Simplifying Forms for Veterans Claims Act
Latest action · May 20, 2025 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' 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.
- IntroducedFeb 13, 2025
- Passed HouseMay 19, 2025
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Simplifying Forms for Veterans Claims Act
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to seek to enter an agreement with a federally funded research and development center to assess the forms that the VA sends to claimants. The center must submit a written assessment to the VA that includes recommendations on how the VA may make the forms clearer and more organized.
The VA must implement certain recommendations in the assessment within two years after the assessment is received.
Recorded votes 1
Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.
| Roll call | Question | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House 133 | On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended | Passed386–1 | May 19, 2025 |
Cosponsors 18
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 13, 2025 to May 6, 2025; 5 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-CA | David G. Valadao | Original | Feb 13, 2025 |
| D-NC | Donald G. Davis | Original | Feb 13, 2025 |
| D-CA | Jimmy Panetta | Original | Feb 13, 2025 |
| D-CA | Josh Harder | Original | Feb 13, 2025 |
| R-IL | Mike Bost | Original | Feb 13, 2025 |
| R-PA | Daniel Meuser | Feb 14, 2025 | |
| R-TX | August Pfluger | Mar 3, 2025 | |
| R-AL | Barry Moore | Mar 3, 2025 | |
| R-PA | Glenn Thompson | Mar 3, 2025 | |
| R-TX | Monica De La Cruz | Mar 3, 2025 | |
| R-MN | Pete Stauber | Mar 3, 2025 | |
| R-AR | Steve Womack | Mar 3, 2025 | |
| R-CA | Darrell Issa | Mar 5, 2025 | |
| D-NV | Susie Lee | Mar 31, 2025 | |
| R-AR | J. French Hill | Apr 28, 2025 | |
| R-CA | Jay Obernolte | Apr 28, 2025 | |
| R-TX | Roger Williams | May 5, 2025 | |
| R-MN | Michelle Fischbach | May 6, 2025 |
Committees 2
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 Feb 13, 2025Markup May 6, 2025Reported May 17, 2025 |
| Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee | Referred Mar 14, 2025Hearings Mar 26, 2025Markup Apr 9, 2025Reported Apr 9, 2025 | |
| Senate | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred May 20, 2025 |
Actions 17
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 20, 2025Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- May 19, 2025Mr. Bost moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- May 19, 2025Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2124-2126)
- May 19, 2025DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1286.
- May 19, 2025At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H2124–H2126Text printed H2125Recorded votes H2136enact | Mark Takano D-CA, Mike Bost R-IL, Robert P. Bresnahan, Jr. R-PA | May 19, 2025 |
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
- May 13, 2025H.R. 1286, Simplifying Forms for Veterans Claims ActAs ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on March 6, 2025
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 30, February 13, 2025, page H710.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 119-14 | LEGISLATIVE HEARING91 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Mar 26, 2025 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 4744 | Take Care of America’s Veterans Act | Related bill | Jun 11, 2026 |
| HR 9237 | Take Care of America’s Veterans Act | Related bill | Jul 16, 2026 |
Titles 6
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center for an assessment of forms that the Secretary sends to claimants for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Simplifying Forms for Veterans Claims Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- Simplifying Forms for Veterans Claims Act
- Short Title(s) as Passed House
- Simplifying Forms for Veterans Claims Act
- Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text
- Simplifying Forms for Veterans Claims Act
- Official Title from EH (Engrossed in House) bill text
- To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center for an assessment of forms that the Secretary sends to claimants for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary, and for other purposes.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 20, 2025Referred in Senate
- May 19, 2025Engrossed in House
- May 17, 2025Reported in House
- Feb 13, 2025Introduced 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.
