A bill to amend the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to modify the termination date for the Veterans Choice Program, and for other purposes.
Latest action · Apr 19, 2017 Became Public Law No: 115-26.
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 7, 2017
- Passed SenateApr 3, 2017
- Passed HouseApr 5, 2017
- To the PresidentApr 7, 2017
- Became lawApr 19, 2017
Summary
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate passed version is repeated here.)
(Sec. 1) This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to eliminate the August 7, 2017, sunset date for the Veterans Choice Program, thus allowing the program to operate until all of the money in the Veterans Choice Fund is expended.
(Sec. 2) The bill makes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) the primary payer (currently the VA is the secondary payer) for medical care relating to non-service connected disabilities and recovery of costs from third parties for certain care under the program.
(Sec. 3) The VA may share medical information with a non-VA entity (including private entities and other federal agencies) that provides veterans with authorized hospital care or medical services. Such entity may not redisclose or use such information for a purpose other than that for which the disclosure was made.
Cosponsors 21
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 7, 2017 to Apr 3, 2017, with 9 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Original | Mar 7, 2017 |
| D-ND | Heidi Heitkamp | Original | Mar 7, 2017 |
| R-KS | Jerry Moran | Original | Mar 7, 2017 |
| R-AR | John Boozman | Original | Mar 7, 2017 |
| R-AZ | John McCain | Original | Mar 7, 2017 |
| R-GA | Johnny Isakson | Original | Mar 7, 2017 |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | Original | Mar 7, 2017 |
| R-SD | Mike Rounds | Original | Mar 7, 2017 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | Mar 7, 2017 |
| I-WV | Joe Manchin III | Mar 8, 2017 | |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Mar 9, 2017 | |
| D-FL | Bill Nelson | Mar 14, 2017 | |
| R-ID | Mike Crapo | Mar 14, 2017 | |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Mar 14, 2017 | |
| R-MT | Steve Daines | Mar 14, 2017 |
Actions 18
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 19, 2017Became Public Law No: 115-26.
- Apr 19, 2017Signed by President.
- Apr 7, 2017Presented to President.
- Apr 5, 2017Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2722-2726)
- Apr 5, 2017DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 544.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 86 | Veterans Choice Continuation Act | Related bill | Jan 10, 2017 |
| HR 369 | To eliminate the sunset of the Veterans Choice Program, and for other purposes. | Related bill | Mar 29, 2017 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
Text 3
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- —Enrolled Bill
- Apr 3, 2017Engrossed in Senate
- Mar 7, 2017Introduced in Senate
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.
