# 119-hr-5985: Expanding Health Care Providers for Veterans Act

119-hr-5985, Expanding Health Care Providers for Veterans Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-25).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5985
- As of: 2026-07-25
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5985
- Congress: 119
- Title: Expanding Health Care Providers for Veterans Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-11-07
- Sponsor: Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Policy area: Immigration
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-25

## Summary

**Expands H-1B access for health workers at VA facilities and VA-certified State homes.** This bill would create a new nonimmigrant subcategory for health-care employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs and State homes the VA certifies. It would remove the numerical cap on admissions under the H-1B-style category and exempt these workers from a Presidential Proclamation that restricts certain H-1B entries. The change would take effect six months after enactment. - VA medical centers and VA-certified State homes would be able to admit H-1B-type health-care employees without a stated numerical limit, expanding the pool of eligible nonimmigrant workers. - Foreign health-care professionals employed by the VA or certified State homes would qualify for this specific nonimmigrant classification and would not be subject to the referenced Presidential Proclamation. - State homes must be recognized and certified by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to use the new category.

## Cosponsors (4)

- Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9] (D-NY), 2025-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7] (D-AL), 2025-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] (D-IN), 2025-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rivas, Luz M. [D-CA-29] (D-CA), 2025-12-02T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Easier visas for VA health workers: benefit, medium. This bill would let H‑1B workers hired by the Department of Veterans Affairs, or with a job offer there, skip the usual annual cap. It would also cover hires or offers from a state veterans home that is certified by the VA. The cap exemption would start 6 months after enactment. A separate rule wou…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hr-5361: George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2025
- 119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-5985 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5985)

## Related
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hr-5361: George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5361)
- [119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6644)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5985 (as of 2026-07-25).