Washington, DC – Yesterday, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26) announced the reintroduction of four bills to expand and improve health care, housing, and support services for our nation’s veterans. The bills include the Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act, the Have You Served Act of 2025, the Every Veteran Counts Act, and the Helping Homeless Veterans Act.
“As the Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, one of my primary goals is to identify disparities in care for veterans and, where necessary, introduce, advocate for, and pass legislation that fixes those gaps,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “These bills build on that commitment by ensuring the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has the tools, resources, and accountability it needs to improve access to high-quality health care, housing, and support services for our veterans. Together, they address critical gaps and move us closer to upholding our solemn promise to serve our veterans as well as they have served our nation.”
Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act
The Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act seeks to guarantee adequate resources for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care programs.
“It is our duty to make certain that the VA has the resources it needs to provide the health care our veterans earned and deserve,” said Brownley. “Providing Congress with an analysis of VA’s budget for health care programs, including community care, will help ensure our nation’s veterans receive these vital health care services and ensure the VA never runs low on necessary funds.”
The Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to verify the accuracy and adequacy of the VA budget for medical care. The requirement for GAO to review the VA health care budget request was first passed as part of the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act in 2009. However, the three-year requirement expired after 2013. This bill would renew this requirement to ensure VA never again runs low on funds for veterans’ health care.
The Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act is endorsed by Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).
Read the full text of the bill here.
Have You Served Act of 2025
The Have You Served Act of 2025 seeks to ensure that servicemembers, veterans, and their families are able to access resources to combat the epidemic of veteran suicide.
As a part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and VA’s Governor’s and Mayor’s Challenges to Prevent Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families, several states throughout the country have begun carrying out “Ask the Question” campaigns to better identify veterans and let them know what state and local human services, as well as mental health resources and care, are available to them. These campaigns are run through the state departments of Veterans Affairs (state-level agencies separate from VA) that lead trainings and awareness campaigns with state and local human service providers, about how to appropriately ask their clients if they or a loved one is a veteran, and to let them know what resources are available to them. States like Maryland, New Hampshire, and Virginia have led campaigns with significant success by identifying veterans and family members in need of help that are not already in VA care.
“Far too often, veterans and their families who need help either don’t receive it or aren’t aware of the resources available to them,” said Brownley. “The Have You Served Act of 2025 strengthens our collective effort to prevent veteran suicide by investing in proven state programs that connect veterans and their families with lifesaving support, filling critical gaps, expanding awareness, and helping to ensure that no veteran or military family has to face these challenges alone.”
The Have You Served Act of 2025 directs VA to award 25 grants totaling $5 million, not to exceed $200,000 per recipient, for the next three years. This funding can be used for “Ask the Question” program costs, including staffing, technology, marketing and outreach materials, and convening. The legislation also directs the VA to work with grant recipients to establish key performance indicators of the training associated with the campaigns. Grant recipients will report their key performance indicators to VA at the end of each year, and VA will submit a report to Congress on the progress achieved in implementing these campaigns.
The Have You Served Act of 2025 is endorsed by Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).
Read the full text of the bill here.
Every Veteran Counts Act
The Every Veteran Counts Act would require the VA to establish and regularly update a database containing veterans’ demographic information to ensure VA programs and policies are designed to serve the changing population of veterans.
“In recent years, Congress has passed legislation intended to guide the mission of the VA to meet the growing and changing needs of an increasingly diverse veteran population. Understanding who our veterans are and what their specific needs are is essential to ensuring VA is adequately equipped to provide them with the benefits and services they have earned,” said Brownley. “That begins with ensuring that policymakers and other stakeholders have access to accurate demographic data on our nation’s veteran population. With stronger data, we can make more informed decisions about how to design and deliver programs and resources that better meet the needs of those who have bravely served our nation in uniform.”
In order to understand veteran demographic trends, VA previously conducted six national surveys of veterans. However, the last survey was conducted in 2010. Since then, the statutory framework for data collection has substantially evolved, and the population of veterans has also significantly changed.
Through the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, VA has leveraged the vast amount of data generated within the Department and collected by other Federal partners to improve population-based information on veterans. However, the VA needs to update this information to ensure the Center’s work remains relevant.
To ensure that federal policy makers have access to critical demographic information on veterans, the Every Veteran Counts Act would require VA to establish a public database containing a wide range of information on veteran demographics. This will include sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, education, race and ethnicity, income, employment, housing status, distance from a VA facility, and other categories.
This will help VA in planning its future programs and services for veterans. It will also help Congress and other stakeholders better understand veterans’ needs, and subsequently, develop policies and allocate resources to ensure these needs are met.
The Every Veteran Counts Act is endorsed by Disabled American Veterans (DAV).
Read the full text of the bill here.
Helping Homeless Veterans Act
The Helping Homeless Veterans Act would reauthorize and make permanent vital programs that provide housing, employment assistance, and supportive services to help keep our veterans off the streets.
“Our nation’s heroes should never be living on the street, period,” said Brownley. “While we have made important strides in the fight to eradicate veteran homelessness, it is imperative that we continue to build on this progress and accelerate these successful efforts so that we can finally end this crisis once and for all. Our country’s brave men and women put their lives on the line to defend our nation, and the least we can do in return is ensure they can find and sustain permanent housing for themselves and their families.”
There is no reason to allow authorization of these programs to lapse, so instead of requiring annual renewals, this legislation makes the following programs permanent:
- The Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Program
- The Acquired Property Sales for Homeless Veterans Program
- The Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program
- The Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program: Homeless Veterans with Special Needs
- The Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans
Each of these important veterans’ programs is critical to eliminating veterans’ homelessness and meeting the VA’s goal of ending veterans’ homelessness.
The Helping Homeless Veterans Act is endorsed by Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).
Read the full text of the bill here.
