,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #hcc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #e 7legislative day1 ,april #d71 #bjag ,mr4 ,tester 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,murkowski1 ,ms4 ,harris1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mrs4 ,mc,caskill1 ,mrs4 ,murray1 ,mr4 ,king1 and ,mr4 ,blumenthal7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 to expand health care and benefits from the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs for military sexual trauma1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,servicemembers and ,veterans ,empowerment and ,support ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,expansion of coverage by the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs of counseling and treatment for sexual trauma 7a7 ,coverage of cyber harassment of a sexual nature ,paragraph 7#a7 of section #agbj;,d7a7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by inserting cyber harassment of a sexual nature1 after battery of a sexual nature14 7b7 ,expansion of availability for members of the ,armed ,forces ,paragraph 7#b77;,a7 of such section is amended-- 7#a7 by striking on active duty2 and 7#b7 by inserting that was suffered by the member while serving on active duty1 active duty for training1 or inactive duty training before the period at the end4 #c4 ,standard of proof for service-connection of mental health conditions related to military sexual trauma 7a7 ,standard of proof ,section #aaed of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7c7 7#a7 ,in the case of any veteran who claims that a covered mental health condition was incurred in or aggravated by military sexual trauma during active military1 naval1 or air service1 the ,secretary shall accept as sufficient proof of service-connection a diagnosis of such mental health condition by a mental health professional together with satisfactory lay or other evidence of such trauma and an opinion by the mental health professional that such covered mental health condition is related to such military sexual trauma1 if consistent with the circumstances1 conditions1 or hardships of such service1 notwithstanding the fact that there is no official record of such incurrence or aggravation in such service1 and1 to that end1 shall resolve every reasonable doubt in favor of the veteran4 ,service-connection of such covered mental health condition may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary4 ,the reasons for granting or denying service-connection in each case shall be recorded in full4 7#b7 ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,the term covered mental health condition means post-traumatic stress disorder1 anxiety1 depression1 or other mental health diagnosis described in the current version of the ,diagnostic and ,statistical ,manual of ,mental ,disorders published by the ,american ,psychiatric ,association that the ,secretary determines to be related to military sexual trauma4 7,b7 ,the term military sexual trauma means1 with respect to a veteran1 a physical assault of a sexual nature1 battery of a sexual nature1 cyber harassment of a sexual nature1 or sexual harassment which occurred during active military1 naval1 or air service4 4 7b7 ,use of evidence in evaluating disability claims involving military sexual trauma 7#a7 ,in general ,subchapter ,,vi of chapter #aa of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #aafd4 ,evaluation of claims involving military sexual trauma 7a7 ,nonmilitary sources of evidence 7#a7 ,in carrying out section #aaed7;c7 of this title1 the ,secretary shall ensure that if a claim for compensation under this chapter is received by the ,secretary for post-traumatic stress disorder based on a physical assault of a sexual nature1 battery of a sexual nature1 cyber harassment of a sexual nature1 or sexual harassment experienced by a veteran during active military1 naval1 or air service1 evidence from sources other than official records of the ,department of ,defense regarding the veteran's service may corroborate the veteran's account of the assault1 battery1 or harassment4 7#b7 ,examples of evidence described in paragraph 7#a7 include the following3 7,a7 ,records from law enforcement authorities1 rape crisis centers1 mental health counseling centers1 hospitals1 and physicians4 7,b7 ,pregnancy tests and tests for sexually transmitted diseases4 7,c7 ,statements from family members1 roommates1 other members of the ,armed ,forces or veterans1 and clergy4 7b7 ,behavior changes corroborating evidence 7#a7 ,in carrying out section #aaed7;c7 of this title1 the ,secretary shall ensure that evidence of a behavior change following an assault1 battery1 or harassment described in subsection 7a77#a7 is one type of relevant evidence that may be found in sources described in such subsection4 7#b7 ,examples of behavior changes that may be relevant evidence of an assault1 battery1 or harassment described in subsection 7a77#a7 include the following3 7,a7 ,a request for a transfer to another military duty assignment4 7,b7 ,deterioration in work performance4 7,c7 ,substance abuse4 7,d7 ,episodes of depression1 panic attacks1 or anxiety without an identifiable cause4 7,e7 ,unexplained economic or social behavior changes4 7c7 ,notice and opportunity ,to supply evidence ,the ,secretary may not deny a claim of a veteran for compensation under this chapter for a post-traumatic stress disorder that is based on an assault1 battery1 or harassment