Veterans Rural Health Improvement Act of 2011
Latest action. Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-116.
Veterans Rural Health Improvement Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), through the Director of the Office of Rural Health (ORH) within the Office of the Under Secretary for Health, to establish and operate at least one and up to five centers of excellence for rural health research, education, and clinical activities, including: (1) research on furnishing health services in rural areas, (2) development of specific models to be used by the VA in furnishing health services to veterans in such areas, (3) education and training for VA health care professionals, and (4) development and implementation of clinical activities and systems.
Requires clinical and scientific investigation activities at each such center to: (1) be eligible to compete for awards from funds appropriated for the Medical and Prosthetics Research Account, and (2) receive priority in the award of funding from such account to the extent that funds are awarded to projects for research in the care of rural veterans.
Recognizes as purposes of veterans rural health resource centers that serve as satellite offices for the ORH the: (1) identification of disparities in the availability of health care to veterans living in rural areas, (2) formulation of practices or programs to deliver such health care, and (3) development and implementation of special practices and products for the benefit of such veterans.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on May 26, 2011. 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 June 8, 2011: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-116.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 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?
KENT CONRAD (D-ND) introduced it on May 26, 2011. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 May 26, 2011, 5586 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5573 days ago, on June 8, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers