Sponsors (14)
Want my take on what this bill would do?
This is not an official government website.
Copyright © 2026 PLEJ LC. All rights reserved.
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to assess and update how it handles military sexual trauma (MST) in the digital age, improve accuracy and reprocessing of MST-related disability claims, create a medical-exam quality workgroup, and expand and clarify access to MST-related care and records. Deadline-driven actions include a VA report within one year, annual special-focus reviews of claim processing with required reprocessing for errors, and a 14-day outreach requirement to veterans who file MST-related claims.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs must submit to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans’ Affairs a report on military sexual trauma in the digital age not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act.
The required report must include a comprehensive evaluation and assessment of current Department of Veterans Affairs statutes, regulations, and agency guidance relating to military sexual trauma for the purposes of access to health care under title 38, United States Code, and compensation under chapter 11 of such title.
As part of that evaluation, the report must identify gaps in coverage for health care and compensation eligibility relating to military sexual trauma involving online or other technological communications.
As part of that evaluation, the report must assess the feasibility and advisability of expanding health care and compensation to cover trauma that is nonsexual in nature when involving online or other technological communications.
The report must include recommendations for revising statutes, regulations, and agency guidance in response to the evaluation and assessment described above.
Amends 38 U.S.C. 1720D by revising subsection (a) (including replacing language in paragraph (1) with 'military sexual trauma' and modifying paragraph (2)(A)) and by striking subsections (f) and (g) and inserting a new subsection (f) that provides definitions for 'former member of the Armed Forces', 'military sexual trauma', and 'sexual harassment', and references section 5303 and section 12323 of title 10.
Adds new section 1166A to chapter 11 of title 38 (Evaluation of claims involving military sexual trauma), establishing evidentiary considerations (diagnosis by a mental health professional; medical link to current symptoms; credible corroborating evidence), examples of corroborating evidence, behavioral change evidence, notice/opportunity to supply evidence, requirement to submit evidence for professional opinion, point of contact, processing by specialized teams, and definitions.
Primary direct beneficiaries are veterans and current service members affected by military sexual trauma, who should see clearer eligibility definitions, faster outreach, and potentially improved access to care and corrected compensation decisions. The annual special-focus reviews and mandatory reprocessing aim to reduce wrongful denials and correct past errors, benefiting claimants already in the system. The VA will face added administrative and oversight duties: conducting the report, performing annual focused reviews, reprocessing claims when errors are found, maintaining the medical-exam workgroup, and implementing the 14-day outreach and records-sharing requirements. That will increase workload for claims processors, adjudicators, records staff, and medical examiners; absent explicit additional funding, VA may need to reallocate existing resources or seek appropriations. Veterans service organizations and other stakeholders will be formally consulted on the report, which may influence future policy and rulemaking. For service academy students who leave before completing training, the changes improve access to care and records transfer, potentially easing transitions to VA care. Overall, the bill is intended to improve accuracy, timeliness, and trauma-informed practices in MST-related care and benefits, while imposing operational tasks on VA to implement those safeguards.
Expand sections to see detailed analysis
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced April 1, 2025 by Richard Blumenthal · Last progress April 1, 2025
Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in Senate