S. 1526: Veterans Access to Care Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-07-11 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-07-11 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: 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

Veterans Access to Care Act of 2017

Plain summary

Veterans Access to Care Act of 2017 This bill authorizes and appropriates funds for: (1) Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care, and (2) the veterans choice program. The VA shall conduct a program to increase by up to 1,500 the number of graduate medical education residency positions at covered facilities. The bill expands: (1) eligibility for the VA family caregiver program to include members of the Armed Forces or veterans who were seriously injured or became ill on active duty prior to September 11, 2001; and (2) services to caregivers of veterans under such program to include child care, financial planning, and legal services. The support program for caregivers of covered veterans is terminated on October 1, 2022, except that any caregiver activities carried out on September 30, 2022, shall be continued. The VA may carry out specified major medical facility leases in Alabama, Colorado, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. The VA may record as a U.S. government obligation amounts owed for hospital care or medical services furnished at non-VA facilities when a health care provider's payment claim is approved, rather than when the VA authorizes such care or services.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), 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

Veterans Access to Care Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT] · 9 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Gary C. Peters (D-MI)

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)

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).
Obligation: A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115s1526.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/s>

Record fed-us-cong115-s1526 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115