{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=4243AEDB-05F3-40B3-8419-AF66D5748975", "Veterans Legislative Package with Boozman Provisions Passes Senate, Heads to U.S. House", "2024-12-16", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "Senate", "AR", "John Boozman", "B001236", "www.boozman.senate.gov", "boozman", "https://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), a senior member of the Veterans\u2019 Affairs committee and Ranking Member of the Senate Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Subcommittee, welcomed Senate passage of the Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act. The legislation will now go the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.\n\nThe Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act strengthens support for our nation\u2019s veterans and caregivers by improving access to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) care and benefits, enhancing programs for student veterans and their families, and providing increased oversight to ensure the VA is meeting its lawful obligations.\n\n\u201cThis is an important step forward to support our men and women who have served and earned quality care and support. I\u2019m pleased provisions I championed to attract top providers to serve veterans at the VA, ensure proper management is in place at its facilities, advance a more comprehensive approach to the veteran suicide crisis and more are one step closer to becoming law,\u201d Boozman said. \u201cThis bipartisan legislation represents our commitment to deliver the support our veterans and their families expect and deserve.\u201d\n\nSeveral Boozman-authored or cosponsored measures were included in the legislative package, including:\n\nSections of the VA Clinician Appreciation, Recruitment, Education, Expansion, and Retention Support (CAREERS) Act, to:\n\nModernize the VA\u2019s antiquated pay system for physicians and other high-level clinicians, which will particularly benefit rural and other hard-to-hire markets;\n\nIncrease and fine-tune the VA\u2019s workforce data reporting requirements to help the VA and Congress be better informed on how to improve the hiring and onboarding process for future employees enterprise-wide.\n\nUpdate VA\u2019s pay stipulations to include optometrists, expanding the coverage of certain rules and benefits to optometrists as well;\n\nAuthorize the VA to waive pay limitations for the recruitment or retention of critical health care personnel, with a priority for certain positions, locations, and contracted care;\n\nAuthorize the VA to have flexibility in compensating specified professionals, including the ability to pay awards, recruitment or relocation bonuses, retention allowances, incentives or bonuses, and earning from fee-basis appointments; and\n\nClick here to view Senator Boozman\u2019s remarks on the CAREERS Act.\n\nThe Veterans Affairs Medical Center Absence and Notification Timeline (VACANT) Act, to:\n\nLimit the detailing of medical center directors to different positions within the VA; and\n\nRequire the VA Secretary to ensure a plan is in place to fill vacant medical center director positions within 180 days of detailing.\n\nThe Not Just a Number Act, to:\n\nRequire the VA to examine veterans\u2019 benefits usage in its annual suicide prevention report in order to evaluate the relationship between VA benefits and suicide outcomes;\n\nRequire the VA to analyze which benefits have the greatest impact on preventing suicide; and\n\nRequire the Department to issue recommendations for expansion of those benefits in the fight to combat veteran suicides.\n\nClick here to view Senator Boozman\u2019s remarks on the Not Just a Number Act.\n\nGerald\u2019s Law Act, to:\n\nExpand Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) burial benefits eligibility to terminally ill veterans who pass away at a non-VA facility while receiving hospice care.\n\nThe VA OIG Training Act of 2023, to:", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "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://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=4243AEDB-05F3-40B3-8419-AF66D5748975"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7567069735378027, "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"}