Deborah Sampson Act
Latest action · May 17, 2017 Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 115-299.
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 21, 2017
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Deborah Sampson Act
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a three-year pilot program to assess the feasibility of peer-to-peer assistance for women veterans (including those who are separating or newly separated from the Armed Forces), with emphasis placed on women who suffered service-related sexual trauma or who are at risk of becoming homeless.
Additionally, the VA shall:
- expand the women veterans call center to include a text messaging capability;
- establish a partnership with at least one nongovernmental organization to provide legal services to women veterans based upon their 10 highest unmet needs;
- retrofit VA medical facilities with fixtures, materials, and other outfitting measures to support the care of women veterans;
- ensure that each VA medical facility has at least one full-time or part-time women's health primary care provider;
- expand to 14 days VA post-delivery care services for women veterans who are receiving maternity care in a VA or VA-contracted facility;
- ensure that the women veteran manager program is supported at each VA medical center with a program manager and an ombudsman;
- collect, analyze, and publish data on each VA service or benefit program and disaggregate such data by sex and minority status; and
- publish an Internet website that serves as a centralized information source for women veterans' benefits and services.
The bill makes funds available for: (1) primary care and emergency care clinicians' participation in the women veterans health care mini-residency program, and (2) organizations that focus on providing assistance to women veterans and their families.
The bill: (1) provides for reintegration and readjustment services to veterans and family members in group retreat settings, and (2) expresses the sense of Congress that the VA's motto should be more inclusive.
Cosponsors 29
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 21, 2017 to Nov 13, 2018; 9 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-FL | Bill Nelson | Original | Mar 21, 2017 |
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Original | Mar 21, 2017 |
| R-AR | John Boozman | Original | Mar 21, 2017 |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Original | Mar 21, 2017 |
| D-NH | Margaret Wood Hassan | Original | Mar 21, 2017 |
| D-WA | Patty Murray | Original | Mar 21, 2017 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | Mar 21, 2017 |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Original | Mar 21, 2017 |
| D-VA | Tim Kaine | Original | Mar 21, 2017 |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Mar 22, 2017 | |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Mar 22, 2017 | |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Mar 23, 2017 | |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Mar 23, 2017 | |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Mar 27, 2017 | |
| D-MN | Al Franken | Mar 28, 2017 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Mar 21, 2017Hearings May 17, 2017 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 17, 2017Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 115-299.
- Mar 21, 2017Introduced in Senate
- Mar 21, 2017Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S7076 | John Boozman R-AR | Nov 8, 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.
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. 115-537 | THE STATE OF THE VA: A PROGRESS REPORT ON IMPLEMENTING 2017 VA REFORM LEGISLATION140 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Jan 17, 2018 |
| S. Hrg. 115-387 | THE STATE OF VA SERVICES IN OHIO71 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Nov 21, 2017 |
| S. Hrg. 115-299 | HEARING ON PENDING LEGISLATION214 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | May 17, 2017 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2452 | Deborah Sampson Act | Related bill | May 16, 2017 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the benefits and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to women veterans, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Deborah Sampson Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Cemeteries and funerals
- Child care and development
- Child health
- Congressional oversight
- Crime victims
- Crimes against women
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Disability and paralysis
- Emergency medical services and trauma care
- Government information and archives
- Health facilities and institutions
- Health information and medical records
- Health personnel
- Health technology, devices, supplies
- Homelessness and emergency shelter
- Hospital care
- Lawyers and legal services
- Mental health
- National symbols
- Public-private cooperation
- Sex offenses
- Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
- Transportation costs
- Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
- Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs
- Veterans' medical care
- Veterans' pensions and compensation
- Women's employment
- Women's health
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 21, 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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
