Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006
Latest action. Became public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) No: 109-461.
Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 - Title I: Attorney Representation Matters - (Sec. 101) Amends federal veterans' benefits provisions to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) to prescribe: (1) qualifications and standards of conduct for agents and attorneys acting on behalf of veterans in claim proceedings before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including good moral character and appropriate experience or training; and (2) restrictions on fees collected for such services. Authorizes the Secretary to collect an assessment fee from such agents and attorneys, to be used for administrative expenses for veterans' benefits programs.
Provides as an additional basis for the suspension of agents and attorneys the presentation of frivolous claims, issues, or arguments to the Secretary.
Changes the authorized date for the commencement of charging for an attorney's services from the date the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) first makes a final decision with respect to a claim to the date a notice of disagreement is filed. Requires a report from the Secretary to Congress assessing the effects of allowing agents and attorneys to charge a fee to a claimant for services rendered in the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of a claim before the VA after a notice of disagreement has been filed.
Revises the time period during which attorney fee agreements may be filed with the Board. Allows the Secretary to review such an agreement, and order a fee reduction if the fee is found to be excessive or unreasonable.
Title II: Health Matters - (Sec. 201) Includes marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors among authorized VA mental health providers. Outlines professional requirements for such positions. Requires a report from the VA's Under Secretary for Health to the congressional veterans' committees on the provision of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment by marriage and family therapists employed by the VA.
(Sec. 202) Provides a Senior Executive Service pay level adjustment for the Chief Nursing Officer, Office of Nursing Services.
The summary continues for 68 more paragraphs. 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 "Public Law" stage on December 22, 2006. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
This bill has been enacted. It is law.
The record's latest action, on December 22, 2006: Became Public Law No: 109-461.
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?
LARRY CRAIG (R-ID) introduced it on June 6, 2006, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
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.
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
- SenatePassed
- HousePassed
- PresidentSigned into law