TRAVEL Act of 2025

What this does

This bill lets the Department of Veterans Affairs send its own physicians to work in US territories. It adds a new section 7415 to title 38 authorizing the VA Secretary to assign a VA physician to serve as a traveling physician for up to one year at a time, providing care to veterans in American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or any other US territory or possession. Those physicians must coordinate with non-VA providers where practicable. On top of their regular pay, the Secretary must give each one a relocation or retention bonus. The same bill also extends a separate deadline: it moves the expiration of a limit on veterans' pension payments from November 30, 2031 to December 31, 2032.

House vote · 371-21

Democrats195–0

Republicans176–21

Independents0–0

How we know · 6 sourced claims

The bill authorizes the VA Secretary to assign a VA physician to serve as a traveling physician for a period of not more than one year at a time.Source: Sec. 2, new 38 U.S.C. 7415(a)(1): "The Secretary may assign a physician appointed under section 7401 or section 7431 of this title to serve as a traveling physician for a period of not more than one year at a time."
Traveling physicians may be assigned to provide care to veterans in American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or any other US territory or possession.Source: Sec. 2, new 38 U.S.C. 7415(a)(1): names "American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, or any other territory or possession of the United States."
Traveling physicians must coordinate with non-VA medical providers to the extent practicable.Source: Sec. 2, new 38 U.S.C. 7415(b) (Coordination of care): "traveling physicians shall coordinate with non-Department medical providers to the extent practicable and necessary."
On top of regular pay, the Secretary must provide each traveling physician a relocation or retention bonus.Source: Sec. 2, new 38 U.S.C. 7415(c) (Pay): "In addition to pay under section 7431 of this title, the Secretary shall provide a relocation or retention bonus to traveling physicians under this section."
The bill also extends the expiration of a limit on veterans' pension payments from November 30, 2031 to December 31, 2032.Source: Sec. 3 (Extension of certain limits on payments of pension): "Section 5503(d)(7) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking November 30, 2031 and inserting December 31, 2032."
The bill carries two distinct subjects: the traveling-physician program and a separate pension-limit date extension.Source: Sec. 2 creates the traveling-physician program; Sec. 3 separately amends the pension-payment-limit sunset in 38 U.S.C. 5503(d)(7). Two different operative subjects in one bill.

Read the bill on congress.gov ↗

Your representatives

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House roll call

The full roll call

R173–21D192–0I1–0

Position

Party

State

Republicans

215

Democrats

209

Independents

YeaKevin KileyCA · District 3