,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bchf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bj1     
#bjba,mr4 ,blumenthal 7for himself and  
,mr4 ,blunt7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs
  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend the ,,va         
,,mission ,act of #bjah1 to expand the  
peer specialist support program of the  
,department of ,veterans ,affairs to all
 medical centers of the ,department1 and
 for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title  
,this ,act may be cited as the ,veteran 
,peer ,specialist ,act of #bjba4  #b4   
,expansion of peer specialist support   
program of ,department of ,veterans     
,affairs  7a7 ,expansion ,section #ejf  
of the ,,va ,,mission ,act of #bjah     
7,public ,law #aae-ahb2 #ch ,u4,s4,c4   
#agja note7 is amended-- 7#a7 by        
redesignating subsections 7d7 through   
7f7 as subsections 7e7 through 7g72     
7#b7 in subsection 7b71 in the          
subsection heading1 by striking         

,timeframe and inserting ,initial       
timeframe2  7#c7 in subsection 7c7--    
7,a7 in the subsection heading1 by      
striking ,selection and inserting       
,initial selection2 and  7,b7 in        
paragraph 7#a71 in the matter preceding 
subparagraph 7,a71 by striking ,the     
,secretary shall and inserting ,in      
establishing the program at initial     
locations1 the ,secretary shall2  7#d7  
by inserting after subsection 7c7 the   
following new subsection3  7d7          
,timeframe for expansion of program2    
selection of additional locations  7#a7 
,timeframe for expansion ,the ,secretary
 shall make permanent and expand the    
program to additional medical centers of
 the ,department as follows3 7,a7 ,as of
 the date of the enactment of the       
,veteran ,peer ,specialist ,act of      
#bjba1 at each medical center           
participating in the program on the day 
before such date of enactment4  7,b7    
,during the five-year period following  
such date of enactment1 at an additional

 #be medical centers per year until the 
program is carried out at each medical  
center of the ,department4  7#b7        
,selection of additional locations ,in  
selecting medical centers for the       
expansion of the program under paragraph
 7#a77;,b71 until such time as each     
medical center of the ,department is    
participating in the program by         
establishing not fewer than two peer    
specialists at the medical center1 the  
,secretary shall prioritize medical     
centers in the following areas3 7,a7    
,rural areas and other areas that are   
underserved by the ,department4  7,b7   
,areas that are not in close proximity  
to an active duty military installation4
  7,c7 ,areas representing different    
geographic locations1 such as census    
tracts established by the ,bureau of the
 ,census4  2  7#e7 in subsection 7e71 as
 redesignated by paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7  
in the subsection heading1 by striking  
,gender-specific services and inserting 
,considerations for hiring peer         

specialists2  7,b7 in the matter        
preceding paragraph 7#a71 by striking   
location selected under subsection 7c7  
and inserting medical center2 and  7,c7 
by striking paragraph 7#b7 and inserting
 the following new paragraphs3  7#b7    
female peer specialists are hired and   
made available to support female        
veterans who are treated at each medical
 center2 and  7#c7 to the extent        
practical1 peer specialists are hired in
 demographic percentages that reflect   
the racial and ethnic demographic       
percentages of the overall veteran      
population4  2 and  7#f7 by amending    
subsection 7g71 as redesignated by      
paragraph 7#a71 to read as follows3  7g7
 ,reports  7#a7 ,periodic reports  7,a7 
,in general ,not later than one year    
after the date of the enactment of the  
,veteran ,peer ,specialist ,act of      
#bjba1 and annually thereafter for five 
years1 the ,secretary 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        
program1 including the expansion of the 
program under subsection 7d77#a74  7,b7 
,elements ,each report under            
subparagraph 7,a7 shall include1 with   
respect to the one-year period preceding
 the submission of the report1 the      
following3 7i7 ,the findings and        
conclusions of the ,secretary with      
respect to the program4  7ii7 ,an       
assessment of the benefits of the       
program to veterans and family members  
of veterans4  7iii7 ,an assessment of   
the effectiveness of peer specialists in
 engaging under subsection 7f7 with     
health care providers in the community  
and veterans served by such providers4  
7iv7 ,the name and location of each     
medical center where new peer           
specialists were hired4  7v7 ,the number
 of new peer specialists hired at each  
medical center pursuant to this section 
and the total number of peer specialists
 within the ,department hired pursuant  

to this section4  7vi7 ,an assessment of
 any barriers confronting the           
recruitment1 training1 or retention of  
peer specialists4  7#b7 ,final report   
,not later than one year after the      
,secretary determines that the program  
is being carried out at each medical    
center of the ,department1 the          
,secretary shall submit to the          
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the
 ,senate and the ,committee on          
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of    
,representatives a report notifying such
 committees of that determination4  4   
7b7 ,authorization of appropriations    
,there is authorized to be appropriated 
to carry out the amendments made by this
 section #e1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal  
years #bjbb through #bjbg4