Veteran Caregiver Reeducation, Reemployment, and Retirement Act

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Bill ID: 119/s/879
Last Updated: June 17, 2026

Sponsored by

Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]

ID: M000934

Follow the money

The bill

Veteran Caregiver Reeducation, Reemployment, and Retirement Act

S. 879, 119th Congress — read as touching Hospitals & Health Systems.

The sponsor

Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]

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

The money

$81,200 raised

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

The alignment

72% 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. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.

July 29, 2025

Introduced

Committee Review

Floor Action

📍 Current Status

Next: The full Senate will vote on whether to pass the bill.

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 exercise in legislative theater, courtesy of Senators Moran and Hirono. Let's dissect this farce, shall we?

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The Veteran Caregiver Reeducation, Reemployment, and Retirement Act (S 879) claims to expand medical, employment, and other benefits for family caregivers of certain veterans. How noble. In reality, it's a Band-Aid on a bullet wound, designed to appease the vocal veteran lobby while doing little to address the systemic issues plaguing our veterans' care system.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill makes several changes to existing law, including:

* Extending medical care coverage for caregivers designated as primary providers of personal care services for veterans * Providing employment assistance, such as reimbursement for certification fees and access to training modules * Expanding available services, including bereavement counseling and support * Conducting studies on the feasibility of returnship programs and incorporating former caregivers into the Department of Veterans Affairs workforce

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects:

* Family caregivers of veterans (the supposed beneficiaries) * The Department of Veterans Affairs (which will be tasked with implementing these changes) * Lobbyists for veteran organizations (who will no doubt claim victory, despite the bill's shortcomings)

**Potential Impact & Implications:**

This bill is a classic example of "legislative lip service." It promises much but delivers little. The expanded benefits and services are mere token gestures, designed to placate the vocal veteran lobby without addressing the underlying issues.

The real impact will be felt by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which will be tasked with implementing these changes on top of its already strained resources. Expect bureaucratic delays, inefficiencies, and a lack of meaningful support for those who truly need it – the veterans themselves.

Meanwhile, lobbyists and politicians will tout this bill as a victory, patting themselves on the back for "supporting our troops." The reality is that they're merely treating symptoms rather than addressing the disease. Our veterans deserve better than this shallow attempt at reform.

Diagnosis: Legislative Theater-itis, a chronic condition characterized by empty promises, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and a complete lack of meaningful action. Prognosis: Poor.

Related Topics

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

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$81,200
17 donors
PACs
$0
Organizations
$0
Committees
$0
Individuals
$81,200

No PAC contributions found

No organization contributions found

No committee contributions found

1
BORCK, LEON H.
1 transaction
$6,600
2
MANDELBLATT, DANIELLE
1 transaction
$6,600
3
MANDELBLATT, ERIC
1 transaction
$6,600
4
BORCK, JACKIE
2 transactions
$6,600
5
DWYER, JOHN W
2 transactions
$6,600
6
DWYER, NANCY E
2 transactions
$6,600
7
CATZ, SAFRA
1 transaction
$5,000
8
MISSION INDIANS, MORONGO BAND OF
1 transaction
$5,000
9
WILLIS, THOMAS M
1 transaction
$5,000
10
WEILERT, STANLEY R
1 transaction
$3,500
11
THOMAS, ROBERT
1 transaction
$3,300
12
LEPRINO, TERRY L
1 transaction
$3,300
13
POTAWATOMI NATION, PRAIRIE BAND
1 transaction
$3,300
14
BUKOWSKY, BROCK
1 transaction
$3,300
15
OF CREEK INDIANS, POARCH BAND
1 transaction
$3,300
16
BRIGHT, JOHN
1 transaction
$3,300
17
HEMMER, THOMAS
1 transaction
$3,300

Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance

This bill has 5 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.

Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]

ID: H001042

Top Contributors

10

1
TUNICA-BILOXI TRIBE OF LA
OrganizationMARKSVILLE, LA
$3,300
Jun 15, 2023
2
CHEROKEE NATION
OrganizationTAHLEQUAH, OK
$2,500
Dec 30, 2023
3
THE CHICKASAW NATION
OrganizationADA, OK
$2,500
Nov 1, 2023
4
MS BAND OF CHOCTAW INDIANS
OrganizationCHOCTAW, MS
$2,000
Jul 7, 2023
5
TUNICA-BILOXI TRIBE OF LA
OrganizationMARKSVILLE, LA
$1,700
Jun 15, 2023
6
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
OrganizationATMORE, AL
$1,000
May 23, 2024
7
THE CHICKASAW NATION
OrganizationADA, OK
$800
Nov 1, 2023
8
TONIO BURGOS & ASSOCIATES OF NEW JERSEY, LLC
OrganizationNEW YORK, NY
$500
May 18, 2023
9
CHUAN, JOHANNA
NOT EMPLOYEDNOT EMPLOYED
IndividualHONOLULU, HI
$3,400
Jun 9, 2024
10
MINATOISHI, LORRAINE REIKO
AEPACPRESIDENT AND FOUNDER
IndividualHONOLULU, HI
$3,300
Oct 21, 2024

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. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]

ID: H001076

Top Contributors

10

1
WOODS, ANDREW L.
LIBERTY PARTNERS GROUPATTORNEY
IndividualFORT MYERS, FL
$4,300
Jun 29, 2023
2
WOODS, ANDREW L.
IndividualFORT MYERS, FL
$3,900
Jul 12, 2023
3
BEKENSTEIN, ANITA
NOT EMPLOYEDNOT EMPLOYED
IndividualWAYLAND, MA
$3,300
Oct 4, 2023
4
BEKENSTEIN, JOSH
NOT EMPLOYEDRETIRED
IndividualWAYLAND, MA
$3,300
Oct 4, 2023
5
HUNTER, DANIEL
SELF-EMPLOYEDPLAYWRIGHT & TEACHER
IndividualCAMBRIDGE, MA
$3,300
Dec 6, 2023
6
KLARMAN, SETH
THE BAUPOST GROUPCEO
IndividualBOSTON, MA
$3,300
Dec 18, 2023
7
SCHWARTZ, GABRIEL
DAVIDSON KEMPNERINVESTMENT MANAGER
IndividualBROOKLYN, NY
$3,300
Oct 16, 2023
8
SWINDELL, C. DAVID
NOT EMPLOYEDNOT EMPLOYED
IndividualBOSTON, MA
$3,300
Oct 10, 2023
9
KORN, WILLIAM T.
NSRARADIOLOGIST
IndividualWABAN, MA
$3,300
Mar 29, 2023
10
KORN, WILLIAM T.
NSRARADIOLOGIST
IndividualWABAN, MA
$3,300
Mar 29, 2023

Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO]

ID: H000273

Top Contributors

10

1
THE CHICKASAW NATION
OrganizationADA, OK
$1,300
Dec 12, 2023
2
THE CHICKASAW NATION
OrganizationADA, OK
$1,200
Dec 12, 2023
3
THE CHICKASAW NATION
OrganizationADA, OK
$900
Dec 31, 2023
4
ALLHASSANI, MEHDI
PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIESOPERATIONS
IndividualPALO ALTO, CA
$3,300
Nov 25, 2023
5
SANKAR, SHYAM
PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIESDIRECTOR
IndividualGREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO
$3,300
Nov 25, 2023
6
CARSON, RUSSELL
NOT EMPLOYEDNOT EMPLOYED
IndividualNEW YORK, NY
$3,300
Nov 17, 2023
7
SANKAR, SHYAM
PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIESDIRECTOR
IndividualGREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO
$3,300
Nov 25, 2023
8
CARSON, RUSSELL
NOT EMPLOYEDNOT EMPLOYED
IndividualNEW YORK, NY
$3,300
Nov 17, 2023
9
GATES, WILLIAM H. III
BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATIONPHILANTHROPIST
IndividualREDMOND, WA
$3,300
Oct 19, 2023
10
JAIN, AKASH
PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIESEXECUTIVE
IndividualOAKLAND, CA
$3,300
Nov 26, 2023

Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD]

ID: A000382

Top Contributors

10

1
FRIENDS OF JHEANELLE WILKINS
COMSILVER SPRING, MD
$500
Sep 30, 2023
2
FRIENDS OF DIANA FENNELL
COMBRENTWOOD, MD
$250
Sep 21, 2023
3
FRIENDS OF MAHASIN AMIN
COMFORT WASHINGTON, MD
$110
Aug 22, 2023
4
CHEROKEE NATION
OrganizationTAHLEQUAH, OK
$3,300
Dec 13, 2023
5
LAKEWOOD HEALTHCARE ASSOC LLC
OrganizationWOODBINE, MD
$3,300
Sep 7, 2023
6
TYSON PROJECT MANAGEMENT GROUP LLC
OrganizationWASHINGTON, DC
$2,500
Jun 25, 2023
7
MASTER PRODUCTIONS, LLC.
OrganizationBOWIE, MD
$250
Sep 14, 2023
8
ADOLPH, GWENDOLYN
NOT EMPLOYEDNOT EMPLOYED
IndividualNEW ROCHELLE, NY
$6,600
Oct 23, 2023
9
THOMAS, TORI
IndividualMCLEAN, VA
$5,800
Aug 2, 2024
10
JAMAR, STEVEN
IndividualCOLUMBIA, MD
$3,700
Oct 23, 2024

Donor Network - Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

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

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Showing 62 nodes and 35 connections (46 secondary connections hidden)

Total contributions: $107,760

Top Donors - Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]

Showing top 17 donors by contribution amount

17 Individuals

Industry Impact

Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 3 helped, 1 harmed.

  • Section 2(a) extends medical care coverage for caregivers designated as primary providers for veterans, including during the 180-day period following removal of designation, which would increase utilization of medical services provided by hospitals and health systems.

  • Health Insuranceconfidence 0.85

    Section 2(b)(4) states that an individual is not eligible for medical care under this section during the 180-day period if entitled to hospital insurance benefits under Medicare Part A, which reduces potential overlap and could decrease demand for private health insurance supplemental coverage for caregivers.

  • Section 3(a)(e)(1)(A) provides reimbursement of fees associated with certifications or relicensure necessary for employment, up to $1,000 lifetime, which could benefit for-profit education providers offering such certifications or training programs.

  • +Labor Unionsconfidence 0.75

    Section 3 includes employment assistance, training modules, and workforce transition support for caregivers, which could increase participation in or support for labor union programs related to workforce re-entry and training.

Project 2025 Policy Matches

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

Introduction

High72.3%
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

High72.3%
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,

Introduction

Moderate62.9%
Pages: 676-678

— 644 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise In sum, the VA for the foreseeable future will experience significant fiscal, human capital, and infrastructure crosswinds and risks. Budgets are at historic highs, and with a workforce now above 400,000, the VA is contending with a lack of new veteran enrollees to offset the declining population of older veterans. Recruitment of medical and benefits personnel has become more challenging. Veterans are migrating from the northern states to the southern and western states for retirement and employment. Meanwhile, VA information technol- ogy (IT) is struggling to keep pace with the evolution of patient care and record keeping. Consequently, VA leaders in the next Administration must be wise and courageous political strategists, experienced managers to run day-to-day oper- ations more effectively, innovators to address the changing veteran landscape, and agile “fixers” to mitigate and repair systemic problems created or ignored by the present leadership team. VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) Needed Reforms l Rescind all departmental clinical policy directives that are contrary to principles of conservative governance starting with abortion services and gender reassignment surgery. Neither aligns with service-connected conditions that would warrant VA’s providing this type of clinical care, and both follow the Left’s pernicious trend of abusing the role of government to further its own agenda. l Focus on the effects of shifting veteran demographics. At least during the next decade, the VA will experience a significant generational shift in its overall patient population. Of the approximately 18 million veterans alive today, roughly 9.1 million are enrolled for VA health care, and 6.4 million of these enrollees use VA health care consistently. These 6.4 million veterans are split almost evenly between those who are over age 65 and those who are under age 65, but the share of VA’s health care dollars is spent predominantly in the over-65 cohort. That share increases significantly as veterans live longer and use the VHA system at a higher rate. VHA enrollments of new users are increasingly at risk of being exceeded by the deaths of current enrollees, primarily because significant numbers of the Vietnam generation are reaching their life expectancy. The generational transition from Vietnam-era veterans to post-9/11 veterans will take several years to complete. The ongoing demographic transition is a catalyst for needed assessments of how the VA can improve the delivery of care to a numerically declining and differently dispersed national population — 645 — Department of Veterans Affairs of veterans—a population that is more active, reaching middle age or retirement age, and migrating for lifestyle and career reasons. At the center of the VHA’s evolution during this generational transition is an ongoing tension, some of it politically contrived, between Direct Care for Veterans provided from inside the VHA system and Community Care for Veterans who are referred to private providers participating in the VHA’s two Community Care Networks (CCNs). In recent years, the budget for Community Care has grown as demand from veterans has risen sharply, sometimes outpacing the budgets for Community Care at individual VAMCs. The Trump Administration made Community Care part of its “Veteran- centric” approach to ensure that veterans would be able to participate more fully in their health care decisions and have options if or when the VHA was unable to meet their needs. The Biden Administration has watered down that effort, has sought various procedural ways to slow the rate of referrals to private doctors, and at some facilities is reportedly manipulating the Community Care access standards required by the VA MISSION Act of 2018. If the makeup of Congress is favorable in 2025, the next Administration should rapidly and explicitly codify VA MISSION Act access standards in legislation to prevent the VA from avoiding or watering down the requirements in the future. First and foremost, a veterans bill of rights is needed so that veterans and VA staff know exactly what benefits veterans are entitled to receive, with a clear process for the adjudication of disputes, and so that staff ensure that all veterans are informed of their eligibility for Community Care. Currently, veterans are not routinely and consistently told that they are eligible for Community Care unless they request information or are given a referral. l To strengthen Community Care, the next Administration should create new Secretarial directives to implement the VA MISSION Act properly. Sections for consideration and areas for reform include the following: 1. Sections 101 and 103 (Community Care eligibility for access standards and the best medical interest of the veteran). 2. Section 104 (Community Care access standards and standards for quality of care).

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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.

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