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The Improving Access to Care for Rural Veterans Act would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish agreements between VA medical centers and civilian medical facilities located in rural areas. These partnerships would use flexible arrangements such as co-location, telehealth, leasing of space and equipment, training, and care coordination to help nearly 3 million veterans living in rural communities access healthcare services closer to home. Rural veterans often face significant challenges obtaining timely care due to long travel distances and limited local healthcare options.
The bill would direct the VA Secretary to develop a standardized 5-year renewable waiver for VA medical centers unable to meet the partnership requirement, allowing flexibility based on local circumstances. The legislation also requires the VA to provide Congress with a briefing on implementation and recurring reports on how the partnerships are operating and performing. The bill has bipartisan support and was ordered to be reported favorably from the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee with amendments in March 2026.
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Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held.
Dec 10, 2025
Dec 10, 2025 · 21:00
The Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs held a hearing on December 11, 2025, to examine 27 bills aimed at improving various veteran benefits and services. The bills covered a broad range of topics including allowing Purple Heart recipients to transfer educational benefits to family members, establishing a VA Office of Falls Prevention, creating a firearm secure storage program for veterans, expanding burial benefits, improving the efficiency of benefits claims processing, ensuring veterans in secrecy oath programs receive earned benefits, expanding access to critical access hospitals, and addressing toxic exposure research for descendants of exposed service members. The hearing also addressed emergency management capabilities at the VA, death certification procedures, educational assistance for examinations, veteran fraud prevention, hyperbaric oxygen therapy access, rural veteran partnerships, temporary lodging for service members, and community integration platforms for veteran services. No witnesses were listed for this hearing, which examined legislation addressing multiple aspects of veteran healthcare, education, burial, and support services. The bills represent efforts to streamline VA operations, expand access to care in underserved areas, and provide additional benefits to veterans and their families. A hearing does not guarantee that any of these bills will advance to a vote or become law; the committee will need to determine which bills, if any, merit further consideration and action.
Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Mar 18, 2026
Mar 18, 2026 · 16:00
On March 18, 2026, the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs held a business meeting to consider a wide-ranging slate of legislative proposals designed to modernize and expand benefits for U.S. veterans, survivors, and their families. The agenda included more than 20 individual bills addressing critical gaps in current Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) services, ranging from educational assistance and burial benefits to emergency management and healthcare access in rural areas. Key legislation under consideration included the Purple Heart Veterans Education Act, which would allow Purple Heart recipients to transfer unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to family members, and the Veterans SPORT Act, which aims to provide adaptive prostheses for recreational activities. Several bills focused on the long-term effects of toxic exposure, such as the Molly R. Loomis Research for Descendants of Toxic Exposed Veterans Act, which would require research into health conditions affecting the children of exposed service members. Other measures sought to improve administrative efficiency, including a bill requiring the VA to certify veteran deaths within 48 hours and another to establish a Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Officer. As a business meeting, the primary focus was on the committee's internal deliberation regarding which of these bills to advance to the full Senate for further consideration. While no witnesses were listed for this specific session, the bills reflect ongoing bipartisan efforts to address veteran suicide, rural health disparities, and the evolving needs of the National Guard. This hearing serves as a procedural step in the legislative process; the committee must vote to report these bills favorably before they can be scheduled for a floor vote by the full Senate.
Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held.
Dec 10, 2025
Dec 10, 2025 · 21:00
The Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs held a hearing on December 11, 2025, to examine 27 bills aimed at improving various veteran benefits and services. The bills covered a broad range of topics including allowing Purple Heart recipients to transfer educational benefits to family members, establishing a VA Office of Falls Prevention, creating a firearm secure storage program for veterans, expanding burial benefits, improving the efficiency of benefits claims processing, ensuring veterans in secrecy oath programs receive earned benefits, expanding access to critical access hospitals, and addressing toxic exposure research for descendants of exposed service members. The hearing also addressed emergency management capabilities at the VA, death certification procedures, educational assistance for examinations, veteran fraud prevention, hyperbaric oxygen therapy access, rural veteran partnerships, temporary lodging for service members, and community integration platforms for veteran services. No witnesses were listed for this hearing, which examined legislation addressing multiple aspects of veteran healthcare, education, burial, and support services. The bills represent efforts to streamline VA operations, expand access to care in underserved areas, and provide additional benefits to veterans and their families. A hearing does not guarantee that any of these bills will advance to a vote or become law; the committee will need to determine which bills, if any, merit further consideration and action.
Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Mar 18, 2026
Mar 18, 2026 · 16:00
On March 18, 2026, the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs held a business meeting to consider a wide-ranging slate of legislative proposals designed to modernize and expand benefits for U.S. veterans, survivors, and their families. The agenda included more than 20 individual bills addressing critical gaps in current Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) services, ranging from educational assistance and burial benefits to emergency management and healthcare access in rural areas. Key legislation under consideration included the Purple Heart Veterans Education Act, which would allow Purple Heart recipients to transfer unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to family members, and the Veterans SPORT Act, which aims to provide adaptive prostheses for recreational activities. Several bills focused on the long-term effects of toxic exposure, such as the Molly R. Loomis Research for Descendants of Toxic Exposed Veterans Act, which would require research into health conditions affecting the children of exposed service members. Other measures sought to improve administrative efficiency, including a bill requiring the VA to certify veteran deaths within 48 hours and another to establish a Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Officer. As a business meeting, the primary focus was on the committee's internal deliberation regarding which of these bills to advance to the full Senate for further consideration. While no witnesses were listed for this specific session, the bills reflect ongoing bipartisan efforts to address veteran suicide, rural health disparities, and the evolving needs of the National Guard. This hearing serves as a procedural step in the legislative process; the committee must vote to report these bills favorably before they can be scheduled for a floor vote by the full Senate.
Congress
119th Congress
Introduced
Oct 22, 2025
No CBO cost estimate has been published for this bill.
