,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dcih  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #ae1 #bjbe,mr4 
,emmer 7for himself1 ,mr4               
,reschenthaler1 ,mr4 ,garbarino1 ,mr4   
,des,jarlais1 ,mr4 ,latta1 ,ms4         
,malliotakis1 ,mr4 ,self1 ,ms4 ,tenney1 
,mr4 ,la,lota1 ,mr4 ,womack1 ,ms4       
,salazar1 ,mr4 ,stauber1 ,mr4 ,alford1  
,mr4 ,aderholt1 ,mr4 ,van ,orden1 ,mr4  
,taylor1 ,mr4 ,lawler1 ,mr4 ,fulcher1   
,mr4 ,crenshaw1 ,mr4 ,bacon1 ,mr4       
,newhouse1 ,mr4 ,patronis1 ,mr4         
,mackenzie1 ,ms4 ,mc,bride1 ,mr4        
,finstad1 ,mr4 ,owens1 ,mr4 ,costa1 ,mr4
 ,calvert1 ,mrs4 ,kim1 ,mr4 ,nehls1 ,mr4
 ,moulton1 ,mr4 ,fry1 ,mr4 ,gooden1 ,mr4
 ,wied1 ,mr4 ,williams of ,texas1 ,mr4  
,moylan1 ,ms4 ,tokuda1 ,mr4 ,ciscomani1 
,mr4 ,rose1 ,mr4 ,strong1 ,mr4 ,guthrie1
 ,mr4 ,steil1 ,mr4 ,moolenaar1 ,mr4     
,feenstra1 ,mrs4 ,fischbach1 ,mr4       
,tiffany1 ,ms4 ,van ,duyne1 ,mr4 ,flood1
 ,mr4 ,moore of ,west ,virginia1 and    
,mr4 ,hamadeh of ,arizona7 introduced   

the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs
  ,a ,,bill  ,to direct a physician or  
nurse practitioner employed by the      
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to     
certify the death of a veteran not later
 than #dh hours after such physician or 
nurse practitioner learns of such death1
 and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short    
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,veteran ,burial ,timeliness and ,death 
,certificate ,accountability ,act4  #b4 
,findings ,congress finds the following3
  7#a7 ,states and counties have        
reported significant delays in the      
signing of death certificates for       
veterans who pass away from natural     
causes4  7#b7 ,such delays1 caused by   
the refusal of1 or postponement by1     
physicians of the ,department of        
,veterans ,affairs have1 in some cases1 
lasted as long as eight weeks4  7#c7    
,such delays prevent the timely burial  
of deceased veterans and access to      
survivor benefits4  #c4 ,timely         

certification of the death of a veteran 
7a7 ,in general  7#a7 ,,va physician or 
nurse practitioner ,subject to paragraph
 7#b71 a physician or nurse practitioner
 employed by the ,secretary of ,veterans
 ,affairs who is the primary care       
provider of a veteran who dies of       
natural causes shall certify the death  
of such veteran not later than #dh hours
 after such physician or nurse          
practitioner learns of such death4  7#b7
 ,coroner or medical examiner ,if a     
physician or nurse practitioner         
described in paragraph 7#a7 cannot      
comply with such subsection with regards
 to a death described in such paragraph1
 a coroner or medical examiner in the   
jurisdiction where such death occurred  
may certify such death4  7b7 ,report    
,one year after the date of the         
enactment of this ,act1 and annually    
thereafter1 the ,secretary shall submit 
to the ,committees on ,veterans'        
,affairs of the ,senate and ,house of   
,representatives a report regarding     

compliance with subsection 7a74 ,such a 
report shall include1 with regards to   
the year preceding the date of the      
report1 the following elements3  7#a7   
,the percentage of cases in which a     
physician or nurse practitioner employed
 by the ,secretary complied with        
paragraph 7#a7 of such subsection4  7#b7
 ,the number of cases in which such a   
physician or nurse practitioner could   
not so comply4  7#c7 ,the most common   
reasons why such a physician or nurse   
practitioner could not so comply4