House passes Kiggans’ bill to support veterans’ caregivers
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Monday intended to help veterans’ caregivers.
The Caregiver Outreach and Program Enhancement Act would establish grants within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for entities that provide family caregivers with mental health support. The bipartisan bill was introduced by Reps. Jen Kiggans and Chrissy Houlahan.
“Improving the lives of our nation’s heroes is one of my top priorities in Congress,” Kiggans, a Republican representing Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, said in a Monday statement. “With the passage of my COPE Act today, we are taking several important steps to ensure our veterans are receiving the quality healthcare they have earned and deserve in a safe environment.”
This marks the first time a bill from Kiggans has passed the House since her election in 2022. The congresswoman is a geriatric nurse practitioner and Navy veteran.
The bill, which passed by a voice vote, would authorize $50 million each year for fiscal years 2024 through 2026 for grants that could be used to expand existing services or to create new programs.
Grant applications would be given priority if they would support a population that has a high rate of veteran suicides or a large number of referrals to the Veterans Crisis Line.
In a Monday news release, Houlahan said caregivers face many challenges.
“These family caregivers often require support of their own to perform what can be a physically, emotionally and mentally taxing job of veteran caregiving,” said Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat. “The (grant) program will provide counseling, treatment, and other support to benefit veterans and their families.”
Legislation would still have to pass the Senate, but the House version received bipartisan support.
Within a year of its enactment, the bill would also require the comptroller general to submit to a report to the House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs that assessed the status of mental health care support for caregivers.
The measure has received an endorsement from the AARP. In an open letter July 12, Bill Sweeney, senior vice president of government affairs, said there are an estimated 5.5 million military caregivers nationwide.
“They need and deserve our support,” Sweeney wrote in the letter, which was addressed to Kiggans and Houlahan. “By providing grants to organizations focused on improving mental health outcomes of caregivers, the bill will provide community based care to areas with high populations of military and veteran caregivers, areas with high rates of suicide among veterans, and other underserved military and veteran communities.”
About 12.5% of Hampton Roads’ residents identified themselves as a military veteran, the United States Census Bureau reported in 2021.