The bill
THRIVE Act of 2025
HR. 5943, 119th Congress — read as touching Hospitals & Health Systems.
THRIVE Act of 2025
Download PDFBill ID: 119/hr/5943
Last Updated: November 13, 2025
Sponsored by
Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3]
ID: E000301
Follow the money
The sponsor
Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3]
Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.
The money
$74,850 raised
24 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.
The alignment
85% match to Project 2025
This bill's text tracks the "Department of Transportation" section, p. 673-675 of the Mandate for Leadership.
Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law
Track this bill's progress through the legislative process
Latest Action
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Introduced
📍 Current Status
Next: The bill will be reviewed by relevant committees who will debate, amend, and vote on it.
🏛️
Committee Review
🗳️
Floor Action
✅
Passed Senate
🏛️
House Review
🎉
Passed Congress
🖊️
Presidential Action
⚖️
Became Law
📚 How does a bill become a law?
1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.
2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.
3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.
4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.
5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.
6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.
7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!
Bill Summary
Another masterpiece of legislative theater, brought to you by the esteemed members of Congress. Let's dissect this farce and expose its true nature.
**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The THRIVE Act of 2025 is a bill that claims to improve access to complementary and integrative health therapies for veterans. How noble. In reality, it's a thinly veiled attempt to create another bureaucratic task force, staffed by the usual suspects: academics, clinicians, and representatives from various organizations with vested interests.
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill establishes a Task Force on Complementary and Integrative Health/Whole Health, which will assess the current state of access to these therapies for veterans, develop a framework to evaluate their effectiveness, and identify gaps in research and implementation. Oh, and it'll also make recommendations to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Wow, I can barely contain my excitement.
The task force will be composed of various stakeholders, including representatives from academic institutions, veterans service organizations, and community-based programs. Because what could possibly go wrong with a committee comprised of people with competing interests and agendas?
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** Veterans, of course, are the supposed beneficiaries of this bill. But let's not be naive – they're merely pawns in a game of bureaucratic chess. The real stakeholders are the organizations and individuals who will benefit from the creation of another task force, complete with its own budget, staff, and opportunities for self-aggrandizement.
**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill is a classic example of "legislative placebo effect." It creates the illusion of action while doing nothing to address the underlying issues. The task force will likely produce a report that's long on recommendations and short on actual solutions. Meanwhile, veterans will continue to struggle with inadequate access to mental health services.
The real impact of this bill will be felt by the organizations and individuals who will profit from its implementation. Expect a surge in grant applications, consulting contracts, and other forms of bureaucratic largesse.
In conclusion, the THRIVE Act of 2025 is a masterclass in legislative obfuscation. It's a bill that promises much but delivers little, designed to placate voters while enriching the usual suspects. As I always say, "Everyone lies." In this case, the lie is that Congress actually cares about veterans' mental health.
Related Topics
Military & Veterans Affairs
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)
💰 Campaign Finance Network
Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3]
Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle
Total Contributions
$74,850
22 donors
PACs
$0
Organizations
$2,250
Committees
$0
Individuals
$72,600
No PAC contributions found
1
CARROLL HYNSON AND SON
$1,000
2
DARCARS
$1,000
3
ROCK REALTY LLC
$250
No committee contributions found
1
GROSSMAN, JENNIFER
$13,200
2
BARTLETT, BRANDON
$3,300
3
DALTON, NANCY
$3,300
4
GABEL, CAROLINE
$3,300
5
SAPPERSTEIN, MARK
$3,300
6
JACOBS, IRWIN MARK
$3,300
7
ATTMAN, GARY
$3,300
8
BLAXALL, MARTHA
$3,300
9
BRAMBLE, PETER
$3,300
10
BUCH, MICHAE
$3,300
11
CAREY, GALLOWAY
$3,300
12
CHENEY, HAMILTON
$3,300
13
CHIEN, NADINE
$3,300
14
CLAGETT, VIRGINIA
$3,300
15
CLEMENTS, DAN MICHAEL
$3,300
16
CORDISH, DAVID
$3,300
17
DAVIS, MICHAEL
$3,300
18
DAVIS, PATRICIA
$3,300
19
DAVIS, RAE ANNE
$3,300
Donor Network - Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3]
PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians
Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.
Loading...
Showing 39 nodes and 24 connections (45 secondary connections hidden)
Total contributions: $74,850
Top Donors - Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3]
Showing top 22 donors by contribution amount
3 Orgs19 Individuals
Industry Impact
Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 2 helped.
- +Hospitals & Health Systemsconfidence 0.80
Section 2(c)(1) directs the task force to assess veterans' access to complementary and integrative health therapies at VA medical facilities and how to make them more accessible, which could increase demand for such services provided by hospitals and health systems.
- +Medical Devicesconfidence 0.60
Section 2(c)(2) includes therapies like biofeedback and guided imagery, which may involve medical devices, potentially increasing demand for such devices used in VA facilities.
Who funds the sponsor on these industries
For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022–present cycles. Donations are not proof of intent — they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.
Industries this bill HELPS
- from 1 contribution
- SCHENKER, JULIE$500
Project 2025 Policy Matches
This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.AI-enhanced analysis provides detailed alignment ratings.
Department of Transportation
Strong
Vector: 63%Pages: 673-675AI Enhanced
AI Analysis:
"The THRIVE Act’s focus on expanding veterans’ access to complementary and integrative health therapies directly supports the Project 2025 goal of a veteran‑centric VA that prioritizes core health‑care missions over bureaucratic or ideological distractions."
Key themes:veteran‑centric caremental health accesscomplementary/integrative healthVA health‑care improvementtask force evaluation
— 641 — 20 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Brooks D. Tucker MISSION STATEMENT The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the primary provider of health care, benefits, and memorial affairs for America’s veterans and their families. The VA has the noble responsibility to render exceptional and timely support and services with respect, compassion, and competence. The veteran is at the forefront of every VA process and interaction. The VA must continually strive to be recognized as a “best in class,” “Veteran-centric”1 system with an organizational ethos inspired by and accountable to the needs and problems of veterans, not subservient to the parochial preferences of a bureaucracy. OVERVIEW At the end of the Obama Administration, the VA was held in low esteem both by the veterans it served and by the employees who served these former warriors. Eroding morale caused by the downstream effects of a health care access crisis in 2014 led to the resignation of Secretary Eric Shinseki and extensive oversight investigations by Congress from 2015–2016. By 2020, however, the VA had become one of the most respected U.S. agencies. This significant progress was due in part to the leadership of Secretary Robert Wilkie (2018–2021) and his team of political appointees and career senior executives, many of them veterans, who led the effort to ensure that the VA became “Veteran-centric” in its governance decisions and fostered a more positive work environment. This mindset translated into a department that was better attuned to employees’ and veterans’ needs and experiences in the daily operations of health care, benefits, — 642 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise and memorial affairs. During that period, the VA received the largest number of watershed congressional authorizations to reform its health care and benefits that it had received since the post–Vietnam War years along with historic increases in annual appropriations, which have tripled since the last full year of the George W. Bush Administration. The current VA leadership team of Biden appointees has adopted some of their predecessors’ governance processes. However, they have not sustained the previous Administration’s commitment to a genuine “Veteran-centric” philosophy, most nota- bly with respect to the delivery of health care, and harbor a bias toward expanding the unionized federal employee workforce that has not always been aligned with a focus on “Veteran-centric” care. There also is growing concern in Congress and the veteran community that the VA is poorly managing and in some cases disregarding provisions of the VA MISSION [Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Out- side Networks] Act of 20182 that codify broad access for veterans to non-VA health care providers. Efforts to expand disability benefits to large populations without adequate planning have caused an erosion of veterans’ trust in the VA enterprise. Additionally, the current VA leadership is focusing very publicly on “social equity and inclusion” within departmental policy discussions toward ends that will affect only a small minority of the veterans who use the VA. For the first time, the VA is allowing access to abortion services, a medical procedure unrelated to military service that the VA lacks the legal authority and clinical proficiency to perform. In addition to continuing the grotesque culture of violence against the child in the womb, these sociopolitical initiatives and ideological indoctrinations distract from the department’s core missions. DEPARTMENTAL HISTORY Following the Civil War, state veterans homes were established to provide med- ical and hospital treatment for all injuries and diseases. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, “Congress established a new system of Veterans benefits, including programs for disability compensation, insurance for service personnel and Veterans, and vocational rehabilitation for the disabled”3 that was overseen by three different federal programs: the Veterans Bureau, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Pensions, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. In 1921, Congress combined those programs into the Veterans Bureau. Following World War II, a national VA hospital system, much of which remains operational today, was established to care for millions of returning veterans. Following the Vietnam War, the VA’s federally owned and operated hospital network expanded again to meet the needs of the volunteer and draftee population. In the past two decades, the VA has purposely transitioned to leasing medical prop- erties rather than building expensive new facilities that can take years to complete and often experience budget overruns. As the nature of health care has evolved
Department of Veterans Affairs
Strong
Vector: 63%Pages: 688-691AI Enhanced
AI Analysis:
"The THRIVE Act’s focus on expanding access to complementary and integrative health therapies for veterans aligns with the Project 2025 VA objective of improving veteran healthcare outcomes and mental health services through evidence-based, innovative approaches."
