Hearing Information
Amendment Deadline
Thursday, February 24, 2022 - 10:00am Online View Announcement »
Meeting Information
Monday, February 28, 2022 - 2:00pm H-313, The Capitol View Announcement »
H.R. 3967 - Honoring our PACT Act of 2021
Video
Bill Text
Rules Committee Print 117-33 PDF XML
Showing the text of H.R. 3967, as ordered reported by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, with modifications.
H. Rept. 117-249, Part I PDF
Report from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs to accompany H.R. 3967.
(as reported)
Comparative Print PDF
Showing the differences between H.R. 3967, as reported by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and Rules Committee Print 117-33.
Hearing Documents
Rule Information
COMMITTEE ACTION:
REPORTED BY A RECORD VOTE of 9-4 on Monday, February 28, 2022.
FLOOR ACTION ON H. RES. 950:
Agreed to by record vote of 220-200, after agreeing to the previous question by record vote of 221-202, on March 1, 2022.
MANAGERS: McGovern/Reschenthaler
1. Structured rule for H.R. 3967.
2. Provides one hour of general debate on the bill equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
3. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
4. Provides that an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-33, modified by the amendment printed in part A of the Rules Committee report, shall be considered as adopted and the bill, as amended, shall be considered as read.
5. Waives all points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended.
6. Provides that following debate, each further amendment printed in part B of the Rules Committee report not earlier considered as part of amendments en bloc pursuant to section 3 shall be considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, may be withdrawn by the proponent at any time before the question is put thereon, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
7. Section 3 provides that at any time after debate the chair of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs or his designee may offer amendments en bloc consisting of further amendments printed in part B of the Rules Committee report not earlier disposed of. Amendments en bloc shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs or their designees, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
8. Waives all points of order against the amendments printed in part B of the report and amendments en bloc described in section 3 of the resolution.
9. Provides one motion to recommit.
Amendments (click headers to sort)
| # | Version # | Sponsor(s) | Party | Summary | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Version 2 | Levin, Mike (CA) | Democrat | Revised Adds a new section similar to the Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act, which authorizes VA to award grants to expand outreach and claims assistance carried out through County Veterans Service Officers (CVSOs). | Made in Order |
| 2 | Version 1 | Graves, Garret (LA) | Republican | Adds a new Title XIII with certain VA Lease Authorization reforms to help ensure that the VA can continue to meet the medical needs of all veterans. | Submitted |
| 3 | Version 1 | Gottheimer (NJ) | Democrat | Requires a study by the Department of Veterans Affairs to examine the possible relationship between toxic exposures experienced during service in the Armed Forces and mental health outcomes. | Made in Order |
| 4 | Version 1 | Torres, Norma (CA) | Democrat | Requires the publication of the list of resources provided by the VA to toxic-exposed veterans be made available in English, Spanish, Chinese, and the 7 other most commonly spoken languages in the United States. | Made in Order |
| 5 | Version 1 | Hartzler (MO) | Republican | Enhances VA hiring competitiveness by allowing VA to release physicians from non-compete agreements after committing to VA service for at least one year, authorizes VA to make job offers up to 2 years prior to completion of residency and updates statutory minimum requirements for VA physicians to include medical residency. | Made in Order |
| 6 | Version 1 | Newman (IL) | Democrat | Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct a study on the exposure of members of the Armed Forces to herbicide agents, including Agent Orange and Agent Purple, in the Panama Canal Zone during the period beginning on January 1, 1958, and ending on December 31, 1999. | Made in Order |
| 7 | Version 2 | Ross (NC), Rouzer (NC) | Bi-Partisan | Revised Requires the DOD to submit to Congress a report on sources of PFAS on military installations other than AFFF and any recommendation regarding whether to expand eligibility for the registry to individuals exposed to PFAS from other sources. | Made in Order |
| 8 | Version 1 | Torres, Norma (CA) | Democrat | Revises Section 505 to include language about the feasibility and advisability of VA looking at available early detection diagnostics and how they might be incorporated into veterans’ care. | Made in Order |
| 9 | Version 1 | Scanlon (PA) | Democrat | Authorizes $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 to expand capacity of the Veterans Benefits Management System of the Department of Veterans Affairs to accommodate expected increased claims processing for newly eligible veterans. | Made in Order |
| 10 | Version 1 | Cloud (TX) | Republican | Requires VA staff to regularly review the credentials of all health care practitioners in its system and charges the VA with monitoring the performance of its doctors and report concerning behavior. Enforces biannual training to employees on how to check credentials through sources like the National Practitioner Data Bank and State medical licensing boards. Text is the same as H.R. 217, which passed near-unanimously in the 116th Congress. | Submitted |
| 11 | Version 1 | Porter (CA) | Democrat | Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a public website, housed within the War Related Illness and Injury Study Center of the Department, to be a clearinghouse for the publication of all Federally funded research on toxic exposure. | Made in Order |
| 12 | Version 2 | Ryan (OH), Mast (FL), Kelly, Trent (MS), Fitzpatrick (PA), Cheney (WY), Young (AK), Ruiz (CA), Hayes (CT), Cartwright (PA) | Bi-Partisan | Revised Adds the text of the SFC Heath Robinson Burn Pit Transparency Act, which requires the Department of the VA to document, track, and then notify Congress of specified data points related to exposure cases as reported by veterans to the VA. | Made in Order |
| 13 | Version 1 | Gottheimer (NJ) | Democrat | Defines outreach materials on illnesses that may be related to toxic exposure as fact sheets under the Veterans and Family Information Act. | Made in Order |
| 14 | Version 1 | Pappas (NH) | Democrat | Requires coordination between the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish guidelines used for training active duty personnel to provide awareness of potential risks of toxic exposure, as well as ways to prevent such exposures during combat. | Made in Order |
| 15 | Version 1 | Cartwright (PA) | Democrat | Requires the Secretary of the VA to share a list of resources for toxic-exposed veterans, caregivers of toxic-exposed veterans, and survivors of toxic-exposed vets with national veterans services organizations and other veteran groups. | Made in Order |
| 16 | Version 3 | Kim (NJ) | Democrat | Withdrawn Authorizes $30 million to support automation of claims processing by the Veterans Benefits Administration, add self-service features for veterans to file claims, remove duplicative efforts in the processing of claims, and reduce dependency on the legacy claims system. | Withdrawn |
| 17 | Version 1 | Bush, Cori (MO) | Democrat | Includes race and ethnicity as a demographic for a study on the incidence of cancer in veterans. | Made in Order |
| 18 | Version 1 | Bush, Cori (MO) | Democrat | Includes race, age, period of service, military occupation, gender, and disability status of veterans in an epidemiological study on the health trends of veterans who served in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001. | Made in Order |
| 19 | Version 2 | Ruiz (CA), Slotkin (MI), Welch (VT), Bilirakis (FL) | Bi-Partisan | Revised Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide budget information regarding incinerators and waste-to-energy waste disposal alternatives to burn pits. DOD must include the information as a dedicated budget line item in the President's FY2023 through the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. | Made in Order |
| 20 | Version 1 | Slotkin (MI) | Democrat | Adds the text of the Justice for ALS Veterans Act, which provides an extension of increased dependency and indemnity compensation to surviving spouses of veterans who die from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. | Submitted |
