DRIVE Act of 2025
The DRIVE Act of 2025 would change how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reimburses veterans for mileage when using its Beneficiary Travel program to get health care. It would require the VA to pay a minimum mileage reimbursement equal to or greater than the government-wide rate used for privately owned vehicles when government transportation is not available, as set by the General Services Administration (GSA) under 5 U.S.C. 5707(b). The bill also adds a requirement that, if the VA pays these travel allowances in a given fiscal year, the agency must issue the payments within 90 days after a properly submitted claim. Additionally, the bill updates statutory language to reference the rate “determined in accordance with” the GSA rate rather than a fixed rate and removes an existing cross-reference that could hinder timely payments. The overall aim is to increase travel reimbursements for health-related veteran travel and ensure quicker payment processing.
Key Points
- 1Raises the mileage reimbursement for VA Beneficiary Travel to at least the government-wide rate for privately owned vehicles used on official business when no government vehicle is available, as set by the GSA (5 U.S.C. 5707(b)).
- 2Replaces a fixed mileage rate in law with a rate “determined in accordance with subsection (g)” to tie VA reimbursements to the GSA rate.
- 3Adds a new requirement that, if the VA makes travel payments in a fiscal year, it must ensure that such allowances are paid within 90 days after a properly submitted request.
- 4Makes conforming amendments to align VA travel payment provisions with the new rate structure (removing references that would otherwise undermine the updated mechanism).
- 5The bill is titled the Driver Reimbursement Increase for Veteran Equity Act of 2025 (DRIVE Act of 2025).