Key themes:veterans mental healthcomplementary and integrative healthVA healthcare accesstask force and research evaluationsuicide prevention
— 655 — Department of Veterans Affairs ENDNOTES 1. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Division, VHA Directive 1003, “VHA Veteran Patient Experience,” April 14, 2020, pp. 1 and B-1. 2. S. 2372, VA Mission Act of 2018, Public Law No. 115-182, 115th Congress, June 6, 2018, https://www.congress. gov/115/plaws/publ182/PLAW-115publ182.pdf (accessed January 30, 2023). 3. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA History Office, “VA History,” last updated May 27, 2021, https://www. va.gov/HISTORY/VA_History/Overview.asp (accessed January 28, 2023). 4. 38 U.S. Code § 1116, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/38/1116 (accessed January 28, 2023). 5. S. 3373, Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022), Public Law No. 117-168, 117th Congress, August 10, 2022, https://www. congress.gov/117/plaws/publ168/PLAW-117publ168.pdf (accessed January 28, 2023). 6. H.R. 2471, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Public Law No. 117-103, 117th Congress, March 15, 2022, Division S, Title I, https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ103/PLAW-117publ103.pdf (accessed March 18, 2023). Known variously as the Department of Veterans Affairs Nurse and Physician Assistant Retention and Income Security Enhancement Act and the VA Nurse and Physician Assistant RAISE Act. 7. See note 5, supra.
Department of Veterans Affairs
Moderate
Vector: 66%Pages: 679-681AI Enhanced
AI Analysis:
"The THRIVE Act aligns with Project 2025's emphasis on improving VA healthcare through evidence-based practices, stakeholder collaboration, and system modernization, particularly in expanding access to innovative mental health treatments and integrating community and academic input."
Key themes:veteran mental healthcomplementary and integrative healthVA healthcare improvementstakeholder collaborationevidence-based treatment
— 646 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise 3. Section 121 (developing and administering an education program that teaches veterans about their health care options available from the Department of Veterans Affairs). 4. Section 152 (returning the Office for Innovation of Care and Payment to the Office of Enterprise Integration with a joint governance process set up with the VHA). 5. Section 161 (overhauling Family Caregiver Program expansion, which has gone poorly, so that it focuses on consistency of eligibility and awareness that the most severely wounded or injured may require the program indefinitely). l Require the VHA to report publicly on all aspects of its operation, including quality, safety, patient experience, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness, using standards similar to those in the Medicare Accountable Care Organization program so that the government may monitor and achieve continuous improvement in the VA system more effectively. l Encourage VA Medical Centers to seek out relevant academic and private- sector input in their communities to improve the overall patient experience. Budget l Conduct an independent audit of the VA similar to the 2018 Department of Defense (DOD) audit to identify IT, management, financial, contracting, and other deficiencies. l Assess the misalignment of VHA facilities and rising infrastructure costs. The VHA operates 172 inpatient medical facilities nationally that are an average of 60 years old. Some of these facilities are underutilized and inadequately staffed. Facilities in certain urban and rural areas are seeing significant declines in the veteran population and strong competition for fresh medical staff. In 2018, Congress authorized an Asset Infrastructure Review (AIR) of national VHA medical markets to provide insight into where the VA health care budget should be responsibly allocated to serve veterans most effectively. However, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee lacked the political will to act on the White House’s nominations of commission members, and this ultimately led to termination of the AIR process. The next Administration should seek out agile, creative, and politically acceptable operational solutions to this aging infrastructure status quo, — 647 — Department of Veterans Affairs reimagine the health care footprint in some locales, and spur a realignment of capacity through budgetary allocations. Specifically: 1. Embrace the expansion of Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) as an avenue to maintain a VA footprint in challenging medical markets without investing further in obsolete and unaffordable VA health care campuses. 2. Explore the potential to pilot facility-sharing partnerships between the VA and strained local health care systems to reduce costs by leveraging limited talent and resources. Personnel l Extend the term of the Under Secretary for Health (USH) to five years. Additionally, authority should be given to reappoint this individual for a second five-year term both to allow for continuity and to protect the USH from political transition. l Establish a Senior Executive Service (SES) position of VHA Care System Chief Information Officer (CIO), selected by and reporting to the chief of the VHA Care System with a dotted line to the VA CIO. l Identify a workflow process to bring wait times in compliance with VA MISSION Act–required time frames wherever possible. 1. Assess the daily clinical appointment load for physicians and clinical staff in medical facilities where wait times for care are well outside of the time frames required by the VA MISSION Act. 2. Require VHA facilities to increase the number of patients seen each day to equal the number seen by DOD medical facilities: approximately 19 patients per provider per day. Currently, VA facilities may be seeing as few as six patients per provider per day. 3. Consider a pilot program to extend weekday appointment hours and offer Saturday appointment options to veterans if a facility continues to demonstrate that it has excess capacity and is experiencing delays in the delivery of care for veterans. 4. Identify clinical services that are consistently in high demand but require cost-prohibitive compensation to recruit and retain talent, and examine exceptions for higher competitive pay.
Showing 3 of 5 policy matches
About These Correlations
Policy matches are calculated using a hybrid approach: initial candidates are found using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text, then an AI model (Llama 3.1 70B) provides detailed alignment ratings and analysis. Ratings range from 1 (minimal alignment) to 5 (very strong alignment). This analysis does not imply direct causation or intent.