S. 141: Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act

Bill · 118th Congress (2023–2024). Became law, 2 Jan 2025 · Public Law 118-210. Introduced 30 Jan 2023.

Official title: A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve certain programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs for home and community based services for veterans, and for other purposes.

Vote results

House, 16 Dec 2024: Passed, 382 Yea, 12 Nay, 0 Present, 35 Not voting. The House’s roll call
Senate, 12 Dec 2024: agreed to by unanimous consent; the record lists no member’s position. In the record’s words: “Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.”
President: Signed 2 Jan 2025 · Public Law 118-210

How each member voted

White House

Signed (1): Joseph Biden (D, President).

Senate

Agreed to by unanimous consent: the record lists no member’s position.

House

Yea (382): Harold Rogers (R-KY-5); Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ-4); Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD-5); Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9); Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-6); Richard E. Neal (D-MA-1); Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT-3); Maxine Waters (D-CA-43); Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-12); Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-2); Ken Calvert (R-CA-41); James E. Clyburn (D-SC-6); Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA-16); Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA-3); Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-7); Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS-2); Frank D. Lucas (R-OK-3); Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37); Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18); Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL-4); Danny K. Davis (D-IL-7); Diana DeGette (D-CO-1); James P. McGovern (D-MA-2); Brad Sherman (D-CA-32); Adam Smith (D-WA-9); Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY-5); Barbara Lee (D-CA-12); John B. Larson (D-CT-1); Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA-31); Michael K. Simpson (R-ID-2); Mike Thompson (D-CA-4); Pete Sessions (R-TX-17); Sam Graves (R-MO-6); Rick Larsen (D-WA-2); Betty McCollum (D-MN-4); Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA-8); Joe Wilson (R-SC-2); Michael C. Burgess (R-TX-26); John R. Carter (R-TX-31); Tom Cole (R-OK-4); Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-26); Mike Rogers (R-AL-3); C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD-2); David Scott (D-GA-13); Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA-38); Michael R. Turner (R-OH-10); Darrell Issa (R-CA-48); Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-5); Jim Costa (D-CA-21); Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28); Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5); Al Green (D-TX-9); Michael T. McCaul (R-TX-10); Gwen Moore (D-WI-4); Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-25); Doris O. Matsui (D-CA-7); Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL-12); Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16); Kathy Castor (D-FL-14); Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY-9); Steve Cohen (D-TN-9); Joe Courtney (D-CT-2); Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA-4); Jim Jordan (R-OH-4); John P. Sarbanes (D-MD-3); Adrian Smith (R-NE-3); Robert E. Latta (R-OH-5); Robert J. Wittman (R-VA-1); André Carson (D-IN-7); Steve Scalise (R-LA-1); Tim Walberg (R-MI-5); Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA-11); Brett Guthrie (R-KY-2); James A. Himes (D-CT-4); Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO-3); Tom McClintock (R-CA-5); Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1); Bill Posey (R-FL-8); Glenn Thompson (R-PA-15); Paul Tonko (D-NY-20); Mike Quigley (D-IL-5); Judy Chu (D-CA-28); John Garamendi (D-CA-8); Bill Foster (D-IL-11); Larry Bucshon (R-IN-8); Eric A. "Rick" Crawford (R-AR-1); Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-4); Jeff Duncan (R-SC-3); Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann (R-TN-3); H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9); Bill Huizenga (R-MI-4); William R. Keating (D-MA-9); David Schweikert (R-AZ-1); Austin Scott (R-GA-8); Terri A. Sewell (D-AL-7); Steve Womack (R-AR-3); Dina Titus (D-NV-1); Mark E. Amodei (R-NV-2); Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1); Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA-1); Thomas Massie (R-KY-4); Andy Barr (R-KY-6); Joyce Beatty (D-OH-3); Ami Bera (D-CA-6); Julia Brownley (D-CA-26); Matt Cartwright (D-PA-8); Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20); Tony Cárdenas (D-CA-29); Richard Hudson (R-NC-9); Jared Huffman (D-CA-2); Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-NY-8); David P. Joyce (R-OH-14); Daniel T. Kildee (D-MI-8); Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6); Ann M. Kuster (D-NH-2); Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-1); Grace Meng (D-NY-6); Scott Perry (R-PA-10); Scott H. Peters (D-CA-50); Mark Pocan (D-WI-2); Raul Ruiz (D-CA-25); Eric Swalwell (D-CA-14); Mark Takano (D-CA-39); Juan Vargas (D-CA-52); Marc A. Veasey (D-TX-33); Ann Wagner (R-MO-2); Randy K. Weber, Sr. (R-TX-14); Brad R. Wenstrup (R-OH-2); Roger Williams (R-TX-25); Robin L. Kelly (D-IL-2); Jason Smith (R-MO-8); Katherine M. Clark (D-MA-5); Alma S. Adams (D-NC-12); Donald Norcross (D-NJ-1); Pete Aguilar (D-CA-33); Rick W. Allen (R-GA-12); Brian Babin (R-TX-36); Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA-8); Mike Bost (R-IL-12); Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA-2); Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA-1); Ed Case (D-HI-1); Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-10); Debbie Dingell (D-MI-6); Tom Emmer (R-MN-6); Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-3); Garret Graves (R-LA-6); Glenn Grothman (R-WI-6); J. French Hill (R-AR-2); Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11); John R. Moolenaar (R-MI-2); Alexander X. Mooney (R-WV-2); Dan Newhouse (R-WA-4); Gary J. Palmer (R-AL-6); David Rouzer (R-NC-7); Elise M. Stefanik (R-NY-21); Norma J. Torres (D-CA-35); Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12); Bruce Westerman (R-AR-4); Bradley Scott Schneider (D-IL-10); David G. Valadao (R-CA-22); Trent Kelly (R-MS-1); Darin LaHood (R-IL-16); Warren Davidson (R-OH-8); James Comer (R-KY-1); Jodey C. Arrington (R-TX-19); Don Bacon (R-NE-2); Jim Banks (R-IN-3); Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44); Jack Bergman (R-MI-1); Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE-AL); Salud O. Carbajal (D-CA-24); J. Luis Correa (D-CA-46); Neal P. Dunn (R-FL-2); Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13); Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1); Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-34); Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5); Clay Higgins (R-LA-3); Steven Horsford (D-NV-4); Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7); Ro Khanna (D-CA-17); Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8); David Kustoff (R-TN-8); Brian J. Mast (R-FL-21); Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19); Jamie Raskin (D-MD-8); John H. Rutherford (R-FL-5); Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11); Darren Soto (D-FL-9); Ron Estes (R-KS-4); Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34); John R. Curtis (R-UT-3); Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY-3); Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-8); Michael Cloud (R-TX-27); Troy Balderson (R-OH-12); Kevin Hern (R-OK-1); Joseph D. Morelle (D-NY-25); Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5); Colin Z. Allred (D-TX-32); James R. Baird (R-IN-4); Sean Casten (D-IL-6); Ben Cline (R-VA-6); Angie Craig (D-MN-2); Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-2); Jason Crow (D-CO-6); Sharice Davids (D-KS-3); Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4); Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16); Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX-7); Russ Fulcher (R-ID-1); Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX-29); Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL-4); Jared F. Golden (D-ME-2); Lance Gooden (R-TX-5); Mark E. Green (R-TN-7); Michael Guest (R-MS-3); Josh Harder (D-CA-9); Jahana Hayes (D-CT-5); Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6); Dusty Johnson (R-SD-AL); John Joyce (R-PA-13); Susie Lee (D-NV-3); Mike Levin (D-CA-49); Lucy McBath (D-GA-7); Daniel Meuser (R-PA-9); Carol D. Miller (R-WV-1); Joe Neguse (D-CO-2); Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14); Ilhan Omar (D-MN-5); Chris Pappas (D-NH-1); Greg Pence (R-IN-6); Dean Phillips (D-MN-3); Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA-14); John W. Rose (R-TN-6); Kim Schrier (D-WA-8); Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11); Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-7); Abigail Davis Spanberger (D-VA-7); Greg Stanton (D-AZ-4); Pete Stauber (R-MN-8); Bryan Steil (R-WI-1); W. Gregory Steube (R-FL-17); Haley M. Stevens (D-MI-11); William R. Timmons IV (R-SC-4); Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12); Lori Trahan (D-MA-3); Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14); Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ-2); Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24); Dan Bishop (R-NC-8); Ryan K. Zinke (R-MT-1); Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-4); Cliff Bentz (R-OR-2); Stephanie I. Bice (R-OK-5); Cori Bush (D-MO-1); Kat Cammack (R-FL-3); Jerry L. Carl (R-AL-1); Andrew S. Clyde (R-GA-9); Byron Donalds (R-FL-19); Pat Fallon (R-TX-4); Randy Feenstra (R-IA-4); Michelle Fischbach (R-MN-7); Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI-5); Scott Franklin (R-FL-18); Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY-2); Carlos A. Gimenez (R-FL-28); Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23); Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14); Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-1); Ashley Hinson (R-IA-2); Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13); Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51); Young Kim (R-CA-40); Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-3); Nancy Mace (R-SC-1); Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY-11); Tracey Mann (R-KS-1); Kathy E. Manning (D-NC-6); Lisa C. McClain (R-MI-9); Mary E. Miller (R-IL-15); Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-1); Barry Moore (R-AL-2); Blake D. Moore (R-UT-1); Frank J. Mrvan (D-IN-1); Troy E. Nehls (R-TX-22); Jay Obernolte (R-CA-23); Burgess Owens (R-UT-4); August Pfluger (R-TX-11); Deborah K. Ross (D-NC-2); Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27); Michelle Steel (R-CA-45); Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10); Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15); Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24); Nikema Williams (D-GA-5); Julia Letlow (R-LA-5); Troy A. Carter (D-LA-2); Melanie A. Stansbury (D-NM-1); Jake Ellzey (R-TX-6); Shontel M. Brown (D-OH-11); Mike Carey (R-OH-15); Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20); Mike Flood (R-NE-1); Brad Finstad (R-MN-1); Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK-AL); Patrick Ryan (D-NY-18); Rudy Yakym III (R-IN-2); Mark Alford (R-MO-4); Becca Balint (D-VT-AL); Aaron Bean (R-FL-4); Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13); Eric Burlison (R-MO-7); Yadira Caraveo (D-CO-8); Greg Casar (D-TX-35); Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-6); Mike Collins (R-GA-10); Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30); Donald G. Davis (D-NC-1); Monica De La Cruz (R-TX-15); Christopher R. Deluzio (D-PA-17); John S. Duarte (R-CA-13); Mike Ezell (R-MS-4); Valerie P. Foushee (D-NC-4); Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10); Russell Fry (R-SC-7); Robert Garcia (D-CA-42); Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA-3); Daniel S. Goldman (D-NY-10); Harriet M. Hageman (R-WY-AL); Erin Houchin (R-IN-9); Val T. Hoyle (D-OR-4); Glenn Ivey (D-MD-4); Jonathan L. Jackson (D-IL-1); John James (R-MI-10); Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37); Thomas H. Kean, Jr. (R-NJ-7); Jennifer A. Kiggans (R-VA-2); Kevin Kiley (R-CA-3); Nick LaLota (R-NY-1); Greg Landsman (D-OH-1); Nicholas A. Langworthy (R-NY-23); Michael Lawler (R-NY-17); Laurel M. Lee (R-FL-15); Summer L. Lee (D-PA-12); Morgan Luttrell (R-TX-8); Seth Magaziner (D-RI-2); Richard McCormick (R-GA-6); Morgan McGarvey (D-KY-3); Robert Menendez (D-NJ-8); Max L. Miller (R-OH-7); Cory Mills (R-FL-7); Marcus J. Molinaro (R-NY-19); Nathaniel Moran (R-TX-1); Jared Moskowitz (D-FL-23); Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15); Wiley Nickel (D-NC-13); Zachary Nunn (R-IA-3); Brittany Pettersen (D-CO-7); Delia C. Ramirez (D-IL-3); Andrea Salinas (D-OR-6); Hillary J. Scholten (D-MI-3); Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17); Dale W. Strong (R-AL-5); Emilia Strong Sykes (D-OH-13); Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13); Jill N. Tokuda (D-HI-2); Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-3); Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-2); Brandon Williams (R-NY-22); Jennifer L. McClellan (D-VA-4); Gabe Amo (D-RI-1); Celeste Maloy (R-UT-2); Timothy M. Kennedy (D-NY-26); Vince Fong (R-CA-20); Michael A. Rulli (R-OH-6); Greg Lopez (R-CO-4); LaMonica McIver (D-NJ-10); Erica Lee Carter (D-TX-18); Tony Wied (R-WI-8); Jeff Jackson (D-NC-14).

