Vet Center Eligibility Expansion Act
Public Law 116-176 · H.R. 1812 · 116th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Donald Trump (R) on Oct 20, 2020 · Armed Forces and National Security
Sponsor: Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN-1)
Cosponsors (2): Rep. Mike Levin, Rep. Neal Dunn
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.
Vet Center Eligibility Expansion Act
This bill expands eligibility for readjustment counseling and related mental health services through Vet Centers to certain members of the Coast Guard, National Guard, and Reserves. Specifically, eligibility is expanded to include (1) members of the Coast Guard who participated in a drug interdiction operation; and (2) members of the National Guard or Reservists who were activated due to a national emergency or major disaster declared by the President, or responded to a disaster or civil disorder in a state. Vet Centers are community-based counseling centers that provide social and psychological services to eligible veterans, active duty service members, and their families.
The bill also requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit a plan to provide Vet Center services to veterans living in geographic areas where no Vet Center is located.
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
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
The record lists no related bills.
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. 19 actions.
- Oct 20, 2020Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 116-176.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Oct 9, 2020FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Sep 29, 2020FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Sep 24, 2020FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Sep 17, 2020FloorFloor · AUTHORIZING DUPLICATE ENGROSSMENT - Mr. Cunningham asked for unanimous consent that the Clerk be authorized to produce a duplicate engrossment of H.R. 1812. Agreed to without objection.
- May 22, 2019CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate, read twice.
- May 21, 2019FloorFloor · 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. 1812.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Takano moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- May 20, 2019CalendarCalendar · Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 51.
- CommitteeCommittee · Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 116-75.
- May 8, 2019CommitteeCommittee · Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Apr 11, 2019CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Mar 18, 2019CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' 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.