,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cbje  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #ai1 
#bjbe,mr4 ,sheehy introduced the        
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on          
,veterans' ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
direct the ,secretary of ,veterans      
,affairs to permit ,members of ,congress
 to use facilities of the ,department of
 ,veterans ,affairs for the purposes of 
meeting with constituents1 and for other
 purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,improving ,veterans
 ,access to ,congressional ,services    
,act of #bjbe4  #b4 ,use of facilities  
of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs
 by ,members of ,congress  7a7 ,use of  
facilities  7#a7 ,in general ,upon      
request of a ,member of ,congress and   
subject to regulations prescribed under 
subsection 7b71 the ,secretary of       
,veterans ,affairs shall permit the     
,member to use a facility of the        
,department of ,veterans ,affairs for   

the purposes of meeting with            
constituents of the ,member4  7#b7      
,identification of facilities ,the      
,secretary and the ,administrator of    
,general ,services shall jointly        
identify available spaces in facilities 
of the ,department for purposes of      
paragraph 7#a74  7b7 ,regulations  7#a7 
,in general ,not later than #ij days    
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans       
,affairs shall prescribe regulations    
regarding use of a facility of the      
,department of ,veterans ,affairs by    
,members of ,congress under subsection  
7a74  7#b7 ,requirements ,regulations   
prescribed pursuant to paragraph 7#a7-- 
7,a7 shall require that a space within a
 facility of the ,department provided to
 a ,member under subsection 7a7 is-- 7i7
 available during normal business hours2
  7ii7 located in an area that is       
visible and accessible to constituents  
of the ,member2 and  7iii7 subject to a 
rate of rent 7payable from the ,member's

 ,representational ,allowance or the    
,senator's ,official ,personnel and     
,office ,expense ,account1 as the case  
may be7 that is similar to the rate     
charged by the ,administrator of        
,general ,services for office space in  
the area of the facility2  7,b7 may not 
prohibit a ,member from advertising the 
use by the ,member of a space within a  
facility of the ,department under       
subsection 7a72  7,c7 shall comply with 
sections #gcba through #gcbf of title   
#e1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly     
referred to as the ,hatch ,act7 and     
section #a4bah7;a77#ad7 of title #ch1   
,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or      
successor regulation71 by prohibiting   
activities including-- 7i7 campaigning  
in support of or opposition to any      
political office2  7ii7 statements or   
actions that solicit1 support1 or oppose
 any change to ,federal law or policy2  
7iii7 any activity that interferes with 
security or normal operation of the     
facility2  7iv7 photographing or        

recording a veteran patient at such     
facility2  7v7 photographing or         
recording a patient1 visitor to the     
facility1 or employee of the ,department
 without the consent of such individual2
 and  7vi7 photography or recording for 
the purpose of political campaign       
materials2  7,d7 may not permit a       
,member of ,congress to use such a      
facility during the #fj-;day period     
preceding an election for ,federal      
office in the jurisdiction in which such
 facility is located2 and  7,e7 may not 
unreasonably restrict use of a facility 
of the ,department by a ,member under   
subsection 7a7 if-- 7i7 there is space  
in such facility not in regular use by  
personnel of the ,department2 and  7ii7 
use of such space shall not impede      
operations of the ,department in such   
facility4