[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 103 (Wednesday, June 20, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S4290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3033. Mr. NELSON submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 2910 proposed by Mr. Shelby to the bill H.R. 5895, making 
appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies 
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes; 
which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place in title II of division C, insert 
     the following:

     SEC. ___. STAFFING OF PROGRAM MANAGERS FOR SUPPORTED HOUSING 
                   PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

       (a) Staffing.--Section 2003(b) of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``The Secretary''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) The Secretary shall provide case management support 
     whenever requested by a local housing authority under the 
     supported housing program administered under such section.
       ``(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the 
     Secretary shall ensure that in each fiscal year no case 
     manager is concurrently assigned to more than 35 veterans 
     under this subsection.
       ``(B) The Secretary may waive the requirement of 
     subparagraph (A) for a particular case manager in a 
     particular fiscal year as the Secretary considers 
     appropriate.
       ``(C) Not less frequently than once each fiscal year, the 
     Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the waivers 
     made by the Secretary under subparagraph (B) in the previous 
     fiscal year. Each report shall include a description of the 
     circumstances under which each waiver was made.
       ``(4) The Secretary shall ensure that each veteran to whom 
     a case manager is assigned under this subsection is located 
     within such distance of the case manager as the Secretary 
     considers reasonable.
       ``(5)(A) In any case in which a position within the 
     Veterans Health Administration for a case manager described 
     in paragraph (1) is vacant for a period of 180 days or more, 
     the Secretary shall seek to enter into a contract with a 
     local service provider with knowledge and expertise 
     applicable to a case manager in such position to furnish the 
     case management services that would otherwise be provided by 
     a case manager in such position.
       ``(B) The requirement in subparagraph (A) to seek to enter 
     into a contract shall cease to apply if the Secretary fills 
     the vacancy referred to in such subparagraph.''.
       (b) Limitation on Conversion of Funds.--The Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs may not convert any of the amounts 
     appropriated or otherwise made available in a fiscal year to 
     carry out section 2013 of such title from a specific purpose 
     program to a general purpose program unless the Secretary 
     included a proposal to do so in the budget justification 
     materials submitted to Congress in support of the Department 
     of Veterans Affairs budget for such fiscal year (as submitted 
     with the budget of the President for such fiscal year under 
     section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code).
                                 ______