PRIA Logo™
119-hr-8199119th CongressWALLET

SCHEDULES Act of 2026

Sponsored By: Representative Franklin, Scott [R-FL-18]

In Committee

Summary

Creates clear timing standards for VA referrals and appointments to speed when veterans receive care at VA facilities or through community providers.

Show full summary
  • Veterans and families: Would aim to shorten waits by setting a 3-business-day target for appointments at VA facilities and a 7-calendar-day target for community care referrals.
  • VA medical centers and community providers: Would require quarterly reporting on how many referrals meet those targets and break results down by the five most in-demand care categories at each facility.
  • Congress and the public: Would require the VA to publish the standard at least 30 days before changes, post quarterly reports on the Veterans Health Administration website, rank all VA medical centers including by state, and provide an annual aggregated report with steps to improve and an estimate of when the VA will be fully compliant.

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Set VA referral appointment times

This bill would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to set a standard for how long a veteran waits from a referral entry to a scheduled appointment. The standard would cover both VA facility appointments and community care. It would include a three-business-day scheduling target for VA facility referrals and a seven-calendar-day target for community care referrals. The Secretary would have to publish the standard in the Federal Register and on a VA website at least 30 days before it takes effect or is changed. The VA would report quarterly to Congress and post the reports online, with facility-level counts and percentages, disaggregation by top care categories, facility rankings, and an annual four-quarter summary with steps to improve timeliness.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Franklin, Scott [R-FL-18]

FL • R

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 4/6/2026

  • Rep. Patronis, Jimmy [R-FL-1]

    FL • R

    Sponsored 4/6/2026

  • Del. Moylan, James C. [R-GU-At Large]

    GU • R

    Sponsored 4/6/2026

  • Rep. Dunn, Neal P. [R-FL-2]

    FL • R

    Sponsored 4/14/2026

  • Rep. McGarvey, Morgan [D-KY-3]

    KY • D

    Sponsored 4/14/2026

  • Rep. Rutherford, John H. [R-FL-5]

    FL • R

    Sponsored 4/15/2026

  • Rep. Whitesides, George [D-CA-27]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 4/27/2026

  • Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-9]

    AZ • R

    Sponsored 5/14/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
Back to Legislation