Veteran Families Fairness Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Veteran Families Fairness Act - Provides for the payment of certain accrued veterans' benefits to the estate of a deceased veteran upon the veteran's death if the veteran has no living spouse, children, or dependent parents.
Allows the estate of a veteran who dies while his or her claim for accrued veterans' benefits is pending to file a request to be substituted as the claimant.
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to process the claim of a substituted claimant: (1) by recognizing the original filing date of the claim, and (2) without penalty to the priority of the claim.
Directs the Secretary to notify the estates of veterans who died before this Act's enactment of their eligibility to apply for the deceased veteran's accrued benefits or apply to act as a substituted claimant. Gives estates one year after the date they received such notification to make such an application.
Requires the Secretary to reimburse a successful veterans' benefits claimant for the medical costs that: (1) were charged to the claimant while the claim was pending, and (2) would have been reimbursed or provided by the VA if the treatment occurred after the claim was approved. Directs the Secretary to recommend to each claimant, when they file a claim, to retain documentation regarding such costs.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 27, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 4, 2014: Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Daniel Maffei (D-NY) introduced it on March 27, 2014, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 27, 2014, 4550 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4542 days ago, on April 4, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers