H.R. 9237

Take Care of America’s Veterans Act

Sponsor: Mike Bost

30 cosponsors
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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Take Care of America's Veterans Act

This bill addresses veterans’ benefits, health care, counseling, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) personnel, VA infrastructure, and the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP).

The bill modifies various compensation programs for veterans, including by (1) allowing concurrent receipt of disability compensation and military retired pay for certain retirees with a combat-related disability, (2) extending entitlement for various benefits and services to remarried surviving spouses, (3) increasing the rate of dependency and indemnity compensation, and (4) establishing a supplemental monthly allowance for certain disabled veterans.

The bill also addresses VA education and training benefits, including by (1) modifying which independent study programs are covered under veterans’ educational assistance benefits, (2) requiring Transition Assistance Program counseling to include a presentation about VA benefits, and (3) increasing the housing allowance rate for individuals pursuing apprenticeships.

The bill revises health care provisions, including by (1) expanding support and assistance provided to family caregivers, (2) extending the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, and (3) expanding the scope of VA mental health research.

Among other elements, the bill

  • revises VA disability ratings for sleep apnea and tinnitus;
  • expands eligibility for a memorial headstone or marker for the spouse, surviving spouse, child, or dependent of a veteran or member of the Armed Forces;
  • addresses the administration of the VCCP and codifies the eligibility standards;
  • establishes a standardized screening process for priority or routine admission to certain mental health care programs; and
  • addresses VA personnel, hiring, and infrastructure matters.

Text of the bill

Expand all

I Compensation

II Education and Economic Opportunity

III Health Care

IV Organization

V Memorial Affairs

VI Veterans’ Assuring Critical Care Expansions to Support Servicemembers

A Improvement of Veterans Community Care Program

B Mental Health Treatment Programs

C Staffing Matters

Sec. 632. Mentorship program for executive leadership teams at medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs

(a) In general. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may establish a program to connect covered individuals (in this section referred to as mentees) with peer mentors to facilitate sharing of best practices and leadership experiences and to foster opportunities to develop knowledge and skills required to lead successfully at medical facilities of the Department (in this section referred to as the mentorship program).

(b) Covered individual defined. In this section, the term covered individual means—

(1) an individual in the position of Facility Director, Chief of Staff, Associate Director of Patient Care Services, Associate Director, Assistant Director, or Deputy Director at a medical center of the Department; or

(2) any other employee of the Department who is determined by the Secretary to be an executive leader at a medical center of the Department.

(c) Eligibility. The following employees of the Department are eligible for participation as mentees in the mentorship program:

(1) An employee appointed to a position as a covered individual who has been in that position for less than one year.

(2) A covered individual employed at a medical center of the Department (regardless of appointment commencement date) that meets one or more of the following criteria:

(A) Reports poor performance, as defined by the Secretary, on the Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning Value Model of the Department, or successor similar model.

(B) Reports data under section 1703C(a)(3) of title 38, United States Code, as published on the Access to Care website of the Department, or successor similar website, that—

(i) does not consistently meet the level reported in the community surrounding such medical center, as determined by the Secretary; or

(ii) does not meet a threshold level determined by the Secretary.

(C) Has one or more recommendations from a report by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs that is still open more than one year after the report was published.

(3) A covered individual employed at a medical center of the Department (regardless of appointment commencement date) who is recommended by the regional leadership overseeing such medical center.

(d) Criteria for peer mentors. Each peer mentor to be paired with a mentee under subsection (a) shall meet each of the following criteria:

(1) Previous or current employment in the same position title as the mentee.

(2) Employment in that position for not less than two years.

(3) Employment at a medical center of the Department that reports—

(A) above average performance, as defined by the Secretary, on the Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning Value Model of the Department, or successor similar model; and

(B) data under section 1703C(a)(3) of title 38, United States Code, as published on the Access to Care website of the Department, or successor similar website, that exceeds the level reported in the community surrounding such medical center, as determined by the Secretary.

(e) Report. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for an additional three years, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the mentorship program, including—

(1) the number of mentees and peer mentors participating in the mentorship program, disaggregated by medical center of the Department;

(2) the number of mentor-mentee pairings initiated under each of the eligibility criteria outlined in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (c), including information on any circumstances in which multiple criteria under such paragraphs were met;

(3) a description of the actions taken by the Department to encourage communication between mentees and peer mentors;

(4) aggregated feedback from participants in the mentorship program; and

(5) the turnover rate for mentee participants in the mentorship program.

(f) Termination. The authority under this section shall terminate on September 30, 2030.

D Optimization of Workforce

E Veterans Infrastructure and Transformation

F Other Health Care Matters