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Shown Here: Introduced in House (05/01/2019)
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2435 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2435
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish an
interagency task force on the use of public lands to provide medical
treatment and therapy to veterans through outdoor recreation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 1, 2019
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Smith of Washington)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish an
interagency task force on the use of public lands to provide medical
treatment and therapy to veterans through outdoor recreation.
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 ``Accelerating Veterans Recovery
Outdoors Act''.
SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON OUTDOOR RECREATION FOR VETERANS.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
establish a task force to be known as the ``Task Force on Outdoor
Recreation for Veterans'' (in this section referred to as the ``Task
Force'').
(b) Composition.--The Task Force shall be composed of the following
members or their designees:
(1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
(2) The Secretary of the Interior.
(3) The Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(4) The Secretary of Agriculture.
(5) The Secretary of Defense.
(6) The Secretary of Homeland Security.
(7) The Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers.
(8) Any other member that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
determines to be appropriate.
(c) Chairpersons.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the
Secretary of the Interior shall serve as co-chairpersons of the Task
Force (in this section referred to as the ``Chairpersons'').
(d) Duties.--
(1) Task force.--The duties of the Task Force shall be--
(A) to identify opportunities to formalize
coordination between the Department of Veterans
Affairs, public land agencies, and partner
organizations regarding the use of public lands or
other outdoor spaces for medical treatment and
recreational therapy for veterans;
(B) to identify barriers that exist to providing
veterans with opportunities for medical treatment and
therapy through the use of outdoor recreation on public
lands or other outdoor spaces; and
(C) to develop recommendations to better facilitate
the use of public lands or other outdoor spaces for
preventative care, medical treatment, and therapy for
veterans.
(2) Consultation.--The Task Force shall carry out the
duties under paragraph (1) in consultation with appropriate
veterans outdoor recreation groups.
(e) Reports.--
(1) Preliminary report.--Not later than 180 days after the
date on which the Task Force is established, the Chairpersons
shall submit to Congress a report on the preliminary findings
of the Task Force.
(2) Final report.--Not later than one year after the date
of the submittal of the preliminary report under paragraph (1),
the Chairpersons shall submit to Congress a report on the
findings of the Task Force, which shall include the
recommendations developed under subsection (d)(1)(C).
(f) Duration.--The Task Force shall terminate on the date that is
one year after the date of the submittal of the final report in
subsection (e)(2).
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``public lands'' means any recreational lands
under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government or a State or
local government.
(2) The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given that term in
section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
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