H.R. 3936: Veteran Engagement Teams Act

114th Congress · introduced 2015-11-05 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-11-05 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Costello, Ryan A. [R-PA-6] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. 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

Veteran Engagement Teams Act

Plain summary

Veteran Engagement Teams Act or the VET Act (Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), beginning not later than October 1, 2016, to carry out a three-year pilot program under which the VA shall carry out Veteran Engagement Team events to assist veterans in completing VA disability and pension claims. Such events shall be carried out: during the first year, at least once a month within the jurisdiction of each of 10 VA regional offices, including at least 2 regional offices in each of the 5 districts of the Veterans Benefits Administration; during each of the second and third years, at least once a month within the jurisdiction of each of 15 VA regional offices, including at least 3 regional offices in each district; at different locations within each regional office's jurisdiction and at least 50 miles from any regional office; during the sponsoring regional office's normal business hours; and with a sufficient number of physicians (to be available for opinions only), veteran service and rating representatives, and other appropriate claims personnel to initiate, update, and finalize the completion and adjudication of claims. Amounts shall be paid to a VA employee for event work only from amounts otherwise available for the employee's salary. No additional appropriations are authorized for such payments. The VA shall: (1) collect and analyze event-satisfaction information from attending veterans, and (2) report annually to Congress on event implementation. The VA may not permanently transfer any Veterans Health Administration physician to staff an event. (Sec. 3) The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 is amended to reduce the aggregate amount of awards and bonuses that may be paid by the VA in FY2017.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House amended), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Veteran Engagement Teams Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House amended)

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Costello, Ryan A. [R-PA-6] · 6 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Tom Cole (R-OK), Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS)

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 (4)

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).
Jurisdiction: The area or the matters a government or court has authority over.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House amended)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114hr3936.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/hr>

Record fed-us-cong114-hr3936 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114