Members unanimously advanced two Cramer bills to increase veteran access to suicide prevention services in unserved states and support rural veterans’ transportation to health care appointments. 

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC) held a markup today, which featured two pieces of legislation led by U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a member of the committee, to enhance rural veterans’ access to health care services. The committee advanced the bipartisan Supporting Rural Veterans Access to Healthcare Services Act, and language reflecting the Every State Counts for Veterans Mental Health Act, which will now advance to the Senate floor for consideration.

“It doesn’t matter where a veteran lives, every veteran has earned access to quality and timely health care,” said Cramer. “These bipartisan bills do a couple of things. The one ensures veterans across rural America, including North Dakota, can travel to their medical appointments, whether it’s in their community or at a VA facility. And then, it allows every veteran across the country to be able to receive suicide prevention support if they need it. It’s time to pass this measure on the Senate floor. I know it will pass easily; we just need our leadership to put it up.”

In April, Cramer and U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced the bipartisan Every State Counts for Veterans Mental Health Act to provide priority consideration of SSG Fox SPGP applications to entities in states like North Dakota and Delaware, which have not previously received an award. Entities in five other states have also never received suicide prevention grants. The language is included as part of the Helping Optimize Prevention and Engagement (HOPE) for Heroes Act, which reauthorizes the SSG Fox SPGP, and increases the grant funding available to entities providing mental health support to veterans. Additionally, Cramer included similar language improving access to suicide prevention services in the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations package to ensure North Dakota veterans receive suicide prevention support.

Cramer also passed the Supporting Rural Veterans Access to Healthcare Services Act out of committee. This bipartisan bill was introduced with U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) in March. This legislation would permanently reauthorize the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Highly Rural Transportation Grant (HRTG) Program, which provides free transportation services to VA-authorized healthcare appointments for veterans living in rural areas. It would also add Tribal Organizations and Veterans Service Organizations (VSO) as entities eligible to apply directly for the program and provide additional assistance for entities to purchase vehicles. Presently, 35 counties across North Dakota are served by the HRTG program, and this legislation ensures these essential transportation services will remain available for veterans while expanding access and resources for other veterans needing transportation services.

During the markup, members of SVAC also passed two pieces of legislation cosponsored by Cramer. The Service Dogs Assisting Veterans (SAVES) Act would establish a program to award grants to nonprofit organizations and assist them in providing service dogs to eligible veterans. This legislation builds on the Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) for Veterans Therapy Act, a bipartisan bill Cramer introduced along with U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), which authorized a pilot program to connect service dogs with veterans experiencing mental illnesses and was signed into law in 2021. Upon the passage of PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act in 2021, Cramer visited Service Dogs for America, an accredited nonprofit trainer of service dogs in Jud, N.D.

The other legislation is the Veterans Cost of Living Adjustment Act, which would require the VA to provide a cost-of-living adjustment to increase the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities. It would also raise the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans.