VA Extenders Act of 2025
The VA Extenders Act of 2025, introduced by Representative Barrett on September 17, 2025, would extend a broad set of authorities and requirements governing health care and benefits provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Rather than creating new programs, the bill renews and prolongs existing authorities that are set to expire in 2025, pushing many dates to September 30, 2026. It covers health care copayment collections, nursing home care for certain veterans, suicide prevention grants, and rural access funding, as well as various benefits, housing programs, and other VA authorities. The bill also includes substantial updates to the Partial Claim Program (a housing loss-mitigation tool), plus new and extended reporting and oversight requirements, including additional GAO reviews and annual compliance reports. In short, the bill is a omnibus set of “sunset extenders” intended to maintain continuity of VA programs and practices through 2026, while also making targeted administrative adjustments to program operations and oversight.
Key Points
- 1Extends health care authorities through 9/30/2026:
- 2- Extends the VA’s authority to collect copayments for hospital and nursing home care.
- 3- Extends the requirement to provide nursing home care to certain veterans with service-connected disabilities.
- 4- Extends the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program.
- 5- Extends funding for expansion of the Rural Access Network for Growth Enhancement Program.
- 6Extends benefits-related authorities and processes through 2026:
- 7- Extends quarterly briefings on administration of toxic exposure presumptions.
- 8- Extends restoration of entitlement to educational assistance when educational institutions close or are disapproved.
- 9- Extends temporary licensure clarifications for contractor medical professionals performing VA disability exams (pilot program), and lengthens the extension from five years to six years.
- 10- Extends VA authority to maintain a regional office in the Republic of the Philippines.
- 11Housing programs extended/adjusted through 2026:
- 12- Extends appropriations for homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children reintegration grants.
- 13- Extends treatment and rehabilitation authority for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans.
- 14- Extends funding for supportive services for very low-income veteran families in permanent housing.
- 15- Extends funding for homeless veterans with special needs grants.
- 16- Extends housing assistance for specially adapted housing (including temporarily in family-owned housing) and assistive technology grants.
- 17- Extends improvements and GAO oversight of the Partial Claim Program, a VA housing loss-mitigation tool.
- 18Reforms and oversight related to the Partial Claim Program and related reporting:
- 19- Makes targeted technical changes to the Partial Claim Program’s administration and how loan debts are managed.
- 20- Expands and clarifies program terms, including the handling of defaults, recoveries, and non-judicial sales.
- 21- Requires annual GAO reports (and an assessment before the program terminates) on performance, borrower outcomes, costs, and comparisons to other loss-mitigation options.
- 22Other extensions and authorities:
- 23- Extends the Inspector General’s subpoena authority.
- 24- Extends annual reporting on the use of equitable relief authority.
- 25- Extends VA authority to transport individuals to and from VA facilities.
- 26- Extends vendee loan program provisions and real property transfer authorities.