Sec. 111. - Payments or allowances
for beneficiary travel
Under regulations
prescribed by the President pursuant to the provisions of this section, the
Secretary may pay the actual necessary expense of travel (including lodging and
subsistence), or in lieu thereof an allowance based upon mileage traveled, of
any person to or from a Department facility or other place in connection with
vocational rehabilitation, counseling required by the Secretary pursuant to
chapter 34 or 35
of this title, or for the purpose of examination, treatment, or care. In
addition to the mileage allowance authorized by this section, there may be
allowed reimbursement for the actual cost of ferry fares, and bridge, road, and
tunnel tolls.
Except as provided in
subsection (c) of this section and notwithstanding subsection (g)(2)(A) of this
section or any other provision of law, if, with respect to any fiscal year, the
Secretary exercises the authority under this section to make any payments, the
Secretary shall make the payments provided for in this section to or for the
following persons for travel during such fiscal year for examination,
treatment, or care for which the person is eligible:
A veteran or other
person whose travel is in connection with treatment or care for a
service-connected disability.
A veteran with a
service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more.
A veteran receiving
pension under section 1521 of this title.
A veteran
whose annual income (as
determined under section 1503
of this title) does not exceed the maximum annual rate of pension which would
be payable to such veteran if such veteran were eligible for pension under
section 1521 of this title, or
who is determined, under
regulations prescribed by the Secretary, to be unable to defray the expenses of
the travel for which payment under this section is claimed.
Subject to paragraph (3)
of this subsection, a veteran or other person whose travel to or from a
Department facility is medically required to be performed by a special mode of
travel and who is determined under such regulations to be unable to defray the
expenses of the travel for which payment under this section is claimed.
A veteran whose travel
to a Department facility is incident to a scheduled compensation and pension
examination.
The Secretary may make
payments provided for in this section to or for any person not covered by
paragraph (1) of this subsection for travel by such person for examination,
treatment, or care. Such payments shall be made in accordance with regulations
which the Secretary shall prescribe.
Except as provided in
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the Secretary shall not make payments under
this section for travel performed by a special mode of travel unless
the travel by such mode
is medically required and is authorized by the Secretary before the travel
begins, or
the travel by such mode is
in connection with a medical emergency of such a nature that the delay incident
to obtaining authorization from the Secretary to use that mode of travel would
have been hazardous to the person's life or health.
In the case of travel by
a person to or from a Department facility by special mode of travel, the
Secretary may provide payment under this section to the provider of the
transportation by special mode before determining the eligibility of such
person for such payment if the Secretary determines that providing such payment
is in the best interest of furnishing care and services. Such a payment shall
be made subject to subsequently recovering from such person the amount of the
payment if such person is determined to have been ineligible for payment for
such travel.
Except as otherwise
provided in this subsection, the Secretary, in making a payment under this
section to or for a person described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of
subsection (b)(1) of this section for travel for examination, treatment, or
care, shall deduct from the amount otherwise payable an amount equal to $3 for
each one-way trip.
In the case of a person
who is determined by the Secretary to be a person who is required to make six
or more one-way trips for needed examination, treatment, or care during the
remainder of the calendar month in which the determination is made or during
any subsequent calendar month during the one-year period following the last day
of the month in which the determination is made, the amount deducted by the
Secretary pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection from payments for trips
made to or from such facility during any such month shall not, except as
provided in paragraph (5) of this subsection, exceed $18.
No deduction shall be
made pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection in the case of a person whose
travel to or from a Department facility is performed by a special mode of
travel for which payment under this section is authorized under subsection
(b)(3) of this section.
The Secretary may waive
the deduction requirement of paragraph (1) of this subsection in the case of
the travel of any veteran for whom the imposition of the deduction would cause
severe financial hardship. The Secretary shall prescribe in regulations the
conditions under which a finding of severe financial hardship is warranted for
purposes of this paragraph.
Whenever the Secretary
increases or decreases the rates of allowances or reimbursement to be paid
under this section, the Secretary shall, effective on the date on which such
increase or decrease takes effect, adjust proportionately the dollar amounts
specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection as such amounts may have
been increased or decreased pursuant to this paragraph before such date.
Payment of the following
expenses or allowances in connection with vocational rehabilitation,
counseling, or upon termination of examination, treatment, or care, may be made
before the completion of travel:
The mileage allowance
authorized by subsection (a) of this section.
Actual local travel
expenses.
The expense of hiring an
automobile or ambulance, or the fee authorized for the services of a nonemployee attendant.
When any person entitled
to mileage under this section requires an attendant (other than an employee of
the Department) in order to perform such travel, the attendant may be allowed
expenses of travel upon the same basis as such person.
The Secretary may provide
for the purchase of printed reduced-fare requests for use by veterans and their
authorized attendants when traveling at their own expense to or from any
Department facility.
In carrying out the
purposes of this section, the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator
of General Services, the Secretary of Transportation, the Comptroller General
of the United States, and representatives of organizations of veterans, shall
conduct periodic investigations of the actual cost of travel (including lodging
and subsistence) to beneficiaries while traveling to or from a Department
facility or other place pursuant to the provisions of this section, and the
estimated cost of alternative modes of travel, including public transportation
and the operation of privately owned vehicles. The Secretary shall conduct such
investigations immediately following any alteration in the rates described in
paragraph (3)(C) of this subsection, and, in any event, immediately following
the enactment of this subsection and not less often than annually thereafter,
and based thereon, shall determine rates of allowances or reimbursement to be
paid under this section.
In no event shall
payment be provided under this section -
unless the person
claiming reimbursement has been determined, pursuant to regulations which the
Secretary shall prescribe, to be unable to defray the expenses of such travel
(except with respect to a person receiving benefits for or in connection with a
service-connected disability under this title, a veteran receiving or eligible
to receive pension under section 1521
of this title, or a person whose annual income, determined in accordance with
section 1503 of this title, does not exceed the
maximum annual rate of pension which would be payable to such person if such
person were eligible for pension under section 1521
of this title);
to reimburse for the
cost of travel by privately owned vehicle in any amount in excess of the cost
of such travel by public transportation unless
public transportation is
not reasonably accessible or would be medically inadvisable, or
the cost of such travel
is not greater than the cost of public transportation; and
in excess of the actual
expense incurred by such person as certified in writing by such person.
In conducting
investigations and determining rates under this section, the Secretary shall
review and analyze, among other factors, the following factors:
Depreciation of original
vehicle costs;
gasoline and oil costs;
maintenance,
accessories, parts, and tire costs;
insurance costs; and
State and Federal taxes.
The availability of and
time required for public transportation.
The per diem rates,
mileage allowances, and expenses of travel authorized under sections 5702
and 5704 of title 5
for employees of the United States.
Before determining rates
or adjusting amounts under this section and not later than sixty days after any
alteration in the rates described in paragraph (3)(C) of this subsection, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Senate a report containing the rates and amounts the
Secretary proposes to establish or continue with a full justification therefor in terms of each of the limitations and factors
set forth in this section.
The Secretary, in
consultation and coordination with the Secretary of Transportation and
appropriate representatives of veterans' service organizations, shall take all
appropriate steps to facilitate the establishment and maintenance of a program
under which such organizations, or individuals who are volunteering their
services to the Department, would take responsibility for the transportation,
without reimbursement from the Department, to Department facilities of veterans
(primarily those residing in areas which are geographically accessible to such
facilities) who seek services or benefits from the Department under chapter 17
or other provisions of this title