,i  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #diga  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #be1 #bjad ,mr4
 ,o',rourke 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,flores1 
,ms4 ,gabbard1 ,mr4 ,horsford1 ,mr4     
,israel1 ,mr4 ,jolly1 ,mr4 ,michaud1    
,mr4 ,pallone1 ,mr4 ,swalwell of        
,california1 ,ms4 ,hanabusa1 ,ms4 ,hahn1
 and ,mr4 ,thompson of ,california7     
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on          
,veterans' ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
direct the ,secretary of ,veterans      
,affairs to conduct annual surveys of   
veterans on experiences obtaining       
hospital care and medical services from 
medical facilities of the ,department of
 ,veterans ,affairs1 and for other      
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,ask ,veterans ,act4
  #b4 ,survey of veteran experiences    
with ,department of ,veterans ,affairs  
medical care  7a7 ,in general ,the      
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
seek to enter into a contract with a    

non-government entity with significant  
experience conducting scientifically    
verifiable surveys and research to      
conduct an annual survey of a           
statistically significant sample of     
veterans who reside in the geographic   
area served by each of the medical      
facilities of the ,department of        
,veterans ,affairs to determine the     
nature of the experiences of such       
veterans in obtaining hospital care and 
medical services furnished by the       
,secretary at each such medical         
facility4 ,each such survey shall be    
conducted using scientific and          
verifiable methods4 ,such contract shall
 provide that the non-government entity 
shall conduct such annual surveys during
 the five-year period beginning on the  
date on which the ,secretary enters into
 the contract with the non-government   
entity4  7b7 ,contents ,the contract    
entered into under subsection 7a7 shall 
provide that each survey conducted      
pursuant to the contract shall be       

specific to a medical facility of the   
,department and shall include questions 
relating to the experiences of veterans 
in requesting and receiving appointments
 for hospital care and medical services 
furnished by the ,secretary at that     
medical facility1 including questions   
relating to each of the following3  7#a7
 ,the veteran's ability to obtain       
hospital care and medical services at   
the facility in a timely manner4  7#b7  
,the period of time between the date on 
which the veteran requests an           
appointment at the facility and the date
 on which the appointment is scheduled4 
7#c7 ,the frequency with which scheduled
 appointments are cancelled by the      
facility4  7#d7 ,the quality of hospital
 care or medical services the veteran   
has received at the facility4  7c7      
,consultation ,the contract entered into
 under subsection 7a7 shall provide that
 in designing and conducting the surveys
 for each medical facility of the       
,department pursuant to such contract1  

the non-government entity shall consult 
with veterans service organizations4    
7d7 ,certification ,the contract entered
 into under subsection 7a7 shall provide
 that--  7#a7 before conducting a survey
 pursuant to the contract1 the          
non-government entity shall submit the  
proposed survey to the ,comptroller     
,general who shall assess whether the   
survey is scientifically valid and      
whether the proposed sample size of     
veterans to be surveyed is statistically
 significant2 and  7#b7 the             
non-government entity may not conduct   
such a survey until the ,comptroller    
,general provides such a certification  
for the survey4  7e7 ,submittal of      
results and public availability of      
information ,not later than #cj days    
after the completion of the surveys     
conducted pursuant to a contract entered
 into under subsection 7a7 for a year1  
the ,secretary shall make the results of
 the surveys publicly available on the  
,internet website of the ,department4   

7f7 ,paperwork reduction ,subchapter ,i 
of chapter #ce of title #dd1 ,united    
,states ,code shall not apply to this   
section4  7g7 ,deadline for             
implementation ,the ,secretary shall    
enter into a contract under subsection  
7a7 for each medical facility of the    
,department by not later than #ahj days 
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act4