Get Justice-Involved Veterans BACK HOME Act
Sponsored By: Senator Angus King
Introduced
Summary
This bill would create a VA-run pilot to deliver specialized mental health care to incarcerated veterans, while adding veteran housing in prisons, assuring benefit continuity at release, and improving data on veteran incarceration.
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- Veterans: It would fund VA mental health care for incarcerated veterans with priority for service-connected PTSD, traumatic brain injury, or military sexual trauma, require care by VA providers only, and bar copayments. Services may be delivered by telemental health or VA mobile units and must run in at least five facilities.
- Prisons and staff: It would require the Bureau of Prisons to create dedicated veteran housing units where feasible and to coordinate training and resources with VA. If housing units are not feasible the bureau must run structured veteran-focused programs with VA oversight.
- Benefits and oversight: It would automatically resume VA compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) payments on an individual’s release, set a 180-day effectiveness window for that change, and mandate new federal data collection and annual reports to Congress on incarcerated veterans.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Automatic VA payments after release
This bill would require VA compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) payments that were stopped because of incarceration to resume automatically on the veteran's release date. The rule would apply where payments were interrupted under the law for incarceration. The change would take effect 180 days after enactment.
VA mental health and veteran housing
This bill would require the VA to run a mental health pilot for incarcerated veterans at at least five facilities. The pilot would give priority to veterans with service‑connected PTSD, TBI, or military sexual trauma and would use VA providers with no copays. The VA would use telehealth where possible and mobile units or Vet Centers when telehealth is not feasible, and providers would not perform disability claim evaluations. The bill would also require the Bureau of Prisons to set up veteran-only housing units where feasible and to work with local VA offices on training and rehab programs; if housing units are not feasible, prisons would run structured veteran-focused programs instead.
New reports on veterans in prison
This bill would require the Director to collect and analyze data on veterans incarcerated in State and Federal prisons. The Director would send a report to Congress within 180 days of enactment and then annually after that.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Angus King
ME • I
Cosponsors
Pete Ricketts
NE • R
Sponsored 3/23/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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