Rural Veterans Reimbursement Act

Rural Veterans Reimbursement Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to use the travel allowance or reimbursement rate in effect for federal employees traveling on official business in reimbursing a veteran for travel in connection with treatment for a service-connected disability or a scheduled compensation and pension examination when such travel is either more than 150 miles from the veteran's residence or requires lodging and subsistence because of inclement weather (as determined by the Secretary).

[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4073 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4073

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the payments to 
             certain veterans for certain travel expenses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 16, 2009

    Mr. Minnick (for himself, Mr. Shuler, Mr. Boucher, Mr. Davis of 
 Tennessee, Mr. Kissell, Mr. Teague, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
  Michaud, and Mrs. Kirkpatrick of Arizona) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the payments to 
             certain veterans for certain travel expenses.

    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 ``Rural Veterans Reimbursement Act''.

SEC. 2. INCREASED PAYMENTS FOR TRAVEL.

    (a) In General.--Section 111 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``in accordance with 
        subsection (i)'' after ``including lodging and subsistence''; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(i)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (g)(2)(A), in determining the 
amount of allowances or reimbursement to be paid under this section to 
a veteran described in paragraph (2) for lodging and subsistence 
expenses, the Secretary shall use the amount that is equal to the 
amount that would be payable or reimbursable under subchapter I of 
chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, if such veteran were an 
employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs traveling on official 
business away from the employee's home.
    ``(2) A veteran described in this paragraph is a veteran eligible 
for payments under subsection (b)(1) if such veteran--
            ``(A) is traveling in connection with--
                    ``(i) treatment or care for a service-connected 
                disability; or
                    ``(ii) a scheduled compensation and pension 
                examination; and
            ``(B) such travel--
                    ``(i) is more than 150 miles from the residence of 
                the veteran; or
                    ``(ii) requires lodging and subsistence because of 
                inclement weather, as determined by the Secretary.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Subsection (i) of section 111 of title 38, 
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on 
the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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