PVA to push priority legislation in early June
Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) chapter leaders and members will meet with congressional leaders in Washington, D.C., during the second week of June in the hopes of inspiring forward movement on several pieces of legislation that directly affect veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D).
Among the bills to be discussed:
S. 3647, the Disabled Veterans Dignity Act, which seeks to develop a permanent Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) bowel and bladder care program for veterans with SCI/D.
H.R. 1685/S. 749, the Justice for ALS Veterans Act, which is designed to ensure increased benefits for surviving spouses of veterans who died from service-related amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The disease’s progress is sometimes too quick for spouses to qualify for the Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) “kicker” benefit.
H.R. 6835/S. 3988, the Veterans Spinal Trauma Access to New Devices (STAND) Act, which would ensure consistent and all-inclusive health evaluations for veterans with SCI/D and consideration for new treatments with the potential to enhance their quality of life.
Veterans Benefit Expansion Act passes the House
On May 21, H.R. 6047, the Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act, to modernize Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) rates among severely disabled veterans, as well as better DIC benefits for surviving family members, officially passed the House with PVA in attendance. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Transportation reauthorization bill advanced by House T&I committee
On May 22, the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) advanced the markup of the Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America’s 250th Act (BUILD America 250 Act). The bipartisan bill seeks a five-year surface transportation reauthorization, and several sections of it deal with provisions for increased accessibility for people with disabilities. For instance, wheelchair users would benefit from the permanent authorization of the All Stations Accessibility Program, which would add the potential for competitive federal grants to support access to legacy rail fixed guideway public transportation systems.
Discharge petition filed to force vote on Major Richard Star Act
House VA Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) on May 21 announced the filing of a discharge petition intended to force the House to vote on the Major Richard Star Act (H.R. 2102). The act seeks to remove the offset that over 50,000 medically retired and combat-injured veterans are asked to forfeit from their earned retirement pay in exchange for VA disability compensation. Separate sections of the bill also call for projects that improve access to VA facilities or any organization or facility using VA funding to provide services to veterans, as well as a potential study of autonomous vehicle accessibility and a provision focused on transit agencies improving accessibility for wheelchair users. The discharge position currently has 157 of the necessary 218 signatures needed to bring the bill to the floor.
Act seeks to research potential of wheelchair securement systems in AVs
While it doesn’t propose a requirement for wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicles (AV), a bill concerning AVs that was moved forward on May 21 by the House Committee on Energy & Commerce (E&C) includes the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026 (H.R. 7389), which calls for a study on automated wheelchair securement systems. Systems like these could potentially be used to allow wheelchair users to independently operate autonomous vehicles. Under the bill, the U.S. Department of Transportation would be required to submit a report within three years analyzing the possibility of incorporating automated wheelchair securement systems into AVs.
