TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT FOR VETERANS RECEIVING TREATMENT AT FACILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

SEC. 305. TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT FOR VETERANS RECEIVING TREATMENT AT FACILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.(a) Enhancement of Allowance Based Upon Mileage Traveled.—Section 111 is amended—(1) in subsection (a), by striking “traveled,” and inserting “(at a rate of 41.5 cents per mile),”; and(2) by amending subsection (g) to read as follows:“(g)(1) Beginning one year after the date of the enactment of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010, the Secretary may adjust the mileage rate described in subsection (a) to be equal to the mileage reimbursement rate for the use of privately owned vehicles by Government employees on official business (when a Government vehicle is available), as prescribed by the Administrator of General Services under section 5707(b) of title 5.“(2) If an adjustment in the mileage rate under paragraph (1) results in a lower mileage rate than the mileage rate otherwise specified in subsection (a), the Secretary shall, not later than 60 days before the date of the implementation of the mileage rate as so adjusted, submit to Congress a written report setting forth the adjustment in the mileage rate under this subsection, together with a justification for the decision to make the adjustment in the mileage rate under this subsection.”.(b) Coverage of Cost of Transportation by Air.—Subsection (a) of section 111, as amended by subsection (a)(1), is further amended by inserting after the first sentence the following new sentence: “Actual necessary expense of travel includes the reasonable costs of airfare if travel by air is the only practical way to reach a Department facility.”.(c) Elimination of Limitation Based on Maximum Annual Rate of Pension.—Subsection (b)(1)(D)(i) of such section is 124 STAT. 1152 amended by inserting “who is not traveling by air and” before “whose annual”.(d) Determination of Practicality.—Subsection (b) of such section is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:“(4) In determining for purposes of subsection (a) whether travel by air is the only practical way for a veteran to reach a Department facility, the Secretary shall consider the medical condition of the veteran and any other impediments to the use of ground transportation by the veteran.”.(e) No Expansion of Eligibility for Beneficiary Travel.—The amendments made by subsections (b) and (d) of this section may not be construed as expanding or otherwise modifying eligibility for payments or allowances for beneficiary travel under section 111 of title 38, United States Code, as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act.(f) Clarification of Relation to Public Transportation in Veterans Health Administration Handbook.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall revise the Veterans Health Administration Handbook to clarify that an allowance for travel based on mileage paid under section 111(a) of title 38, United States Code, may exceed the cost of such travel by public transportation regardless of medical necessity.