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H.R. 4977: COVER Act

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H.R. 4977: COVER Act

113th Congress · introduced 2014-06-26 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2014-06-26 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. 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

COVER Act

Plain summary

Creating Options for Veterans Expedited Recovery Act or the COVER Act - Establishes the Veterans Expedited Recovery Commission to: examine the efficacy of the evidence-based therapy model used by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for treating mental health illnesses of veterans and identify areas to improve wellness-based outcomes; conduct a patient-centered survey within each of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks to examine the experience of veterans with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) when seeking medical assistance for mental health issues through the VA health care system, their experience with non-VA facilities and health professionals for such issues, their preferences regarding available treatments for such issues and which methods they believe to be most effective, their experience with complementary alternative treatment therapies, the prevalence of prescribing prescription medication among veterans seeking treatment through the VA health care system to address mental health issues, and the Secretary's outreach efforts regarding the availability of benefits and treatments for such issues; examine available research on complementary alternative treatment therapies for mental health issues (including music, yoga, and meditation therapy) and identify what benefits could be made with the inclusion of such treatments for veterans; and study the potential increase in the approval by the Secretary of claims for compensation relating to mental health issues for veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn. Directs the Secretary, upon a report by the Commission, to submit: (1) an action plan for implementing recommendations and a time frame for implementing complementary alternative treatments, or (2) a justification for not doing so and an alternative solution to improve the efficacy of the therapy model.

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

COVER Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12] · 9 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Lois Frankel (D-FL)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12] reported raising $2.3 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

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.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong113-hr4977 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113