[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9485 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9485

    To amend title 38, United States Code, to permit the voluntary 
  transmission of patient contact information to certain religious or 
 faith-based organizations by chaplains employed by the Department of 
               Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 6, 2024

   Mr. Self introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

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                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 38, United States Code, to permit the voluntary 
  transmission of patient contact information to certain religious or 
 faith-based organizations by chaplains employed by 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 ``Enhancing Faith-Based Support for 
Veterans Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. VOLUNTARY TRANSMISSION OF PATIENT CONTACT INFORMATION TO 
              CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
              CHAPLAINS.

    Subchapter III of chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section (and conforming 
the table of sections at the beginning of such chapter accordingly):
``Sec. 1730D. Voluntary transmission by Department chaplains of patient 
              contact information to certain religious or faith-based 
              organizations
    ``(a) In General.--With respect to a patient on whom a chaplain 
employed by the Department has conducted a spiritual assessment, such 
chaplain may, at the election of the patient, transmit the contact 
information of such patient to a non-Department religious or faith-
based organization specified by such patient.
    ``(b) Spiritual Assessment Defined.--In this section, the term 
`spiritual assessment' means an evaluation of a patient entitled to 
receive medical treatment under this chapter by a chaplain employed by 
the Department to--
            ``(1) gather spiritual information about such patient; and
            ``(2) inform the medical treatment plan of such patient, if 
        applicable.''.
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