HR 2068 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the assignment of patient advocates at medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill amends federal law to ensure that rural veterans have access to patient advocates at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities. The bill requires the VA Director to ensure rural veterans can access patient advocate services, including assigning patient advocates to rural community-based outpatient clinics to the extent practicable. The VA must implement this requirement no later than two years after the bill is enacted. The Government Accountability Office must evaluate the implementation within two years and submit a report to Congress on the results of that evaluation.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
6 cosponsors
- Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6] (D-MI)
- Rep. Harder, Josh [D-CA-9] (D-CA)
- Rep. Huizenga, Bill [R-MI-4] (R-MI)
- Rep. Lee, Susie [D-NV-3] (D-NV)
- Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2] (D-CO)
- Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7] (D-VA)
Actions (4)
- Jun 12, 2025 Subcommittee Hearings Held · house
- Mar 31, 2025 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. · house
- Mar 11, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. · house
- Mar 11, 2025 Introduced in House
More bills on these subjects (8)
Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 11, 2025
Mr. Moolenaar (for himself and Mrs. Dingell) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the assignment of patient advocates at medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Veterans Patient Advocacy Act”.
SEC. 2. ACCESS FOR RURAL VETERANS TO PATIENT ADVOCATES AT MEDICAL FACILITIES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) In General.—Section 7309A of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections
(f) and (g), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new subsection (e):
“(e) Access to Patient Advocates for Rural Veterans.—The Director shall ensure that rural veterans may access the services of patient advocates, including, to the extent practicable, with respect to assigning patient advocates to rural community-based outpatient clinics.”.
(b) Implementation Date.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that subsection (e) of such section, as amended by this section, is implemented not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) GAO Report.—Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report evaluating the implementation under subsection (b). <all>
Comments