increase the
monthly education benefit to $650 for a total of $23,400 in assistance
to a full-time student pursuing a four-year degree. This is a
tremendous boon to veterans and their families that will help in their
transition back to the civilian work force after honorably and
unselfishly serving their country in uniform. Veterans' survivors and
dependents will receive an education stipend increase by raising the
monthly benefit to $588 per month.
In addition, the bill will provide active duty service members
another chance to convert their Post-Vietnam Educational Assistance
Program (VEAP) benefits to the MGIB if they
[[Page H9944]]
previously declined to do so or withdrew all funds from their VEAP
accounts. Other provisions allow payment of education benefits during
intervals lasting as long as eight weeks between academic terms and the
use of up to $2,000 of VA education benefits toward the fee for
civilian licensing or certification examination.
The measure would also give annual pay raises to VA nurses and
increase special pay to dentists and other VA medical personnel. This
important provision will help VA to hire and retain the skilled, caring
health personnel that it must have in order to serve an aging veterans'
population. Last year, the Marion VA chapter, the American Federation
of Government Employees Local 1020, contacted my office seeking pay
parity for VA nurses. Specifically, Local 1020 asked me to help them
better address manning and staffing levels that were creating patient
and employee safety issues due to the lack of adequate nursing staff.
It was evident that to ensure the highest quality of care for our
veterans, an effort to meet these shortfalls would be required. Earlier
this year, the VA Committee reported a similar nurse's pay provision to
the House floor, and Local 1020 indicated their full support for the
measure, and reiterated the need for nurse pay parity. Like the
previously passed bill, this measure addresses their concerns.
Another provision would allow VA disability benefits for a heart
attack or stroke of a reservist if incurred or aggravated while in a
drilling status, as well as make women eligible for special monthly
compensation for the loss of one or both breasts. It would also
increase the maximum amount of coverage available through the Service
Members Group Life Insurance program to $250,000. Other provisions of
the bill will require federal contractors and subcontractors to extend
affirmative action regarding employment and promotions to recently
discharged veterans, require employers to grant leaves of absence to
employees who participate in honor guards for the funerals of veterans
and provide benefits to children of women Vietnam veterans who suffer
from specified birth defects.
This is great news for the veterans community, to include VA
employees, especially VA nurses and VA dentists. As in the past,
Congress has worked hard to ensure the United States government remains
steadfast in its moral, legal and ethical obligation to provide
veterans and their families the benefits and services they so richly
deserve. This bill is good for veterans, it is good for their families,
and it is good for America.
Finally, I would like to thank Chairman Stump and Ranking Member
Evans for their hard work and diligence in ensuring passage of this
bill. Their efforts were truly bipartisan and deserve recognition.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. STUPAK. Madam Speaker, I would like to commend the Chairman and
Ranking Member of both the House and the Senate Veterans Affairs
committees and the staff for their excellent work on S. 1402, which
incorporates several very worthy bills, including mine, H.R. 3816.
My bill closes an exceptionally problematic loophole brought to my
attention by the Pearce family of Traverse City, Michigan. Master
Sergeant Ron Pearce was a full time employee of the National Guard who
suffered a heart attack while performing the required physical fitness
test, a part of Inactive Duty Training requirements. Master Sergeant
Pearce had a history of heart trouble, and in the past had been
exempted from the from the fitness test on recommendation of his
doctor. He was ordered to take this test as a condition of his
continued employment with the National Guard.
He passed away as a direct result of this fitness test, leaving
behind a wife and family with no means of support. The VA first
approved and then denied his family benefits. My bill would consider
heart attacks and strokes suffered by Guard and Reserve personnel while
on ``inactive duty for training,'' to be service-connected for the
purpose of VA benefits.
Madam Speaker, I strongly support this legislation and I am happy
that the loophole will be closed and more families will not have to
suffer as the Pearce family has suffered. I strongly urge members to
vote yes on this bill. I thank the distinguished gentleman from
Arizona, the Chairman of the Veterans Committee, and the distinguished
gentleman from Illinois, the Ranking Member, for their inclusion of my
legislation in this bill, as well as the distinguished Chair and
Ranking Member from the other body.