described in subsection 7a77#a7 without first-- 7#a7 advising the veteran that evidence described in subsections 7a7 and 7b7 may constitute credible corroborating evidence of the assault1 battery1 or harassment2 and 7#b7 allowing the veteran an opportunity to furnish such corroborating evidence or advise the ,secretary of potential sources of such evidence4 7d7 ,review of evidence ,in reviewing a claim for compensation described in subsection 7a77#a71 for any evidence received with such claim that is described in subsection 7a7 or 7b71 the ,secretary may submit such evidence to such medical or mental health professional as the ,secretary considers appropriate1 including clinical and counseling experts employed by the ,department1 to obtain a credible opinion as to whether the evidence indicates that an assault1 battery1 or harassment described in subsection 7a77#a7 occurred4 7e7 ,point of contact ,the ,secretary shall ensure that each document provided to a veteran relating to a claim for compensation described in subsection 7a77#a7 includes contact information for an appropriate point of contact with the ,department4 4 7#b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item3 #aafd4 ,evaluation of claims involving military sexual trauma4 4 7c7 ,annual reports 7#a7 ,in general ,subchapter ,,vi of chapter #aa of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 as amended by subsection 7b71 is further amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #aafe4 ,reports on claims for disabilities incurred or aggravated by military sexual trauma 7a7 ,reports ,not later than ,march #a1 #bjah1 and not less frequently than once each year thereafter through #bjbg1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report on covered claims submitted during the previous fiscal year to identify and track the consistency of decisions across regional offices4 7b7 ,elements ,each report under subsection 7a7 shall include the following3 7#a7 ,the number of covered claims submitted to or considered by the ,secretary during the fiscal year covered by the report4 7#b7 ,of the covered claims listed under paragraph 7#a71 the number and percentage of such claims-- 7,a7 submitted by each sex2 7,b7 that were approved1 including the number and percentage of such approved claims submitted by each sex2 and 7,c7 that were denied1 including the number and percentage of such denied claims submitted by each sex4 7#c7 ,of the covered claims listed under paragraph 7#a7 that were approved1 the number and percentage1 disaggregated by sex1 of claims assigned to each rating percentage4 7#d7 ,of the covered claims listed under paragraph 7#a7 that were denied-- 7,a7 the three most common reasons given by the ,secretary under section #eajd7;b77#a7 of this title for such denials2 and 7,b7 the number of denials that were based on the failure of a veteran to report for a medical examination4 7#e7 ,the number of covered claims that1 as of the end of the fiscal year covered by the report1 are pending and1 separately1 the number of such claims on appeal4 7#f7 ,for the fiscal year covered by the report1 the average number of days that covered claims take to complete1 beginning on the date on which the claim is submitted4 7#g7 ,a description of the training that the ,secretary provides to employees of the ,veterans ,benefits ,administration specifically with respect to covered claims1 including the frequency1 length1 and content of such training4 7c7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term covered claims means claims for disability compensation submitted to the ,secretary based on a covered mental health condition alleged to have been incurred or aggravated by military sexual trauma4 7#b7 ,the terms covered mental health condition and military sexual trauma have the meanings given such terms in section #aaed7;c77#c7 of this title4 4 7#b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections at the beginning of such chapter1 as amended by subsection 7b71 is further amended by adding at the end the following new item3 #aafe4 ,reports on claims for disabilities incurred or aggravated by military sexual trauma4 4 7d7 ,effective date ,subsection 7c7 of section #aaed of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 as added by subsection 7a71 shall apply with respect to any claim for disability compensation under laws administered by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs for which no final decision has been made before the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #d4 ,information for members of the ,armed ,forces regarding availability of services at ,vet ,centers 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall inform members of the ,armed ,forces1 using mechanisms available to the ,secretary1 of the eligibility of such members for services at ,vet ,centers4 7b7 ,information from ,sexual ,assault ,response ,coordinators ,the ,secretary shall ensure that ,sexual ,assault ,response ,coordinators of the ,department of ,defense advise members of the ,armed ,forces who report instances of military sexual trauma regarding the eligibility of such members for services at ,vet ,centers4 7c7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,military sexual trauma ,the term military sexual trauma means psychological trauma described in section #agbj;,d7a77#a7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,vet ,center ,the term ,vet ,center has the meaning given that term in section #agab;,a7h7 of such title4