Text of US SB 1383 (2026)

II 119TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1383 To establish the Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 9, 2025 Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. MORAN, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To establish the Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Accessibility 4 Advisory Committee Act of 2025’’. 5 SEC. 2. VETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON EQUAL AC- 6 CESS. 7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Apr 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1383.IS S1383 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1383 IS retary of Veterans Affairs shall establish within the 1 Department of Veterans Affairs an advisory com- 2 mittee on matters relating to accessibility of the De- 3 partment for individuals with disabilities. 4 (2) DESIGNATION.—The advisory committee es- 5 tablished by paragraph (1) shall be known as the 6 ‘‘Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access’’ (in 7 this section the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’). 8 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 9 (1) VOTING MEMBERS.—The Advisory Com- 10 mittee shall be composed of 15 voting members, ap- 11 pointed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. In ap- 12 pointing such members, the Secretary shall ensure 13 the following: 14 (A) Four are veterans with disabilities, in- 15 cluding mobility impairment, hearing, visual, 16 and mental or cognitive disabilities. 17 (B) Four are experts on issues described in 18 subsection (f)(1)(A) or the provisions of law set 19 forth under subsection (f)(1)(B). 20 (C) Two are employees of the Department, 21 one from the Section 508 Office and one from 22 the Architectural Accessibility Program, who 23 oversee the compliance of the Department with 24 Federal accessibility laws. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Apr 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1383.IS S1383 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1383 IS (D) Five are representatives nominated by 1 national veterans service organizations that ad- 2 vocate for veterans with physical, sensory, men- 3 tal, or cognitive disabilities. 4 (2) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Advisory 5 Committee shall also include four ex officio members 6 (or their designees): 7 (A) The Under Secretary for Health. 8 (B) The Under Secretary for Benefits. 9 (C) The Under Secretary for Memorial Af- 10 fairs. 11 (D) The chairperson of the Architectural 12 and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board 13 (known as the ‘‘Access Board’’). 14 (c) TERMS; VACANCIES.— 15 (1) TERMS.—A member of the Advisory Com- 16 mittee shall be appointed for a term of two years. 17 The Secretary may reappoint members to the Advi- 18 sory Committee for such additional two-year terms 19 as the Secretary determines appropriate. 20 (2) VACANCIES.—The Secretary shall fill a va- 21 cancy in the Advisory Committee in the same man- 22 ner as the original appointment not later than 180 23 days after such vacancy occurs. 24 (d) MEETINGS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Apr 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1383.IS S1383 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1383 IS (1) FREQUENCY.—The Advisory Committee 1 shall meet not less frequently than twice each year. 2 (2) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Advisory Com- 3 mittee may form subcommittees, which shall meet as 4 often as required. 5 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 6 the Advisory Committee shall constitute a quorum. 7 (e) CHAIRPERSON.—Members of the Advisory Com- 8 mittee shall select a Chairperson from among the members 9 of the Advisory Committee. If the position of Chairperson 10 becomes vacant, the members of the Advisory Committee 11 shall select a new Chairperson not later than 30 days after 12 the date on which the position became vacant. 13 (f) DUTIES.— 14 (1) REQUIREMENT TO CONSULT AND SEEK AD- 15 VICE.—On a regular basis, the Secretary shall con- 16 sult with and seek the advice of the Advisory Com- 17 mittee— 18 (A) on improving the accessibility of the 19 Department for individuals with disabilities, in- 20 cluding improving— 21 (i) the accessibility of information of 22 the Department, including electronic infor- 23 mation; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Apr 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1383.IS S1383 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1383 IS (ii) the accessibility of the services 1 and benefits furnished by the Department; 2 (iii) the accessibility of the facilities of 3 the Department; 4 (iv) the accessibility of facilities of 5 health care providers furnishing care or 6 services under the Veterans Community 7 Care Program under section 1703 of title 8 38, United States Code; and 9 (v) the acquisition process of the De- 10 partment to ensure that products and serv- 11 ices, including information technology and 12 information and communication technology 13 (as defined in the standards issued by the 14 Architectural and Transportation Barriers 15 Compliance Board pursuant to section 508 16 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 17 U.S.C. 794d)), are accessible when pur- 18 chased; and 19 (B) for ensuring the compliance of the De- 20 partment with provisions of law relating to dis- 21 ability and accessibility, including— 22 (i) the Americans with Disabilities Act 23 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12184 et seq.); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Apr 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1383.IS S1383 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1383 IS (ii) sections 504 and 508 of the Reha- 1 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791, 2 794, and 794d); 3 (iii) the Plain Writing Act of 2010 (5 4 U.S.C. 301 note); 5 (iv) the 21st Century Integrated Dig- 6 ital Experience Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 note); 7 (v) the Architectural Barriers Act of 8 1968 (Public Law 90–480); and 9 (vi) such other provisions of Federal 10 law as may be that ensure equal access to 11 Federal facilities, benefits, or services for 12 individuals with disabilities. 13 (2) PROVISION OF ADVICE.