tion of new subchapter V proposed by paragraph (1) of this subsection of the Committee bill.

Subsection (b) of section 204 would amend present section 4151(e)(2), relating to the requirement that the IG allocate sufficient personnel and other resources to monitor the VA's qualityassurance program, to specify that such resources are to be allocated to the AIG.

TITLE III-VIETNAM VETERANS' READJUSTMENT COUNSELING PROGRAMS section 301

Clause (1) of subsection (a) of section 301: Would revise subsection (a) of present section 612A of title 38, relating to Vietnam-era veterans' entitlement to readjustment counseling, to designate the existing text as paragraph (1) of such subsection, amend that text, and add new paragraphs (2) and (3) as follows:

Paragraph (1) of revised subsection (a): Would provide entitlement to readjustment counseling services (includes general mental and psychological assessments) to, in addition to veterans of the Vietnam era (as in present subsection (a)), veterans who served on active duty after May 7, 1975, the end of the Vietnam era under current law, in an area during a time during which hostilities, as defined in accordance with new paragraph (3) of this subsection, occurred in such an area.

Paragraph (2) of revised subsection (a): Would provide eligibility, but not entitlement, for readjustment counseling services (including general mental and psychological assessments) to veterans who served on active duty active during World War II or the Korean conflict and to persons who remain on active duty who served either during the Vietnam era or since the end of the Vietnam era in an area during a time during which hostilities, as defined in accordance with new paragraph (3) of this subsection, occurred in such an area. In furnishing services to World War II and Korean conflict veterans, the Administrator would be required to place a particular emphasis on those who engaged in combat with the

enemy.

Paragraph (3) of revised subsection (a): Would define the term "hostilities"-as that term is used in paragraph (1) of this revised subsection in connection with determining eligibility for readjustment counseling services for those who served in the Armed Forces after the Vietnam era-as a situation in which members of the Armed Forces were, as determined by the Administrator in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, subjected to danger from armed conflict comparable to the danger which members of the Armed Forces have been subjected during combat with enemy forces.

Clause (2) of subsection (a) of section 301: Would revise present section 612A(d) of title 38, relating to personnel matters in connection with the VA's readjustment counseling program, to designate the existing text as paragraph (1) of such subsection and to add a new paragraph (2) as follows:

Subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of revised subsection (d): Would require the conversion of career or career-conditional employment, with competitive status, of any employee of the VA's re

adjustment counseling program who has satisfactorily completed 2 years of substantially continuous employment in the program under a time-limited appointment and who is employed under such an appointment on or after the ninetieth day after the date of the enactment of this provision. Such a conversion would be required to be completed within 30 days after the date of which the 2-year period of employment expires or 90 days after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, whichever is the later.

Subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of revised subsection (d): Would require the Administrator to provide to an individual entitled to conversion under subsection (A) of this paragraph notice of that right-along with a timetable for accomplishing the conversion-not later than 15 days after such entitlement is attained.

Subclause (A) of clause (3) of subsection (a) of section 301: Would revise paragraph (1) of present section 612A(g) of title 38-relating to the requirement that the Administrator take appropriate steps during fiscal years 1988 and 1989 to provide for an orderly, gradual transition by October 1, 1989, of the readjustment counseling program from a program providing such services through centers (referred to as "Vet Centers") located in facilities situated apart from other VA health-care facilities to a program providing such services primarily through general VA health-care facilities and to provide for the continuing availability thereafter of such counseling and related mental health services-so as to repeal this transition requirement and provide for a process involving case-by-case determination, as follows:

Subparagraph (A) of revised paragraph (1): Would prohibit the closure of relocation of any Vet Center in existence on July 1, 1987, unless the VA's Chief Medical Director (CMD) determines, in accordance with regulations issued by the CMD and specific criteria set forth in subsection (B) of this revised paragraph, that such a closure or relocation will not result in any diminution in the continued availability and effective furnishing of readjustment counseling services to those entitled to and in need of such services in the geographic area served by the Vet Center, and the CMD so certifies in a notification to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives (hereinafter referred to as the "two Veterans' Affairs Committees") at least 60 days prior to any such closure or relocation. Such a notification would also be required to include (1) the CMD's certification of compliance with the requirements of subsection (C) of this revised paragraph, which generally requires that not less than the average budget and personnel ceiling provided to the Vet Center in each of the 3 prior fiscal years will remain available for furnishing readjustment counseling services for 2 full fiscal years following the relocation, and (2) a description of the results of the consideration given to the factors specified in subsection (B) of this revised paragraph.

Subparagraph (B) of revised paragraph (1): Would require the CMD, in making a determination under subsection (A) of this paragraph relating to the impact of the closure or relocation of a Vet Center, to give full consideration to (1) the distribution of Vietnamera veterans in the geographic area served by the Vet Center and the relationship between such distribution of Vietnam-era veterans

and the locations of the Vet Center and the general VA facility at which readjustment counseling would be furnished in a particular geographic area upon the closure or relocation of the Vet Center (hereinafter referred to as the "general VA facility"); (2) the distance between the Vet Center and the general VA facility; (3) the acceptability of the proposed closure or relocation to appropriate staff of both the Vet Center and the general VA facility, to representatives of veterans' service organizations located in the area served by the Vet Center, and to individual veterans who are being furnished readjustment counseling and other services at the Vet Center; (4) the availability of State, local, or private outreach facilities, or other entities in the area served by the Vet Center, which provide assistance to Vietnam-era veterans; (5) the availability of both transportation to and parking at both the Vet Center and th general VÀ facility; (6) the availability and cost of space in which to furnish readjustment counseling at the general VÀ facility, and the suitability of such space, including the opportunity to establish a direct entrance into the area where such services would be furnished and the suitability of the environment where counseling services would be furnished; (7) a comparison of recurring non-personnel costs associated with furnishing readjustment counseling services in the Vet Center and in the general VA facility; (8) the impact of a closure or relocation of the Vet Center's program under which veterans who are eligible for readjustment counseling services but are unable to receive such services in the Vet Center are furnished services by private facilities under a fee-basis contract with the VA; (9) the trends in workload over the prior 2 fiscal years at the Vet Center; and (10) other factors, specified in regulations issued by the CMD, which are determined to be relevant in making the determination as to whether a closure or relocation of a Vet Center will result in any diminution in the continued availability of readjustment counseling services.

Subparagraph (C) of revised paragraph: Would require that, except under certain specified conditions, when a Vet Center is relocated to a general VA facility, the relocated center is to be provided for 2 full fiscal years not less than the average annual budget and personnel ceiling provided to the Vet Center in each of the 3 prior fiscal years. The only exception to this requirement would be where the ČMD determines at the end of the first full fiscal year following the move that the demand for services at the relocated center-compared with demand at the prior location-no longer justifies the budget and personnel levels required for the first year and the CMD determines that returning the center to a location away from the general VA facility would be highly unlikely to result in demand sufficient to justify those budget and personnel levels. In such a situation, the CMD, after notifying the two VeterIan's Affairs Committees of the CMD's determination and the bases therefore, would be authorized to reduce either the budget or personnel ceiling or both to a level appropriate to meet the then current demand.

Subparagraph (D) of revised paragraph (1): Would provide that not more than 5 percent of the Vet Centers in existence on July 1, 1987, may be closed or relocated before the beginning of fiscal year

1989 and that, beginning in fiscal year 1989 and thereafter, any proposal to close or relocate during any fiscal year more than 10 percent of the centers that were in existence on July 1, 1987 (i.e., to close or relocate more than 18), shall be deemed to be an administrative reorganization for the purposes of section 210(b)(2) of title 38, thereby requiring notification to the two Veterans' Affairs Committee of any such plans at the time the President's budget for that fiscal year is submitted (except in the case of any proposed closures or relocations for fiscal year 1989, when such notification may be delayed until the report required by paragraph (2) of this subsection of section 612A on the VA's readjustment counseling program is submitted or until April 1, 1988, whichever is the earlier). In lieu of the detailed plan and justification required by such section 210(b)(2), the Administrator would instead be required to submit a notification as required under subparagraph (A) of this revised paragraph, including information on each Vet Center proposed to be closed or relocated together with a justification for the overall proposed reorganization in light of the contents of the report that the Administrator is required-by paragraph (2) of this subsection of section 612A-to submit by April 1, 1988, setting forth the Administrator's evaluation of the effectiveness of the Readjustment Counseling Program in meeting the readjustment needs of Vietnam-era veterans, especially in light of the study mandated by section 102 Public Law 98-160, relating to post-traumatic stress disorder and other post-war psychological problems among such veterans (hereinafter referred to as the "PTSD study").

Subparagraph (E) of revised paragraph (1): Would define two terms for the purposes of this revised paragraph (1) as follows:

(1) The term "general Veterans' Administration facility" would mean a VA facility, other than a Vet Center, at which readjustment counseling services would be furnished in a geographic area once a Vet Center is closed or relocated.

(2) The term "relocated Vet Center" would mean a Vet Center that has been moved to a general VA facility.

Subclause (B) of clause (3) of subsection (a) of section 301 would amend paragraph (2) of present section 612A(g), relating to report by the Administrator on the effectiveness of the Readjustment Counseling Program and on the need for the program to meet the readjustment needs of Vietnam-era veterans, to (1) postpone by 1 year, from April 1, 1987, the April 1, 1988, the date by which the report is due to be submitted to the two Veterans' Affairs Committees, (2) to delete a reference to the use in the preparation of the report of partial information from the PSTD study if that study is not completed by the due date of the report, (3) substitute a reference to "Vet Centers" (a term that would be defined in subsection (2) of section 612(A) as proposed to be added by clause (6) this subsection of the Committee bill) for the phase "a program providing such services through facilities situated apart from Veterans' Administration health-care facilities", and (4) delete a reference to "paragraph (1)" of section 612A(g) in light of the changes made to that paragraph by subclause (A) of this claude of the Committee bill.

Subclause (C) of clause (3) of subsection (a) section 301 would further amend present section 612A(g) by deleting paragraph (3) and

(4), both of which relate to reports on the mandatory transition of the Readjustment Counseling Program, in light of the elimination of that required transition by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph of the Committee bill.

Clause (4) of subsection (a) of section 301 would redesignate subsection (h) of present section 612A, relating to a pilot program of Vietnam Veteran Resource Centers, as subsection (i).

Clause (5) subsection (a) of section 301 would further amend present section 612A to insert a subsection (h), as follows:

Paragraph (1) of new subsection (h): Would expressly_authorize the Administrator to provide to eligible veterans at Vet Centers, in addition to furnishing readjustment counseling services, other services that the Administrator is otherwise authorized to furnish such veterans, including other health-care and health-care-related services and counseling with respect to, and assistance in applying for, all VA benefits and services for which such veterans may be eligible.

Paragraph (2) of new subsection (h): Would authorize the Administrator to assign personnel and other resources to provide at Vet Centers the services authorized by paragraph (1) of this new subsection.

Clause (6) of subsection (a) of section 301 would further amend present section 612A to add a new subsection (j), as follows:

Paragraph (1) of new subsection (j): Would define the term "Vet Centers" to mean facilities which are operated by the VA for the provision of services under section 612A and which are situated apart from general VA health-care facilities.

Paragraph (2) of new subsection (j): Would define the term "Veterans' Administration general health-care facilities" to mean health care-facilities operated by the VA for the furnishing of health-nursing home, domiciliary, and medical care, not limited to services provided through the programs established under section 612A.

Subsection (b) of section 301 would require the Administrator, not later than 150 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, to submit to the two Veterans' Affairs Committees a report on the implementation of the mandate to convert employees pursuant to the amendments made by subsection (a)(2)(B) of this section of the Committee bill and to include in that report information on the number of employees employed on a time-limited appointment on the ninetieth day after such date of enactment, the number, assignment, and duty station of those converted to career or career-conditional appointment by the date 120 days after the date of enactment, and the plans and timetable for accomplishing the conversion of other such employees.

Section 302

Would amend section 102(b) of the Veterans' Health Care Amendments of 1983 (Public Law 98-160), relating to a report that the Administrator is required to submit by October 1, 1986, to the two Veterans' Affairs Committees on the interim results of the PTSD study, to postpone the due date for the report by 1 year until October 1, 1987.