SAFE STEPS for Veterans Act of 2025

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Bill ID: 119/s/668
Last Updated: December 10, 2025

Sponsored by

Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME]

ID: K000383

Follow the money

The bill

SAFE STEPS for Veterans Act of 2025

S. 668, 119th Congress — read as touching Hospitals & Health Systems.

The sponsor

Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME]

Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.

The money

$87,600 raised

24 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.

The alignment

62% match to Project 2025

This bill's text tracks the "Introduction" section, p. 679-681 of the Mandate for Leadership.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held.

December 9, 2025

Introduced

Committee Review

📍 Current Status

Next: The bill moves to the floor for full chamber debate and voting.

🗳️

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 bill, another exercise in bureaucratic flatulence. Let's dissect this mess.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The SAFE STEPS for Veterans Act of 2025 aims to establish an Office of Falls Prevention within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The primary objective is to reduce falls and related injuries among veterans by promoting education, research, and improved healthcare services. Or so they claim.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill creates a new office within the VA, which will be responsible for:

1. Monitoring and improving healthcare services related to falls prevention. 2. Developing standards of care for falls prevention. 3. Identifying deficiencies in existing programs and providing technical assistance. 4. Coordinating with other offices within the VA to promote falls prevention.

The bill also authorizes grants and contracts for local education campaigns and research on evidence-based falls prevention programs.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:**

1. Veterans, particularly those at risk of falls or with service-connected disabilities. 2. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and its various offices. 3. Healthcare providers and medical facilities within the VA system. 4. Organizations that will receive grants or contracts for education campaigns and research.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** Let's not get too excited here. This bill is a classic example of bureaucratic busywork, designed to create the illusion of action while accomplishing little.

The real purpose of this bill is likely to:

1. Create more administrative positions within the VA, further bloating an already inefficient bureaucracy. 2. Provide a new avenue for pork-barrel spending and earmarks. 3. Allow politicians to claim they're "supporting our veterans" without actually addressing the systemic issues plaguing the VA.

The impact on veterans will be minimal, as this bill focuses more on creating a new office and administrative processes rather than providing tangible benefits or improving existing services.

In conclusion, this bill is a symptom of a larger disease: the chronic inability of politicians to address real problems with meaningful solutions. Instead, they opt for feel-good legislation that sounds good in press releases but accomplishes little.

Related Topics

Military & Veterans Affairs
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$87,600
17 donors
PACs
$0
Organizations
$9,900
Committees
$0
Individuals
$77,700

No PAC contributions found

1
THE CHICKASAW NATION
3 transactions
$6,600
2
2120 SEA ISLAND LLC
1 transaction
$3,300

No committee contributions found

1
SMITH, BRAD
2 transactions
$13,200
2
DOWNEY, NANCY A.
2 transactions
$10,000
3
BEKENSTEIN, ANITA
2 transactions
$6,600
4
ANDERSON, KATHLEEN K.
2 transactions
$6,600
5
ANDERSON, PAUL MILTON
2 transactions
$6,600
6
OTTEN, LESLIE B.
1 transaction
$5,000
7
BEKENSTEIN, JOSH
1 transaction
$3,300
8
HULL, BLAIR
1 transaction
$3,300
9
ABRAMS, JEFFREY
1 transaction
$3,300
10
BEEBE, MICHAEL
1 transaction
$3,300
11
BEEUWKES, NANCY
1 transaction
$3,300
12
BIRD, KRISTEN
1 transaction
$3,300
13
BRIDE, MARJORIE M.
1 transaction
$3,300
14
BUTLER, GILBERT
1 transaction
$3,300
15
KLARMAN, SETH
1 transaction
$3,300

Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance

This bill has 2 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.

Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD]

ID: R000605

Top Contributors

10

1
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
OrganizationPRIOR LAKE, MN
$1,000
Nov 22, 2023
2
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
OrganizationPRIOR LAKE, MN
$1,000
Apr 30, 2024
3
CHOCTAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA
OrganizationDURANT, OK
$500
Nov 1, 2024
4
ROWAN, CAROLYN
CAROLYN ROWAN COLLECTIONOWNER
IndividualGREENWICH, CT
$6,600
Mar 30, 2023
5
ROWAN, MARC J
APOLLO MGMT.CEO
IndividualGREENWICH, CT
$6,600
Mar 30, 2023
6
HEGYI, ALBERT
1ST FINANCIAL BANKBANKER
IndividualSOUTHPORT, CT
$6,600
Aug 22, 2023
7
ROWAN, CAROLYN
CAROLYN ROWAN COLLECTIONOWNER
IndividualGREENWICH, CT
$6,600
Mar 30, 2023
8
ROWAN, MARC J
APOLLO MGMT.CEO
IndividualGREENWICH, CT
$6,600
Mar 30, 2023
9
HEGYI, ALBERT
1ST FINANCIAL BANKBANKER
IndividualSOUTHPORT, CT
$6,600
Aug 22, 2023
10
PFAUTCH, ROY
CIVIC SERVICE, INC.CONSULTANT
IndividualSAINT LOUIS, MO
$6,600
Feb 20, 2024

Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]

ID: B001277

Top Contributors

10

1
OLSON, LYNDON
NOT EMPLOYEDNOT EMPLOYED
IndividualWACO, TX
$3,300
Dec 20, 2024
2
ALIX, JAY
ALIX PARTNERSFOUNDER
IndividualBIRMINGHAM, MI
$3,300
Oct 2, 2023
3
KIM, CHRISTINE M.
BBB LLCATTORNEY
IndividualNEW YORK, NY
$3,300
Oct 31, 2023
4
ALIX, JAY
ALIX PARTNERSFOUNDER
IndividualBIRMINGHAM, MI
$3,300
Apr 15, 2024
5
ROURE, RITA
PAGNY - LINCOLN HOSPITALPHYSICIAN
IndividualGREENWICH, CT
$3,300
Apr 10, 2024
6
ROURE, RITA
PAGNY - LINCOLN HOSPITALPHYSICIAN
IndividualGREENWICH, CT
$3,300
Apr 10, 2024
7
CHAVEZ, TOM
KRUX INC.CEO
IndividualSAN FRANCISCO, CA
$3,300
Jul 13, 2024
8
CHAVEZ, TOM
KRUX INC.CEO
IndividualSAN FRANCISCO, CA
$3,300
Jul 13, 2024
9
JONES, JERRY C.
LIVERAMP INC.EXECUTIVE
IndividualLITTLE ROCK, AR
$3,300
Sep 19, 2024
10
NESSEL, ARIEL
NESSEL DEVELOPMENTOWNER
IndividualROSS, CA
$3,300
Jul 12, 2024

Donor Network - Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

Loading...

Showing 48 nodes and 30 connections (52 secondary connections hidden)

Total contributions: $100,000

Top Donors - Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME]

Showing top 17 donors by contribution amount

2 Orgs15 Individuals

Industry Impact

Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 4 helped.

  • Section 2 establishes an Office of Falls Prevention within the Veterans Health Administration, which will develop standards of care, provide technical assistance to medical facilities, and promote expansion of clinical and research activities related to falls prevention, directly benefiting hospitals and health systems that serve veterans.

  • Section 3(a) amends Section 1710A to require falls risk assessments and fall prevention services by licensed physical or occupational therapists for individuals in nursing homes who have fallen or are at risk, extending care services and creating demand for long-term care providers to implement these services.

  • +Medical Devicesconfidence 0.80

    Section 2(c)(9) and Section 3(c) involve oversight of distribution of resources and information related to falls prevention, including safe patient handling and mobility technology, which could increase demand for medical devices such as mobility aids, transfer equipment, and safety technology in medical and emergency settings.

  • +Biotech & Researchconfidence 0.75

    Section 2(d) directs the Chief Officer to work with the Office of Research and Development and the National Institute on Aging to develop evidence-based falls prevention programs, including research on medication management and polypharmacy, which could benefit biotech firms engaged in pharmaceutical research related to fall risk factors.

Who funds the sponsor on these industries

For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME])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 4 contributions
    • LIPPMAN, EVAN$1,000
    • TANGULER, TOLGA$1,000
    • RILEY, KRISTIN$250
    • MILLER, KATHERINE$100
  • from 6 contributions
    • TYLER, MICHAEL$1,000
    • HILTON, COLLEEN$350
    • NICHOLS, APRIL$250
    • SAUCIER, EMILY$250
    • STONE, DEBORAH$250

Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.

Introduction

Moderate61.6%
Pages: 679-681

— 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.

Introduction

Moderate61.6%
Pages: 679-681

— 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,

About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text. A score of 60% or higher indicates meaningful thematic overlap. This does not imply direct causation or intent, but highlights areas where legislation aligns with Project 2025 policy objectives.

Full Policy Text

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