HR 4971 · 113th Congress 2013–2015, ended

Ask Veterans Act

Introduced Jun 25, 2014 Originated House Sponsor Beto O'Rourke D-TX

Fact sheet Spreadsheet

Latest action · Dec 3, 2014 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 484.

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.

  1. IntroducedJun 25, 2014
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Ask Veterans Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to contract with an experienced non-government entity to conduct an annual survey, over a five-year period, of a statistically significant sample of veterans who reside in the geographic area served by each VA medical facility to determine the experiences of such veterans in obtaining hospital care and medical services at such facility.

Requires those surveys to include questions relating to:

  • the veteran's ability to obtain hospital care and medical services at the facility in a timely manner,
  • the time that expires between the date the veteran requests an appointment and the date on which the appointment is scheduled,
  • the frequency with which scheduled appointments are cancelled, and
  • the quality of hospital care or medical services the veteran receives.

Requires the non-government entity to consult with veterans service organizations in designing and conducting the surveys.

Prohibits the non-government entity from conducting a survey before the Comptroller General (GAO) certifies the survey as scientifically valid and the proposed sample size of veterans as statistically significant.

Directs the Secretary to make the results of the surveys publicly available on the VA's Internet website.

Cosponsors 32

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 25, 2014 to Sep 9, 2014; 11 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
R-TXBill FloresOriginalJun 25, 2014
D-HIColleen HanabusaOriginalJun 25, 2014
R-FLDavid W. JollyOriginalJun 25, 2014
D-CAEric SwalwellOriginalJun 25, 2014
D-NJFrank Pallone, Jr.OriginalJun 25, 2014
D-CAJanice HahnOriginalJun 25, 2014
D-MEMichael H. MichaudOriginalJun 25, 2014
D-CAMike ThompsonOriginalJun 25, 2014
D-NYSteve IsraelOriginalJun 25, 2014
D-NVSteven HorsfordOriginalJun 25, 2014
D-HITulsi GabbardOriginalJun 25, 2014
D-TXAl GreenJul 8, 2014
D-AZAnn KirkpatrickJul 8, 2014
D-NVDina TitusJul 8, 2014
D-TXGene GreenJul 8, 2014
Show all 32 cosponsors

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
HouseVeterans' Affairs Committee
Referred Jun 25, 2014Markup Sep 10, 2014Reported Dec 3, 2014
Economic Opportunity Subcommittee
Referred Jul 18, 2014Discharged Jul 23, 2014
Health Subcommittee
Referred Jul 23, 2014

Actions 10

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Dec 3, 2014Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 113-645.
  2. Dec 3, 2014Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 484.
  3. Sep 10, 2014Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  4. Sep 10, 2014Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Voice Vote.
  5. Jul 23, 2014Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity Discharged.
  6. Jul 23, 2014Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
  7. Jul 18, 2014Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.
  8. Jun 25, 2014Introduced in House
  9. Jun 25, 2014Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H5735)
  10. Jun 25, 2014Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

In the Congressional Record 2

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

WhereIn the RecordMembersDate
HouseDebate and remarks H8901Michael H. Michaud D-MEDec 9, 2014
HouseDebate and remarks H5735Beto O'Rourke D-TXJun 25, 2014

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.

Committee report

Congressional Budget Office cost estimate

  1. Sep 23, 2014H.R. 4971, Ask Veterans ActAs ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on September 10, 2014

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Clause 18 of section 8 of article I of the Constitution

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H5769.

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct annual surveys of veterans on experiences obtaining hospital care and medical services from medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced
Ask Veterans Act

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.

Text 2

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Dec 3, 2014Reported in House
  2. Jun 25, 2014Introduced in House

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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.