Veteran Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare Act
Latest action · Nov 8, 2017 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.
- IntroducedFeb 7, 2017
- Passed HouseNov 7, 2017
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Veteran Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare Act
(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish to former members of the Armed Forces: (1) an initial mental health assessment; and (2) the mental health care services required to treat the member's urgent mental health care needs, including risk of suicide or harming others.
A former member of the Armed Forces is an individual who:
- served in the active military, naval, or air service, was discharged or released under a condition less than honorable (except a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge), has applied for a character of service determination that has not yet been made, and is not otherwise eligible to enroll in the VA health care system by reason of such discharge or release; or
- while serving in the Armed Forces, was deployed in a theater of combat operations or an area at a time during which hostilities occurred in that area, participated in or experienced such combat operations or hostilities (including by controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle from a location other than such theater or area), or was the victim of a physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment.
The VA may provide such mental health care services at a non-VA facility if: (1) the receipt of mental health care services by an individual in VA facilities would be clinically inadvisable, or (2) VA facilities are not capable of furnishing such mental health care services to that individual economically because of geographical inaccessibility.
The VA shall: (1) seek to ensure that such mental health care services are furnished in a therapeutically appropriate setting, and (2) provide referral services to assist former members who are not eligible for such VA services in obtaining services from non-VA sources.
(Sec. 3) The VA shall establish a process by which an individual who was discharged from the Armed Forces can seek a VA determination as to whether the discharge was under a condition barring the individual from receiving a VA benefit. If the VA determines that the individual is so barred, the VA shall provide such individual with information regarding his or her ability to address such condition.
Cosponsors 40
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 7, 2017 to Nov 6, 2017; 13 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | Original | Feb 7, 2017 |
| R-AS | Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen | Original | Feb 7, 2017 |
| D-WA | Derek Kilmer | Original | Feb 7, 2017 |
| D-CA | Eric Swalwell | Original | Feb 7, 2017 |
| R-MI | Jack Bergman | Original | Feb 7, 2017 |
| D-CT | James A. Himes | Original | Feb 7, 2017 |
| D-NY | Kathleen M. Rice | Original | Feb 7, 2017 |
| R-KS | Lynn Jenkins | Original | Feb 7, 2017 |
| R-PA | Patrick Meehan | Original | Feb 7, 2017 |
| R-NY | Peter T. King | Original | Feb 7, 2017 |
| R-PA | Ryan A. Costello | Original | Feb 7, 2017 |
| D-GA | Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. | Original | Feb 7, 2017 |
| R-NC | Walter B. Jones | Original | Feb 7, 2017 |
| D-NH | Carol Shea-Porter | Feb 15, 2017 | |
| R-CA | Edward R. Royce | Mar 6, 2017 | |
| D-HI | Tulsi Gabbard | Mar 9, 2017 | |
| D-CT | Joe Courtney | Mar 15, 2017 | |
| D-MA | Joseph P. Kennedy III | Mar 16, 2017 | |
| R-FL | Vern Buchanan | Mar 22, 2017 | |
| R-FL | John H. Rutherford | Mar 23, 2017 | |
| D-IA | David Loebsack | Mar 24, 2017 | |
| R-LA | Clay Higgins | Mar 29, 2017 | |
| D-IL | Bobby L. Rush | Apr 20, 2017 | |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Apr 20, 2017 | |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Apr 20, 2017 | |
| D-NV | Jacky Rosen | Apr 26, 2017 | |
| D-NV | Ruben J. Kihuen | May 11, 2017 | |
| D-MA | Niki Tsongas | May 25, 2017 | |
| D-FL | Darren Soto | Jul 3, 2017 | |
| D-TX | Beto O'Rourke | Jul 19, 2017 | |
| R-FL | Carlos Curbelo | Jul 19, 2017 | |
| R-IN | Luke Messer | Jul 24, 2017 | |
| D-CT | Elizabeth H. Esty | Jul 25, 2017 | |
| R-CO | Scott R. Tipton | Jul 27, 2017 | |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Sep 6, 2017 | |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | Sep 18, 2017 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Sep 26, 2017 | |
| D-FL | Al Lawson, Jr. | Oct 24, 2017 | |
| R-IA | David Young | Nov 6, 2017 | |
| I-AZ | Kyrsten Sinema | Nov 6, 2017 |
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 Feb 7, 2017Markup Jul 19, 2017Reported Nov 6, 2017 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Mar 3, 2017Hearings Mar 29, 2017Reported Apr 6, 2017 | |
| Senate | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Nov 8, 2017 |
Actions 15
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 8, 2017Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- Nov 7, 2017Mr. Bilirakis moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Nov 7, 2017Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H8550-8553)
- Nov 7, 2017DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 918.
- Nov 7, 2017Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H8550)
In the Congressional Record 4
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 H8167 | Ron Estes R-KS | Sep 12, 2018 |
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E1554 | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. D-GA | Nov 13, 2017 |
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E1535 | Doug Collins R-GA | Nov 8, 2017 |
| House | Debate and remarks H8550–H8553Text printed H8550 | Beto O'Rourke D-TX, Derek Kilmer D-WA, Gus M. Bilirakis R-FL, Mike Coffman R-CO, Timothy J. Walz D-MN, Tulsi Gabbard D-HI | Nov 7, 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.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Sep 28, 2017H.R. 918, Veteran Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare ActAs ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on July 19, 2017
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 163, no. 21, February 7, 2017, page H1084.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 115-16 | OVERCOMING PTSD: ASSESSING VA'S EFFORTS TO PROMOTE WELLNESS AND HEALING90 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Jun 7, 2017 |
| Serial No. 115-8 | LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON: DRAFT LEGISLATION, THE VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL SCRIBE PILOT ACT OF 2017; H.R. 91; H.R. 95; H.R. 467; H.R. 907; H.R. 918; H.R. 1005; H.R. 1162; H.R. 1545; AND H.R. 166280 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Mar 29, 2017 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 2548 | Veteran Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare Act | Related bill | Mar 14, 2018 |
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 direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish mental health care to certain former members of the Armed Forces who are not otherwise eligible to receive such care, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Veteran Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare Act
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- Veteran Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare Act
- Short Titles as Passed House
- Veteran Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Assault and harassment offenses
- Conflicts and wars
- Congressional oversight
- Crime victims
- Crimes against women
- Government studies and investigations
- Health care coverage and access
- Medical tests and diagnostic methods
- Mental health
- Military operations and strategy
- National Guard and reserves
- Sex offenses
- Veterans' medical care
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 8, 2017Referred in Senate
- Nov 7, 2017Engrossed in House
- Nov 6, 2017Reported in House
- Feb 7, 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.
