Press Releases

Today, Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.), chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, released the following statement after the House passed 14 veterans bills:

“In the week leading up to one of the most solemn days of remembrance for our nation, it is fitting we take steps to honor the men and women who have served this country by passing legislation to improve the lives of veterans. These measures will provide a cost-of-living-adjustment for disabled veterans; bring increased accountability to the Department of Veterans Affairs; and ensure veterans have access to the care and resources they have earned – to name a few of the provisions included in these important bills. As we honor the memory of the heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, I am proud the House is coming together once again to move bipartisan legislation to keep our promises to the men and women who have served.”

The House passed the following bills:

H.R. 1972, VA Billing Accountability Act, as amended: H.R. 1972 authorizes VA to waive copayment requirements when the veteran is not billed in a timely manner.

H.R. 3642 , Military SAVE Act, as amended: H.R. 3642 would require VA to carry out a pilot program to furnish community care to veterans who have experienced military sexual trauma. 

H.R. 3832, Veterans Opioid Abuse Prevention Act, as amended: H.R. 3832 would allow for the greater sharing of information between VA and State-based prescription drug monitoring programs.

H.R. 3946, To name the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Statesboro, Georgia, the "Ray Hendrix Veterans Clinic”

H.R. 4245, Veterans’ Electronic Health Record Modernization Oversight Act of 2017: H.R. 4245 would strengthen Congressional oversight of VA's electronic health record modernization program.

H.R. 4830, SIT-REP Act, as amended: H.R. 4830 would require that in order for a school or training program to be approved for GI Bill benefits they must adopt a policy that disallows the school or training program from imposing a late fee, denial of access to facilities or other penalty against the veteran or eligible dependent due to a late payment from VA. This would only apply if the payments have not been received within 90 days of the beginning of the term and the Secretary would have the authority to waive this requirement.

H.R. 4958, Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2018: H.R. 4958 would provide a cost-of-living adjustment for veterans disability, additional compensation for dependents, dependency and indemnity, and clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans.

H.R. 5044, Service-Disabled Veterans Small Business Continuation Act: H.R. 5044 would address a technical issue that has arisen from legislation that was passed last Congress related to rules for surviving spouses’ ability to claim service disabled veteran owned small business (SDVOSB) status for the Vets First contracting program. 

H.R. 5215, Veterans Affairs Purchase Card Misuse Mitigation Act: H.R. 5215 would strengthen controls over government purchase card misuse.

H.R. 5418, Veterans Affairs Medical-Surgical Purchasing Stabilization Act, as amended: H.R. 5418 would reform the VA Medical Surgical Prime Vendor (MSPV) purchase program.

S. 1282, To redesignate certain clinics of the Department of Veterans Affairs located in Montana

H.R. 4334, Improving Oversight of Women Veterans’ Care Act of 2017: H.R. 4334 would require VA to submit reports on access to gender-specific care in the community and environment of care standards for women veterans.

H.R. 3663, To designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Huntington, West Virginia, as the Hershel "Woody" Williams VA Medical Center

H.R. 4451, Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act of 2018, as amended: H.R. 4451 would reauthorize the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) as well as the Homeless Women Veterans and Homeless Veterans With Children Reintegration Grant Program (HVRP-W) for five years. The bill would also clarify eligibility for both programs to include incarcerated veterans and veterans using a HUD-VASH voucher.