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HR 9237

Take Care of America’s Veterans Act

119th Congress Introduced by Jim Baird and 17 co-sponsors

The bill expands veterans benefits and reforms VA administration across compensation, education, health care, and care access, with new programs, eligibility grows, and improved cl

Introduced in House
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HR 9237

Overview

Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (H.R. 9237, 119th Congress) seeks to amend titles 10 and 38 of the United States Code and various related Federal laws to expand benefits for veterans and reform the administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The measure covers compensation, education and economic opportunities, health care, organizational reforms, memorial affairs, and enhancements to the Veterans Community Care Program, among other provisions. It includes new programs, expanded eligibility, payment increases, and governance/operational reforms intended to improve claims processing, care access, and VA management.

Key Provisions and Changes

  • Title I — Compensation

    • Sec. 101 Major Richard Star Act: Concurrent receipt reforms to allow certain combat-related disability retirees to receive both retired pay and VA disability compensation without offset, with eligibility rules based on years of service and the nature of the disability. Effective January 1, 2027 for months after that date.
    • Sec. 102 Love Lives On Act: Extends protections and eligibility related to survivor benefits, including remarriage provisions and continuity of certain spousal benefits.
    • Sec. 103 Extension of increased Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) for ALS deaths.
    • Sec. 104 Sharr i Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act of 2026: Increases wartime disability compensation and DIC under various subparts, including a new monthly supplement for certain aid-and-attendance recipients ($833.33/month for eligible veterans) and annual DIC adjustments linked to Social Security increases; expands housing loan eligibility and loan fees for additional groups, and expands the definition of “active duty” for housing loan purposes to include certain Guard and Reserve service. Adds retroactive and prospective applicability as specified.
    • Sec. 105 Claims: Prohibits denial of benefits solely because a veteran failed to appear for a medical exam; enhances adjudication/appeals efficiency.
    • Sec. 106-107 Reporting and automation: Annual reports on causes of death among veterans; plan for using automation tools to process VA claims.

  • Title II — Education and Economic Opportunity

    • Various enhancements to educational benefits, transition programs (including TAP and SkillBridge), and distance-learning stipends.
    • Expanded eligibility for licensing/certification exams, increased first-year apprenticeship/on-job training stipends, and expanded opportunities for emerging technologies.

  • Title III — Health Care

    • Transportation grants extension; caregiver reeducation and mental health initiatives; expanded access to sports/recreational adaptive devices; suicide prevention funding; mental health provider grants; veterans’ healthcare coordination with rural facilities; increased access to critical access hospitals; opioid rescue meds pilot programs; prosthetics/rehabilitative improvements; improvements to appointment scheduling and telemedicine licensure; and other patient-care enhancements.

  • Title IV — Organization

    • VA IT and management reforms: creation of a Under Secretary for Management and CFO; procurement reform; improved phone/communication systems; emergency response enhancements; geriatrics advisory updates; scheduling improvements for the Veterans Community Care Program.

  • Title V — Memorial Affairs

    • Expanded headstone/marker eligibility; burial benefits for urns/plaques; Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration.

  • Title VI — Veterans' Assuring Critical Care Expansions

    • Subtitles A–E: Strengthen Veterans Community Care Program standards, telehealth, wait-time reporting, provider training, oversight, and expansion of care access; include mental health and spinal cord injury care programs; staffing, telework, and transparency provisions; infrastructure and transformation planning; and donor-revenue provisions.

  • Additional notable elements

    • Board of Veterans' Appeals: new training programs, quality assurance, case aggregation authority (with defined limits and sunset), improved remand notice requirements, annual Board reporting, and performance reviews.
    • Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims: expanded jurisdiction to support class actions in certain appeals.
    • Plan for automation/tools to process claims; procedures to track claims and provide timelier notices.

Who Is Affected

  • Veterans receiving compensation, DIC, or survivor benefits (including ALS-related expansions and remarriage provisions).
  • Veterans using VA education, licensing/certification, and job-training programs.
  • Veterans seeking health care, mental health services, prosthetics, and rural/telehealth access.
  • Servicemembers and veterans seeking home loans (with expanded eligibility and adjusted fees).
  • VA employees, VA benefits adjudicators, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, and related veterans service organizations.
  • Families and survivors benefiting from memorial and burial benefits.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Effective dates vary by provision; some changes trigger January 1, 2027 (concurrent receipt enhancements), others have December 1, 2026 triggers for certain increases.
  • Requires annual and periodic reporting (death causes, Board quality, claim processing timelines).
  • Calls for study, pilot programs, and plans with specific compliance timelines (e.g., first annual Board reports within one year; plan development within six months; automation plan within one year).
  • Extends sunset on certain provisions (e.g., death-caused mortality reporting terminates five years after enactment).

Note: This summary is intended to convey the bill’s substantive provisions and their potential impact. For precise language, cross-references to the full text are recommended.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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