H.R. 5819 — Introduced in House

I 117th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5819 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 2, 2021Mr. Lawson of Florida (for himself, Ms. Norton, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. Titus, Ms. Newman, Mrs. Axne, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Peters, Ms. Strickland, Mr. Carson, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Kuster, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. O'Halleran, Ms. Stansbury, Ms. Dean, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Cammack, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Newhouse, Mr. Palazzo, Miss González-Colón, Mr. Garbarino, Mrs. Bice of Oklahoma, Mrs. Kim of California, Mr. Rutherford, Mr. McHenry, Mr. Valadao, Mrs. Rodgers of Washington, Mr. Feenstra, Mr. Turner, Ms. Stefanik, Ms. Letlow, Mr. Timmons, Mr. Meuser, and Mr. Trone) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the amount paid by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to veterans for improvements and structural alterations furnished as part of home health services. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Autonomy for Disabled Veterans Act. 2. Increase in amount available to disabled veterans for improvements and structural alterations furnished as part of home health services (a) Increase Paragraph (2) of section 1717(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking $6,800 and inserting $10,000; and (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking $2,000 and inserting $5,000. (b) Effective date The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to a veteran who first applies for benefits under section 1717(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. (c) Applicability A veteran who exhausts such veteran’s eligibility for benefits under section 1717(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, before the date of the enactment of this Act, is not entitled to additional benefits under such section by reason of the amendments made by subsection (a). 3. Adjustment for inflation Section 1717(a) of title 38, United States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the following: (4) On an annual basis, the Secretary shall increase the dollar amount in effect under subsection (a)(2) by a percentage equal to the percentage by which the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (United States city average) increased during the 12-month period ending with the last month for which Consumer Price Index data is available. In the event that such Consumer Price Index does not increase during such period, the Secretary shall maintain the dollar amount in effect under subsection (a)(2) during the previous fiscal year. .