,i  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cigh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,november #e1 #bjae  
,ms4 ,michelle ,lujan ,grisham of ,new  
,mexico 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,mc,kinley1  
,mr4 ,ben ,ray ,lujn of ,new ,mexico1   
and ,mr4 ,pearce7 introduced the        
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to amend title #ch1 ,united 
,states ,code1 to establish an          
,ombudsman within the ,veterans ,health 
,administration of the ,department of   
,veterans ,affairs4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,ensuring
 ,fair ,access to ,veterans ,healthcare 
,act4  #b4 ,establishment of ,office of 
the ,ombudsman  7a7 ,establishment      
,subchapter ,i of chapter #gc of title  
#ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended  
by adding at the end the following new  
section3  #gcaj4 ,office of the         
,ombudsman  7a7 ,establishment ,there is
 established in the ,veterans ,health   
,administration an ,office of the       

,ombudsman 7in this section referred to 
as the ,office74 ,the ,office shall be  
headed by an ,ombudsman appointed by the
 ,secretary4 ,the ,ombudsman shall      
report directly to and be under the     
general supervision of the ,secretary1  
but shall not report to1 or be subject  
to supervision by1 any other officer of 
the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4  
,neither the ,secretary nor any other   
such officer may prevent or prohibit the
 ,ombudsman from carrying out the duties
 of the ,ombudsman4  7b7 ,duties of     
office ,the ,office shall carry out the 
following duties3 7#a7 ,identify1       
investigate1 and resolve complaints     
that--  7,a7 are made by1 or on behalf  
of1 covered patients2 and  7,b7 relate  
to action1 inaction1 or decisions made  
by employees of the ,department that may
 adversely affect the health1 safety1   
welfare1 or rights of covered patients4 
7#b7 ,assist covered patients in finding
 patient advocates1 veterans service    
organizations1 or other similar entities

 to represent and advocate for the      
health1 safety1 welfare1 and rights of  
the covered patient4  7#c7 ,inform      
covered patients of the means of        
obtaining assistance described in       
paragraph 7#b74  7#d7 ,ensure that      
covered patients have regular and timely
 access to the services provided by the 
,office1 including with respect to      
receiving timely responses to           
complaints4  7#e7 ,analyze1 monitor1 and
 provide comments and suggestions to the
 ,secretary with respect to the         
development and implementation of       
actions made by the ,secretary relating 
to the health1 safety1 welfare1 and     
rights of covered patients4  7#f7       
,administer the reporting system        
described in subsection 7d74  7#g7      
,provide training to local ombudsmen and
 volunteers described in subsection 7c74
  7#h7 ,other activities that the       
,secretary considers appropriate4  7c7  
,local ombudsmen  7#a7 ,using amounts   
otherwise authorized to be appropriated 

for the medical facilities of the       
,department1 each medical facility shall
 have a local ombudsman responsible for 
carrying out the duties of the ,office  
at such location4  7#b7 ,a local        
ombudsman shall-- 7,a7 carry out the    
assistance described in paragraph 7#b7  
of subsection 7b7 to ensure the         
protection of the health1 safety1       
welfare1 or rights of covered patients2 
7,b7 ensure that covered patients have  
regular1 timely access to the ,office1  
including with respect to receiving     
timely responses to complaints described
 in paragraph 7#a7 of such subsection2  
7,c7 identify1 investigate1 and         
determine how to resolve such           
complaints2 and  7,d7 train local       
volunteers from civic organizations to  
assist the local ombudsman by working   
directly with covered patients to       
develop individual action plans relating
 to the health1 safety1 welfare1 and    
rights of the covered patient4  7d7     
,reporting system ,the ,ombudsman shall 

establish and administer a uniform      
reporting system to collect and analyze 
data relating to complaints described in
 subsection 7b77#a7 in order to identify
 to the ,secretary and determine how to 
resolve significant problems in the     
medical facilities of the ,department4  
7e7 ,cooperation ,the ,secretary shall  
ensure that each medical facility of the
 ,department cooperates with the ,office
 in carrying out this section4  7f7     
,annual report ,the ,ombudsman shall    
submit to the ,secretary and ,congress  
an annual report that contains the      
following with respect to the year      
covered by the report3  7#a7 ,a         
description of the activities carried   
out by the ,office4  7#b7 ,an analysis  
of the data described in subsection 7d74
  7#c7 ,an evaluation of the problems   
experienced by1 and the complaints made 
by or on behalf of1 covered patients4   
7#d7 ,recommendations for-- 7,a7        
improving the quality of care and life  
of covered patients2 and  7,b7          

protecting the health1 safety1 welfare1 
and rights of covered patients4  7#e7   
,an analysis of the success of the      
,office1 including--  7,a7 a description
 of the services provided to covered    
patients as described in subsection     
7b77#b72 and  7,b7 an identification of 
barriers to the ,office for better      
carrying out the duties of the ,office4 
7#f7 ,any comments and suggestions      
described in subsection 7b77#e74  7#g7  
,any other information the ,ombudsman   
considers appropriate4  7g7 ,covered    
patient described ,in this section1 the 
term covered patient means an individual
 who is receiving medical care or       
hospital services at a medical facility 
of the ,department4  4  7b7 ,clerical   
amendment ,the table of sections at the 
beginning of such chapter is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to    
section #gcji the following new item3   
#gcaj4 ,office of the ,ombudsman4  4