{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://biggs.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-biggs-introduces-key-pieces-legislation-honor-and-support-americas", "Congressman Biggs Introduces Key Pieces of Legislation to Honor and Support America\u2019s Veterans", "2025-11-11", "2025", "2025-11", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "Andy Biggs", "B001302", "biggs.house.gov", "biggs", "https://biggs.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Congressman Andy Biggs (AZ-05) introduced three bills reaffirming America\u2019s commitment to those who served our nation. The legislation strengthens care, accountability, and dignity for veterans and their families by reforming outdated systems and expanding access to benefits without increasing taxpayer costs.\n\nThe Veterans\u2019 Cremation Certainty Acteases a long-standing financial and emotional burden on military families by allowing veterans to pre-designate direct cremation as part of their VA burial benefits. The bill extends the VA\u2019s pre-approval process, currently limited to burials, to include cremation services and enables the VA to pay cremation providers directly, reducing or eliminating out-of-pocket costs.\n\nTheHSAs for Heroes Actallows all veterans to open and use Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) while maintaining their VA benefits. The bill also broadens the range of eligible expenses\u2014incorporating language from Congressman Biggs\u2019s existing Freedom for Families Act\u2014to include caregiving costs.\n\nThe Claims Legitimacy and Evaluation Accountability Nationwide for VA (CLEAN VA) Act strengthens oversight, ethics, and accountability within the Department of Veterans Affairs to protect both taxpayer dollars and veterans\u2019 benefits. This bill:\n\nEnforces time-limited disciplinary processes and streamlined appeals for misconduct;\n\nIncreases penalties for fraud and abuse, expands whistleblower safeguards, and incentivizes reporting through disclosure rewards;\n\nDirects integration of AI tools to identify fraud vulnerabilities and ensure accurate, fair disability determinations; and\n\nRequires annual department-wide training under Inspector General oversight to reinforce a culture of integrity and compliance.\n\n\u201cThis Veterans Day, Congress must recommit to honoring our nation\u2019s heroes not just in word, but in deed,\u201d said Congressman Biggs.\n\n\u201cVeterans deserve more than speeches and ceremonies \u2014 they deserve action. These bills deliver meaningful reforms that ease financial burdens, expand healthcare freedom, and hold the VA accountable to the men and women it serves. We owe our veterans the dignity of a government that keeps its word, honors their sacrifices, and works as hard for them as they did for us.\u201d", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://biggs.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-biggs-introduces-key-pieces-legislation-honor-and-support-americas"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8431719616055489, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}