119-s831

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 831 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 831

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to improve telephone communication by the Department 
 of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 March 4, 2025

 Mr. Sullivan (for himself and Ms. Hirono) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
 Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to improve telephone communication by the Department 
 of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Representing VA with Accuracy Act'' 
or the ``REP VA Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION BY DEPARTMENT OF 
 VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 63 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``

Sec. 6321. Telephone communication
 ``

    (a) Calls Associated With Department.--Not later than January 1, 
2026, the Secretary shall ensure that any call made to a veteran by an 
employee or contractor of the Department regarding services or benefits 
furnished by the Department--
 ``

    (1) is made from a single, well-known telephone number; 
 and
 ``

    (2) uses caller identification branding that indicates to 
 the veteran that the call is from or on behalf of the 
 Department.
 ``

    (b) Call Centers for Health Care Appointments and Referrals.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Not later than January 1, 2026, the 
 Secretary shall ensure that the Veterans Health Administration 
 has at least one call center in each of the time zones 
 specified in paragraph

    (2) to address concerns regarding 
 appointments and referrals for health care under the laws 
 administered by the Secretary.
 ``

    (2) Time zones specified.--The time zones specified in 
 this paragraph are the following:
 ``
        (A) Eastern time.
 ``
        (B) Central time.
 ``
            (C) Mountain time.
 ``
            (D) Pacific time.
 ``
        (E) Alaska time.
 ``
        (F) Hawaii time.
 ``

    (3) Clarification.--The Secretary is not required to 
 ensure that the Veterans Health Administration has a call 
 center in any location generally within a time zone specified 
 in paragraph

    (2) that does not follow daylight time.''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 63 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following 
new item:

``6321. Telephone communication.''.
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