[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 170 (Monday, October 28, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8489-H8491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            VETERAN TREATMENT COURT COORDINATION ACT OF 2019

  Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 886) to direct the Attorney General to establish and carry out a 
Veteran Treatment Court Program, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 886

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Veteran Treatment Court 
     Coordination Act of 2019''.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that veterans treatment courts 
     are a successful program aimed at helping veterans charged 
     with non-violent crimes receive the help and the benefits for 
     which the veterans are entitled.

     SEC. 3. VETERAN TREATMENT COURT PROGRAM.

       (a) Establishment.--Subject to the availability of 
     appropriations, in coordination with the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs, the Attorney General shall establish and 
     carry out a Veteran Treatment Court Program to provide grants 
     and technical assistance to court systems that--
       (1) have adopted a Veterans Treatment Court Program; or
       (2) have filed a notice of intent to establish a Veterans 
     Treatment Court Program with the Secretary.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Veterans Treatment Court 
     Program established under subsection (a) is to ensure the 
     Department of Justice has a single office to coordinate the 
     provision of grants, training, and technical assistance to 
     help State, local, and Tribal governments to develop and 
     maintain veteran treatment courts.
       (c) Programs Included.--The Veterans Treatment Court 
     Program established under subsection (a) shall include the 
     grant programs relating to veterans treatment courts carried 
     out by the Attorney General pursuant to sections 2901, 2991, 
     and 3021 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
     1968 (34 U.S.C. 10581, 10651, and 10701) or any other 
     provision of law.
       (d) Regulations.--The Attorney General shall promulgate 
     regulations to carry out this section.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Bass) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) each 
will control 20 minutes.

[[Page H8490]]

  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 886, the Veteran Treatment Court 
Coordination Act. This bill stands as a testament to the commitment 
Congress has to veterans, those who have service-connected mental 
health disabilities and become involved in the criminal justice system.
  By establishing a grant program office called the Veteran Treatment 
Court Program Office in the Department of Justice, the bill makes 
permanent our support for the hundreds of local veteran treatment court 
programs around the country that successfully rehabilitate veterans.
  The Veterans Treatment Court Program Office would build upon the 
success of the hundreds of veterans courts programs in the United 
States by standardizing data reporting methods, serving as a repository 
for resources, providing training to veterans court administrators, and 
distributing information nationwide on best practices on how to improve 
the administration of veterans courts.
  Despite efforts to welcome veterans home and ease their transition to 
civilian life, many veterans continue to face hardships after 
completing their military service. One study reports that approximately 
9 percent of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have been 
arrested since returning home.
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that approximately 180,000 
veterans were incarcerated in State and Federal prisons between 2011 
and 2012. Of those incarcerated veterans surveyed, 48 percent of 
veterans in prison and 55 percent of veterans in jail reported that 
they had been told by a mental health professional that they had a 
mental health disorder.
  Veterans treatment courts can provide an effective means by which 
communities can rehabilitate veterans who commit crimes and support 
victims by ensuring veteran-defendants pay restitution before they may 
receive a dismissal or expungement.
  Empirical studies show that veterans courts provide more effective 
means of rehabilitating justice-involved veterans. Although 20 percent 
of veterans court participants received jail sanctions during their 
participation in the veterans court program, only 14 percent 
experienced a new incarceration during an average of nearly 1 year in 
the program. This rate of recidivism is substantially less than the 23 
to 46 percent 1-year recidivism rate found among nonveteran prisoners. 
Most programs report less than five dropouts in the 2017 calendar year.
  There are over 500 veteran treatment courts operated by State, local, 
and Tribal governments. This bill ensures existing programs will 
continue their mission to serve our veterans and make it easier for 
jurisdictions to start new veterans court programs and adopt best 
practices.
  I thank our colleague, Representative Charlie Crist, for his 
leadership in authoring this bill and for his continuing dedication to 
supporting our veterans.
  This is a thoughtful and important bill that will help veterans who 
need our assistance.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume. I appreciate the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass). 
She did a great job explaining this bill. This is an easy bill. This is 
one that we should come to. This is exactly why suspensions exist, to 
do something like this.
  On a personal note, as a member of the Air Force Reserve, someone who 
has been both in the Navy and Air Force, serving in Iraq and others, 
this is something that is very good.
  In my home of Hall County, Georgia, the veterans courts have been set 
up for several years now. We see the mentoring aspect, the peer 
activity, something that we gained in the military and something that 
is very important and vital for these individuals who have gone through 
run-ins with the law on many occasions, on different ideas, especially 
if it has to do with things that came out of their service. We owe them 
no greater debt than we do others, to make sure that they have a chance 
to get their lives back straight.
  Veteran treatments court do that, and this coordination act puts the 
emphasis on it from a Federal level.
  I could not think of a better way to start this week. Hopefully, 
holding a good bill together, that we could get this to the Senate as 
quickly as possible, and get it, even more importantly, to the 
President's desk so that it becomes more than a political statement but 
actually a law.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Crist).
  Mr. CRIST. Mr. Speaker, after 9/11, thousands of America's best had 
to offer to sign up for our freedom. They served their country with 
honor to keep all of us here and our loved ones save. Many of these 
heroes suffered greatly with wounds that you can see and, in many 
cases, wounds that you cannot.
  Too many veterans face mental and physical disabilities. Too many 
veterans come home without support structures. Too many veterans lack 
opportunities. And too many veterans self-medicate, find themselves in 
the criminal justice system, and are forgotten.
  In 2008, the first veteran treatment court was established in 
Buffalo, New York. The idea is that veterans face unique challenges 
that require veteran-specific care.

