U.S. Vets of the FAS Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The U.S. Vets of the FAS Act directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to move quickly on health-service agreements with the Freely Associated States under existing title 38 and Compact of Free Association authority. VA must initiate outreach to each government within 30 days, enter the required agreements within one year, and begin furnishing services within one year.
The services must include at least telehealth and pharmaceutical products delivered by mail for veterans in the Freely Associated States. The bill also amends VA travel-payment language so that if the Secretary uses the relevant authority for a fiscal year, the Secretary must make the payments provided under that authority.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans in the Federated States of Micronesia benefit because VA must work toward agreements and provide telehealth and mailed pharmaceuticals. Veterans in the Marshall Islands benefit from the same minimum service commitment. Veterans in Palau benefit from access to remote VA care and mail-delivered medicine. VA telehealth clinicians benefit from a clearer statutory mandate to serve FAS veterans. VA pharmacy mail-order programs benefit from explicit authority to deliver pharmaceuticals to covered veterans.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must initiate outreach within 30 days and complete agreements within one year. VA international health staff must negotiate and implement agreements with each Freely Associated State. VA telehealth program staff must stand up service delivery for veterans outside the states. VA pharmacy operations staff must arrange mail delivery of pharmaceutical products. The Federated States of Micronesia government, Marshall Islands government, and Palau government must coordinate with VA on agreements and implementation.
Key Provisions
- Requires VA outreach to each Freely Associated State government within 30 days.
- Requires VA to enter health-service agreements within one year.
- Requires VA to begin furnishing services within one year.
- Requires covered services to include telehealth.
- Requires covered services to include pharmaceutical products delivered by mail.
- Amends VA payment language so required payments are made when the Secretary uses the authority.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to work with the governments of the Freely Associated States to enter health-service agreements, furnish telehealth and mailed pharmaceutical services to covered veterans within one year, and make required travel-related payments when VA uses that authority.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans Health, Pacific Islands, Telehealth, Pharmaceutical Services
Primary Purpose
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to work with the governments of the Freely Associated States to enter health-service agreements, furnish telehealth and mailed pharmaceutical services to covered veterans within one year, and make required travel-related payments when VA uses that authority.
Policy Domains
House resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Veterans in the Federated States of Micronesia
- Veterans in the Marshall Islands
- Veterans in Palau
- VA telehealth clinicians
- VA pharmacy mail-order programs
Identified Costs
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- VA international health staff
- VA telehealth program staff
- VA pharmacy operations staff
- Federated States of Micronesia government
- Marshall Islands government
- Palau government
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedOrdered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Subcommittee Hearings Held
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Mrs. King-Hinds (for herself, Mrs. Radewagen, Mr. Moylan, Mr. Case, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, VA pharmacy operations staff, VA telehealth program staff
Positive-direction: Veterans in Palau, Veterans in the Federated States of Micronesia, Veterans in the Marshall Islands
Negative-direction: Secretary of Veterans Affairs, VA pharmacy operations staff, VA telehealth program staff
Federated States of Micronesia government, Marshall Islands government, Palau government
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "va"
- → Department of Veterans Affairs
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