WASHINGTON \u2014 In between two weeks of debate over the annual defense authorization bill, House lawmakers will vote on a similar veterans omnibus measure this week which would have wide-ranging impact on that population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
House leadership will bring up the VA MISSION Act this week, which includes a community care overhaul for the Department of Veterans Affairs, an extension of veterans caregivers stipends, and plans for a asset review of VA facilities throughout the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The measure is expected to pass and be taken up by the Senate in coming days as well. If lawmakers can\u2019t pass the measure by the end of the month, it could jeopardize tens of thousands of veterans medical appointments whose funding is expected to run out in coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The veterans omnibus measure could be the most comprehensive bill the House considers until a full chamber vote on the defense authorization bill, which passed out of the House Armed Services Committee last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTuesday, May 15<\/strong> Defense and veterans hearings on Capitol Hill for the week of May 14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":78467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":38,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[38,106,31,33,9],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3294],"class_list":["post-26906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-newsletters","category-federal-oversight"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"IV45DRVLFJGG5IDBSA6LNSMTNU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/05\/13\/this-week-in-congress-major-vets-legislation-on-the-move\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n
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\nSenate Select Intelligence \u2014 9:30 a.m. \u2014 Dirksen 106
\nNominations<\/i>
\nThe committee will consider the nomination of William Evanina to be director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.
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\nSenate Appropriations \u2014 10 a.m. \u2014 Dirksen 192
\nArmy budget<\/i>
\nCommittee members will hear from Army officials on the fiscal 2019 budget request.
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\nWednesday, May 16<\/strong>
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\nHouse Veterans’ Affairs \u2014 10 a.m. \u2014 Cannon 334
\nMembers\u2019 views<\/i>
\nThe committee will hear from fellow House members on their priorities for Veterans Affairs policies for fiscal 2019.
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\nSenate Foreign Relations \u2014 10 a.m. \u2014 Dirksen 419
\nAUMF debate<\/i>
\nThe committee will hear from outside experts on a proposal for a new military force authorization for the fight against ISIS.
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\nSenate Commerce and Science \u2014 2:30 p.m. \u2014 Russell 253
\nInternational Space Station <\/i>
\nThe committee will hear from outside officials on the future of the International Space Station.
\n
\nSenate Appropriations \u2014 2:30 p.m. \u2014 Dirksen 192
\nDrug interdiction<\/i>
\nHomeland Security officials will testify before the committee on drug enforcement activities and national security ramifications.
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\nThursday, May 17<\/strong>
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\nHouse Select Intelligence \u2014 9 a.m. \u2014 TBA
\nChinese military expansion<\/i>
\nThe committee will hear from outside experts on national security threats posed by recent Chinese military moves.
\n
\nHouse Veterans’ Affairs \u2014 10 a.m. \u2014 Cannon 334
\nVA health research<\/i>
\nThe subcommittee on oversight and investigations will hear from department officials on recent advances in health research.
\n
\nSenate Appropriations \u2014 10 a.m. \u2014 Dirksen 192
\nAir Force budget<\/i>
\nCommittee members will hear from Air Force officials on the fiscal 2019 budget request.
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\nHouse Veterans’ Affairs \u2014 2 p.m. \u2014 Cannon 334
\nVA employment program<\/i>
\nThe committee will hear from department officials on their vocational rehabilitation and employment programs.
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