SEC. 401. Extension of Authority to Transport Certain Individuals to and from Department of Veterans Affairs Facilities.
Section 111A(a)(2) is amended by striking “ December 31, 2014” and inserting “ December 31, 2015”.
Title IV — Other Extensions of Authority and Other Matters
TITLE IV Other Extensions of Authority and Other Matters
SEC. 402. Extension of Authority for Operation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Manila, the Republic of the Philippines.
Section 315(b) is amended by striking “ December 31, 2014” and inserting “ September 30, 2015”.
SEC. 403. Extension of Requirement to Provide Reports to Congress Regarding Equitable Relief in the Case of Administrative Error.
Section 503(c) is amended by striking “ December 31, 2014” and inserting “ December 31, 2015”.
SEC. 404. Extension of Authority for Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans.
Section 544(e) is amended by striking “ December 31, 2014” and inserting “ December 31, 2015”.
SEC. 405. Extension of Authority for Temporary Expansion of Eligibility for Specially Adapted Housing Assistance for Certain Veterans with Disabilities Causing Difficulty Ambulating.
SEC. 406. Restoration of Prior Reporting Fee Multipliers.
SEC. 407. Extension of Authority for Agreement with National Academy of Sciences.
Section 3(i) of the Agent Orange Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–4; 105 Stat. 13; 38 U.S.C. 1116 note) is amended by striking “ October 1, 2014” and inserting “ December 31, 2015”.
SEC. 408. Health Professionals Education Debt Reduction.
Section 7683 is amended—
by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following new subsection:
“(a) In General.—Education debt reduction payments under the Education Debt Reduction Program shall consist of—
“(1) payments to individuals selected to participate in the program of principal and interest on loans described in section 7682(a)(2) of this title; or
“(2) payments for the principal and interest on such loans of such individuals to the holders of such loans.”
in subsections (b) and (c), by striking “ payments to” both places it appears and inserting “ payments to or for”; and
in subsection (d)—
in paragraph (1), by striking “ made to” and inserting “ made to or for”; and
in paragraph (2)(A), by striking “ payable to that” and inserting “ payable to or for that”.
SEC. 409. Amendments to Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014.
Expanded Availability of Hospital Care and Medical Services.— Section 101 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended—
in subsection (c)—
in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting “ provide the veteran an appointment that exceeds the wait-time goals described in such subsection or” before “ place such”; and
in paragraph (2), by inserting “ (or other digital channel)” after “ website”;
in subsection (d)(1)(A), by adding at the end the following new sentences: “ An agreement entered into pursuant to this subparagraph may not be treated as a Federal contract for the acquisition of goods or services and is not subject to any provision of law governing Federal contracts for the acquisition of goods or services. Before entering into an agreement pursuant to this subparagraph, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with the requirements of this section, furnish such care and services to such veterans under this section with such entities pursuant to sharing agreements, existing contracts entered into by the Secretary, or other processes available at medical facilities of the Department.”;
in subsection (l)(1), by inserting “ a copy of” before “ any medical record”; and
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(t) Waiver of Certain Printing Requirements.—Section 501 of title 44, United States Code, shall not apply in carrying out this section.”
Collaboration Between VA and Indian Health Service.— Section 102 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended—
in subsection (b), by striking “ The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish” and inserting the following: “ The Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Director of the Indian Health Service shall jointly establish and implement”;
in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(3) Entering into an agreement between the Department and the Indian Health Service described in paragraph (2)(A) with respect to the effect of such agreement on the priority access of any Indian to health care services provided through the Indian Health Service, the eligibility of any Indian to receive health services through the Indian Health Service, and the quality of health care services provided to any Indian through the Indian Health Service.”
; and
by striking subsection (d).
Prompt Payment.— Section 105 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended—
in subsection (a), by striking “ section 1315” and inserting “ part 1315”;
in subsection (b)(2), by striking “ chapter 39” and inserting “ chapter 39 of title 31”; and
in subsection (d), by striking “ required by subsection (b)” and inserting “ required by subsection (c)”.
Improvement of Access to Mobile Vet Centers.— Section 204 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended—
in subsection (a)—
in paragraph (1), by inserting “ and readjustment counseling services” after “ other health care”; and
in paragraph (2)—
in subparagraph (B), by inserting “ and events” after “ locations”; and
in subparagraph (C), by inserting “ and outreach contacts” after “ appointments”; and
in subsection (b)(2)—
in subparagraph (A)—
in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting “ and readjustment counseling” after “ telemedicine services”; and
in clause (iii), by inserting “ and outreach contacts” after “ appointments”;
in subparagraph (B), by inserting “ and readjustment counseling” after “ health care services”; and
in subparagraph (E), by striking “ mobile vet centers and”.
Improved Transparency.— Section 206(b) of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended—
in paragraph (1), by striking “ comprehensive database” and inserting “ comprehensive, machine-readable data set”;
in paragraph (3), by striking “ notice in the database of the reason” and inserting “ notice of the reason”; and
in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), by striking “ database” each place it appears and inserting “ data”.
Information on Credentials.— Section 207 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113– 146; 38 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by striking “ successor database” each place it appears and inserting “ successor data set”.
Report on Staffing Shortages.— Section 301(b)(3) of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–146) is amended—
in subparagraph (A), by striking “ Not later” and all that follows through “ 2019” and inserting the following: “ On October 1 of each year beginning in 2015 and ending in 2019”; and
in subparagraph (B)—
in clause (iii), by striking “ at each” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following: “ or guidelines of the Department with respect to determining the ratio of residents to staff supervising residents.”; and
by striking clause (v) and inserting the following new clause:
“(v) Efforts of the Department, as of the date of the submittal of the report, to recruit and retain medical residents to work for the Veterans Health Administration as full-time employees.”
Project ARCH.— Section 403(j) of the Veterans’ Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–387; 38 U.S.C. 1703 note) is amended—
by striking “ In carrying out” and inserting “ Notwithstanding any provision of law relating to the use of competitive procedures in entering into contracts, in carrying out”; and
by inserting “ under this section” after “ make use of contracts entered into”.
Clarification of Approval of Courses of Education Provided by Public Institutions of Higher Learning and In-State Tuition Rate for Veterans.— Paragraph (1) of section 3679(c) is amended to read as follows:
“(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter and subject to paragraphs (3) through (6), the Secretary shall disapprove a course of education provided by a public institution of higher learning if the institution charges tuition and fees for that course for covered individuals who are pursuing the course with educational assistance under chapter 30 or 33 of this title while living in the State in which the institution is located at a rate that is higher than the rate the institution charges for tuition and fees for that course for residents of the State in which the institution is located, regardless of the covered individual’s State of residence.”