[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8312 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8312
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot
program to permit certain members of the Armed Forces to pre-enroll in
the system of annual patient enrollment established and operated under
section 1705 of title 38, United States Code.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 8, 2024
Mrs. Kim of California (for herself, Mr. Carbajal, Ms. Tokuda, and Mr.
Ciscomani) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot
program to permit certain members of the Armed Forces to pre-enroll in
the system of annual patient enrollment established and operated under
section 1705 of title 38, United States Code.
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 ``Combat Veterans Pre-Enrollment Act
of 2024''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR PRE-ENROLLMENT OF CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE
ARMED FORCES IN SYSTEM OF ANNUAL PATIENT ENROLLMENT OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) In General.--Not later than October 1, 2026, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall establish a program to carry out, to the maximum
extent practicable, all activities necessary to permit a member of the
Armed Forces specified in subsection (b) to elect to enroll in the
system of annual patient enrollment established and operated under
section 1705 of title 38, United States Code, on the date of the
separation of such member from active military, naval, air, or space
service.
(b) Member of the Armed Forces Specified.--A member of the Armed
Forces specified in this subsection is a member of the Armed Forces
that the Secretary determines--
(1) is performing active military, naval, air, or space
service;
(2) would be eligible for enrollment in the system of
annual patient enrollment established and operated under such
section on the date of the separation of such member from such
service; and
(3) is described in section 1710(e)(1)(D) of title 38,
United States Code.
(c) Pre-Enrollment Mechanism.--
(1) In general.--Under the program required by subsection
(a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in conjunction with the
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security,
shall establish a mechanism to permit a member of the Armed
Forces specified in subsection (b) to elect to pre-enroll in
such system of annual patient enrollment, pursuant to the
program required by subsection (a), during the 180-day period
that precedes the date of the separation of such member from
active military, naval, air, or space service.
(2) Briefings on mechanism.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter
for the duration of the program required by subsection (a), the
Department of Veterans Affairs-Department of Defense Joint
Executive Committee established under section 320 of title 38,
United States Code, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a briefing on efforts of the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense with respect
to the implementation of the mechanism required by paragraph
(1) during the period covered by the briefing.
(d) Report on Pre-Enrolled Members.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the
duration of such program, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that includes, with respect to the
fiscal year that precedes the period covered by the report--
(1) the number of members of the Armed Forces specified in
subsection (b) who--
(A) elected to participate in such program and who
were subsequently--
(i) enrolled in the system of annual
patient enrollment established and operated
under section 1705 of title 38, United States
Code; and
(ii) denied enrollment in such system; and
(B) elected not to participate in such program; and
(2) aggregated demographic information on members of the
Armed Forces described in paragraph (1), including--
(A) age;
(B) ethnicity;
(C) duration of active military, naval, air, or
space service;
(D) grade; and
(E) Armed Force.
(e) Termination Date.--The authority of the Secretary to carry out
the program required by subsection (a) shall terminate on the date that
is three years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(f) GAO Report on Program.--Not later than the date that is two
years after the date of the termination of such authority, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that includes--
(1) an analysis of the effectiveness of the program
required by subsection (a) with respect to the enrollment of
members of the Armed Forces specified in subsection (b) in the
system of annual patient enrollment established and operated
under section 1705 of title 38, United States Code; and
(2) recommendations of the Comptroller General, if any,
with respect to methods to improve to such program.
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``active military, naval, air, or space
service'' has the meaning given such term in section 101 of
title 38, United States Code.
(2) The term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(A) the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the
House of Representatives and the Senate; and
(B) the Committees on Armed Services of the House
of Representatives and the Senate.
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