{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://tipton.house.gov/press-release/house-representatives-strengthens-commitment-colorado%E2%80%99s-veterans", "House of Representatives Strengthens Commitment to Colorados Veterans", "2016-11-30", "2016", "2016-11", "Republican", "House", "CO", "Scott Tipton", "T000470", "tipton.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The U.S. House of Representatives advanced legislation this week aimed at strengthening health care and education benefits for veterans. The Veterans TRICARE Choice Act of 2016 (H.R. 5458) passed the House unanimously, and the Protecting Veterans\u2019 Educational Choice Act of 2016 (H.R. 5047) passed with a bipartisan vote of 411-3.\n\tCongressman Scott Tipton (CO-03) supported the passage of both bills.\n\t \n\t\t\u201cOur state is home to over 400,000 of our nation\u2019s veterans. These men and women have put their lives on the line to protect our freedom, and it is our duty to ensure they are cared for when they return home,\u201d Tipton said. \u201cI am committed to making sure federal policies help us honor and serve the men and women who have so honorably served our country, and I\u2019m glad that we have advanced policies that will help resolve some of the health care and education challenges that many of our veterans face.\u201d\n\t \n\tUnder current law, if an individual is eligible for TRICARE, they are not eligible to make contributions or receive employer contributions to a tax-exempt Health Savings Account (HSA), and there is no mechanism in place for an individual to suspend their TRICARE eligibility. H.R. 5458 gives veterans the flexibility to suspend their TRICARE benefits if they determine an employer-offered high-deductible health plan with a HSA is a better solution for their health care needs. The veteran would retain the ability to resume their TRICARE coverage in the future.\n\t \n\t\t\u201cIn order to ensure our veterans are receiving the best health care possible, we need to roll back the red tape that has kept military retirees from utilizing the health coverage that makes the most sense for them and their families,\u201d Tipton said.\n\t \n\tH.R. 5047 addresses challenges that many veterans have faced when trying to use their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. The bill requires the VA to provide all veterans with information about the educational services that are available to them, as well as inform veterans about the various credit transfer agreements between educational institutions.\n\t \n\t\t\u201cMany veterans receive very little guidance from the VA regarding their education benefits. We\u2019re seeing veterans exhaust their benefits at institutions that don\u2019t have credit transfer agreements in place or attend schools that lack accreditation altogether,\u201d Tipton added. \u201cWe must support our nation\u2019s heroes in their pursuit of higher education when they return home from their service, and it starts by making sure they have all of the information necessary to make an informed decision.\u201d\n\t \n\tH.R. 5458 and H.R. 5047 must now be considered by the Senate.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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": ["http://tipton.house.gov/press-release/house-representatives-strengthens-commitment-colorado%E2%80%99s-veterans"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.829782035201788, "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"}