HR 4683 · 114th Congress 2015–2017, ended

Fairness for Veterans Act of 2016

Introduced Mar 3, 2016 Originated House Sponsor Mike Coffman R-CO

Latest action · Mar 21, 2016 Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

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.

IntroducedMar 3, 2016
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Fairness for Veterans Act of 2016

This bill addresses medical evidence reviews in the case of: (1) a former member of the Armed Forces who was deployed in a contingency operation and subsequently diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury as a consequence of such deployment, or (2) a former member whose application for relief from the terms of his or her military discharge is based in whole or in part on matters relating to post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury related to combat or military sexual trauma.

Any board of review shall:

review medical evidence of the Department of Veterans Affairs or a civilian health care provider presented by the former member, and
review the case with a rebuttable presumption in favor of the former member that post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury materially contributed to the circumstances resulting in the discharge of a lesser characterization.

Cosponsors 31

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 3, 2016 to Nov 15, 2016; 11 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-NY	Kathleen M. Rice	Original	Mar 3, 2016
R-NY	Lee M. Zeldin	Original	Mar 3, 2016
D-FL	Patrick Murphy	Original	Mar 3, 2016
R-NY	Peter T. King	Original	Mar 3, 2016
D-AZ	Ruben Gallego	Original	Mar 3, 2016
R-MT	Ryan K. Zinke	Original	Mar 3, 2016
D-MA	Seth Moulton	Original	Mar 3, 2016
R-OK	Steve Russell	Original	Mar 3, 2016
D-IL	Tammy Duckworth	Original	Mar 3, 2016
D-MN	Timothy J. Walz	Original	Mar 3, 2016
R-NC	Walter B. Jones	Original	Mar 3, 2016
R-NY	Christopher P. Gibson		Mar 14, 2016
D-NY	Steve Israel		Mar 14, 2016
R-KS	Lynn Jenkins		Mar 17, 2016
R-PA	Patrick Meehan		Mar 17, 2016
D-NY	Joseph Crowley		Mar 23, 2016
D-HI	Tulsi Gabbard		Apr 13, 2016
D-TX	Beto O'Rourke		Apr 20, 2016
R-IL	Robert J. Dold		Apr 20, 2016
R-OH	David P. Joyce		Apr 26, 2016
R-AS	Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen		May 16, 2016
D-MA	Niki Tsongas		May 23, 2016
D-CA	Pete Aguilar		May 23, 2016
R-LA	Ralph Lee Abraham		May 24, 2016
D-OR	Earl Blumenauer		Jun 7, 2016
D-NY	Brian Higgins		Sep 14, 2016
D-CT	James A. Himes		Sep 26, 2016
D-IL	Mike Quigley		Nov 14, 2016
D-GA	Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.		Nov 14, 2016
D-IL	Bill Foster		Nov 15, 2016
I-AZ	Kyrsten Sinema		Nov 15, 2016

Committees 2

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

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Financial Services Committee
	Capital Markets Subcommittee	Hearings May 13, 2015
House	Armed Services Committee	Referred Mar 3, 2016
	Military Personnel Subcommittee	Referred Mar 21, 2016

Actions 4

Everything that happened, newest first.

Mar 21, 2016Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Mar 3, 2016Introduced in House
Mar 3, 2016Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
May 13, 2015Hearings Held by the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Prior to Introduction and Referral.

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 H1385	Lee M. Zeldin R-NY	Mar 15, 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

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: The constitutional authority of Congress to enact this legislation is provided by Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution (Clauses 12, 13, 14, 16, and 18), which grants Congress the power to raise and support an Army; to provide and maintain a Navy; to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces; to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia; and to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the foregoing powers.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 162, no. 35, March 3, 2016, page H1144.

Printed hearings 3

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. 114-748	THE FUTURE OF THE VA: EXAMINING THE COMMISSION ON CARE REPORT AND VA'S RESPONSE132 pages	Veterans' Affairs Committee	Sep 14, 2016
Serial No. 114-78	FROM TUMULT TO TRANSFORMATION: THE COMMISSION ON CARE AND THE FUTURE OF THE VA HEALTHCARE SYSTEM122 pages	Veterans' Affairs Committee	Sep 7, 2016
Serial No. 114-68	COMBATING THE CRISIS: EVALUATING EFFORTS TO PREVENT VETERAN SUICIDE92 pages	Veterans' Affairs Committee	May 12, 2016

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
S 1567	A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for a review of the characterization or terms of discharge from the Armed Forces of individuals with mental health disorders alleged to affect terms of discharge.	Related bill	Jun 11, 2015

Titles 2

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

Official Title as Introduced: To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for a review of the characterization or terms of discharge from the Armed Forces of individuals with mental health disorders alleged to affect terms of discharge.
Short Titles as Introduced: Fairness for Veterans Act of 2016

Subjects

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

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Mar 3, 2016Introduced 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.