H.R. 3596: Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2015

114th Congress · introduced 2015-09-24 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-09-24 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel. 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

Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2015

Plain summary

Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2015 This bill extends specified Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs. TITLE I--EXTENSIONS OF AUTHORITY RELATING TO HEALTH CARE Extends through FY2016: authority for collection of copaypayments for hospital care and nursing home care, authorization of appropriations for assistance and support services for caregivers, authority for recovery from third parties of the cost of care and services furnished to veterans with health-plan contracts for non-service-connected disability, authority for the pilot program on assistance for child care for certain veterans receiving health care, authority to make grants to veterans service organizations for transportation of highly rural veterans, authority for Department of Defense (DOD)-VA Health Care Sharing Incentive Fund, and authority for the pilot program on counseling in retreat settings for women veterans newly separated from service. Extends through December 31, 2016, the requirement to provide nursing home care to certain veterans with service-connected disabilities. Extends through FY2017 authority for the Joint DOD-VA Demonstration Fund. TITLE II--EXTENSIONS OF AUTHORITY RELATING TO BENEFITS Extends through FY2016: specified housing loan provisions and definitions, including the calculation of net value of real property at time of foreclosure; and authority relating to vendee loans. Extends through December 31, 2016, authority: for the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education, and to provide rehabilitation and vocational benefits at VA facilities to members of the Armed Forces with severe injuries or illnesses. TITLE III--EXTENSIONS OF AUTHORITY RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS Extends through FY2016 authority: for homeless veterans reintegration programs; for the homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children reintegration program; to provide housing assistance for homeless veterans; to provide financial assistance for supportive services for very low-income veteran families in permanent housing; for the grant program for homeless veterans with special needs; for treatment and rehabilitation services for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans, including a program to provide homeless veterans with benefits and services at certain locations; and to provide referral and counseling services for certain veterans at risk of homelessness. Extends through December 31, 2016, authority for the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans. TITLE IV--OTHER EXTENSIONS AND MODIFICATIONS OF AUTHORITY Extends through FY2016 authority: for monthly assistance allowances under the Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events; for operation of the VA regional office in Manila, the Republic of the Philippines; for appropriations for adaptive sports programs for disabled veterans and members of the Armed Forces; for temporary eligibility expansion for specially adapted housing assistance for certain veterans with disabilities causing difficulty ambulating; the requirement for an annual report on the DOD-VA Interagency Program Office; and the current multipliers used in calculating the fees the VA is authorized to pay to educational institutions and apprenticeship providers for reports regarding each eligible individual's enrollment in veterans' education or training programs and the interruption or termination of their participation in such programs. Extends through December 31, 2016: authority for transportation of individuals to and from VA facilities for vocational rehabilitation, counseling, treatment, or care; the requirement to provide annual reports to Congress regarding equitable relief in the case of administrative error; authority for Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans; authority to enter into agreement with the National Academy of Sciences regarding associations between diseases and exposure to dioxin and other chemical compounds in herbicides; and authority for performance of medical disabilities examinations by contract physicians. Funding authority is modified to provide for constructing a new bed tower at the VA medical center in Tampa, Florida, in lieu of providing bed tower upgrades at such medical center. The VA may carry out the following major medical facility projects (with each project not to exceed specified amounts): construction of a community living center, outpatient clinic, renovated domiciliary, and renovation of existing buildings in Canandaigua, New York; seismic corrections to the mental health and community living center in Long Beach, California; seismic correction of 12 buildings in West Los Angeles, California; and construction of a spinal cord injury building and seismic corrections in San Diego, California. TITLE V--OTHER MATTERS Various technical and clerical amendments are made.

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

Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2015

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. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 3596, the Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2015 (2015-09-29)

Cosponsors on this site

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] reported raising $797,217 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

Agencies named in this bill

Department of Veterans Affairs: its federal spending and other bills that name it

Found automatically: the agency's full official name appears in the bill title. A bill can affect agencies it does not name, so this list may be incomplete.

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 (3)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

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-114hr3596.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/hr>

Record fed-us-cong114-hr3596 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114