Home > 105th Congressional Bills > S. 714 (enr) To amend title 38, United States Code, to revise, extend, and improve programs for veterans. ...S. 714 (enr) To amend title 38, United States Code, to revise, extend, and improve programs for veterans. ...
105th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 714
_______________________________________________________________________
AMENDMENTS
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
November 9, 1997.
Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 714) entitled ``An Act to extend
and improve the Native American Veteran Housing Loan Pilot Program of the
Department of Veterans Affairs, to extend certain authorities of the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs relating to services for homeless veterans, to extend
certain other authorities of the Secretary, and for other purposes.'', do pass
with the following
AMENDMENTS:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' Benefits
Act of 1997''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. References to title 38, United States Code.
TITLE I--EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY PROCESS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS
Sec. 101. Equal employment responsibilities.
Sec. 102. Discrimination complaint adjudication authority.
Sec. 103. Assessment and review of Department of Veterans Affairs
employment discrimination complaint
resolution system.
TITLE II--EXTENSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF AUTHORITIES
Sec. 201. Native American Veteran Housing Loan Program.
Sec. 202. Treatment and rehabilitation for seriously mentally ill and
homeless veterans.
Sec. 203. Extension of certain authorities relating to homeless
veterans.
Sec. 204. Annual report on assistance to homeless veterans.
Sec. 205. Expansion of authority for enhanced-use leases of Department
of Veterans Affairs real property.
Sec. 206. Permanent authority to furnish noninstitutional alternatives
to nursing home care.
Sec. 207. Extension of Health Professional Scholarship Program.
Sec. 208. Policy on breast cancer mammography.
Sec. 209. Persian Gulf War veterans.
Sec. 210. Presidential report on preparations for a national response
to medical emergencies arising from the
terrorist use of weapons of mass
destruction.
TITLE III--MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY PROJECTS CONSTRUCTION AUTHORIZATION
Sec. 301. Authorization of major medical facility projects.
Sec. 302. Authorization of major medical facility leases.
Sec. 303. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE IV--TECHNICAL AND CLARIFYING AMENDMENTS
Sec. 401. Technical amendments.
Sec. 402. Clarification of certain health care authorities.
Sec. 403. Correction of name of medical center.
Sec. 404. Improvement to spina bifida benefits for children of Vietnam
veterans.
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--EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY PROCESS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS
SEC. 101. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT RESPONSIBILITIES.
(a) In General.--(1) Chapter 5 is amended by inserting at the end
of subchapter I the following new section:
``Sec. 516. Equal employment responsibilities
``(a) The Secretary shall provide that the employment
discrimination complaint resolution system within the Department be
established and administered so as to encourage timely and fair
resolution of concerns and complaints. The Secretary shall take steps
to ensure that the system is administered in an objective, fair, and
effective manner and in a manner that is perceived by employees and
other interested parties as being objective, fair, and effective.
``(b) The Secretary shall provide--
``(1) that employees responsible for counseling functions
associated with employment discrimination and for receiving,
investigating, and processing complaints of employment
discrimination shall be supervised in those functions by, and
report to, an Assistant Secretary or a Deputy Assistant
Secretary for complaint resolution management; and
``(2) that employees performing employment discrimination
complaint resolution functions at a facility of the Department
shall not be subject to the authority, direction, and control
of the Director of the facility with respect to those
functions.
``(c) The Secretary shall ensure that all employees of the
Department receive adequate education and training for the purposes of
this section and section 319 of this title.
``(d) The Secretary shall, when appropriate, impose disciplinary
measures, as authorized by law, in the case of employees of the
Department who engage in unlawful employment discrimination, including
retaliation against an employee asserting rights under an equal
employment opportunity law.
``(e)(1)(A) Not later than 30 days after the end of each calendar
quarter, the Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and
House of Representatives a report summarizing the employment
discrimination complaints filed against the individuals referred to in
paragraph (2) during such quarter.
``(B) Subparagraph (A) shall apply in the case of complaints filed
against individuals on the basis of such individuals' personal conduct
and shall not apply in the case of complaints filed solely on the basis
of such individuals' positions as officials of the Department.
``(2) Paragraph (1) applies to the following officers and employees
of the Department:
``(A) The Secretary.
``(B) The Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
``(C) The Under Secretary for Health and the Under
Secretary for Benefits.
``(D) Each Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs and each
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
``(E) The Director of the National Cemetery System.
``(F) The General Counsel of the Department.
``(G) The Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
``(H) The Chairman of the Board of Contract Appeals of the
Department.
``(I) The director and the chief of staff of each medical
center of the Department.
``(J) The director of each Veterans Integrated Services
Network.
``(K) The director of each regional office of the
Department.
``(L) Each program director of the Central Office of the
Department.
``(3) Each report under this subsection--
``(A) may not disclose information which identifies the
individuals filing, or the individuals who are the subject of,
the complaints concerned or the facilities at which the
discrimination identified in such complaints is alleged to have
occurred;
``(B) shall summarize such complaints by type and by equal
employment opportunity field office area in which filed; and
``(C) shall include copies of such complaints, with the
information described in subparagraph (A) redacted.
``(4) Not later than April 1 each year, the Assistant Secretary
shall submit to the committees referred to in paragraph (1)(A) a report
on the complaints covered by paragraph (1) during the preceding year,
including the number of such complaints filed during that year and the
status and resolution of the investigation of such complaints.
