Expanding Veterans' Access to Choice Act
Latest action · May 17, 2017 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
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.
- IntroducedMay 17, 2017
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Expanding Veterans' Access to Choice Act
This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to provide that a veteran who lives within 40 miles (calculated on distance traveled) of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facility, including a community-based outpatient clinic, remains eligible to receive Veterans Choice program services through an approved private health care center if: (1) the VA cannot assign a full-time primary care physician to the veteran at any VA facility within such distance, or (2) no VA facility within such distance provides the needed hospital care or medical treatment.
Cosponsors 23
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 17, 2017 to Feb 15, 2018; 4 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-CA | Doug LaMalfa | Original | May 17, 2017 |
| R-TX | Lamar Smith | Original | May 17, 2017 |
| R-CO | Mike Coffman | Original | May 17, 2017 |
| D-OH | Tim Ryan | Original | May 17, 2017 |
| R-GA | Barry Loudermilk | Jun 7, 2017 | |
| R-MI | Mike Bishop | Jun 14, 2017 | |
| R-ME | Bruce Poliquin | Jun 16, 2017 | |
| R-AR | Bruce Westerman | Jun 20, 2017 | |
| R-NE | Don Bacon | Jun 20, 2017 | |
| R-AK | Don Young | Jun 20, 2017 | |
| R-KS | Kevin Yoder | Jun 20, 2017 | |
| R-GA | Rick W. Allen | Jun 21, 2017 | |
| R-WV | Alexander X. Mooney | Jun 22, 2017 | |
| R-OK | Jim Bridenstine | Jun 22, 2017 | |
| R-PA | Patrick Meehan | Jun 22, 2017 | |
| D-WA | Rick Larsen | Jun 26, 2017 | |
| R-PA | Glenn Thompson | Jul 11, 2017 | |
| R-IL | Randy Hultgren | Jul 11, 2017 | |
| R-NC | Robert Pittenger | Jul 11, 2017 | |
| R-GA | Earl L. "Buddy" Carter | Jul 17, 2017 | |
| R-NC | Patrick T. McHenry | Jul 25, 2017 | |
| D-CA | Jim Costa | Jul 28, 2017 | |
| R-AR | Eric A. "Rick" Crawford | Feb 15, 2018 |
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 May 17, 2017 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred May 17, 2017 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 17, 2017Introduced in House
- May 17, 2017Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- May 17, 2017Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
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 H6526 | Doug Collins R-GA | Jul 28, 2017 |
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. 163, no. 85, May 17, 2017, page H4311.
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 clarify the distance requirement with respect to determining the eligibility of veterans to receive hospital care and medical services from non-Department of Veterans Affairs facilities.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Expanding Veterans' Access to Choice 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.
- May 17, 2017Introduced 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.
