Support Our Military Caregivers Act
Latest action · May 24, 2016 Received in the Senate and 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.
- IntroducedNov 5, 2015
- Passed HouseMay 23, 2016
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Support Our Military Caregivers Act
(Sec. 2) This bill permits an individual to elect to have an independent contractor perform an external clinical review of any of the following:
- a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) denial of an individual's application to be a caregiver or family caregiver eligible for VA benefits;
- with respect to an approved application, a VA determination of the level or amount of personal care services that a veteran requires;
- a request by a caregiver or family caregiver for a reconsideration of the level or amount of personal care services that a veteran requires based on post-application changes; and
- a revocation of benefits by the VA.
The VA shall ensure that each external clinical review is completed and the individual is notified in writing of the results within 120 days of the election.
(Sec. 3) The VA shall issue policy, procedural, and operational directives for the program of comprehensive assistance for family caregivers and the program of general caregiver support services, including with respect to eligibility. The Government Accountability Office must report on VA processes for making and adjudicating eligibility determinations.
(Sec. 4) The bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to revise the limits on the aggregate amount of awards and bonuses payable to VA employees in each of FY2017-FY2021.
Cosponsors 19
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 13, 2016 to May 17, 2016.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-TX | Marc A. Veasey | Apr 13, 2016 | |
| R-NC | Walter B. Jones | Apr 13, 2016 | |
| R-NY | Christopher P. Gibson | Apr 14, 2016 | |
| R-TX | John R. Carter | Apr 14, 2016 | |
| R-AZ | Martha McSally | Apr 14, 2016 | |
| D-MN | Timothy J. Walz | Apr 14, 2016 | |
| R-NJ | Christopher H. Smith | Apr 19, 2016 | |
| R-FL | Daniel Webster | Apr 19, 2016 | |
| R-ND | Kevin Cramer | Apr 19, 2016 | |
| R-IN | Larry Bucshon | Apr 19, 2016 | |
| R-CA | Paul Cook | Apr 19, 2016 | |
| R-NY | Richard L. Hanna | Apr 19, 2016 | |
| R-OH | James B. Renacci | Apr 26, 2016 | |
| R-NY | Lee M. Zeldin | Apr 26, 2016 | |
| D-VT | Peter Welch | Apr 26, 2016 | |
| R-OK | Tom Cole | Apr 26, 2016 | |
| R-IN | Susan W. Brooks | Apr 29, 2016 | |
| R-CA | Edward R. Royce | May 10, 2016 | |
| R-IA | David Young | May 17, 2016 |
Committees 2
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 Nov 5, 2015Markup May 18, 2016 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Dec 3, 2015Hearings Apr 20, 2016Markup Apr 29, 2016Reported Apr 29, 2016 | |
| Senate | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred May 24, 2016 |
Actions 15
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 24, 2016Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- May 23, 2016Mr. Miller (FL) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- May 23, 2016Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2914-2916)
- May 23, 2016DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3989.
- May 23, 2016Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2914-2915)
In the Congressional Record 1
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.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H2914–H2916Text printed H2914 | Corrine Brown D-FL, David Young R-IA, Elise M. Stefanik R-NY, Jeff Miller R-FL | May 23, 2016 |
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. 165, November 5, 2015, page H8154.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
Titles 4
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the process for determining the eligibility of caregivers of veterans to certain benefits administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
- Official Titles as Amended by House
- To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the process for determining the eligibility of caregivers of veterans to certain benefits administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Support Our Military Caregivers Act
- Short Titles as Passed House
- Support Our Military Caregivers Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Administrative remedies
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Congressional oversight
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Disability and paralysis
- Family services
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government studies and investigations
- Mental health
- Neurological disorders
- Public contracts and procurement
- Veterans' medical care
Text 3
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 24, 2016Referred in Senate
- May 23, 2016Engrossed in House
- Nov 5, 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.
