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H.R. 918 (115th): Veteran Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare Act

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About the bill

Source: Republican Policy Committee

H.R. 918 would provide mental health care to certain former service members who would otherwise be ineligible for such care because they were discharged from military service under conditions that were other than honorable (OTH).

Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to give former members of the Armed Forces: (1) an initial mental health assessment, and (2) the mental health care services required to treat the member’s urgent mental healthcare needs, including risk of suicide or harming others. The bill states that the VA may provide such mental health care at a non-VA facility if: (1) the receipt of mental health care services by an individual in VA facilities would be clinically inadvisable, or (2) VA facilities are not capable of furnishing such mental health care …

Sponsor and status

Photo of sponsor Mike Coffman

Mike Coffman

Sponsor. Representative for Colorado's 6th congressional district. Republican.

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Last Updated: Nov 8, 2017
Length: 8 pages
Introduced
Feb 7, 2017
115th Congress (2017–2019)
Status
Enacted Via Other Measures

Provisions of this bill were incorporated into other bills which were enacted.

This bill was incorporated into:

H.R. 1625: H.R. 1625: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018
Enacted — Signed by the President on Mar 23, 2018. (compare text)
Cosponsors

40 Cosponsors (25 Democrats, 15 Republicans)

Source
Congress.gov

Position statements

What legislators are saying

“VIDEO: Gabbard-Backed Legislation to Reform Veterans Mental Health Care Unanimously Passes House”
    — Rep. Tulsi Gabbard [D-HI2, 2013-2020] (Co-sponsor) on Nov 7, 2017

“Celebrating Our Veterans Every Day”
    — Rep. Scott Tipton [R-CO3, 2011-2020] (Co-sponsor) on Nov 11, 2017

“THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS - November 9, 2017”
    — Rep. Gregorio Sablan [D-MP] on Nov 13, 2017

More statements at ProPublica Represent...

What stakeholders are saying

R Street Institute SpendingTracker.org estimates H.R. 918 will add $15 million in new spending through 2022.

History

Mar 3, 2016
 
Earlier Version — Introduced

This activity took place on a related bill, H.R. 4684 (114th).
Feb 7, 2017
 
Introduced

Bills and resolutions are referred to committees which debate the bill before possibly sending it on to the whole chamber.

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Apr 6, 2017
 
Considered by Health

A committee held a hearing or business meeting about the bill.

May 22, 2017
 
Final Bill — Passed House (Senate next)

This activity took place on a related bill, H.R. 1625 (115th), possibly in lieu of similar activity on H.R. 918 (115th).
Jul 19, 2017
 
Ordered Reported

A committee has voted to issue a report to the full chamber recommending that the bill be considered further. Only about 1 in 4 bills are reported out of committee.

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Nov 6, 2017
 
Reported by House Committee on Veterans' Affairs

A committee issued a report on the bill, which often provides helpful explanatory background on the issue addressed by the bill and the bill's intentions.

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Nov 7, 2017
 
Passed House (Senate next)

The bill was passed in a vote in the House. It goes to the Senate next. The vote was by voice vote so no record of individual votes was made.

Read Updated Text » See Changes »

Feb 28, 2018
 
Final Bill — Passed Senate with Changes (back to House)

This activity took place on a related bill, H.R. 1625 (115th), possibly in lieu of similar activity on H.R. 918 (115th).
Mar 22, 2018
 
Final Bill — Passed House with Changes (back to Senate)

This activity took place on a related bill, H.R. 1625 (115th), possibly in lieu of similar activity on H.R. 918 (115th).
Mar 23, 2018
 
Final Bill — Senate Agreed to Changes

This activity took place on a related bill, H.R. 1625 (115th), possibly in lieu of similar activity on H.R. 918 (115th).
Mar 23, 2018
 
Final Bill — Enacted — Signed by the President

This activity took place on a related bill, H.R. 1625 (115th), possibly in lieu of similar activity on H.R. 918 (115th).

H.R. 918 (115th) was a bill in the United States Congress.

A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President to become law.

Bills numbers restart every two years. That means there are other bills with the number H.R. 918. This is the one from the 115th Congress.

This bill was introduced in the 115th Congress, which met from Jan 3, 2017 to Jan 3, 2019. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books.

How to cite this information.

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“H.R. 918 — 115th Congress: Veteran Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare Act.” www.GovTrack.us. 2017. March 23, 2023 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr918>

Where is this information from?

GovTrack automatically collects legislative information from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources. This page is sourced primarily from Congress.gov, the official portal of the United States Congress. Congress.gov is generally updated one day after events occur, and so legislative activity shown here may be one day behind. Data via the congress project.