—In providing ad- 14 vice to the Secretary, the Advisory Committee shall, 15 focusing on the areas of greatest need for the De- 16 partment— 17 (A) assess the disability access needs of 18 veterans, the public, and Department employees 19 for full access to the Department’s information, 20 services, and benefits by reviewing relevant in- 21 formation, such as filed complaints by people 22 with disabilities or physical assessments of the 23 Department’s facilities; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Apr 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1383.IS S1383 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1383 IS (B) provide assessments of accessibility at 1 the Department and the compliance of the De- 2 partment with applicable provisions of law re- 3 lating to disability and accessibility; and 4 (C) provide advice on improving accessi- 5 bility at the Department, including the accessi- 6 bility of all— 7 (i) communications, including internal 8 and public facing; 9 (ii) services and benefits; and 10 (iii) facilities. 11 (3) REPORTS.— 12 (A) REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY.—Not 13 later than two years after the date of the first 14 meeting of the Advisory Committee, and not 15 less frequently than once every two years there- 16 after, the Advisory Committee shall submit to 17 the Secretary a report that, focusing on areas 18 of greatest need for the Department— 19 (i) identifies and assesses access bar- 20 riers affecting veterans, the public, and 21 employees of the Department; 22 (ii) determines the extent to which the 23 programs and activities of the Department 24 address the barriers identified in clause (i), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Apr 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1383.IS S1383 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1383 IS including compliance of the Department 1 with provisions of law relating to accessi- 2 bility law and reporting; 3 (iii) provides recommendations and 4 access priorities to improve the accessi- 5 bility of the Department’s services, bene- 6 fits, information, technology, and facilities; 7 (iv) provides a description of access 8 improvements and assesses the Depart- 9 ment’s implementation of recommendations 10 from previous reports of the Advisory 11 Committee, including any unmet rec- 12 ommendations that remain necessary for 13 improving accessibility for the Department; 14 and 15 (v) provides any recommendations for 16 legislation, administrative action, or other 17 actions that the Advisory Committee deter- 18 mines appropriate. 19 (B) REPORTS TO CONGRESS AND FEDERAL 20 AGENCIES.— 21 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 22 days after the receipt of a report required 23 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 24 shall submit to the appropriate congres- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Apr 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1383.IS S1383 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1383 IS sional committees a copy of such report 1 and any comments and recommendations 2 of the Secretary concerning such report 3 that the Secretary determines appropriate. 4 (ii) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.— 5 The Secretary shall publish on a publicly 6 accessible website of the Department such 7 report and such comments and rec- 8 ommendations as may have been submitted 9 along with such report. 10 (iii) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL 11 COMMITTEES.—In this subparagraph, the 12 term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit- 13 tees’’ means— 14 (I) the Committees on Veterans’ 15 Affairs of the Senate and House of 16 Representatives; 17 (II) the Special Committee on 18 Aging of the Senate; and 19 (III) the Committee on Edu- 20 cation and Workforce of the House of 21 Representatives. 22 (g) ADVISORY COMMITTEE PERSONNEL AND RE- 23 SOURCE MATTERS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Apr 23, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1383.IS S1383 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1383 IS (1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—A member 1 of the Commission who is not an officer or employee 2 of the Federal Government shall not be compensated 3 for the performance of the duties of the Advisory 4 Committee. 5 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Ad- 6 visory Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, 7 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates 8 authorized for employees of agencies under sub- 9 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 10 Code, while away from their homes or regular places 11 of business in the performance of services for the 12 Advisory Committee. 13 (3) RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall ensure 14 that such personnel, funding, and other resources 15 are made available to the Advisory Committee as the 16 Secretary determines appropriate to carry out the 17 duties of the Advisory Committee. 18 (4) INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall furnish 19 to the Advisory Committee such information as the 20 Advisory Committee may request from the Sec- 21 retary, subject to applicable provisions of law. 22 (h) TERMINATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The 23 Advisory Committee shall terminate on the date that is 24 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Apr 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1383.IS S1383 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1383 IS SEC. 3. ABOLITION OF INACTIVE ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 1 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 2 ment of this Act and before establishing the Veterans Ad- 3 visory Committee on Equal Access under section 2, the 4 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 5 (1) abolish an advisory committee of the De- 6 partment of Veterans Affairs that— 7 (A) was not established by an Act of Con- 8 gress; and 9 (B) is inactive; 10 (2) consolidate two advisory committees de- 11 scribed in paragraph (1); or 12 (3) submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af- 13 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a 14 recommendation to abolish an advisory committee of 15 the Department that— 16 (A) was established by an Act of Congress; 17 and 18 (B) is inactive. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Apr 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1383.IS S1383 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB