Caregiver and Veterans Health Services Act of 2009
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 167.
Caregiver and Veterans Health Services Act of 2009 - Title I: Caregiver Support - (Sec. 101) Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to waive charges for care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in emergency cases to attendants accompanying veterans severely injured while on active duty on or after September 11, 2001, while such veterans are receiving VA care for such injuries.
(Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary, as part of authorized VA home health services for veterans, to furnish family caregiver assistance to family members of veterans in need of personal care services due to a serious injury incurred or aggravated during active duty. Requires the Secretary to: (1) evaluate the services needed by each veteran; (2) provide training and approval to the caregivers; (3) designate a primary personal care attendant for each eligible veteran; (4) provide ongoing family caregiver assistance to such family members; (5) provide respite care for the veteran, in appropriate cases; (6) pay monthly caregiver stipends; (7) conduct oversight of the caregiver assistance program, including visits to each eligible veteran at least every six months; and (8) provide program outreach. Directs the Secretary to: (1) submit to the congressional veterans committees a plan for program implementation; and (2) report annually to such committees evaluating the program.
(Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to reimburse attendants for travel expenses, including lodging and subsistence, in connection with authorized VA treatment for veterans.
(Sec. 104) Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct a national survey of family caregivers of seriously disabled veterans and members of the Armed Forces to better understand the size and characteristics of their population and the types of care they provide; and (2) report survey results to Congress.
Title II: Rural Health Improvements - (Sec. 201) Revises the VA's health professional education debt reduction program to remove the $44,000-per-individual limit on loan repayments under the program. Directs the Secretary, in each offer of employment to a health professional, to provide notice of such individual's eligibility to participate in the program. Provides for the selection of program participants.
The summary continues for 19 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 "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on September 25, 2009. 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 September 25, 2009: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 167.
- 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 111th Congress (2009-10), 383 of the 10,778 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.6 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?
DANIEL AKAKA (D-HI) introduced it on April 2, 2009, and 27 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 20 Democrats, 7 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 April 2, 2009, 6370 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 6194 days ago, on September 25, 2009.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 111th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2011 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