,,ii ,calendar ,no4 #dac #aafth         
,,congress  #b;d ,session  ,s4 #hej     
,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united 
,,states  ,march #ad1 #bjai,mr4         
,sullivan 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,murkowski1
 and ,ms4 ,sinema7 introduced the       
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on          
,veterans' ,affairs  ,february #e1      
#bjbj,reported by ,mr4 ,moran1 with an  
amendment,insert the part printed in    
italic  ,a ,,bill  ,to extend the       
authorization of appropriations to the  
,department of ,veterans ,affairs for   
purposes of awarding grants to veterans 
service organizations for the           
transportation of highly rural veterans4
  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be    
cited as the ,highly ,rural ,veteran    
,transportation ,program ,extension     
,act4  #b4 ,extension of authority to   
make grants to ,veterans ,service       
,organizations for transportation of    
highly rural veterans ,section #cjg7;d7 
of the ,caregivers and ,veterans        

,omnibus ,health ,services ,act of #bjaj
 7,public ,law #aaa-afc2 #ch ,u4,s4,c4  
#agaj note7 is amended by striking #bjbj
 and inserting #bjba4  #c4 ,making      
permanent authority for ,secretary of   
,veterans ,affairs to transport         
individuals to and from facilities of   
,department of ,veterans ,affairs       
,section #aaa;,a7a7 of title #ch1       
,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7
 by striking paragraph 7#b72 and  7#b7  
in paragraph 7#a71 by striking 7#a74    
#d4 ,medical examination protocol for   
volunteer drivers participating in      
program of transportation services for  
veterans ,section #aaa;,a7b7 of title   
#ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended--
  7#a7 by inserting 7#a7 before ,the    
,secretary2 and  7#b7 by adding at the  
end the following new paragraph3  7#b7  
7,a7 ,not later than #ij days after the 
date of the enactment of the ,highly    
,rural ,veteran ,transportation ,program
 ,extension ,act1 the ,secretary shall  
develop and establish a national        

protocol for the administration of      
medical examinations for volunteer      
drivers to participate in the program   
described in paragraph 7#a74  7,b7 ,in  
developing the protocol required by     
subparagraph 7,a71 the ,secretary shall 
consult with such persons as the        
,secretary determines have an interest  
in the program described in paragraph   
7#a74  7,c7 7i7 ,the ,secretary shall   
implement the protocol by first         
conducting a one-year pilot program     
using the protocol4  7ii7 ,after        
conducting the pilot program required by
 clause 7i71 the ,secretary shall assess
 the pilot program and make such changes
 to the protocol as the ,secretary      
considers appropriate4  7iii7 ,after    
making changes to the protocol under    
clause 7ii71 the ,secretary shall       
implement the protocol in phases during 
the course of one year4  4  #e4         
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states report on transportation        
services for veterans  7a7 ,report      

required ,not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united
 ,states shall submit to the ,committee 
on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate   
and the ,committee on ,veterans'        
,affairs of the ,house of               
,representatives a report on the program
 the establishment of which was         
facilitated under section #aaa;,a7b7 of 
title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4  7b7  
,contents ,the report submitted under   
subsection 7a7 shall include the        
following3 7#a7 ,a description of the   
program described in subsection 7a71    
including descriptions of the following3
  7,a7 ,the purpose of the program4     
7,b7 ,the activities carried out under  
the program4  7#b7 ,an assessment of the
 sufficiency of the program with respect
 to the purpose of the program4  7#c7   
,an assessment of the cost effectiveness
 of the program in relation to          
alternatives4  7#d7 ,an assessment of   
the health benefits for veterans who    

have participated in the program4  7#e7 
,an assessment of the sufficiency of    
staffing of employees of the ,department
 of ,veterans ,affairs who are          
responsible for facilitating the        
maintenance of the program4  7#f7 ,an   
assessment1 with respect to the purpose 
of the program1 of the number of        
vehicles owned by and operating in      
conjunction with the program4  7#g7 ,an 
assessment of the awareness and usage of
 the program by veterans and their      
families4  7#h7 ,an assessment of other 
options for transportation under the    
program1 such as local taxi companies   
and ridesharing programs such as ,uber  
and ,lyft4  ,february #e1 #bjbj,reported
 with an amendment