H.R. 9237

Take Care of America’s Veterans Act

Sponsor: Mike Bost

30 cosponsors
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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Take Care of America's Veterans Act

This bill addresses veterans’ benefits, health care, counseling, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) personnel, VA infrastructure, and the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP).

The bill modifies various compensation programs for veterans, including by (1) allowing concurrent receipt of disability compensation and military retired pay for certain retirees with a combat-related disability, (2) extending entitlement for various benefits and services to remarried surviving spouses, (3) increasing the rate of dependency and indemnity compensation, and (4) establishing a supplemental monthly allowance for certain disabled veterans.

The bill also addresses VA education and training benefits, including by (1) modifying which independent study programs are covered under veterans’ educational assistance benefits, (2) requiring Transition Assistance Program counseling to include a presentation about VA benefits, and (3) increasing the housing allowance rate for individuals pursuing apprenticeships.

The bill revises health care provisions, including by (1) expanding support and assistance provided to family caregivers, (2) extending the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, and (3) expanding the scope of VA mental health research.

Among other elements, the bill

  • revises VA disability ratings for sleep apnea and tinnitus;
  • expands eligibility for a memorial headstone or marker for the spouse, surviving spouse, child, or dependent of a veteran or member of the Armed Forces;
  • addresses the administration of the VCCP and codifies the eligibility standards;
  • establishes a standardized screening process for priority or routine admission to certain mental health care programs; and
  • addresses VA personnel, hiring, and infrastructure matters.

Text of the bill

Expand all

I Compensation

II Education and Economic Opportunity

Sec. 203. Monthly housing stipend under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program for individuals who pursue summer programs of education solely through distance learning

(a) In general. Section 3313(c)(1)(B) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in clause (i), by striking and (iii) and inserting , (iii), and (iv);

(2) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause (v); and

(3) by inserting after clause (iii) the following new clause (iv):

Text this section adds to the law

(iv) In the case of an individual pursuing, solely through distance learning, a program of education that is shorter than 12 weeks during the summer, for each month the individual pursues the program of education, a monthly housing stipend equal to the product of—

(I) the national average of the monthly amount of the basic allowance for housing payable under section 403 of title 37 for a member with dependents in pay grade E–5, multiplied by

(II) the lesser of—

(aa) 1.0 and

(bb) the number of course hours borne by the individual in pursuit of the program of education, divided by the minimum number of course hours required for full-time pursuit of the program of education, rounded to the nearest multiple of 10.

(b) Effective date. The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply to a program of education beginning on or after August 1, 2027.

III Health Care

IV Organization

V Memorial Affairs

VI Veterans’ Assuring Critical Care Expansions to Support Servicemembers

A Improvement of Veterans Community Care Program

B Mental Health Treatment Programs

C Staffing Matters

D Optimization of Workforce

E Veterans Infrastructure and Transformation

F Other Health Care Matters