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, as the Senior Democrat on the Benefits
Subcommittee of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, I want to
express my strong support for the legislation before the House today.
S. 1402 as amended by the Senate, presents an agreement that every
Member of the House can support. It is a strong reaffirmation of our
commitment to the men and women who have stood in our defense. Our
nation's veterans would benefit greatly from this well-crafted and
meaningful legislation. I urge my fellow colleagues to join me in my
support for this legislation and to vote in favor of its final passage.
I want to take a moment to thank the Chairman of the Benefits
Subcommittee, Jack Quinn; the Chairman of the Veterans Affairs
Committee, Bob Stump, and the Ranking Democratic Member of the
Committee, Lane Evans, for their collective leadership on the many
important issues affecting our men and women in uniform. I have enjoyed
working with each of them on the bill that is before the House today,
and also with the other members of the Committee. I also want to thank
our colleagues in the Senate for their significant efforts in this
area. Senator Arlen Specter and Senator Jay Rockefeller, Chairman and
Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, have put
forth the cooperative effort that is essential to reaching a good
agreement.
Madam Speaker, I am pleased that the agreement we are considering
makes some significant improvements to veterans' education benefits.
Education benefits are a prime focus of this legislation. I have always
been a strong believer that higher education is a positive agent of
change. I came to Congress from the higher education community, and I
have witnessed first hand the great things a higher education can do
for our veterans. From that experience, and from my years on the
Veterans Affairs Committee, I have concluded there is no better way to
empower the men and women who have served in America's defense.
Educating these brave men and women is undoubtedly the best way for us
to ensure they join the ranks of a thriving civilian workforce.
Under the agreement, the basic educational benefit for veterans will
increase under the MGIB program from $552 per month to $650 per month
for a three-year term of enlistment and $528 per month for a two-year
term of enlistment. This represents an 18 percent increase in the basic
MGIB education readjustment benefit for veterans. As my colleagues
know, I believe the MGIB benefit should be increased more than has been
proposed in this agreement. The increase it does provide, however, is a
strong and positive step toward achieving the goal of providing a more
meaningful education benefit for our nation's veterans than is
currently available.
The agreement also provides for an increase to MGIB education
benefits for eligible survivors and dependents. These benefits would be
increased from $485 per month to $588 per month for full-time students.
These increases would be effective as of November 1, 2000, with future
annual cost-of-living increases effective October 1, 2001. I am very
pleased that the agreement provides for a cost-of-living increase for
survivors and dependents. Moreover, the election period and effective
date for the award of survivors' and dependents' benefits under MGIB
have been corrected under this agreement, allowing for retroactive
payments for benefits that should have been awarded but were not, due
to long waiting times for VA adjudication. Also in the agreement is a
provision that would allow those veteran students whose academic
calendars include long intervals between terms, semesters or quarters
to continue to receive their educational assistance benefits during
such periods in order to prevent financial hardship.
Of immediate concern to the Benefits Subcommittee has been the
ineffectiveness of the MGIB as a readjustment benefit for
servicemembers making the transition from military service to a
civilian society and workforce. While costs of higher education have
soared, nearly doubling since 1980, GI Bill benefits have not kept
pace. One of the most noteworthy provisions in this agreement would
allow for an increased MGIB education assistance for particularly
determined active duty servicemembers. Under the agreement,
servicemembers who have elected to participate in the MGIB program by
contributing their initial $1,200 pay reduction would be afforded the
opportunity to take advantage of enhanced MGIB benefits by making an
additional contribution of up to $600. In return, that servicemember
would be eligible for up to $5,400 in additional MGIB education
assistance.
Thanks in large part to the leadership of my friend Jack Quinn, the
Chairman of the Benefits Subcommittee, there is a provision in this
legislation that would make available MGIB education benefits to be
used for up to $2,000 in fees for civilian occupational licensing or
certification examinations. The Subcommittee has held extensive
hearings on this complex topic and I am glad to see that the agreement
includes this important provision. It will make an immediate, positive
impact on thousands of servicemembers who return to the civilian
workforce every year. The agreement also allows survivors and
dependents to use their MGIB benefits for preparatory courses.
