S 4043

Introduced

Health Care for Homeless Veterans Act

To amend title 38, United States Code, to make permanent the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide treatment and rehabilitation for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans, and for other purposes.

Introduced Mar 10, 2026

Latest action (Apr 29, 2026) Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held.

Referred to

Veterans' Affairs Committee

Policy area

Armed Forces and National Security

Issues

DefenseHealthcareHousing

Summary

This bill makes permanent the Department of Veterans Affairs' authority to provide treatment and rehabilitation services for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans. The bill amends section 2031 of title 38, United States Code, by removing language that limits or sunsets this authority. The change ensures the VA can continue providing these services to homeless and seriously mentally ill veterans without the requirement for periodic reauthorization.

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)

Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN)

1 cosponsor

Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL)

Actions (3)

Apr 29, 2026 Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. · senate
Mar 10, 2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. · senate
Mar 10, 2026 Introduced in Senate

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.

Committee action

What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.

Meetings where this bill was on the agenda

Hearings to examine S.749, to amend title 38, United States Code, to extend increased dependency and indemnity compensation paid to surviving spouses of veterans who die from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, regardless of how long the veterans had such disease prior to death, S.1127, to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand eligibility for memorial headstones and markers furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to certain individuals who died before November 11, 1998, S.3000, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to identify and report instances of disability benefit questionnaire fraud, S.3098, to amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to publish information about conditions and cohorts the Department of Veterans Affairs is considering for purposes of establishing or removing presumptions of service connection regarding toxic exposure, S.3170, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to implement an automated system with callback functionality for each customer service telephone line of the Department of Veterans Affairs, S.3286, to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve processes relating to appeals of decisions regarding claims for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, S.3311, to amend title 38, United States Code, to eliminate conflicts of interest in peer review for quality management of care conducted by the Veterans Health Administration, S.3395, to expand the telescreening mammography pilot program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, S.3591, to require the Secretary of Labor, in coordination with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to develop a notice detailing benefits available to veterans, and to require employers to display such notice, S.3647, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a program to address bowel and bladder care needs for veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders, S.3653, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out efforts to inform veterans of their rights with regards to the receipt of health care, benefits, and services furnished under provisions of law administered by the Secretary, S.3706, to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the provision of produce prescriptions to veterans, S.3726, to amend title 38, United States Code, to require the President to define veteran success and to develop and implement a National Veterans Strategy, S.3988, to amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to offer annual preventative health evaluations to veterans with a spinal cord injury or disorder and increase access to assistive technologies, S.3992, to amend title 10, United States Code, to codify authority for the Joint Medical Facility Fund of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, S.3993, to amend title 38, United States Code, and title 10, United States Code, to eliminate those provisions relating to veterans educational assistance that disadvantage eligible individuals who choose to pursue programs of apprenticeship or other on-job training instead of a four-year college degree, S.3999, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that women veterans may schedule appointments for women's specialty care under the laws administered by the Secretary without requiring a referral, S.4043, to amend title 38, United States Code, to make permanent the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide treatment and rehabilitation for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans, S.4108, to amend title 38, United States Code, to increase burial and funeral expenses paid by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the case of death from a service-connected disability, S.4140, to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs schedule for rating disabilities, S.4197, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a program under which the Secretary shall award grants to certain State entities to expand access to structured outdoor recreation programs for veterans that enhance veteran wellness, S.4220, to amend title 38, United States Code, to establish within the Veterans Health Administration an Office of Novel Therapeutics, S.4400, to amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop a five-year human capital plan to support the mission and responsibilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs and to require the Secretary provide notice before carrying out a reduction in force, an original bill entitled "Veteran Acquired Brain Injury Caregiving Act", and an original bill entitled "Maternal Health for Veterans Act".Veterans' Affairs CommitteeApr 29, 2026Hearing

Full text

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 10, 2026

Mr. Banks (for himself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

A BILL

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 “Health Care for Homeless Veterans Act”.

SEC. 2. PERMANENT AUTHORITY FOR TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION FOR SERIOUSLY MENTALLY ILL AND HOMELESS VETERANS.