To amend title 38, United States Code, to strengthen benefits for children of Vietnam veterans born with spina bifida, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed SenateMr. Braun (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. …
Mr. Braun (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. …
Mr. Braun (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. …
Mr. Braun (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. …
Mr. Braun (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. …
Mr. Braun (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. …
Mr. Braun (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. …
Mr. Braun (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. …
Mr. Braun (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. …
Mr. Braun (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill enhances VA benefits for children of Vietnam veterans born with spina bifida. It creates an advisory council to solicit feedback, establishes care coordination teams that contact each child at least every 180 days, guarantees lifetime benefits even after parent death, and requires biennial reports to Congress on program metrics.
Who Benefits and How
Children of Vietnam veterans with spina bifida receive improved care coordination, guaranteed lifetime benefits, and better oversight. These benefits continue even after the veteran parent dies. Vietnam veterans with affected children benefit from better support systems.
Who Bears the Burden and How
VA bears administrative burden of creating advisory council, care teams, and reporting requirements. The Under Secretary for Benefits and Under Secretary for Health must enter memorandum of understanding within 90 days.
Key Provisions
- Creates advisory council on health care for covered children (within 270 days)
- Establishes care coordination teams with 180-day contact requirement (within 1 year)
- Guarantees lifetime benefits regardless of parent death
- Requires biennial reports on program participation and outreach metrics
- Requires memorandum of understanding between VA Benefits and VA Health within 90 days
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
Strengthens VA benefits for children of Vietnam veterans born with spina bifida by establishing an advisory council, care coordination teams, lifetime benefits, and biennial reporting to Congress.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Strengthen benefits for aging population of spina bifida children through improved coordination and guaranteed lifetime coverage"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A child who is eligible for health care and benefits under chapter 18 of title 38
An individual whose children are eligible for health care and benefits under chapter 18
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