Nay (12): Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ-9); Andy Harris (R-MD-1); Andy Biggs (R-AZ-5); Ralph Norman (R-SC-5); Tim Burchett (R-TN-2); Chip Roy (R-TX-21); Lauren Boebert (R-CO-3); Bob Good (R-VA-5); Matthew M. Rosendale, Sr. (R-MT-2); Josh Brecheen (R-OK-2); Elijah Crane (R-AZ-2); Keith Self (R-TX-3).

Not voting (35): Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-11); Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3); Kay Granger (R-TX-12); Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL-9); Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ-7); Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC-10); Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5); Doug Lamborn (R-CO-5); Mike Kelly (R-PA-16); Daniel Webster (R-FL-11); Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL-24); Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-7); Lois Frankel (D-FL-22); Ted Lieu (D-CA-36); Seth Moulton (D-MA-6); Dwight Evans (D-PA-3); A. Drew Ferguson IV (R-GA-3); Susan Wild (D-PA-7); Katie Porter (D-CA-47); Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7); David J. Trone (D-MD-6); Michael Waltz (R-FL-6); Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10); Gregory F. Murphy (R-NC-3); Mike Garcia (R-CA-27); Thomas P. Tiffany (R-WI-7); Jamaal Bowman (D-NY-16); Jake LaTurner (R-KS-2); Victoria Spartz (R-IN-5); Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR-5); Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY-4); Chuck Edwards (R-NC-11); Wesley Hunt (R-TX-38); Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL-13); Andrew Ogles (R-TN-5).

Speaker, not listed (1): Mike Johnson (R-LA-4).

Not in office (15): Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18); Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-9); Adam B. Schiff (D-CA-30); Brian Higgins (D-NY-26); Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20); Bill Johnson (R-OH-6); David N. Cicilline (D-RI-1); Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ-10); Chris Stewart (R-UT-2); Ken Buck (R-CO-4); Matt Gaetz (R-FL-1); Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8); Kelly Armstrong (R-ND-AL); Andy Kim (D-NJ-3); George Santos (R-NY-3).

Summary

Main subject: Amends laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs on health care, long-term care and caregiver support, educational assistance, employment rights, home loans, disability claims, homelessness services and department oversight. Sec. 101, Sec. 120, Sec. 212, Sec. 221, Sec. 231, Sec. 306, Sec. 402, Sec. 501

Its core areas: Veterans Community Care Program eligibility, outreach and quality standards; Nursing home alternatives, home- and community-based services and family caregiver support; VA health care pay, staffing, dental care and suicide prevention reporting; Educational assistance, including the Fry Scholarship and a high technology program; Employment and reemployment rights of servicemembers under chapter 43 of title 38; Direct housing loans and loan fees for veterans, including Native American veterans; Disability benefit examinations and claims processing; Per diem and other assistance for homeless veterans; VA employee training on the Office of Inspector General and facility security surveys.

Unexpected Items: 15 provisions

These provisions fall outside the bill’s main subject or apply narrowly. This describes the text; it is not a judgment.

Not related to the bill’s main subject (7)

Sec. 107: Strategic plan on value-based health care system for Veterans Health Administration; pilot program: Requires the Secretary to set up a working group on value-based care that develops a strategic plan for the Veterans Health Administration, followed by a three-year pilot program in four Veterans Integrated Service Networks. The working group is exempt from chapter 10 of title 5.
Sec. 141: Elimination of certain requirements for certain Department of Veterans Affairs Assistant Under Secretaries: Amends section 7306 of title 38 by striking subsection (b) and redesignating the remaining subsections, which eliminates requirements for certain Department of Veterans Affairs Assistant Under Secretaries.
Sec. 223: Warrior Training Advancement Course: Requires reports on the Warrior Training Advancement Course, directs guidelines for other agencies, and creates a two-year Department of the Interior pilot program to inform veterans of conservation and resource management job vacancies.
Sec. 301: Burial allowance for certain veterans who die at home while in receipt of hospice care furnished by Department of Veterans Affairs: Directs the Secretary to treat certain veterans who die at home while receiving VA hospice care as veterans described in 38 U.S.C. 2303(a)(2)(A) for burial allowance purposes, for deaths from 180 days after enactment until October 1, 2026.
Sec. 302: Authority for Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants to States and Indian Tribes to improve outreach to veterans: Creates a VA grant program for States and Indian Tribes to improve benefits outreach and hire county or Tribal veterans service officers, requires at least five percent of grant funds go to Indian Tribes, and authorizes $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027. ($10,000,000)
Sec. 303: Definition of surviving spouse: Rewrites the title 38 definition of 'surviving spouse', including a continuous-cohabitation requirement with an exception for separation due to the veteran's misconduct, and excluding chapter 19 purposes.
Sec. 503: Modification of certain housing loan fees: Changes the date in the VA home loan fee table in 38 U.S.C. 3729(b)(2) from November 29, 2031 to June 9, 2034, in a section placed under the Oversight and Investigations title.

