VETS Safe Travel Act
Latest action · Jan 4, 2025 Became Public Law No: 118-238.
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 15, 2024
- Passed HouseDec 10, 2024
- Passed SenateDec 19, 2024
- To the PresidentDec 27, 2024
- Became lawJan 4, 2025Public Law 118-238
Summary
Veterans Expedited TSA Screening Safe Travel Act or the VETS Safe Travel Act
This act makes certain veterans eligible for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) PreCheck Program at no cost if they meet the program's background check and security requirements.
Veterans who are eligible for this fee waiver are those who the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has determined to have a service-connected disability and require the use of a wheelchair, prosthetic limb, or other device to aid with mobility due to (1) loss, or loss of use, of an extremity; (2) full or partial paralyzation; or (3) permanent blindness. The veteran must also be in the patient enrollment system of the VA.
The act specifies that the TSA may not increase enrollment fees for the PreCheck Program in order to carry out this fee waiver program.
The VA and the TSA must implement a process under which eligible veterans may receive the PreCheck Program benefit.
Further, the VA and the TSA must implement a process to provide disabled veterans with effective outreach about programs that are designed to improve the screening process for passengers with disabilities. The VA and the TSA must also assess the awareness of veterans of relevant TSA programs and examine the need and feasibility of other measures to improve travel security procedures for disabled veterans.
Cosponsors 47
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 15, 2024 to Nov 18, 2024; 27 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AZ | Andy Biggs | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-FL | Anna Paulina Luna | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-FL | Brian J. Mast | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-WA | Cathy McMorris Rodgers | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| D-PA | Chrissy Houlahan | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-FL | Cory Mills | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-TX | Dan Crenshaw | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-AZ | Debbie Lesko | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| D-WA | Derek Kilmer | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-TN | Diana Harshbarger | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-CA | Doug LaMalfa | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-NY | Elise M. Stefanik | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| D-MI | Elissa Slotkin | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| D-VA | Gerald E. Connolly | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| D-NJ | Jefferson Van Drew | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| D-NJ | Josh Gottheimer | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| D-CA | Julia Brownley | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| D-DE | Lisa Blunt Rochester | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-FL | Michael Waltz | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-CA | Michelle Steel | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-WI | Mike Gallagher | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| D-CA | Mike Thompson | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| D-IL | Nikki Budzinski | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-SC | Ralph Norman | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-MS | Trent Kelly | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-FL | W. Gregory Steube | Original | Feb 15, 2024 |
| R-AZ | Elijah Crane | Feb 20, 2024 | |
| R-IN | James R. Baird | Feb 20, 2024 | |
| R-IL | Mary E. Miller | Feb 23, 2024 | |
| R-NC | David Rouzer | Feb 28, 2024 | |
| R-PA | Guy Reschenthaler | Feb 28, 2024 | |
| D-CA | Salud O. Carbajal | Feb 28, 2024 | |
| R-TX | Ronny Jackson | Feb 29, 2024 | |
| R-FL | Bill Posey | Mar 5, 2024 | |
| R-VA | Bob Good | Mar 5, 2024 | |
| D-NC | Donald G. Davis | Mar 5, 2024 | |
| R-FL | Neal P. Dunn | Mar 6, 2024 | |
| R-GA | Mike Collins | Mar 11, 2024 | |
| D-CO | Jason Crow | Mar 19, 2024 | |
| D-CO | Yadira Caraveo | Jun 25, 2024 | |
| R-FL | Maria Elvira Salazar | Jul 2, 2024 | |
| R-FL | Daniel Webster | Jul 9, 2024 | |
| D-FL | Darren Soto | Aug 2, 2024 | |
| R-WV | Alexander X. Mooney | Sep 17, 2024 | |
| D-CA | Mark DeSaulnier | Nov 18, 2024 | |
| D-NV | Susie Lee | Nov 18, 2024 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Homeland Security Committee | Referred Feb 15, 2024Discharged Sep 25, 2024Markup Sep 25, 2024Reported Dec 10, 2024 |
| Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee | Referred Feb 15, 2024 | |
| House | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Feb 15, 2024Discharged Dec 10, 2024Exchange of letters |
| Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee | Referred Feb 29, 2024 | |
| Senate | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Referred Dec 11, 2024Discharged Dec 20, 2024 |
Actions 22
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 4, 2025Signed by President.
- Jan 4, 2025Became Public Law No: 118-238.
- Dec 27, 2024Presented to President.
- Dec 20, 2024Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Dec 19, 2024Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation discharged by Unanimous Consent.
In the Congressional Record 2
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 S7223 | Michael F. Bennet D-CO | Dec 19, 2024 |
| House | Debate and remarks H6566–H6568Text printed H6566 | Mark E. Green R-TN, Paul A. Gosar R-AZ, Yvette D. Clarke D-NY | Dec 10, 2024 |
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
- Oct 22, 2024H.R. 7365, VETS Safe Travel ActAs ordered reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security on September 25, 2024
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 170, no. 30, February 15, 2024, page H679.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 855 | VETS Safe Travel Act | Reintroduction of | Mar 22, 2021 |
| S 5487 | VETS Safe Travel Act | Identical bill | Dec 11, 2024 |
Titles 11
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To provide PreCheck to certain severely injured or disabled veterans, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Veterans Expedited TSA Screening Safe Travel Act
- VETS Safe Travel Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- VETS Safe Travel Act
- Veterans Expedited TSA Screening Safe Travel Act
- Short Title(s) as Passed House
- VETS Safe Travel Act
- Veterans Expedited TSA Screening Safe Travel Act
- Short Titles from ENR (Enrolled) bill text
- VETS Safe Travel Act
- Veterans Expedited TSA Screening Safe Travel Act
- Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text
- Veterans Expedited TSA Screening Safe Travel Act
- VETS Safe Travel Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Transportation and Public Works.
Text 5
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- —Enrolled Bill
- Dec 11, 2024Referred in Senate
- Dec 10, 2024Engrossed in House
- Dec 10, 2024Reported in House
- Feb 15, 2024Introduced 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.