  While the VA can be an option for a veteran in crisis, including at 
the C.W. Bill Young Medical Center in my district, not every veteran in 
crisis goes to the VA, and if they do, they may not have somebody to 
check on them and make sure they are okay.
  Veterans treatment courts are diversion programs. Working with 
justice outreach specialists at their local VA medical centers, social 
workers and counselors at the local level, and veterans service 
organizations, vet courts get nonviolent veterans who qualify into 
treatment and counseling instead of just locking them up.
  After they complete the requirements, the veteran can even have their 
record expunged, preserving housing and employment opportunities.
  Just over 10 years after the first court, there are now hundreds all 
around the country, including one in my home of Pinellas County, 
Florida.
  Each vet court is different, starting in the community from scratch 
and coordinating the people and organizations that will help 
rehabilitate veterans in their program.
  Congress, recognizing the importance of these courts in our 
districts, has provided funding for vet courts for a few years now, 
including a record $25 million in the House-passed Commerce, Justice, 
Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.
  However, unlike other justice grant programs, like juvenile justice 
programs, there is still not adequate coordination at the Department of 
Justice to provide best practices, support, as well as technical 
assistance to communities that have vet court or want to start one.
  The Veteran Treatment Court Coordination Act fixes this, establishing 
the Veteran Treatment Court Program in the Office of Justice Programs.
  I am thankful to my colleagues on the Committee on Appropriations, of 
which I am a member, particularly the gentlewoman from New York, 
Chairwoman Lowey, and the gentleman from New York, Chairman Serrano, 
for their steadfast support of the veteran treatment court funding.
  However, the Department of Justice, which administers the grants, 
needs an office dedicated to helping and guiding communities that want 
to access grants or want to set up their own veterans court.
  I thank the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Stefanik) for her work 
over this past year, as well as the gentleman from New York, Chairman 
Nadler, and the gentlewoman from California, Chairwoman Bass, for their

[[Page H8491]]

leadership on the Committee on the Judiciary, fighting for criminal 
justice reforms as well as diversion programs.
  Lastly, I thank all the organizations, both veterans service 
organizations and criminal justice professionals, that have helped 
build support for this over the past 2 years and that have worked 
tirelessly in our districts to make veterans treatment courts so 
successful.
  This includes the National Military and Veterans Alliance, the 
National Veterans Court Alliance, and the National District Attorneys 
Association, all of which have endorsed the legislation, along with 19 
veteran groups total.
  When a veteran suffering because of their service makes a mistake, we 
have a duty as a country to do all we can to give them the very best 
possible outcome. We have a duty to fight for those who fought for our 
freedoms.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, if the gentlewoman has no more 
speakers, I am prepared to close.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. I appreciate everybody and all the 
hard work that has gone into it.
  When we take time to come together and lock arms to do these kinds of 
bills, these are things that actually move the needle for people back 
home, the reason we are here. This is very easy to support. This should 
be a simple voice vote. Get it done, and get this done.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman from California, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for his brevity.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill would help provide support to more than 1 
million veterans diagnosed with service-connected disabilities, as well 
as the thousands who are undiagnosed who have been and will be exposed 
to the criminal justice system.
  Supporting rehabilitative veterans courts programs is the least we 
can do to acknowledge their sacrifice and treat our veterans involved 
with the criminal justice system with compassion and care.
  Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Miss GONZALEZ-COLON of Puerto Rico. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in 
strong support of H.R. 886, the Veteran Treatment Court Coordination 
Act of 2019.
  Our men and women in uniform often struggle with physical and mental 
remnants of their time in service. According to the VA, over 1.7 
million veterans received treatment through a VA mental health 
specialty program in 2018.
  Additionally, close to 20 percent of service members returning from 
Iraq or Afghanistan experience depression or have a Post-Traumatic 
Stress Disorder diagnosis.
  Mr. Speaker, we want our veterans to thrive. They listened to their 
Nation's call and served when needed. It is now our responsibility to 
address every single issue that stops them from living a full life and 
continue to contribute to their country as a civilian.
  Veterans' Treatment Courts are a valuable tool that assists veterans 
facing non-violent criminal charges resulting from mental illness, 
substance abuse or other adverse behavior.
  They provide alternatives at the state and county level that focus on 
rehabilitation and reintegration in part by facilitating programs that 
provide support and resources to veterans.
  H.R. 886 directs the Department of Justice to establish a Veterans 
Treatment Court Program that provides grants and technical assistance 
for local governments to develop and maintain veteran treatment courts.
  State circuits that have either adopted a Veterans Treatment Court or 
have filed a notice of intent to establish a Veterans Treatment Court 
would be eligible.
  I am a proud cosponsor of this bill. I genuinely believe veterans are 
an asset to our communities and as such should be given all available 
help and assistance.
  I thank my colleague, Mr. Crist from Florida for his leadership on 
this issue and encourage my colleagues to vote in favor.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 886, 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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