Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 122.djvu/456

 12 2 STA T .43 3 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 1 8 1 —J A N .28, 2008 SEC.1603 .C ON S ID E RAT ION O FG ENDER - S P ECIFIC NEEDS OF RECO V - ERING SERVICE M EM B ERS AND VETERANS. (a)INGE NE RAL.— I ndev e lopi n g and i m plemen t ing t h e poli cyr e qu ired b y s ection 16 11(a) , and in other w ise carrying out any other provision o f this title or any amendment made by this title, the S ecretary of D efense and the Secretary of V eterans A ffairs shall ta k e into account and fully address any unique gender - specific needs of recovering service members and veterans under such policy or other provision. (b) R E PO R TS .—In submitting any report required by this title or an amendment made by this title, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, to the e x tent applicable, include a description of the manner in which the matters covered by such report address the unique gender-specific needs of recov- ering service members and veterans. Subti t leA—Po li cy o nImpr o v ement s to Ca re ,M ana g ement, an dT ransition o fR e - covering Service Members SEC. 1611. COMPRE H ENSIVE PO L IC Y ON IMPROVEMENTS TO CARE , MANAGEMENT, AND TRANSITION OF RECOVERING SERVICE MEMBERS. (a) C O M PRE H ENS IV E P OLI CY RE QU IRE D .— (1) IN G ENERAL.— N ot later than J uly 1, 20 0 8, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, to the extent feasible, j ointly develop and implement a comprehensive policy on improvements to the care, management, and transi- tion of recovering service members. (2) SCOPE O F POLICY.— T he policy shall cover each of the following

(A) The care and management of recovering service members. ( B ) The medical evaluation and disability evaluation of recovering service members. (C) The return of service members who have recovered to active duty when appropriate. (D) The transition of recovering service members from receipt of care and services through the Department of Defense to receipt of care and services through the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs. ( 3 ) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Defense and the Sec- retary of Veterans Affairs shall develop the policy in consulta- tion with the heads of other appropriate departments and agen- cies of the F ederal Government and with appropriate non- governmental organi z ations having an expertise in matters relating to the policy. ( 4 ) U PDATE.—The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly update the policy on a periodic basis, but not less often than annually, in order to incorporate in the policy, as appropriate, the following: (A) The results of the reviews required under sub- sections (b) and (c). (B) Best practices identified through pilot programs carried out under this title. Deadlin e . Deadline. 10USC 10 7 1 n ot e.

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