Federal

Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act

Source: Congress.gov · 1,318 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill allows the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to give grants to states so they can improve how they reach out to veterans and help them learn about and apply for veterans benefits. The grants can help states hire more county or tribal veterans service officers and expand services to veterans, their spouses, children and parents.

Who It Affects

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, states, county and tribal governments, veterans service officers, veterans and their family members, American Indian veterans, Alaska Native veterans, Native Hawaiian veterans, elderly veterans and veterans from underserved communities.

Key Provisions

- States can use grants to carry out outreach activities, help veterans apply for benefits, or hire new county or tribal veterans service officers (Sec. 6307(b)) - States must submit applications describing their plan to use the grant money and how they will serve American Indian veterans, Alaska Native veterans, Native Hawaiian veterans, elderly veterans and veterans from underserved communities (Sec. 6307(c)) - The Secretary will give priority to grants serving areas with not enough veterans service officers or high suicide and crisis line referral rates among veterans (Sec. 6307(e)) - Grant money must be used to expand programs, hire new officers or pay for travel and transportation to carry out these activities (Sec. 6307(g)) - The Secretary must track how much veterans use benefits in areas receiving grants and report to Congress at least once a year (Sec. 6307(j))

What Changes

If this becomes law, states will be able to apply for federal grants to improve veteran outreach services. The law also reorganizes certain sections of veterans law by renumbering existing sections 6307 and 6308 as sections 6308 and 6309.

Important Definitions

"County or tribal veterans service officer" includes a local equivalent veterans service officer. "Covered outreach" means outreach about benefits managed by the Under Secretary for Benefits or similar benefits administered by a state or Indian Tribe. "Veterans Crisis Line" means the toll-free hotline for veterans established under section 1720F(h).

