Sen. Jerry Moran

Post-9/11 Veterans' Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2021 This bill addresses mental health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including by requiring the VA to expand access to mental health care, expand its mental health workforce, and conduct studies and research. Among other requirements, the VA must increase the number of full-time equivalent employees at Vet Centers, expand specified scholarships and loan repayment programs for mental health providers and students, offer mental health consultations to certain veterans, improve the assessment and treatment of veterans with sleep disorders, and perform various studies and research related to mental health issues and care.

Reform and Update Rural Access to Local Exams Act of 2021 or the RURAL Exams Act of 2021 This bill updates policies and procedures related to covered medical disability examinations provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and its contractors. Under the bill, covered medical disability examinations are those that are required for purposes of adjudicating specified VA benefits. First, the bill requires the VA to begin collecting data to improve veterans' access to covered medical disability examinations. The VA must study rural veterans' access to covered medical disability examinations and submit a plan to improve access. Additionally, the VA must ensure that contracts for the provision of covered medical disability examinations by contractors include specified elements. Specifically, such contracts must (1) include financial incentives to encourage timeliness in medical disability examination appointments for rural or housebound veterans, (2) include financial disincentives to encourage timeliness, and (3) require contractors to cooperate with inspections. Finally, the VA must establish a program of periodic inspections of sites, locations, and facilities where medical disability examinations are provided by VA contractors.

Reaching Every Homeless Veteran Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Labor, in administering homeless veterans reintegration programs, to (1) consider grant applications from entities in all states (to the maximum extent practicable), and (2) conduct an outreach and education program in states where no entity has been awarded a grant to ensure communities are aware of homeless veterans reintegration programs.

Veterans' Prostate Cancer Treatment and Research Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish in its National Surgery Office an interdisciplinary clinical pathway for all stages of prostate cancer. Clinical pathways are health care management tools designed around research and evidence-based practices that provide direction for the care and treatment of a specific condition. The clinical pathway must include specified elements, such as a diagnosis pathway and a treatment pathway. The VA must consult with and incorporate feedback from (1) veterans who have received prostate cancer care at its medical facilities, and (2) experts in multidisciplinary cancer care and clinical research. Additionally, the VA must publish the clinical pathway on a public VA website and annually update the pathway as needed based on medical literature and evidence-based guidelines. The bill also requires the VA to submit a plan to establish a prostate cancer program using the comprehensive prostate cancer clinical pathway.

Fiscal Year 2022 Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to carry out specified major medical facility projects during FY2022. The bill also indicates the maximum amount that can be spent on each project.

Guard, Reserve, and Active Duty Department of Veterans Affairs Educational Assistance Parity Act of 2021 or the GRAD VA Educational Assistance Parity Act of 2021 This bill expands eligibility for Post-9/11 educational assistance to members of the National Guard who perform full-time National Guard duty or full-time service in the National Guard when performing active duty.

Rural Veterans Travel Enhancement Act of 2021 This bill addresses Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) transportation benefits for certain veterans. First, the bill makes permanent the authority for the VA to transport any person to or from a VA facility or other place in connection with vocational rehabilitation, required counseling, or for an examination, treatment, or care. The bill also permanently extends the authorization of appropriations for grants provided to state veterans service agencies and veterans service organizations to transport highly rural veterans for medical care. The bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study fraud, waste, and abuse of benefits under the VA beneficiary travel program and report the findings to Congress. The GAO must also study and report on (1) the efficacy of the current mileage reimbursement rate under the program in mitigating the financial burden of transportation costs for traveling to and from VA medical facilities for care, (2) the origins of the amount of the deductible and its impact on the efficacy of the benefits provided in mitigating the financial burden on veterans seeking medical care, and (3) recommendations for how this program or another program could further encourage veterans to seek medical care. The bill also requires the VA to implement various pilot programs related to transportation benefits for veterans for specified purposes.

Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 2021 This bill addresses the management and implementation of information technology projects and investments of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Specifically, the bill prohibits the VA from obligating or expending funds for any major information technology project that begins after the date of enactment of this bill unless a report is submitted that includes information on the cost, schedule, and performance of the project. The information in the report must be used as a baseline against which changes or variances are measured and reported on during the life cycle of the project. Projects must be managed by an interdisciplinary team that includes a certified project manager, a functional lead, a technical lead, a contracting officer, and other appropriate personnel. The VA's Chief Information Officer must (1) exercise authority over the management, governance, and oversight processes relating to information technology of the VA's Financial Services Center; and (2) supervise the information technology employees and contractors of the center. The VA must ensure its annual budget justification materials include a list of its active information technology projects and specified information about such projects, projected funding needs for projects, a prioritized list of every proposed project that is unfunded, and information about the decommissioning of information technology systems and applications. Finally, the VA must assess all of its information technology investments to determine the suitability for migration to a cloud computing service.

Protecting Access to Credit for Small Businesses Act This bill prohibits the Small Business Administration from directly making a loan under the 7(a) Program, which authorizes loans and loan guaranties to small businesses that meet certain requirements.

This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Labor emergency temporary standard for preventing the transmission of COVID-19 in employment settings. Under the standard issued on November 5, 2021, employers with 100 or more employees must require their onsite employees to either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.