Congress voted in favor of another passel of bills before the holidays, including a measure to expand medical services for veterans in the Freely Associated States.
Hawai‘i Sen. Brian Schatz co-introduced the Caring for Veterans and Strengthening National Security Act, a bill that the Senate voted unanimously to pass on Thursday.
The bill expands the Department of Veterans Affairs’ health care benefits to U.S. veterans living in the Freely Associated States, which include Palau, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.
Schatz later said in a statement that citizens of the Freely Associated States — which are not part of the United States per se but whose citizens are allowed to live and work in the U.S. — have some of the highest enlistment rates per capita in the U.S. military.
“FSM is proud to have some of the highest enlistment rates of our citizens who have volunteered to serve in the U.S. military,” said Jackson Soram, Ambassador of the Federated States of Micronesia to the United States, in a statement Monday. “However, veterans who return home to the FSM after serving have faced significant cost and access barriers to care through the existing Foreign Medical Program.”
In 2024, a bill was passed giving the VA authority to provide services within the Freely Associated States; Schatz’s bill requires that the VA do so.
“U.S. veterans in the [Freely Associated States] deserve the same care as all other servicemembers, without having to navigate complex, costly barriers or travel long distances just to see a doctor or get medication,” Schatz said in a statement. “This bill ensures servicemembers can finally access the care they deserve.”
Following the Senate’s vote in support of the bill, the measure now goes before the House.
The Senate voted unanimously to pass several other VA-related measures last week, including:
• The VA Budget Shortfall Accountability Act, which calls for an investigation into the cause of a nearly $15 billion shortfall in its health and benefits accounts last year.
• The FAST VETS (Focused Assistance and Skills Training for Veterans’ Employment and Transition Success) Act, which allows for disabled veterans’ VA rehabilitation plans to be redeveloped over time.
• The Improving Veteran Access to Care Act, which requires the VA to develop a more efficient process for scheduling VA appointments.
• The VetPAC Act establishes a Policy Advisory Commission for the Veterans Health Administration that will review the Administrations’ operations and provide reports and recommendations to Congress.
• The Veterans Accessibility Advisory Committee Act establishes a committee to evaluate how accessible the VA is for people with disabilities.
• The Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act makes VA disability services available to military spouses.
Meanwhile, the House passed a quartet of bills last Friday, none of which were VA-related.
• The Do No Harm in Medicaid Act, which prohibits the use of Medicaid for transgender-related procedures for people under the age of 18. Passed 215-201, with only four Democrats voting in support, none of whom were Hawai‘i Reps Jill Tokuda and Ed Case.
• The Pet and Livestock Protection Act, which removes endangered species protections for the gray wolf and also prohibits that removal from being subject to judicial review. Passed 211-204, with five Democrats (not including Case and Tokuda) in support.
• The Mining Regulatory Clarity Act, which allows mine operators to use federal lands for ancillary activities such as waste disposal. Passed 219-198, with nine Democrats in support, none of whom were Case or Tokuda.
• The SPEED (Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development) Act, which reduces the number of federal actions that require an environmental review. Passed 221-196, with 11 Democrats in support, none of whom were Case or Tokuda.
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