The brave men and women who serve in America's Armed Forces deserve,
and have
[[Page H9945]]
indeed earned, far better than the inadequate educational assistant
program now available to them. I am very pleased that the agreement
includes such momentum toward getting veterans' education benefits back
to the stature and effectiveness they were meant to have all along.
Another significant accomplishment coming out of this agreement would
be to finally allow for more equitable burial benefits for our Filipino
veterans of World War II. Today, an estimated 17,000 Filipino veterans
are citizens of the United States. Most of these are veterans of World
War II, over 1,200 of who receive VA compensation for service-connected
disabilities.
Under current federal law, certain Filipino veterans of World War II
are not eligible for burial in VA national cemeteries. Moreover,
survivors of eligible Filipino veterans currently receive funeral
expenses and burial plot allowances at one-half the rates paid to
survivors of U.S. veterans.
The agreement would provide for the eligibility of certain Filipino
veterans of World War II for burial in a VA national cemetery if, at
the time of death, that veteran is a naturalized citizen and resident
of the United States. In addition, the agreement would authorize
payment of full-rate funeral expenses and plot allowances to survivors
of eligible Filipino veterans of World War II.
An aging World War II veteran population has caused an unprecedented
demand for military funeral honors over recent years, and this demand
will continue. As the military seeks to meet these demands through its
use of reservists, increasing numbers of civilian employees will be
called away from their jobs temporarily to perform funeral honors duty.
Importantly, the agreement includes a provision that would amend the
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) to
expressly require employers to give reservists an authorized leave of
absence for performing funeral honors duty.
Finally, I want to stress the importance of the agreement's provision
regarding equity in pay for VA dentists. I introduced last fall H.R.
2660, which I entitled, ``Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, the VA
Dentist Equity Act,'' in response to a variety of concerns of VA
dentists. Almost 70 percent of VA dentists will be eligible for
retirement in the next three years. On top of this troubling fact, VA
dentists are paid less than their DOD counterparts, dentists in
academia or dentists in private practice. In fact, they make almost
one-third less than dentists working in these settings. So I am very
glad that the agreement includes a provision to enable VA to recruit
and retain new dentists into the system now and in the future.
As amended, S. 1402 represents good public policy for America's
veterans. I believe strongly that every one of my colleagues here today
would do well by their veterans at home by voting in favor of this
bill.
Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, first, to my colleagues, I want to
recognize our superb Chairman, Mr. Stump of Arizona, who leads us today
as Chairman of the full Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Mr. Stump is a
senior Member of this House and a man of honor, Madam Speaker. Bob
Stump served his country faithfully--and with distinction--in war, and
has served with care and vigor as a Member and Chairman of the Veterans
Committee. I am privileged to serve with him; Bob Stump is one of the
secret treasures of this House. I salute him for his leadership on this
bill, and for his dedicated service over the past six years as Chairman
of our Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Madam Speaker, the bills before us today, S. 1402, H.R. 4864, and
H.R. 4850, are good bills for veterans, and they are good reflections
of this House. They contain provisions that are innovative, useful,
necessary, and workable--a winning combination for the veterans we
serve and for the Department of Veterans Affairs that we are charged to
oversee.
Madam Speaker, I want to address specifically one of our measures
today, S. 1402, final passage of the Senate amendments to the House
amendments to S. 1402, the ``Veterans Benefits and Health Care
Improvement Act of 200.'' After a number of hearings, Subcommittee
meetings, site visits and other data collection, I introduced, with
bipartisan cosponsors, one of the predecessor bills incorporated in
this measure, H.R. 5109, the ``Department of Veterans Affairs Health
Care Personnel Act of 2000.'' My Subcommittee endorsed this bill on a
bipartisan basis, and our full Committee, under my Chairman's
leadership, ordered the bill reported to the House on September 13,
2000. The House unanimously passed H.R. 5109 on September 21, 2000.
Let me review some of the key provisions of our health bill, H.R.
