Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014
Latest action. Motion by Senator Reid to commit to Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs with instructions to report back forthwith with amendment (SA 2767) fell when the bill was committed in Senate. (consideration: continuing resolutionA stopgap law funding the government at existing levels when the annual appropriations bills are not done by October 1.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) S1209-1210)
Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014 - Amends federal veterans provisions to revise or add provisions concerning medical services and other benefits provided to veterans and/or their dependents through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) relating to the following areas:
survivor and dependent matters, including benefits for children of certain veterans born with spina bifida;
education matters, including the approval of courses for purposes of the All-Volunteer Force and the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance programs;
the expansion and extension of certain health care benefits, including immunizations, chiropractic care, treatment for traumatic brain injury, and wellness promotion;
health care administration, including extension of the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Professional Scholarship Program, and
complementary and alternative medicine;
mental health care, including an education program and peer support program for family members and caregivers of veterans with mental health disorders;
dental care eligibility and expansion, including a program of education to promote dental health in veterans;
health care related to sexual trauma, including appropriate counseling and treatment and a screening mechanism to detect incidents of domestic abuse;
reproductive treatment and services, including fertility counseling as well as adoption assistance for severely wounded veterans;
major medical facility leases;
veterans' employment training and related services;
veterans' employment, including within the federal government and as first responders;
career transition services;
employment and reemployment rights of members of the Armed Forces after active duty service;
small business matters, including contracting and subcontracting participation goals with federal departments and agencies;
administrative matters, including regional support centers for Veterans Integrated Service Networks;
the revision of claims based on military sexual trauma as well as claims for dependency and indemnity compensation;
jurisdictional matters, including with respect to the Board of Veterans' Appeals and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims;
the revision of certain rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, including protections with respect to the expiration of professional licenses, a prohibition on the denial of credit or the termination of residential leases due to military service, and the temporary protection of surviving spouses under mortgage foreclosures; and
The summary continues for 1 more paragraph. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on February 3, 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 February 27, 2014: Motion by Senator Reid to commit to Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs with instructions to report back forthwith with amendment (SA 2767) fell when the bill was committed in Senate. (consideration: CR S1209-1210)
- 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 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?
Bernard Sanders (I-VT) introduced it on February 3, 2014, and 29 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 29 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 February 3, 2014, 4602 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4578 days ago, on February 27, 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers