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Read. Follow. Verify.The RECOVER Act: New Mental Health Grant Program for Veterans
Last action · May 14, 2026: Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 14 - 8.Sponsors: Mike Bost and 5 others
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What This Bill Would Do
The RECOVER Act proposes a three-year pilot program where the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would provide grants to non-profit, outpatient mental health facilities. These facilities would use the funds to provide specialized mental health care to veterans and help them enroll in the VA healthcare system.
This bill would authorize $20 million annually from 2025 to 2027 to expand mental health access for veterans through private, non-profit clinics, potentially changing how and where veterans receive care outside of traditional VA facilities.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Veterans
Veterans would gain access to additional mental health care providers and assistance with enrolling in the VA healthcare system.
Non-profit mental health facilities
These organizations may apply for federal grants to expand their capacity to serve veterans, provided they meet specific training and reporting requirements.
Department of Veterans Affairs
The agency is tasked with establishing the pilot program, setting training requirements, distributing funds, and reporting results to Congress.
Key Facts
- Authorizes $20 million in annual appropriations for fiscal years 2025 through 2027 to fund the pilot program.
- Establishes a three-year pilot program for grants to non-profit outpatient mental health facilities.
- Limits individual facility grants to a maximum of $1.5 million per fiscal year.
- Requires grant recipients to provide mental health care to veterans at no cost to the veteran.
Show all 11 facts
- Prohibits grant recipients from refusing care based on a veteran's lack of insurance or government program eligibility.
- Mandates that grant recipients must be non-profit organizations that have operated for at least three years.
- Requires at least one clinician at each funded facility to be trained in culturally competent veteran mental health care.
- Directs the VA to distribute grants evenly between rural and urban areas.
- Allows the VA to prioritize facilities in medically underserved areas, areas with large veteran populations, or areas with high suicide risk.
- Requires grant recipients to demonstrate clinical outcomes and provide data on the use of funds.
- Requires the VA to submit a report to Congress within 180 days after the program ends, detailing outcomes, demographics, and veteran enrollment in the VA system.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will veterans have to pay for mental health services under this program?
Which organizations are eligible to apply for these grants?
Does this program replace VA healthcare?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
8 actions- May 14, 2026HouseCommitteeOrdered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 14 - 8.
- May 14, 2026HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Apr 16, 2026HouseForwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- Apr 16, 2026HouseSubcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Jan 13, 2026HouseSubcommittee Hearings Held
- Mar 26, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Show 2 earlier actions
- Mar 24, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- Mar 24, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
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Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Integration of Private and VA Care
The bill explicitly mandates that grant recipients must encourage veterans to enroll in the VA's own patient enrollment system, signaling a policy focus on using private facilities as a bridge to the VA system rather than a total replacement.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.congress.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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