5109, that were successfully negotiated with our Senate colleagues, and
are incorporated in S. 1402:
nurses
Madam Speaker, about ten years ago, Congress created an innovative
pay system for VA nurses, with a locality-based mechanism to produce
pay rates that were intended to address labor market needs to keep VA
competitive. The idea was that each VA hospital could act in its own
self-interest, and remain competitive locally. It was intended to be a
good reform, and this system initially gave VA nurses a big pay raise.
VA's recruitment and retention problem for nurses effectively
disappeared for awhile. But the old saying, ``that was then, and this
is now,'' comes to mind.
My subcommittee gave a special focus during this Congress to the pay
situation of VA nurses. What we found was disappointing--we have
learned that many VA nurses hadn't received any increases in their pay
since the initial ones from our 1990 legislation.
While those first pay increases were in many cases substantial, in
the course of time, other Federal employee groups had caught up because
of the annual comparability pay raises available to every other Federal
employee--except VA nurses. So once again VA finds itself in a
competitive disadvantage, and some VA nurses are looking for other
employment options. In my judgment, as Chairman of our Health
Subcommittee, it is a loss that veterans cannot afford. Therefore, our
bill guarantees VA nurses the statutory national comparability pay
raise given to all other Federal employees.
My colleagues, these changes do not mean that Congress is declaring
reform to be our enemy. We want to make certain that the earlier
legislation works as the 101st Congress intended it. Therefore, in
addition to the guaranteed national pay raise for nurses, the bill
crafts necessary adjustments to the locality survey mechanism to ensure
that data are available when needed, and to specify that certain steps
be taken, when they are necessary, that lead to appropriate salary
rates for VA nurses. This is the right solution for VA nurses; it is a
bipartisan compromise, and I compliment my colleague, the gentleman
from Illinois, Mr. Evans, and also another gentleman from Illinois, my
good friend, Mr. Gutierrez, for their cooperation in getting this
important matter resolved for VA nurses and for the veterans they
serve.
dentists
Madam Speaker, this bill addresses recommendations of VA's
Quadrennial Pay Report concerning VA dentists, bringing their pay into
better balance with average compensation of hospital-based dentists in
the private sector. This is the first change in almost 10 years in VA
dentists' special pay. I want to recognize my colleague from the State
of California, Dr. Bob Filner, for bringing his voice to this important
issue for VA dentists.
construction
Our bill authorizes major medical facility construction projects in
Beckley, West Virginia, Palo Alto and Long Beach, California, and
Miami, Florida, with a commensurate authorization of appropriations of
$120.9 million for this necessary construction. Also, we are extending
a prior authorization for a long-term care project in Lebanon,
Pennsylvania, and approving an authorization for a previously
appropriated project for the Murfreesboro, Tennessee VA facility. These
are excellent projects that have been carefully reviewed by Members of
both Bodies and warrant our approval in this legislation.
ptsd
My friend, Mr. Evans of Illinois, the Ranking Member of the full VA
Committee, recently raised the profile of the need for Congress to
reauthorize the landmark 1988 study of post traumatic stress disorder
in Vietnam veterans. Madam Speaker, our bill reauthorizes this
important study.
military service
The bill also urges, in a Sense of Congress Resolution, that VA
record military service history when VA physicians and other caregivers
initially take a veteran's general health history. This will aid any
veteran who files a VA claim for disability, especially given our new
appreciation that military and combat exposure may be associated with
onset of disease in later life. I want to commend the Vietnam Veterans
of America organization for bringing this proposal to the Subcommittee
on Health--it is a valuable contribution to this bill.
