Hear our Heroes Act of 2019
Latest action · Aug 14, 2019 Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial 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.
- IntroducedJul 19, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Hear our Heroes Act of 2019
This bill provides a presumption of service-connection for hearing-related issues in certain veterans for purposes of wartime disability compensation. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded.
Per the bill, certain veterans with diagnosed hearing loss, tinnitus, or both shall be presumed to have incurred or aggravated such conditions during active military, naval, or air service.
This bill applies to veterans who (1) served in combat, or (2) were assigned to a military occupational specialty that likely exposed them to a sufficiently high level of acoustic trauma.
The bill also requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to adjust the schedule of rating disabilities to establish a minimum disability rating for a veteran who requires a hearing aid because of a service-connected disability.
Cosponsors 10
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 19, 2019 to Aug 13, 2019; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Jul 19, 2019 |
| D-NJ | Frank Pallone, Jr. | Original | Jul 19, 2019 |
| D-NY | Jose E. Serrano | Original | Jul 19, 2019 |
| D-WA | Pramila Jayapal | Original | Jul 19, 2019 |
| D-CA | Ro Khanna | Original | Jul 19, 2019 |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Original | Jul 19, 2019 |
| R-AS | Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen | Jul 25, 2019 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Jul 25, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Tj Cox | Aug 2, 2019 | |
| D-IL | Mike Quigley | Aug 13, 2019 |
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 Jul 19, 2019 |
| Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee | Referred Aug 14, 2019 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 14, 2019Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
- Jul 19, 2019Introduced in House
- Jul 19, 2019Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
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. 165, no. 122, July 19, 2019, page H7157.
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 2810 | Veterans Hearing Benefits Act of 2019 | Related bill | Nov 20, 2019 |
| HR 4320 | Hear our Heroes Act of 2017 | Reintroduction of | Nov 9, 2017 |
| HR 6464 | Hear our Heroes Act of 2022 | Reintroduced Bill | Feb 2, 2022 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a presumption of service-connection for certain veterans with tinnitus or hearing loss, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Hear our Heroes Act of 2019
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 19, 2019Introduced 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.
