,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #eidi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,november #g1        
#bjbe,mr4 ,tony ,gonzales of ,texas     
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on          
,veterans' ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
establish a pilot program to furnish    
dental care to veterans who reside in   
rural and highly rural areas4  #a4      
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,rural ,veterans ,dental ,care ,act4
  #b4 ,pilot program to furnish dental  
care to veterans who reside in rural    
areas  7a7 ,establishment ,on ,october  
#a1 #bjbf1 the ,secretary of ,veterans  
,affairs shall carry out a pilot program
 to furnish dental care to veterans who 
reside in rural and highly rural areas  
7as determined by the ,director of the  
,office of ,rural ,health of the        
,department of ,veterans ,affairs74  7b7
 ,methods ,to carry out the pilot       
program1 the ,secretary may use the     
following methods3 7#a7 ,vans equipped  

with full diagnostic and treatment      
dental equipment4  7#b7 ,modular or     
containerized mobile dental clinics--   
7,a7 at community-based outpatient      
clinics of the ,department2 or  7,b7    
rural health fairs4  7#c7 ,tents or     
other temporary structures at outreach  
events of the ,department4  7c7         
,priority ,in selecting locations to    
carry out the pilot program1 the        
,secretary shall give priority to       
locations-- 7#a7 located more than #ge  
miles from the dental clinic operated by
 the ,secretary2  7#b7 that have a high 
concentration of veterans with unmet    
dental needs2 and  7#c7 rural and highly
 rural areas 7as such terms are used by 
the ,office of ,rural ,health of the    
,veterans ,health ,administration7 that 
have large populations of veterans4  7d7
 ,duration ,the pilot program shall     
terminate on ,september #cj1 #bjbi4  7e7
 ,reporting ,not later than ,september  
#cj of #bjbg1 #bjbh1 and #bjbi1 the     
,secretary shall submit to the          

,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of   
the ,senate and ,house of               
,representatives a report on the pilot  
program4 ,such a report shall include   
the following elements3  7#a7 ,the      
number of veterans who received dental  
care through the pilot program4  7#b7   
,locations where the ,secretary carried 
out the pilot program4  7#c7 ,the costs 
for operating each method under         
subsection 7b74  7#d7 ,the              
recommendation of the ,secretary whether
 to improve or make permanent the pilot 
program4