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Creates federal actions to expand mental health care and supports for veterans who are incarcerated, require the VA and Bureau of Prisons to create veteran-focused housing and treatment programs, and mandate data collection and reporting on incarcerated veterans. It also directs the VA to automatically resume certain benefit payments when a veteran is released from incarceration. Establishes a VA pilot to deliver no‑copay mental health care to incarcerated veterans (with telehealth or mobile units where needed), requires the Bureau of Prisons to set up veteran housing or veteran-focused programs, adds recurring federal data collection and annual reporting on incarcerated veterans, and sets an effective date for automatic resumption of VA compensation benefits 180 days after enactment.
The bill expands and expedites VA mental‑health care and benefit resumption for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated veterans — improving access, housing stability, and data for policymaking — while increasing federal and corrections costs, administrative complexity, and privacy/implementation risks that could leave some veterans underserved.
Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated veterans gain expanded access to tailored VA mental‑health, rehabilitation, and peer‑support services through a pilot program, dedicated housing/units, telemental/mobile Vet Center options, and coordinated correctional‑staff training.
Veterans released from incarceration have VA compensation automatically resumed immediately on release, restoring income and improving housing stability for many, which can reduce homelessness and short‑term financial crisis.
Automatic resumption of benefits and reduced re‑enrollment steps cut paperwork and VA/staff time, simplifying reentry for veterans and lowering administrative barriers to receiving benefits.
The bill will increase near‑term federal and corrections costs and administrative burdens — funding pilot hubs, dedicated housing units, staff training, automatic benefit resumption, and annual reporting will raise VA/BOP/state workload and taxpayer outlays.
Limited scale and unclear rollout/funding (e.g., pilot only in at least five facilities, no deadlines) means many incarcerated veterans may remain without services for extended periods.
Restricting care to VA providers and barring participating providers from performing disability claim assessments could delay access to care, reduce scalability where VA staffing is limited, and force veterans to seek separate evaluations.
Introduced March 23, 2026 by Angus Stanley King · Last progress March 23, 2026