| 21 | Version 2 | Ruiz (CA), Ryan (OH), González-Colón, Jenniffer (PR) | Bi-Partisan | Revised Allows veterans in the burn pits registry to designate a registered individual or an immediate family member to update the registry with the cause of death of the individual. | Made in Order |
| 22 | Version 1 | Bush, Cori (MO) | Democrat | Amends the review of known cases of toxic exposure on military installations of the Department of Defense to include both in the United States and abroad. | Made in Order |
| 23 | Version 1 | Aguilar (CA) | Democrat | Withdrawn Removes barriers of benefit and compensation for veterans who responded to a January 21, 1968, United States Air Force B-52 bomber carrying four nuclear bombs crash near Thule Air Base in Greenland. The crash required US service members to provide security, crash site inspection, and a clean-up, which led to radiation-related illnesses. | Withdrawn |
| 24 | Version 1 | Slotkin (MI) | Democrat | Creates an interagency working group to 1) Identify collaborative research activities and resources, 2) Establish a 5-year strategic plan for coordination/planning for research surrounding toxic exposure, and 3) Submit a report to the VA Secretary with milestones/goals as part of the implementation. | Made in Order |
| 25 | Version 1 | Levin, Andy (MI), Wild (PA) | Democrat | Amends the definition of "illnesses" to include both mental and physical health. | Made in Order |
| 26 | Version 1 | Levin, Andy (MI) | Democrat | Amends Section 701, Establishment of PFAS Registry, to ensure eligible individuals on the registry can be connected to medical services relevant to exposure to PFAS, including blood testing and treatments for related illnesses, that may be available to them at a medical facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs. | Submitted |
| 27 | Version 1 | Bost (IL) | Republican | SUBSTITUTE Replaces the text of the bill with the Health Care for Burn Pit Veterans Act, which expands healthcare eligibility for certain combat veterans exposed to toxic substances to last for ten years after separation instead of five years, requires toxic exposure-related education and training for VA personnel, and requires screenings and studies to better identify potential associations between veteran medical conditions and toxic exposure. | Made in Order |
| 28 | Version 1 | Tlaib (MI) | Democrat | Withdrawn Adds the text of the Veterans National Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Act, which requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to implement a five-year pilot program to furnish, under the Veterans Community Care Program, hyperbaric oxygen therapy to veterans with traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder. | Withdrawn |
| 29 | Version 1 | Bush, Cori (MO) | Democrat | Includes a study on veteran exposure to toxic substances related to fossil fuels. | Submitted |
| 30 | Version 1 | Tlaib (MI) | Democrat | Withdrawn Adds a list of 43 specific cancers to the presumption of service connection section that the veterans advocacy group Burn Pits 360 has collected that veterans have reported having after being exposed to burn pits to ensure that no veteran suffering from burn pit exposure is left behind in the bill. | Withdrawn |
| 31 | Version 1 | Golden (ME), Wild (PA) | Democrat | Ensures that mental health services and counseling are included when providing hospital services to give holistic care for affected veterans. | Made in Order |
| 32 | Version 1 | Bush, Cori (MO) | Democrat | Includes a study on veteran health outcomes related to waste from the Manhattan project in St. Louis. | Made in Order |
| 33 | Version 1 | Brownley (CA), Miller-Meeks (IA) | Bi-Partisan | Late Ensures toxic exposed veterans have access to mammography screenings. | Made in Order |
| 34 | Version 1 | Jackson Lee (TX) | Democrat | Late Adds a study on whether data collection established under this bill should include data on the toxic exposure of National Guard service personnel when deployed in connection with a natural disaster in the United States or its territories. | Made in Order |
| 35 | Version 1 | Plaskett (VI) | Democrat | Late Requires a GAO study and report on access and barriers to veterans benefits and services for veterans in territories of the United States. | Made in Order |
