HERO Act
Sponsored By: Representative Rep. Issa, Darrell [R-CA-48]
Introduced
Summary
Creates a federal private right of action letting service members sue the United States for negligent or wrongful medical, dental, or related health care at covered military medical treatment facilities. It also blocks offsets to damage awards by VA benefits and Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance and sets filing deadlines for claims.
Show full summary
- Members of the uniformed services and qualifying reservists would be able to sue the United States for negligent or wrongful care received at covered military medical treatment facilities. Claims generally must be filed within 10 years after the claimant discovered the injury and cause.
- The suit would be brought only against the United States, which prevents separate civil actions against the individual employee whose act or omission gave rise to the claim.
- Awards would not be reduced by Department of Veterans Affairs benefits or Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance payments. The bill treats foreign acts' applicable law as the claimant's domicile law and requires the Attorney General to report to Congress on claims every 2 years starting within 2 years of enactment.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
New malpractice claims for service members
This bill would let service members sue the United States for money damages. The claim would cover negligent or wrongful medical, dental, or related care at covered military medical treatment facilities. Claims would be the exclusive civil remedy against the employee whose act caused the injury. Damages could not be reduced by VA benefits or Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance. You would generally have up to 10 years from when you discovered the injury and its cause to file. Reserve members could sue only if the injury happened while on active service. For care that happened overseas, the law of the claimant's State of domicile would apply. The bill would repeal the existing administrative claims route under 10 U.S.C. 2733a. The Attorney General would report to Congress every two years on the number of claims filed.
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Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Rep. Issa, Darrell [R-CA-48]
CA • R
Cosponsors
Hudson
NC • R
Sponsored 12/16/2025
Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19]
CA • D
Sponsored 12/16/2025
Rep. Davis, Donald G. [D-NC-1]
NC • D
Sponsored 1/6/2026
Rep. Harder, Josh [D-CA-9]
CA • D
Sponsored 1/7/2026
Rep. Bishop, Sanford D., Jr. [D-GA-2]
GA • D
Sponsored 1/9/2026
Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2]
CO • D
Sponsored 1/9/2026
Bergman
MI • R
Sponsored 1/21/2026
Rutherford
FL • R
Sponsored 1/22/2026
Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-HI-2]
HI • D
Sponsored 1/22/2026
Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1]
NV • D
Sponsored 1/22/2026
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 2/2/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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