To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a time frame for the employment in the Department of Veterans Affairs of participants in the Health Professionals Scholarship Program, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Additional sponsors: Mr. Davis of North Carolina and Mr. Vindman
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona (for himself and Ms. Budzinski) introduced …
Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona (for himself and Ms. Budzinski) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill makes two major changes to Veterans Affairs law. First, it requires the VA to provide guaranteed employment contracts to healthcare professionals who complete the VA's scholarship program within 90 days of finishing their training and obtaining their licenses. Second, it completely bans all forms of smoking - including traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and vaping - on all VA healthcare facility premises for everyone, including veterans, patients, employees, contractors, and visitors.
Who Benefits and How
Healthcare professionals who complete the VA's Health Professionals Scholarship Program are the primary beneficiaries, as they receive guaranteed employment with competitive salaries within 90 days of becoming eligible to practice. This includes physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals who participated in the scholarship program. Veterans seeking healthcare at underserved VA facilities also benefit indirectly through improved staffing levels at facilities with the highest need. Non-smoking veterans, patients, and VA employees benefit from completely smoke-free healthcare environments.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Veterans, patients, employees, and visitors who smoke face a complete prohibition on smoking anywhere on VA premises, forcing them to leave VA grounds to smoke. The Department of Veterans Affairs faces new hiring mandates and must submit biannual reports to Congress through September 2027 on implementation progress. VA facility administrators must enforce the smoking ban and manage the hiring timeline requirements. Tobacco and e-cigarette manufacturers face reduced consumption at VA facilities. Private healthcare employers may have reduced ability to recruit scholarship participants who are now guaranteed VA employment.
Key Provisions
- Requires VA Secretary to provide employment contracts to scholarship program participants within 90 days after they complete their course and obtain required licensure or credentialing
- Mandates that employment contracts include competitive salary and benefits consistent with VA employment standards
- Places scholarship participants at VA facilities with the highest need, as determined by the Secretary
- Completely prohibits all forms of smoking, including e-cigarettes and vaping devices, on all VA Health Administration premises
- Applies smoking ban to all persons on VA grounds: veterans, patients, residents, employees, contractors, and visitors
- Requires biannual congressional reporting on implementation through September 30, 2027
- Repeals previous 1992 Veterans Health Care Act smoking provisions
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Amends VA law to require timely employment contracts for scholarship participants and prohibit smoking at VA facilities
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Improve VA recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals while promoting healthier environments at VA facilities"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Health Professionals Scholarship Program participants seeking VA employment
- Veterans seeking healthcare at VA facilities (from improved staffing and smoke-free environment)
- Non-smoking VA employees and visitors
Likely Burden Bearers
- Department of Veterans Affairs (compliance and reporting requirements)
- Veterans, employees, and visitors who smoke
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "the_department"
- → Department of Veterans Affairs
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The Health Professionals Scholarship Program under section 7616 of title 38, United States Code
A participant in the Health Professionals Scholarship Program who has completed the course and obtained all required licensure, certification, or credentialing necessary to practice independently in their field
Includes the use of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and any other combustion or heating of tobacco; and the use of any electronic nicotine delivery system, including electronic or e-cigarettes, vape pens, and e-cigars
Any land or building (including any medical center, nursing home, domiciliary facility, outpatient clinic, or center that provides readjustment counseling) that is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Veterans Affairs, under the control of the Veterans Health Administration, and not under the control of the General Services Administration
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology