PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Secretary must create an advisory group called the Veterans’ Advisory Committee on Rehabilitation. Members are chosen from the public for terms set by the Secretary that cannot exceed three years. The Committee must include veterans with service-connected disabilities and experts in rehab medicine, job guidance, vocational rehab, and training. The Secretary can pick one member to chair. The group also has ex officio representatives from the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, two Department of Education rehab offices, and the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training. The Secretary must regularly ask the Committee for advice on running veterans’ rehab programs. The Committee must send an annual report that assesses veterans’ rehab needs and reviews VA programs, and it may send other reports and recommendations. The Secretary must include copies of the Committee’s reports with the annual report sent to Congress under section 529.

Title 38, §3121

Veterans' Benefits, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Secretary shall appoint an advisory committee to be known as the Veterans’ Advisory Committee on Rehabilitation (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Committee”).

(2)The members of the Committee shall be appointed by the Secretary from the general public and shall serve for terms to be determined by the Secretary not to exceed three years. Veterans with service-connected disabilities shall be appropriately represented in the membership of the Committee, and the Committee shall also include persons who have distinguished themselves in the public and private sectors in the fields of rehabilitation medicine, vocational guidance, vocational rehabilitation, and employment and training programs. The Secretary may designate one of the members of the Committee appointed under this paragraph to chair the Committee.

(3)The Committee shall also include as ex officio members the following: (A) one representative from the Veterans Health Administration and one from the Veterans Benefits Administration, (B) one representative from the Rehabilitation Services Administration of the Department of Education and one from the National Institute for Handicapped Research of the Department of Education, and (C) one representative of the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training of the Department of Labor.

(b)The Secretary shall, on a regular basis, consult with and seek the advice of the Committee with respect to the administration of veterans’ rehabilitation programs under this title.

(c)The Committee shall submit to the Secretary an annual report on the rehabilitation programs and activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs and shall submit such other reports and recommendations to the Secretary as the Committee determines appropriate. The annual report shall include an assessment of the rehabilitation needs of veterans and a review of the programs and activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs designed to meet such needs. The Secretary shall submit with each annual report submitted to the Congress pursuant to section 529 of this title a copy of all reports and recommendations of the Committee submitted to the Secretary since the previous annual report of the Secretary was submitted to the Congress pursuant to such section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1994—Subsec. (a)(3)(A). Pub. L. 103–446 substituted “Veterans Health Administration” for “Department of Medicine and Surgery” and “Veterans Benefits Administration” for “Department of Veterans’ Benefits”. 1991—Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(a), renumbered section 1521 of this title as this section. Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 102–54 substituted “Veterans’ Employment and Training” for “Veterans’ Employment”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–83, § 2(c)(3), substituted “section 529” for “section 214”. 1989—Subsecs. (a)(1), (2), (b). Pub. L. 101–237 substituted “Secretary” and “Department of Veterans Affairs” for “Administrator” and “Veterans’ Administration”, respectively, wherever appearing.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Oct. 1, 1980, see section 802(a)(2) of Pub. L. 96–466, set out as a note under section 3100 of this title.

§3121 Veterans’ Advisory Committee on Rehabilitation