[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9734 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9734

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend to former members of 
  the Armed Forces, discharged on the basis of sexual orientation or 
    gender identity, certain benefits furnished by the Secretary of 
               Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 20, 2024

Mr. Pappas (for himself, Mr. Levin, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, 
    Mr. Torres of New York, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Costa, Mr. 
  McGovern, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Underwood, Mr. 
 Robert Garcia of California, and Mr. Pocan) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend to former members of 
  the Armed Forces, discharged on the basis of sexual orientation or 
    gender identity, certain benefits furnished by the Secretary 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 ``Securing the Rights our Veterans 
Earned Act'' or the ``SERVE Act''.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION TO FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES, DISCHARGED ON 
              THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY, OF 
              CERTAIN BENEFITS FURNISHED BY THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS 
              AFFAIRS.

    (a) Hospital Care and Medical Services.--Section 1710(a)(2) of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
        ``any veteran'';
            (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``any veteran'' 
        before ``who has'';
            (3) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``any veteran'' 
        before ``whose'';
            (4) in subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), by inserting ``any 
        veteran'' before ``who is'';
            (5) in subparagraph (F)--
                    (A) by inserting ``any veteran'' before ``who is''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``; or'' and inserting a semicolon;
            (6) in subparagraph (G)--
                    (A) by inserting ``any veteran'' before ``who is''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting 
                ``; and''; and
            (7) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(H) a former member of the Armed Forces who, by reason of 
        sexual orientation or gender identity (including a diagnosis of 
        gender dysphoria), received--
                    ``(i) an entry-level separation;
                    ``(ii) a discharge under honorable conditions; or
                    ``(iii) a discharge under conditions other than 
                honorable.''.
    (b) Vet Center Readjustment Counseling and Related Mental Health 
Services.--Section 1712A of such title is amended--
            (1) by striking ``clauses (i) through (vii)'' both places 
        it appears and inserting ``clauses (i) through (ix)'';
            (2) by striking ``in clause (viii)'' both places it appears 
        and inserting ``in clause (ix)''; and
            (3) in subsection (a)(1)(C)--
                    (A) by redesignating clause (viii) as clause (ix); 
                and
                    (B) by inserting after clause (vii) the following 
                new clause (viii):
            ``(viii) An individual described in section 1710(a)(2)(H) 
        of this title.''.
    (c) Interment in National Cemeteries.--Section 2402(a) of such 
title is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(11) An individual described in section 1710(a)(2)(H) of 
        this title.''.
    (d) Post-9/11 Educational Assistance.--Section 3311(b) of such 
title is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(12) An individual described in section 1710(a)(2)(H) of 
        this title.''.
    (e) Housing Loans.--Section 3702(a)(2) of such title is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(H) Each individual described in section 1710(a)(2)(H) of 
        this title.''.
    (f) Outreach.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct 
outreach to notify individuals described in section 1710(a)(2)(H) of 
such title, as added by subsection (a), and entities including veterans 
service organizations and military service organizations, of benefits 
available to such individuals under the amendments made by this 
section.
    (g) Report.--Not later than 15 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report 
on benefits provided individuals pursuant to amendments made by this 
Act during the year after such date. Such report shall include the 
number of such individuals who received such benefits, disaggregated by 
demographic categories.
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