Various bills and initiatives are currently under consideration in the US Congress that aim to improve benefits, healthcare, and support services for veterans. Some of the key areas being addressed include:

1. Expanding Access to Care:

• Veterans Health Care Freedom Act: This proposed legislation would allow veterans enrolled in the VA health care system to choose healthcare providers from VA medical facilities, Veterans Community Care Program participants, and other approved entities. It would also permanently phase out certain requirements for accessing care under the Veterans Community Care Program and Veterans Care Agreements.
• Veteran ACCESS Act: This bill aims to establish existing community care access standards as the baseline for veterans seeking care in the community, potentially improving their ability to receive timely and appropriate medical services. 

2. Enhancing Benefits and Compensation:

• Major Richard Star Act: This proposed law would allow veterans with combat-related disabilities and less than 20 years of service to receive both retirement pay and disability compensation concurrently.
• Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act: A bipartisan bill to improve the process for issuing accrued pension benefits and ensure families receive benefits owed upon a veteran’s death.
• Protecting Benefits for Disabled Veterans Act of 2023: This bill would give the VA the authority to assign a total disability rating to veterans who meet certain criteria and are unable to find or keep a job due to a service-connected disability. 

3. Improving Claims and Appeals Processes:

• Veterans Appeals Efficiency Act: This legislation aims to make the appeals process for veterans’ benefits more efficient.
• Veterans Claims Quality Improvement Act: This bill would require the VBA to use technology and policies to give employees feedback on errors to prevent repeat mistakes in claims processing.
• Legislation Addressing Claims Backlog: Efforts are underway, including using AI, to address the backlog of veterans’ claims to speed up processing and reduce wait times. 

4. Supporting Specific Veteran Populations:

• Honoring Veterans’ Legacies and Burial Benefits Enhancement Act: This bill aims to improve the memorialization of veterans and their families by establishing a foundation for private donations and giving the VA expanded burial authorities.
• Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2024: This legislation aims to provide equal education benefits for Reserve Component service members by allowing any day in uniform receiving military pay to count towards Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility.
• Improving Menopause Care for Veterans Act: This bill requires a study on menopause care at the VA and the implementation of its recommendations to improve services for women veterans.
• Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act (HUDVA): This bipartisan bill would permanently exclude disability payments from annual income for housing assistance eligibility for homeless veterans in the HUD-VASH program. 

5. Other Areas:

• Requiring the VA to provide guidance for grant applicants: This bill would simplify the process for organizations seeking grants to help homeless veterans.
• Enhancing the VA’s customer experience initiatives: This legislation aims to improve veteran satisfaction and the use of VA benefits and services.
• Facilitating veteran employment in federal land management agencies: This pilot program aims to increase job opportunities for veterans in these agencies. 

This is a selection of pending legislation. The status and details of these bills can change during the legislative process. For the most current information, it is best to check official government resources.

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