``(f) The Secretary shall ensure that an employee of the Department
who seeks counseling relating to employment discrimination may elect to
receive such counseling from an employee of the Department who carries
out equal employment opportunity counseling functions on a full-time
basis rather than from an employee of the Department who carries out
such functions on a part-time basis.
``(g) The number of employees of the Department whose duties
include equal employment opportunity counseling functions as well as
other, unrelated functions may not exceed 40 full-time equivalent
employees. Any such employee may be assigned equal employment
opportunity counseling functions only at Department facilities in
remote geographic locations (as determined by the Secretary). The
Secretary may waive the limitation in the preceding sentence in
specific cases.
``(h) The provisions of this section shall be implemented in a
manner consistent with procedures applicable under regulations
prescribed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.''.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 515 the
following new item:
``516. Equal employment responsibilities.''.
(b) Reports.--(1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to
Congress reports on the implementation and operation of the equal
employment opportunity system within the Department of Veterans
Affairs. The first such report shall be submitted not later than April
1, 1998, and subsequent reports shall be submitted not later than
January 1, 1999, and January 1, 2000.
(2) The first report under paragraph (1) shall set forth the
actions taken by the Secretary to implement section 516 of title 38,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), and other actions taken
by the Secretary in relation to the equal employment opportunity system
within the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(3) The subsequent reports under paragraph (1) shall set forth, for
each equal employment opportunity field office of the Department and
for the Department as a whole, the following:
(A) Any information to supplement the information submitted
in the report under paragraph (2) that the Secretary considers
appropriate.
(B) The number of requests for counseling relating to
employment discrimination received during the one-year period
ending on the date of the report concerned.
(C) The number of employment discrimination complaints
received during such period.
(D) The status of each complaint described in subparagraph
(C), including whether or not the complaint was resolved and,
if resolved, whether the employee concerned sought review of
the resolution by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
or by Federal court.
(E) The number of employment discrimination complaints that
were settled during such period, including--
(i) the type of such complaints; and
(ii) the terms of settlement (including any
settlement amount) of each such complaint.
(c) Effective Date.--Section 516 of title 38, United States Code,
as added by subsection (a), shall take effect 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act. Subsection (e) of that section shall take effect
with respect to the first quarter of calendar year 1998.
SEC. 102. DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT ADJUDICATION AUTHORITY.
(a) In General.--(1) Chapter 3 is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``Sec. 319. Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication
``(a)(1) There is in the Department an Office of Employment
Discrimination Complaint Adjudication. There is at the head of the
Office a Director.
``(2) The Director shall be a career appointee in the Senior
Executive Service.
``(3) The Director reports directly to the Secretary or the Deputy
Secretary concerning matters within the responsibility of the Office.
``(b)(1) The Director is responsible for making the final agency
decision within the Department on the merits of any employment
discrimination complaint filed by an employee, or an applicant for
employment, with the Department. The Director shall make such decisions
in an impartial and objective manner.
``(2) No person may make any ex parte communication to the Director
or to any employee of the Office with respect to a matter on which the
Director has responsibility for making a final agency decision.
``(c) Whenever the Director has reason to believe that there has
been retaliation against an employee by reason of the employee
asserting rights under an equal employment opportunity law, the
Director shall report the suspected retaliatory action directly to the
Secretary or Deputy Secretary, who shall take appropriate action
thereon.
``(d)(1) The Office shall employ a sufficient number of attorneys
and other personnel as are necessary to carry out the functions of the
Office. Attorneys shall be compensated at a level commensurate with
attorneys employed by the Office of the General Counsel.
``(2) The Secretary shall ensure that the Director is furnished
sufficient resources in addition to personnel under paragraph (1) to
enable the Director to carry out the functions of the Office in a
timely manner.
``(3) The Secretary shall ensure that any performance appraisal of
the Director of the Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint
Adjudication or of any employee of the Office does not take into
consideration the record of the Director or employee in deciding cases
for or against the Department.''.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is
amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``319. Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication.''.
(b) Reports on Implementation.--The Director of the Office of
Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication of the Department of
Veterans Affairs (established by section 319 of title 38, United States
Code, as added by subsection (a)) shall submit to the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs and to Congress reports on the implementation and the
operation of that office. The first such report shall be submitted not
later than April 1, 1998, and subsequent reports shall be submitted not
later than January 1, 1999, and January 1, 2000.
(c) Effective Date.--Section 319 of title 38, United States Code,
as added by subsection (a), shall take effect 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 103. ASSESSMENT AND REVIEW OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT RESOLUTION SYSTEM.
(a) Agreement for Assessment and Review.--(1) The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall seek to enter into an agreement with a qualified
private entity under which agreement the entity shall carry out the
assessment described in subsection (b) and the review described in
subsection (c).
(2) The Secretary shall include in the agreement provisions
necessary to ensure that the entity carries out its responsibilities
under the agreement (including the exercise of its judgments concerning
the assessment and review) in a manner free of influence from any
source, including the officials and employees of the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
(3) The Secretary may not enter into the agreement until 15 days
after the date on which the Secretary notifies the Committees on
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives of the
entity with which the Secretary proposes to enter into the agreement.
(b) Initial Assessment of System.--(1) Under the agreement under
Other Popular 105th Congressional Bills Documents:
|
| GovRecords.org presents information on various agencies of the United States Government. Even though all information is believed to be credible and accurate, no guarantees are made on the complete accuracy of our government records archive. Care should be taken to verify the information presented by responsible parties. Please see our reference page for congressional, presidential, and judicial branch contact information. GovRecords.org values visitor privacy. Please see the privacy page for more information. |
 |