property matters
In addition to these items, Madam Speaker, we are making some
important changes in VA properties. We are transferring a number of
parcels of land at VA medical centers in Georgia, Michigan, Montana,
and Tennessee to state and local governments, and the private sector,
for good uses. Also, we are authorizing the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs to close the VA Medical Center in Ft. Lyon, Colorado, on the
condition that the Secretary ensure that the veterans this facility
serves now are properly treated in other facilities in the private and
public sectors. Also, I want the Secretary to know that my
subcommittee, on a bipartisan basis, will be carefully monitoring VA's
actions in the case of Ft. Lyon. We are particularly interested in how
VA will meet its statutory requirement to maintain capacity to provide
long-term care, and how southern Colorado
[[Page H9946]]
will contribute to this obligation, following closure of the Ft. Lyon
facility. In all likelihood, the Subcommittee on Health will hold
hearings on this matter next year. Thus, VA needs to be aware that its
actions in respect to Ft. Lyon will be closely scrutinized. Also, VA
needs to ensure that employees of the Ft. Lyon facility are offered all
the personnel options available to the VA for ``early out'' and ``buy
out'' benefits. It is through no fault of these employees that this
facility is being closed, and all our Members believe that they should
be held harmless by the Government's decision to close this facility.
These VA employees have served their country honorably and with
dedication. This service should be recognized and treated with the
respect it deserves by the Secretary as the VA moves closer to closing
this longstanding institution.
Madam Speaker, our bill is endorsed by a number of organizations,
including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United
States, Vietnam Veterans of America, Disabled American Veterans,
AMVETS, PVA, BVA, the Nursing Organization of Veterans Affairs, the
American Dental Association, and the largest federal union, the
American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), among others. I
hope that each of my colleagues will vote for passage of this measure
today, and that we can send it on to the President prior to adjournment
sine die of the 106th Congress.
I want to add one personal note today. I have served as Chairman of
the Subcommittee on Health for the past 4 years. It has been both an
honor and an education for me, and I appreciate having been afforded an
opportunity to serve in a leadership position on this Committee. I
thank my Chairman, Mr. Stump, and the Ranking Members of the full
Committee, Mr. Evans, as well as Mr. Gutierrez, our Ranking Member of
the Subcommittee on Health, as well as other Members for supporting me
as Chairman. It is important to note that these Members also exhibited
the best of our traditions on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs--the
traditions of Sonny Montgomery, Tiger Teague and Bob Stump--of working
together in a bipartisan manner, to honor and to help veterans. So,
Madam Speaker, my chairmanship of the subcommittee has been a rewarding
experience for me, and I look forward to continuing these good
bipartisan relations in the new Congress in January 2001.
In conclusion, veterans of our Armed Forces need these bills, Madam
Speaker. They are good bills, with effective provisions, that help
veterans, and I urge my colleagues to support them so that we can
continue to keep our promise to America's veterans.
Mr. EVERETT. Madam Speaker, as Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, I rise in strong support
of S. 1402 as amended, the Veterans Benefits and Health Care
Improvement Act of 2000. Section 223 of this bill is derived from H.
Con. Res. 413, which I introduced along with my colleague and
Subcommittee Ranking Democratic Member, Ms. Corrine Brown. Section 223
states the Sense of the Congress that the Departments of Veterans
Affairs and Defense should increase their cooperation in the
procurement of medical items, including pharmaceuticals.
Ms. Brown has taken an active role in working for increased VA/DoD
sharing, and I thank her for her cooperation. I want to express my
appreciation to our full Committee Chairman, Bob Stump, and our Ranking
Democratic Member, Lane Evans, for their leadership on this issue as
well. I also want to thank Chairman Arlen Specter and Senator Jay
Rockefeller of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee for agreeing to
include this section in the final bill.
Under the Veterans' Administration and Department of Defense Health
Resources Sharing and Emergency Operations Act, P.L. 97-174, VA and DoD
have had the authority to share medical resources since 1982. In 1999,
VA and DoD entered into sharing agreements amounting to $60 million out
of total combined healthcare budgets of approximately $35 billion. This
amounts to less than two-tenths of one percent of sharing. At our May
25, 2000 hearing, GAO stated that greater joint pharmaceutical
procurements could lead to annual recurring savings of up to $345
million. These savings could be reinvested in improved healthcare for
veterans, military retirees, service members and their families.
I urge the VA and the Department of Defense to heed this Sense of the
Congress and quickly improve their joint procurement practices to
obtain the best possible prices in the pharmaceutical market.
Otherwise, huge amounts of healthcare dollars will continue to be
wasted as VA and DoD pay too much money for pharmaceuticals.
Madam Speaker, I strongly encourage all of my colleagues to join in
bipartisan support of this important legislation to improve healthcare,
education and other benefits for our Nation's veterans.
Mr. REYES. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the three
veterans bills that we are addressing today. As many of you know, we
recently lost several service members as a result of a despicable
terrorist act in Yemen. Those sailors, our service members, gave their
lives . . . made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Unfortunately, as we get caught up in our day-to-day lives we often
forget that there are men and women in distant lands and dangerous
situations doing a lot of heavy lifting for us and this country. Its
important that we pause occasionally and remember that our freedom, our
wealth and our peace of mind is the direct result of service members
such as the sailors on the USS Cole. This year, there has been
considerable debate and discussion about keeping promises to our
veterans and their families. I think that these bills help to put an
end to any doubt about our commitment to our veterans. In my district
of El Paso, Texas, I represent almost seventy thousand veterans and
family members. I've seen some of the procedural difficulties that
veterans and their family members must endure. And, I can talk to you
in great detail about how these bills will help to improve the quality
of life for our veterans. In my view, this legislation is not about
keeping promises or mending fences. I think of it simply as an
imperative for the nation. This is legislation that this body must pass
because it is the right thing to do for those who have committed so
much of themselves to our country. I sincerely appreciate the work that
my colleagues on both sides of the aisle put into these bills. Because
of their hard work, we have three meaningful veterans bills. The
Veterans Benefit Act, the Claims Assistance Act and the Veterans and
Health Care Improvement Act each provide important improvements or
enhancements to the existing veterans programs. I urge each of you to
support passage of each of these veterans bills.
Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 1402,
the Veterans and Dependents Millennium Education Act. I urge my
colleagues to join in supporting this worthwhile legislation.
S. 1402 incorporates a number of important bills which were addressed
and passed by the house earlier this year. These include increasing the
monthly benefit in the Montgomery G.I. bill, increasing the monthly
amount of the basic education allowance for survivors and dependents,
specific improvements in the pay and benefits for nurses and
pharmacists at V.A. health care facilities, and a number of extensions
of reauthorizations for various programs relating to V.A. loans through
2008.
S. 1402 also contains a provision extending burial benefits to those
Filipino World War II veterans, who either reside in the United States,
or who have become citizens or applied for permanent residence. As a
long-time champion of the Filipino World War II veterans, I was pleased
to see that provision included in this measure.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this timely, appropriate
legislation.
Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of The
Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000. This
legislation increases the rates of educational assistance under the
Montgomery GI Bill and improves the pay rates for many health care
professionals employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Also, it
makes other needed improvements in veterans educational assistance,
health care, and benefits programs. This act is a major effort by
Congress to assist our veterans and to keep faith with those who have
served.
Under the provisions of this bill the basic benefit by the Montgomery
GI Bill will increase to $650 per month for a three-year period of
military service and $528 per month for a two-year period of service.
It will increase the basic educational allowance for survivors and
dependents of eligible veterans to $588 per month, and will
significantly increase the flexibility for survivors and dependents in
taking advantage of their educational benefits.
Particularly important in this bill is the effort to address the
looming nurse shortage within the Veteran Administration. A number of
steps have been taken to insure VA nurses are paid adequately and
competitive with their counterparts in the private sector. Also,
provisions addressing paid and professional status for dentists,
pharmacists, physician assistants and social workers have been
included.
Other important items in S. 1402 include the authorization of $120.9
million in fiscal year 2001 or 2002 for major construction and
increasing the maximum amount of coverage available through the
Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance program and the Veterans' Group
Life Insurance program for $200,000 to $250,000. There are improvements
in Housing and Employment Programs, Cemeteries and Memorial Affairs
Program, and in the VA Compensation Program.
I fully support this important bill because our nation's treatment of
it's veterans will impact upon our ability to attract Americans to
military service. Our veterans must receive fair treatment in a timely
manner. If we do not keep
[[Page H9947]]
faith with our veterans--we will jeopardize the national security of
the nation.
Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the measure before
us, S. 1402, the Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act. I
would like to thank the work of Chairman Bob Stump, Representative Lane
Evans, as well as their staffs for bringing this legislation to the
floor. I'd also like to thank Chairman Specter and Senator Rockefeller
for their assistance.
In addition to many of the beneficial provisions in this bill, such
as a badly needed increase in the basic Montgomery G.I. Bill benefit,
S. 1402 includes language of considerable importance to the citizens
and veterans of Southeast Michigan.
For sixty years, the veterans' hospital in Allen Park, Michigan
provided quality health care to those who answered our nation's call to
arms. In the 1930's, this 39-acre property was given to the VA as a
gift from the Henry Ford family. The deed that turned the property over
to the VA, however, included a reversionary clause that spelled out
that if the VA no longer used the property, the land would revert back
to the Ford family.
The VA operated a fully functional hospital on the Allen Park site
until 1996, at which time a new VA hospital was opened in nearly
Detroit. This new state-of-the-art hospital, which I am deeply honored
is named the John D. Dingell VA Hospital, provides quality health care
for the veterans of Southeast Michigan despite recent budgetary
shortfalls which required the hospital to make unspecified efficiency
cuts, usually resulting in staff cuts.
At the time the decision was made to build a new hospital in
Southeast Michigan in 1986, the VA envisioned converting the old Allen
Park facility into a long-term care facility, creating a dual campus
arrangement with Detroit. The dual campus plan, however, was abandoned
because the Allen Park facility was no longer needed to meet veterans'
needs in the area. Just to be certain, at the request of myself and my
colleague Representative Joe Knollenberg, the VA conducted a study to
determine whether the Allen Park facility, or the campus, was needed to
meet area veterans' health care needs today or in the future. The VA
found that not only was Allen Park no longer needed, but that two
floors at the new hospital were currently vacant. The General
Accounting Office verified the accuracy of the VA study.
Currently, the Allen Park campus consists of perhaps 15 buildings,
and is closed with the exception of a small corner of the old main
hospital building, which is used as a part-time outpatient care clinic.
Few veterans use Allen Park except to catch the VA bus to the Detroit
facility. The VA operates this clinic only to keep an official VA
presence on the campus, because if it failed to have a presence, the
land would revert to the Ford family and the VA would immediately be
responsible for paying enormous cleanup costs before the reversion
could occur. These costs would have to be absorbed by the VA, and no
doubt would eat up a significant chunk of the annual VA budget.
Today, it costs the VA between $500,000 to $1,000,000, probably more,
just to maintain the Allen Park clinic and campus, which fails to offer
most health services, is in shabby condition and filled with asbestos.
This money comes out of the budget intended specifically for VA health
care in VISN 11. It is money poorly spent, which undermines the already
cash strapped regional VA health care budget. It makes the veterans'
health care system in Southeast Michigan worse.
Given that the VA's Allen Park facility is no longer needed, the Ford
Land Management Company would like to develop the Allen Park property.
The VA would like to abandon it. Additionally, the City of Allen Park
has long sought to see the VA campus developed and have the land placed
on city tax rolls.
This summer the VA conducted an environmental impact study and
estimated cleanup costs. VA and Ford officials concluded that it would
cost at least $21.3 million to clean up the site. Ford officials have
offered to pay for all cleanup costs after $14 million, saving
taxpayers at least $7.3 million. Ford will also save taxpayers' money
because it will store the demolished materials in a nearby storage
facility. No appropriation earmark will be required now or in the
future. The VA will be spared having to fund a one-time, $21.3 million
major construction project simply to demolish an obsolete building.
Additionally, the VA will be able to use the $500,000 to $1,000,000
spent each year at Allen Park to better the veterans' health care
system in Southeast Michigan. Finally, I am pleased that the Allen Park
agreement also requires a flagpole and a plaque be maintained at the
site in honor of the service of our veterans.
Madam Speaker, the Allen Park provision of this bill is a good deal
for veterans, a good deal for taxpayers, and a good deal for Allen
Park. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill.
Mr. STUMP. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Morella). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump) that the House
suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the House
amendments to the Senate bill, S. 1402.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate amendments to the
House amendments to the Senate bill were concurred in.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________