| 36 | Version 2 | Takano (CA) | Democrat | MANAGER’S AMENDMENT Late Revised Revises the seating of members on the Federal Advisory Committee created in Title II of the bill, to ensure for staggered terms. Authorizes the Secretary of the Veterans Administration to allow for claimants to opt-in to receiving notifications through electronic communication. Adds Thule, Greenland to the list of locations to which veterans are presumed to have been exposed to radiation. Authorizes funding for an expansion of VA’s disability claims automation system. Creates a Veterans Toxic Exposure Fund to authorize funding for the activities in the bill. | Considered as Adopted |
| 37 | Version 1 | McKinley (WV) | Republican | Late Adds Okinawa to the list of countries where Agent Orange was stored shipped to Vietnam. | Submitted |
| 38 | Version 1 | Sherrill (NJ) | Democrat | Late Adds migraines and chronic headaches to the list of covered ailments. | Submitted |
| 39 | Version 1 | Spanberger (VA) | Democrat | Late Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit a publicly available report to Congress that includes (1) a discussion of the effect of various different types of jet fuels used by the Armed Forces on the health of individuals by length of exposure; (2) an identification of the immediate symptoms of jet fuel exposure that may indicate future health risks; (3) a chronology of health safeguards implemented by the Armed Forces intended to reduce the exposure of members of the Armed Forces to jet fuel; and (4) an identification of any areas relating to jet fuel exposure about which new research needs to be conducted. | Made in Order |
| 40 | Version 1 | Spanberger (VA) | Democrat | Late Revises the presumptions of toxic exposure section and the medical nexus examinations for toxic exposure risk activities section to include veterans who worked at least two years in a military occupation involving consistent exposure to jet fuel. Requires the VA to provide a medical examination and request a medical opinion for service connection for any veteran who meets the aforementioned criteria and submits a claim for compensation for a service-connected disability with evidence of a disability. | Submitted |
| 41 | Version 2 | Gibbs (OH) | Republican | Late Revised Allows veterans an additional 24-hour period, at minimum, to notify the VA when receiving care at a non-VA facility. This additional time-period will allow flexibility if a veteran needs additional time to recoup from a severe medical condition or if they are dealing with other complicating factors. | Made in Order |
Committee Votes
Rules Committee Record Vote No. 195
Motion by Mr. Cole to eliminate all the unprecedented pandemic authorities granted to the Speaker. Defeated: 4–8
Majority Member
Vote
Mrs. Torres
Nay
Mr. Perlmutter
Nay
Mr. Raskin
Nay
Ms. Scanlon
Nay
Mr. Morelle
Nay
Mr. DeSaulnier
No Vote
Ms. Ross
Nay
Mr. Neguse
Nay
Mr. McGovern, Chairman
Nay
Minority Member
Vote
Mr. Cole
Yea
Mr. Burgess
Yea
Mr. Reschenthaler
Yea
Mrs. Fischbach
Yea
Rules Committee Record Vote No. 196
Motion by Mr. Cole to eliminate the martial law authorities granted to the Speaker. Defeated: 4–9
Majority Member
Vote
Mrs. Torres
Nay
Mr. Perlmutter
Nay
Mr. Raskin
Nay
Ms. Scanlon
Nay
Mr. Morelle
Nay
Mr. DeSaulnier
Nay
Ms. Ross
Nay
Mr. Neguse
Nay
Mr. McGovern, Chairman
Nay
Minority Member
Vote
Mr. Cole
Yea
Mr. Burgess
Yea
Mr. Reschenthaler
Yea
Mrs. Fischbach
Yea
Rules Committee Record Vote No. 197
Motion by Mr. Cole to add language in the rule that would stop the tolling of days for Resolutions of Inquiry. Defeated: 4–9
Majority Member
Vote
Mrs. Torres
Nay
Mr. Perlmutter
Nay
Mr. Raskin
Nay
Ms. Scanlon
Nay
Mr. Morelle
Nay
Mr. DeSaulnier
Nay
Ms. Ross
Nay
Mr. Neguse
Nay
Mr. McGovern, Chairman
Nay
Minority Member
Vote
Mr. Cole
Yea
Mr. Burgess
Yea
Mr. Reschenthaler
Yea
Mrs. Fischbach
Yea
Rules Committee Record Vote No. 198
Motion by Mr. Reschenthaler to add to the rule a section providing for the consideration of S. 3541, Healthcare for Burn Pit Veterans Act, under a closed rule. Defeated: 4–9
Majority Member
Vote
Mrs. Torres
Nay
Mr. Perlmutter
Nay
Mr. Raskin
Nay
Ms. Scanlon
Nay
Mr. Morelle
Nay
Mr. DeSaulnier
Nay
Ms. Ross
Nay
Mr. Neguse
Nay
Mr. McGovern, Chairman
Nay
Minority Member
Vote
Mr. Cole
Yea
Mr. Burgess
Yea
Mr. Reschenthaler
Yea
Mrs. Fischbach
Yea
Rules Committee Record Vote No. 199
Motion by Mrs. Torres to report the rule. Adopted: 9–4
Majority Member
Vote
Mrs. Torres
Yea
Mr. Perlmutter
Yea
Mr. Raskin
Yea
Ms. Scanlon
Yea
Mr. Morelle
Yea
Mr. DeSaulnier
Yea
Ms. Ross
Yea
Mr. Neguse
Yea
Mr. McGovern, Chairman
Yea
Minority Member
Vote
Mr. Cole
Nay
Mr. Burgess
Nay
Mr. Reschenthaler
Nay
Mrs. Fischbach
Nay