Veterans Health Care Freedom Act
Latest action · Jul 23, 2015 Referred to the House 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.
- IntroducedJul 23, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Veterans Health Care Freedom Act
This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to make the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Choice Program permanent.
Eligibility requirements under the Program are revised.
The VA shall submit an annual report to Congress that includes the following: (1) any increase or decrease in the number of veterans seeking hospital care or medical services at each VA medical facility, and (2) facility budget recommendations based upon such increase or decrease.
Cosponsors 23
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 27, 2015 to Mar 2, 2016.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-GU | Madeleine Z. Bordallo | Jul 27, 2015 | |
| R-AZ | Trent Franks | Jul 28, 2015 | |
| R-NJ | Leonard Lance | Sep 9, 2015 | |
| R-AZ | David Schweikert | Sep 10, 2015 | |
| R-NC | Richard Hudson | Sep 17, 2015 | |
| R-NC | David Rouzer | Sep 18, 2015 | |
| R-PA | Ryan A. Costello | Sep 18, 2015 | |
| R-MS | Steven M. Palazzo | Sep 18, 2015 | |
| R-UT | Chris Stewart | Sep 24, 2015 | |
| R-FL | Dennis A. Ross | Sep 24, 2015 | |
| R-PA | Scott Perry | Sep 29, 2015 | |
| R-MO | Sam Graves | Sep 30, 2015 | |
| R-AL | Bradley Byrne | Oct 26, 2015 | |
| R-IL | Rodney Davis | Oct 26, 2015 | |
| R-OK | Tom Cole | Oct 26, 2015 | |
| R-FL | Ander Crenshaw | Oct 28, 2015 | |
| R-WV | Evan H. Jenkins | Oct 28, 2015 | |
| R-FL | Daniel Webster | Nov 4, 2015 | |
| R-ND | Kevin Cramer | Nov 4, 2015 | |
| R-FL | Curt Clawson | Nov 17, 2015 | |
| R-FL | Carlos Curbelo | Nov 30, 2015 | |
| R-IN | Luke Messer | Dec 3, 2015 | |
| R-NC | Walter B. Jones | Mar 2, 2016 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Jul 23, 2015 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 23, 2015Introduced in House
- Jul 23, 2015Referred to the House 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.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 116, July 23, 2015, page H5467.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1991 | Permanent Department of Veterans Affairs Choice Card Act of 2015 | Related bill | Aug 5, 2015 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to expand and make permanent the Veterans Choice Program, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Veterans Health Care Freedom Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 23, 2015Introduced in House
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.