118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 106 AN ACT To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants to States to improve outreach to veterans, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2 † S 106 ES SECTION 1. AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF- 1 FAIRS TO AWARD GRANTS TO STATES TO IM- 2 PROVE OUTREACH TO VETERANS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 63 of title 38, United 4 States Code, is amended— 5 (1) by redesignating sections 6307 and 6308 as 6 sections 6308 and 6309, respectively; and 7 (2) by inserting after section 6306 the following 8 new section 6307: 9 ‘‘§ 6307. Grants to States to improve outreach to vet- 10 erans 11 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 12 provide for assistance by the Secretary to States to carry 13 out programs that improve covered outreach and assist- 14 ance to veterans and the spouses, children, and parents 15 of veterans, to ensure that such individuals are fully in- 16 formed about, and assisted in applying for, any veterans 17 and veterans-related benefits and programs (including 18 State veterans programs) for which they may be eligible. 19 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may award grants 20 to States— 21 ‘‘(1) to carry out, coordinate, improve, or other- 22 wise enhance— 23 ‘‘(A) covered outreach activities; or 24 3 † S 106 ES ‘‘(B) activities to assist in the development 1 and submittal of claims for veterans and vet- 2 erans-related benefits; or 3 ‘‘(2) to increase the number of county or tribal 4 veterans service officers serving in the State by hir- 5 ing new, additional such officers. 6 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—(1) To be eligible for a grant 7 under this section, a State shall submit to the Secretary 8 an application therefor at such time, in such manner, and 9 containing such information as the Secretary may require. 10 ‘‘(2) Each application submitted under paragraph (1) 11 shall include the following: 12 ‘‘(A) A detailed plan for the use of the grant. 13 ‘‘(B) A description of the programs through 14 which the State will meet the outcome measures de- 15 veloped by the Secretary under subsection (i). 16 ‘‘(C) A description of how the State will dis- 17 tribute grant amounts equitably among counties 18 with varying levels of urbanization. 19 ‘‘(D) A plan for how the grant will be used to 20 meet the unique needs of American Indian veterans, 21 Alaska Native veterans, or Native Hawaiian vet- 22 erans, elderly veterans, and veterans from other un- 23 derserved communities. 24 4 † S 106 ES ‘‘(d) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall seek to en- 1 sure that grants awarded under this section are equitably 2 distributed among States with varying levels of urbaniza- 3 tion. 4 ‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize 5 awarding grants under this section that will serve the fol- 6 lowing areas: 7 ‘‘(1) Areas with a critical shortage of county or 8 tribal veterans service officers. 9 ‘‘(2) Areas with high rates of— 10 ‘‘(A) suicide among veterans; or 11 ‘‘(B) referrals to the Veterans Crisis Line. 12 ‘‘(f) USE OF COUNTY OR TRIBAL VETERANS SERV- 13 ICE OFFICERS.—A State that receives a grant under this 14 section to carry out an activity described in subsection 15 (b)(1) shall carry out the activity through— 16 ‘‘(1) a county or tribal veterans service officer 17 of the State; or 18 ‘‘(2) if the State does not have a county or trib- 19 al veterans service officer, or if the county or tribal 20 veterans service officers of the State cover only a 21 portion of that State, an appropriate entity of a 22 State, local, or tribal government, or another pub- 23 licly funded entity, as determined by the Secretary. 24 5 † S 106 ES ‘‘(g) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Any grant awarded 1 under this section shall be used— 2 ‘‘(1) to expand existing programs, activities, 3 and services; 4 ‘‘(2) to hire new, additional county or tribal vet- 5 erans service officers; or 6 ‘‘(3) for travel and transportation to facilitate 7 carrying out paragraph (1) or (2). 8 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—A grant under this 9 section may be used to provide education and training, in- 10 cluding on-the-job training, for State, county, local, and 11 tribal government employees who provide (or when trained 12 will provide) covered outreach services in order for those 13 employees to obtain accreditation in accordance with pro- 14 cedures approved by the Secretary. 15 ‘‘(i) OUTCOME MEASURES.—(1) The Secretary shall 16 develop and provide to each State that receives a grant 17 under this section written guidance on the following: 18 ‘‘(A) Outcome measures. 19 ‘‘(B) Policies of the Department. 20 ‘‘(2) In developing outcome measures under para- 21 graph (1), the Secretary shall consider the following goals: 22 ‘‘(A) Increasing the use of veterans and vet- 23 erans-related benefits, particularly among vulnerable 24 populations. 25 6 † S 106 ES ‘‘(B) Increasing the number of county and trib- 1 al veterans service officers recognized by the Sec- 2 retary for the representation of veterans under chap- 3 ter 59 of this title. 4 ‘‘(j) TRACKING REQUIREMENTS.—(1) With respect 5 to each grant awarded under this section, the Secretary 6 shall track the use of veterans and veterans-related bene- 7 fits among the population served by the grant, including 8 the average period of time between the date on which a 9 veteran applies for such a benefit and the date on which 10 the veteran receives the benefit, disaggregated by type of 11 benefit. 12 ‘‘(2) Not less frequently than annually, the Secretary 13 shall submit to Congress a report on the information 14 tracked under paragraph (1). 15 ‘‘(k) PERFORMANCE REVIEW.—(1) The Secretary 16 shall— 17 ‘‘(A) review the performance of each State that 18 receives a grant under this section; and 19 ‘‘(B) make information regarding such perform- 20 ance publicly available. 21 ‘‘(l) REMEDIATION PLAN.—(1) In the case of a State 22 that receives a grant under this section and does not meet 23 the outcome measures developed by the Secretary under 24 subsection (i), the Secretary shall require the State to sub- 25 7 † S 106 ES mit a remediation plan under which the State shall de- 1 scribe how and when it plans to meet such outcome meas- 2 ures. 3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not award a subsequent 4 grant under this section to a State described in paragraph 5 (1) unless the Secretary approves the remediation plan 6 submitted by the State. 7 ‘‘(m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 ‘‘(1) The term ‘county or tribal veterans service 9 officer’ includes a local equivalent veterans service 10 officer. 11 ‘‘(2) The term ‘covered outreach’ means out- 12 reach with respect to— 13 ‘‘(A) benefits administered by the Under 14 Secretary for Benefits; or 15 ‘‘(B) similar benefits administered by a 16 State or Indian Tribe. 17 ‘‘(3) The term ‘Veterans Crisis Line’ means the 18 toll-free hotline for veterans established under sec- 19 tion 1720F(h) of this title.’’. 20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 21 at the beginning of chapter 63 of such title is amended 22 by striking the items relating to sections 6307 and 6308 23 and inserting the following new items: 24 ‘‘6307. Grants to States to improve outreach to veterans. 8 † S 106 ES ‘‘6308. Outreach for eligible dependents. ‘‘6309. Biennial report to Congress.’’. Passed the Senate November 16 (legislative day, No- vember 15), 2023. Attest: Secretary. 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 106 AN ACT To amend title 38, United States Code, to author- ize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants to States to improve outreach to veterans, and for other purposes.

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