[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3368 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3368
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a
report on the Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership program of
the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 9, 2021
Mr. Cornyn introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a
report on the Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership program of
the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
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 ``VITAL Assessment Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. VETERANS INTEGRATION TO ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP PROGRAM OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
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 Veterans Integration to
Academic Leadership program of the Department of Veterans
Affairs.
(2) Contents.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
(A) The number of medical centers of the
Department, institutions of higher learning, noncollege
degree programs, and student veterans supported by the
program, and relevant trends since the program began.
(B) The staff and resources allocated to the
program, and relevant trends since the program began.
(C) An assessment of the outcomes and effectiveness
of the program in--
(i) supporting student veterans;
(ii) connecting student veterans to needed
services of the Department or services provided
by non-Department entities;
(iii) addressing the mental health needs of
student veterans;
(iv) lowering the suicide risk of student
veterans; and
(v) helping student veterans achieve
educational goals.
(D) An assessment of barriers to expanding the
program and how the Secretary intends to address such
barriers.
(E) An assessment of whether the program should be
expanded outside of the Office of Mental Health and
Suicide Prevention to support student veterans with
needs unrelated to mental health or suicide.
(b) Uniform Best Practices, Goals, and Measures.--The Secretary
shall establish best practices, goals, and measures for the Veterans
Integration to Academic Leadership program of the Department that are
uniform among the medical centers of the Department.
(c) Outreach.--The Secretary shall conduct outreach among the Armed
Forces, veterans service organizations, institutions of higher
learning, and non-college degree programs with respect to the Veterans
Integration to Academic Leadership program of the Department.
(d) Assessment.--The Secretary shall assess the feasibility and
advisability of including the suicide rate for student veterans in the
National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report of the Office of
Mental Health and Suicide Prevention of the Department.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Institution of higher learning.--The term ``institution
of higher learning'' has the meaning given that term in section
3452 of title 38, United States Code.
(2) Student veteran.--The term ``student veteran'' means
the following:
(A) A veteran or member of the Armed Forces using
educational assistance under any of the following
provisions of law:
(i) Chapter 30, 31, 32, or 33 of title 38,
United States Code, or chapter 1606 or 1607 of
title 10, United States Code.
(ii) Section 116 of the Harry W. Colmery
Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017
(Public Law 115-48; 38 U.S.C. 3001 note).
(iii) Section 8006 of the American Rescue
Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2; 38 U.S.C.
3001 note prec.).
(B) A veteran who is enrolled in an institution of
higher learning or other training program, without
regard to whether the veteran is using educational
assistance specified in subparagraph (A).
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