Peer Support for Veteran Families 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 Health.
Peer Support for Veteran Families Act
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish an education program and a peer support program for the education and training of family members and caregivers of eligible veterans with mental health disorders. Under this bill, eligible veterans are those who are enrolled in the VA health care system. Such veterans must give permission for their caregiver or family caregiver to participate in either program established under this bill.
The VA must establish a four-year education program to provide a course to family members and caregivers of eligible veterans on matters relating to coping with mental health disorders in veterans. In implementing the program, the VA must enter into contracts with certain nonprofit entities with experience in mental health education.
Under the peer support program, the VA must provide peer support to family members and caregivers of eligible veterans on matters relating to coping with mental health disorders in veterans. The VA must provide peer support at each location where the education program is provided, and such support must include regular meetings in group settings between peer support coordinators, family members, and caregivers.
The VA must conduct a survey of the satisfaction of individuals who have participated in the education program and the peer support program.
VA mental health care providers must monitor the progress of the programs.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on August 7, 2020. 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 October 6, 2020: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- 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 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 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?
Abby Finkenauer (D-IA) introduced it on August 7, 2020, and 6 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 4 Democrats, 2 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 August 7, 2020, 2225 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2165 days ago, on October 6, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 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