[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 77 (Tuesday, May 19, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H5723-H5724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           ADAPTED HOUSING ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY GRANT PROGRAM

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1170) to amend chapter 21 of title 38, United States Code, 
to establish a grant program to encourage the development of new 
assistive technologies for specially adapted housing, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1170

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SPECIALLY ADAPTED HOUSING ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY 
                   GRANT PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 21 of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     section:

     ``Sec. 2108. Specially adapted housing assistive technology 
       grant program

       ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall make grants to 
     encourage the development of new assistive technologies for 
     specially adapted housing.
       ``(b) Application.--A person seeking a grant under this 
     section shall submit to the Secretary an application for the 
     grant in such form and manner as the Secretary shall specify.
       ``(c) Grant Funds.--(1) The amount of each grant awarded 
     under this section shall be an amount of not more than 
     $200,000 per year.
       ``(2) For each year in which the Secretary makes a grant 
     under this section, the Secretary shall make the grant by not 
     later than October 1 of that year.
       ``(d) Use of Funds.--(1) The recipient of a grant under 
     this section shall use the grant to develop assistive 
     technologies for use in specially adapted housing.
       ``(2) If the recipient of a grant under this section is 
     awarded a patent related to assistive technology developed 
     with amounts under the grant, the Secretary shall retain not 
     less than a 30 percent interest in such patent.
       ``(e) Report.--Not later than March 1 of each year, the 
     Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing 
     information related to each grant awarded under this section 
     during the preceding calendar year, including--
       ``(1) the name of the grant recipient;
       ``(2) the amount of the grant; and
       ``(3) the goal of the grant.
       ``(f) Funding.--From amounts appropriated to the Department 
     for Medical Services for each fiscal year, $2,000,000 shall 
     be available for each such fiscal year for the purposes of 
     the program under this section.
       ``(g) Termination.--The authority to make a grant under 
     this section shall terminate on the date that is five years 
     after the date of the enactment of this section.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 21 of title 38, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

``2108. Specially adapted housing assistive technology grant 
              program.''.

       (c) Deadline for Implementation.--The Secretary shall 
     implement the grant program under section 2108 of title 38, 
     United States Code, as added by subsection (a), by not later 
     than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on H.R. 1170, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FILNER. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in about a week, on Monday, May 25, our country will 
mark the 38th year in which Congress has formally recognized the last 
Monday of May as Memorial Day in honor of our brave men and women who 
have made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation, so I stand before you 
today with a series of bills to honor our fallen men and women and our 
current veterans and those on current active duty with deeds and not 
just with words that we speak on Memorial Day. So we want to honor the 
legacy of our fallen servicemembers. We look forward to ensuring that 
our veterans are cared for at the same level of dedication and service 
that they have provided while in service to our country.
  The bills before you today have all come through our Economic 
Opportunity Subcommittee, chaired by Ms. Herseth Sandlin from South 
Dakota and with her ranking member, Mr. Boozman from Arkansas. They 
have proven to be a formidable team, a team which works well together, 
which brings our committee together and which brings us bills that are 
very important to our veterans today. So I thank both the Chair and her 
ranking member for all of the good work that they do with our 
committee.
  I think I will yield to Ms. Herseth Sandlin to explain the bills 
because she has played such an important role in them. I will yield to 
her such time as she may consume.
  Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the chairman 
for yielding.
  As the chairwoman of the Veterans Affairs' Economic Opportunity 
Subcommittee, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1170, as amended. 
I would like to thank Chairman Filner, Ranking Member Buyer on the full 
committee and the sponsor of the bill, and subcommittee ranking member, 
Mr. Boozman, for their leadership and bipartisan support of this bill, 
which the full committee passed on May 6.
  The bill offers important improvements to the Department of Veterans 
Affairs' Specially Adapted Housing Program by creating a 5-year pilot 
program to promote the research and development of adaptive 
technologies. With many veterans returning from the conflicts in Iraq 
and Afghanistan with injuries such as traumatic brain injury, it is 
important that research and development help meet the demand for cost-
effective solutions that could mitigate the needs for around-the-clock 
nursing care or institutionalization for seriously wounded veterans. 
These solutions can be as simple as ramps or other structural 
modifications or they can be more complex, such as voice recognition 
controls for a home's heating system.
  Also, H.R. 1170, as amended, gives the Department of Veterans Affairs 
a 30 percent stake in any patent approved as a result of this grant 
program. This

[[Page H5724]]

measure will allow taxpayers to receive a reasonable return on their 
investment as well as to promote creativity and ingenuity among the 
designers and inventors working with the VA on these grants.
  The Specially Adapted Housing Program has been a tremendous help to 
many veterans, and it is expected to fund 1,250 projects in 2010. This 
bill will expand and improve this program, and it is a wise investment 
in our veterans.
  I thank Chairman Filner for noting the working relationship that I 
have with the distinguished ranking member, Mr. Boozman of Arkansas. 
When he once chaired the subcommittee, we worked together then and 
continue to work today on a whole host of programs, particularly 
housing for our disabled veterans in light of the current needs of 
veterans and their families.
  I want to thank Mr. Boozman for sponsoring this important bill, and I 
encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 1170, as amended.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, on February 25, 2009, I, along with Congresswoman 
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, introduced H.R. 1170, which would amend 
chapter 21 of title 38, United States Code, to establish a grant 
program to encourage the development of new, assistive technologies for 
specially adapted housing. H.R. 1170, as amended, would authorize the 
VA to use up to $2 million per year to provide grants of up to $200,000 
to expand research and development in the areas of adaptive 
technologies that can be used in the VA's Specially Adapted Housing 
Program.
  The goal of VA's specially adapted housing benefit is to enable 
severely disabled veterans to live in a home with modifications that 
make daily life and daily living easier--typical adaptations or 
structural modifications such as ramps, wider halls and doors, grab 
rails, and lower counters. Yet there are many emerging technologies 
that lend themselves well to improving the livability of adapted homes. 
Some examples of possible home modifications are voice recognition and 
voice-commanded operations, integrated computer-managed functions, 
alternative human computer interfaces, living environment controls, 
adaptive feeding equipment, fall prevention devices, and recreation 
assistance equipment.
  Finally, the bill includes a provision that is a result of funding an 
R&D program. Under this authorization, the VA would retain a 30 percent 
interest in any patents evolving from the grant.
  I truly appreciate Congresswoman Herseth Sandlin in working with me 
on this very important bipartisan legislation.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairwoman of the 
Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, Ms. Herseth Sandlin, committee 
Chairman Filner, and Ranking Member Steve Buyer for moving this bill 
forward in a timely manner, as well thanking our staffs. I urge my 
colleagues to support H.R. 1170, as amended.
  With that, having no other speakers, I yield back my time.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I just want to conclude by telling the House 
that, recently, we had a committee meeting to learn more about how new 
technologies can augment the VA's ability to efficiently meet the 
adaptive needs of our veterans and improve the healing process. We have 
a new Secretary of the VA, who has committed himself to transformation. 
We have a new Deputy Secretary, Mr. Gould, who comes from IBM and who 
understands how a big organization can innovate. That's going to be an 
important part of the VA's moving into the 21st century. This is a part 
of that.
  I thank Mr. Boozman for introducing it. I thank Chair Herseth Sandlin 
for working with him to move this along. I recommend that everybody 
vote for H.R. 1170.
  I yield back the balance of our time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1170, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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