STRONG Veterans Act of 2022
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Support The Resiliency of Our Nation's Great Veterans Act of 2022 or the STRONG Veterans Act of 2022
This bill addresses mental health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including by requiring the VA to update training for the VA workforce and Veterans Crisis Line staff, implement pilot programs, expand access to mental health care, conduct studies and research, and provide outreach to veterans regarding mental health resources.
Among other requirements, the VA must
ensure its medical centers have at least one full-time minority veteran coordinator and that such coordinators receive training on culturally appropriate mental health and suicide prevention services for American Indian and Alaska Native veterans;
increase the number of full-time equivalent employees at Vet Centers and paid mental health trainees in the VA's workforce;
expand specified scholarships and loan repayment programs for mental health providers and students;
review and update the training for Veterans Crisis Line responders and social service assistants;
designate a Buddy Check Week to organize outreach events and educate veterans on conducting peer wellness checks;
update the Veterans Justice Outreach Program, including by conducting program outreach to justice-involved veterans;
make permanent and expand the Peer Specialist Support program;
expand eligibility for Vet Center services;
offer mental health consultations to certain veterans;
improve the assessment and treatment of veterans with sleep disorders; and
perform various studies and research related to mental health issues and care.
Additionally, the bill permanently authorizes and expands the Solid Start program.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House" stage on June 23, 2022. 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 July 11, 2022: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' 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 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 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?
Mark Takano (D-CA) introduced it on January 18, 2022, and 40 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 35 Democrats, 5 Republicans.
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 January 18, 2022, 1696 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1522 days ago, on July 11, 2022.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 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