Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2008
Latest action · Apr 2, 2008 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 2, 2008
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2008 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) conduct a long-term epidemiological study on the health of women veterans who served on active duty in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom; (2) assess barriers encountered by women veterans to the provision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of comprehensive health care; (3) assess all health care services and programs provided by the VA for women veterans; (4) study the health consequences on women veterans of active-duty service in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom; (5) provide training and certification for mental health professionals who provide counseling and care to women veterans suffering from sexual trauma; (6) develop a program of training and certification for VA health care professionals on the effective treatment of women veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); (7) carry out a pilot program of child care for certain women veterans receiving health care from VA facilities; (8) carry out a pilot program of reintegration and readjustment services in group retreat settings for women veterans recently separated from service after a prolonged deployment; and (9) ensure that there is at least one full-time women veterans program manager at each VA medical center.
Authorizes the Secretary to furnish care to a newborn child of a woman veteran receiving VA maternity care for up to 30 days after the birth of the child.
Requires women veterans recently separated from service to be included on the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans and the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans.
Cosponsors 16
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 2, 2008 to Jul 23, 2008; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-AR | Blanche L. Lincoln | Original | Apr 2, 2008 |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Original | Apr 2, 2008 |
| D-WV | John D. Rockefeller IV | Original | Apr 2, 2008 |
| R-TX | Kay Bailey Hutchison | Original | Apr 2, 2008 |
| R-AK | Lisa Murkowski | Original | Apr 2, 2008 |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Original | Apr 2, 2008 |
| D-MD | Barbara A. Mikulski | Apr 7, 2008 | |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Apr 16, 2008 | |
| D-SD | Tim Johnson | Apr 24, 2008 | |
| D-NY | Hillary Rodham Clinton | May 12, 2008 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Boxer | May 19, 2008 | |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | May 20, 2008 | |
| R-ME | Susan M. Collins | Jun 25, 2008 | |
| R-ME | Olympia J. Snowe | Jun 27, 2008 | |
| D-NJ | Frank R. Lautenberg | Jul 7, 2008 | |
| D-MI | Debbie Stabenow | Jul 23, 2008 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Apr 2, 2008 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 2, 2008Introduced in Senate
- Apr 2, 2008Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 6
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 111-205 | VA HEALTH CARE SERVICES FOR WOMEN VETERANS: BRIDGING THE GAPS IN CARE118 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Jul 14, 2009 |
| S. Hrg. 110-690 | HEARING ON PENDING HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION149 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | May 21, 2008 |
| S. Hrg. 110-784 | HOUSING OUR HEROES, ADDRESSING THE ISSUE OF HOMELESS VETERANS IN AMERICA84 pages | Appropriations Committee | May 1, 2008 |
| Serial No. 110-84 | WOMEN, RURAL, AND SPECIAL NEEDS VETERANS68 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Apr 21, 2008 |
| — | MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 200953 pages | Appropriations Committee | Apr 10, 2008 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand and improve health care services available to women veterans, especially those serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2008
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Access to health care
- Afghanistan
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Birth defects
- Congress
- Congress and military policy
- Congressional investigations
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Continuing education
- Day care
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Drug abuse
- Drug abuse treatment
- Education
- Environmental Protection
- Epidemiology
- Families
- Federal advisory bodies
- Government Operations and Politics
- Governmental investigations
- Health
- Health education
- Health surveys
- Higher education
- Homeless
- Housing and Community Development
- Infants
- Iraq
- Iraq compilation
- Maternal health services
- Medical education
- Medical research
- Medical tests
- Mental health
- Mental health services
- Middle East and North Africa
- Military dependents
- Military medicine
- Military operations
- Minorities
- Physical examinations
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Pregnant women
- Preventive medicine
- Quality of care
- Reproduction
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Social Welfare
- South Asia
- Veterans' hospitals
- Veterans' medical care
- War casualties
- Women
- Women soldiers
- Women veterans
- Women's health
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 2, 2008Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
