H.R. 3499: Rural Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act

113th Congress · introduced 2013-11-14 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2013-11-14 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Kirkpatrick, Ann [D-AZ-1] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Rural Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act

Plain summary

Rural Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act - Amends appropriations authorities for veterans' benefits to provide advanced appropriations for information technology relating to medical services, support, compliance, and facilities of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to include, as a component of VHA health-care personnel education and training programs, education and training of marriage and family therapists as well as licensed professional mental health counselors. Amends the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 to require the Secretary, through VA medical centers, to provide mental health services, including outpatient care, to the immediate families of certain veterans returning from Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress regarding telemedicine services (the use by a health care provider of telecommunications to assist in the diagnosis or treatment of a patient's medical condition) for veterans, including updates on VA teleconsultation and telemedicine initiatives, training, and partnerships with primary care providers.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Rural Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Kirkpatrick, Ann [D-AZ-1] · 24 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Julia Brownley (D-CA), Joyce Beatty (D-OH)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Ballot initiative: A proposed law or constitutional amendment that citizens place on the ballot by gathering enough voter signatures, so voters decide it directly. About half the states allow some form of it.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-113hr3499.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/113/hr>

Record fed-us-cong113-hr3499 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113