S 469 · 114th Congress 2015โ€“2017, ended

Women Veterans and Families Health Services Act of 2015

Latest action · Jun 24, 2015 Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-186.

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. IntroducedFeb 11, 2015
  2. Passed SenateNot reached
  3. Passed HouseNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Women Veterans and Families Health Services Act of 2015

Directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to furnish fertility treatment and counseling, including through the use of assisted reproductive technology, to a spouse, partner, or gestational surrogate of a severely wounded, ill, or injured member of the Armed Forces who has an infertility condition incurred or aggravated while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces.

Requires provision of fertility treatment and counseling to a spouse, partner, or gestational surrogate of a member of the Armed Forces without regard to the member's sex or marital status.

States that, if a member of the Armed Forces is unable to provide gametes for fertility treatment purposes, the Secretary shall, at the member's election, allow the member to be treated with donated gametes and pay or reimburse the reasonable costs of procuring donor gametes.

Directs DOD to:

  • establish procedures for gamete retrieval from a member of the Armed Forces in cases in which the fertility of such member is potentially jeopardized as a result of an injury or illness incurred or aggravated while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces; and
  • give members of the Armed Forces on active duty the opportunity to cryopreserve and store their gametes prior to deployment to a combat zone at no cost to the member.

Directs DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to share best practices and facilitate fertility treatment and counseling referrals to eligible individuals.

Includes fertility counseling and treatment within authorized VA medical services.

Authorizes the VA to pay the adoption expenses (for up to three adoptions) for a severely wounded, ill, or injured veteran who has an infertility condition incurred or aggravated in the line of duty and who is enrolled in the VA health care system.

Directs the VA to report annually to Congress on the counseling and treatment provided under this Act; and (2) prescribe regulations on the furnishing of such counseling, treatment, and adoption assistance.

Directs the VA to facilitate research conducted collaboratively by DOD and the Department of Health and Human Services in order to improve the VA's ability to meet the long-term reproductive health care needs of veterans who have a service-connected genitourinary disability or a condition that was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty that affects the veterans' reproductive ability.

Requires the VA to enhance the capabilities of the VA women veterans contact center to: (1) respond to requests for assistance with accessing VA health care and benefits, and (2) refer such veterans to federal or community resources to obtain assistance not furnished by the VA.

Amends the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 regarding a pilot program of group retreat reintegration and readjustment counseling for women veterans recently separated from service to: (1) increase the number of counseling locations, and (2) extend the program.

Establishes VA programs to provide assistance to qualified veterans to obtain child care so that such veterans can receive: (1) regular mental health care services, intensive mental health care services, or other intensive health care services; and (2) readjustment counseling and related mental health services.

Cosponsors 12

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 11, 2015 to Jul 6, 2016; 5 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
I-VTBernard SandersOriginalFeb 11, 2015
D-MTJon TesterOriginalFeb 11, 2015
D-NYKirsten E. GillibrandOriginalFeb 11, 2015
D-COMichael F. BennetOriginalFeb 11, 2015
D-WITammy BaldwinOriginalFeb 11, 2015
D-OHSherrod BrownFeb 12, 2015
D-CABarbara BoxerApr 30, 2015
D-ILRichard J. DurbinJun 3, 2015
D-NYCharles E. SchumerSep 9, 2015
R-ILMark KirkDec 10, 2015
D-DEChristopher A. CoonsMar 7, 2016
D-ORJeff MerkleyJul 6, 2016

Committees 1

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

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
SenateVeterans' Affairs Committee
Referred Feb 11, 2015Hearings Jun 24, 2015

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Jun 24, 2015Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-186.
  2. Feb 11, 2015Introduced in Senate
  3. Feb 11, 2015Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S944-945)

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
SenateDebate and remarks S5437, S5438, S5441Patty Murray D-WA, Richard Blumenthal D-CT, Thom Tillis R-NCJul 22, 2015
SenateDebate and remarks S944Patty Murray D-WAFeb 11, 2015

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 4

Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.

NumberHearingCommitteeHeld
S. Hrg. 114-186HEARING ON PENDING HEALTH CARE AND BENEFITS LEGISLATION138 pagesVeterans' Affairs CommitteeJun 24, 2015
S. Hrg. 114-201PENDING HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION78 pagesVeterans' Affairs CommitteeJun 3, 2015
S. Hrg. 114-295FULFILLING THE PROMISE TO WOMEN VETERANS82 pagesVeterans' Affairs CommitteeApr 21, 2015
S. Hrg. 114-233THE FISCAL YEAR 2016 BUDGET FOR VETERANS PROGRAMS231 pagesVeterans' Affairs CommitteeFeb 26, 2015

Related bills 3

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

Titles 2

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

Official Title as Introduced
A bill to improve the reproductive assistance provided by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to severely wounded, ill, or injured members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their spouses or partners, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced
Women Veterans and Families Health Services Act of 2015

Subjects

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

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Feb 11, 2015Introduced in Senate

Support LegiList

This page is free, carries no paywall, and is built and maintained by one person. If the record here is useful to you, a few dollars keeps it going.

Processed by Stripe in a separate window. LegiList never sees card details.

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.