Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2021
Latest action · Jun 23, 2021 Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 117-231.
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.
- IntroducedApr 21, 2021
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2021
This bill addresses fertility treatments, counseling, and other health-related programs for veterans and members of the Armed Forces.
Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide fertility treatments and counseling to covered veterans and active duty service members or a spouse, partner, or gestational surrogate of such veteran or service member. A covered veteran or service member is a former or current member of the Armed Forces who has an infertility condition, unless it is demonstrable that the individual was completely infertile prior to serving in the Armed Forces.
In the case of in vitro fertilization treatment, DOD and the VA may not furnish more than three completed cycles or six attempted cycles, whichever occurs first.
DOD must establish procedures related to gamete retrieval and storage. Additionally, DOD must provide service members with the opportunity to cryopreserve and store their gametes prior to deployment to a combat zone or a hazardous duty assignment.
DOD and the VA must share best practices and facilitate referrals for the furnishing of fertility treatment and counseling to eligible individuals.
Fertility counseling and treatment are included within authorized VA medical services.
The VA may pay the adoption expenses (for up to three adoptions) for a covered member who is enrolled in the VA health care system.
The VA must facilitate specified reproduction and infertility research conducted collaboratively by DOD and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Cosponsors 18
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 21, 2021 to Apr 26, 2022; 14 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| D-NH | Margaret Wood Hassan | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| D-GA | Raphael G. Warnock | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| D-IL | Tammy Duckworth | Original | Apr 21, 2021 |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Jun 21, 2021 | |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Mar 10, 2022 | |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Apr 4, 2022 | |
| D-CO | John W. Hickenlooper | Apr 26, 2022 |
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 Apr 21, 2021Hearings Jun 23, 2021 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 23, 2021Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 117-231.
- Apr 21, 2021Introduced in Senate
- Apr 21, 2021Read twice and referred to the 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.
Printed hearings 1
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. 117-231 | HEARING ON PENDING LEGISLATION173 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Jun 23, 2021 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2734 | Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2021 | Identical bill | Sep 30, 2021 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to improve the reproductive assistance provided by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to certain members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their spouses or partners, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Adoption and foster care
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Cell biology and embryology
- Conflicts and wars
- Congressional oversight
- Disability and paralysis
- Health care costs and insurance
- Health care coverage and access
- Health facilities and institutions
- Health technology, devices, supplies
- Medical research
- Mental health
- Military medicine
- Military operations and strategy
- Military personnel and dependents
- Neurological disorders
- Sex and reproductive health
- Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
- Veterans' medical care
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 21, 2021Introduced 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.
