SAFE STEPS for Veterans Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Representative Budzinski
In Committee
Summary
The SAFE STEPS for Veterans Act of 2025 would create an Office of Falls Prevention within the VA to centralize falls-prevention leadership and expand standards, training, research, and home-adaptation efforts for veterans. It aims to reduce falls, serious injuries, and repeat falls while coordinating VA and interagency work.
Show full summary
- Veterans and families: Sets up a national office to run public education campaigns and award grants or contracts to support local falls-prevention programs and outreach.
- VA providers and facilities: Requires the VA to issue or update safe patient handling and mobility policies within 180 days, provide biennial training for staff, and ensure access to appropriate mobility technology in clinical and emergency settings.
- Care delivery, research, and home adaptations: Requires licensed physical or occupational therapists to assess and provide fall-prevention services in nursing homes and annual assessments in extended care. It creates a joint expert panel with the National Institute on Aging, directs VA-coordinated research on home modifications and medication risks, and authorizes a pilot on home adaptations with a one-year planning report and a lessons-learned report within 180 days after the pilot ends.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Home adaptation pilot for veterans
If enacted, the VA Secretary would study whether to run a pilot giving home improvements and structural alterations to veterans who are already eligible for VA home‑adaptation programs to prevent falls. The Secretary must report to Congress within one year with a plan or explain why the pilot is not feasible. If the pilot runs, the Falls Prevention Chief would send a lessons-learned report to Congress within 180 days after it ends.
Central VA Falls Prevention Office
If enacted, the bill would create an Office of Falls Prevention at VA headquarters. A Chief Officer would report to the Under Secretary for Health. The office would set and monitor falls-prevention standards, coordinate research and education with VA and the National Institute on Aging, run a national public education campaign, and award grants or contracts to local groups.
More falls checks by PTs and OTs
If enacted, the bill would require annual falls risk assessments and fall-prevention services by a licensed physical therapist or occupational therapist as part of VA extended care. It would also require that when a VA physician finds a resident fell or was at risk of falling in the past year, a licensed PT or OT must do an assessment and provide fall-prevention services during that nursing home stay. The nursing home requirement would end on September 30, 2028.
New VA safe patient handling rules
If enacted, the VA Secretary would issue or update VHA directives within 180 days on safe patient handling and mobility. The directives would require provider training every two years, require facilities to have appropriate safe-handling and mobility equipment, and require emergency settings to have immediate access to that equipment to help transfers and fall recovery.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Budzinski
IL • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Frankel, Lois [D-FL-22]
FL • D
Sponsored 5/5/2025
Rep. Kiggans, Jennifer A. [R-VA-2]
VA • R
Sponsored 5/5/2025
Rep. Bergman, Jack [R-MI-1]
MI • R
Sponsored 5/5/2025
Bilirakis
FL • R
Sponsored 5/5/2025
Rep. McDonald Rivet, Kristen [D-MI-8]
MI • D
Sponsored 12/18/2025
McBride
DE • D
Sponsored 4/9/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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