Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act of 2018
Public Law 115-240 · H.R. 2147 · 115th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Donald Trump (R) on Sep 17, 2018 · Armed Forces and National Security
Sponsor: Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO-6)
Cosponsors (53): Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón, Rep. Chellie Pingree,
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
(Sec. 2) This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to hire at least 50 Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists under the Veterans Justice Outreach Program. Each of these specialists must serve as part of a justice team in a veterans treatment court or other veteran-focused court.
A specialist hired under this bill must be placed at a VA medical center that:
• complies with VA guidelines for specialist placement,
• works within a local criminal justice system with justice-involved veterans,
• maintains an affiliation with one or more veterans treatment courts or other veteran-focused courts, and
• provides specialists or establishes a VA-approved plan to provide specialists to serve as part of a justice team.
The VA shall prioritize the placement of these specialists at medical centers that have an affiliation with a court that was established after this bill's enactment or is not fully staffed with specialists.
The Government Accountability Office shall report to Congress on the effectiveness of the Veterans Justice Outreach Program.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Veterans' Affairs Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Health Subcommittee; Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
2 bills the Library of Congress relates to this one.
H.R. 6 · became Public Law 115-271Related bill
SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act
S. 946Identical billRelated bill
Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act of 2018
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 24 actions.
- Sep 17, 2018Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 115-240.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Sep 5, 2018FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Aug 23, 2018FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Aug 22, 2018FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Jun 18, 2018CalendarCalendar · Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 466.
- Jun 14, 2018CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate.
- Jun 13, 2018FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 2147.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Roe (TN) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- May 18, 2018CalendarCalendar · Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 525.
- CommitteeCommittee · Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 115-682.
- May 8, 2018CommitteeCommittee · Subcommittee on Health Discharged.
- CommitteeCommittee · Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Sep 26, 2017CommitteeCommittee · Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Health Subcommittee of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee
- Apr 26, 2017CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- CommitteeCommittee · Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Discharged.
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.