Applies only to a specific place or group (2)

Sec. 142: Modification of pay limitation for physicians, podiatrists, optometrists, and dentists of Department of Veterans Affairs: Among other pay changes, lets the Secretary pay retroactive compensation to covered employees for amounts authorized between January 8, 2006 and December 31, 2017 that were deferred because they would have exceeded an annual pay cap.
Sec. 212: Department of Veterans Affairs high technology program: Creates a high technology education program capped at 4,000 participants a year, and exempts online high technology programs meeting stated criteria (including five years of contract delivery) from the independent study limits.

Funds a specific named project or event (1)

Sec. 154: Authorization of appropriations to support initiatives for mobile mammography services for veterans: Authorizes $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 for the Office of Women’s Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand women veterans' access to mobile mammography initiatives, advanced mammography equipment, and outreach. ($5,000,000)

Different amount for specific places or groups (2)

Sec. 143: Reimbursement of ambulance cost for care for certain rural veterans: Requires the Secretary to pay or reimburse ambulance costs, including air ambulance, up to $46,000 per veteran, for covered veterans with a 0 to 30 percent service-connected disability rating in locations 100 or more miles from a VA medical center in areas rated 10 or higher under the rural-urban commuting areas system, through September 30, 2026. ($46,000)
Sec. 232: Native community development financial institution relending program: Lets the Secretary make loans to Native community development financial institutions for relending to Native American veterans on trust land, at a one percent interest rate, with up to $5,000,000 usable in fiscal year 2025, ending after September 30, 2027. ($5,000,000)

Exception or delay for a subset (2)

Sec. 120: Increase of expenditure cap for noninstitutional care alternatives to nursing home care: Raises the cost cap for noninstitutional alternatives to nursing home care from 65 percent to 100 percent, and lets the total cost exceed 100 percent for veterans with ALS, a spinal cord injury, or a similar condition.
Sec. 209: Modification of rules for approval of commercial driver education programs for purposes of educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs: Changes the criteria under which a branch of an educational institution can be granted an exemption for its commercial driver education program, and requires a notice to Congress within 30 days of each exemption granted.

Program name includes a political figure’s name (1)

Sec. 1: Short title; table of contents: Gives the Act the short title "Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act" and lists the table of contents.

What it does

Sec. 101: Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, for a two-year period beginning 90 days after enactment, to implement the Veterans Community Care Program so that the eligibility determination for care is final and made by the veteran and the referring clinician.
Sec. 120: Raises the cost cap on noninstitutional alternatives to nursing home care from 65 percent to 100 percent of the cost that would otherwise have been incurred, and lets the Secretary exceed 100 percent for veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a spinal cord injury, or a similar condition.
Sec. 122: Authorizes grants or contracts to enhance mental health counseling, treatment or support for family caregivers of veterans in the family caregiver program, and authorizes $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
Sec. 143: Requires payment or reimbursement of ambulance transport costs for certain rural veterans with service-connected disabilities rated between 0 and 30 percent, up to a maximum cumulative amount of $46,000, until September 30, 2026.
Sec. 144: Requires a two-year pilot program in not more than four States to furnish dental care to enrolled veterans who are not otherwise eligible for VA dental services and who have a diagnosis of ischemic heart disease.
Sec. 212: Creates a high technology program of education for covered veterans and servicemembers, limited to not more than 4,000 participants in any fiscal year, with no assistance for programs beginning after September 30, 2027.
Sec. 221: Amends the law on employment and reemployment rights of servicemembers to bar retaliatory action, set conditions for injunctive relief, allow liquidated damages, and require courts to award attorney fees to prevailing persons in actions against State or private employers.
Sec. 231: Authorizes the Secretary to make direct loans to Native American veterans to refinance existing mortgage loans, including loans not made under the direct loan program, if stated requirements are met.
Sec. 402: Allows a 133 percent rate in place of 115 percent in a per diem maximum-rate provision for homeless veteran services through September 30, 2027, and limits per diem payments to 12,000 per fiscal year.
Sec. 503: Changes the date in the housing loan fee table from November 29, 2031 to June 9, 2034.

Written automatically from the official text by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model. Written 1 Oct 2026 and published after the automatic checks, without a person reading it first. Every line names the section it came from.