Veterans

HR 3609, the "Remove the Stain Act," would rescind 20 Medals of Honor awarded to U.S. Army soldiers for their actions during the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre, where unarmed Native Americans (including women and children) were killed. The bill directly affects the official records of these 20 soldiers by removing their names from the Medal of Honor Roll maintained by the military branches. Key provisions include requiring the Secretary of Defense to update the official rolls without requiring recipients to return their medals, and clarifying that this change does not deny any benefits to those individuals. The bill is based on findings that the massacre involved unarmed people and that awarding medals for it undermines the Medal of Honor's integrity.

This bill modifies the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship program for veterans. It reduces the maximum months of scholarship use from 60 to 45 and lowers the required benefit usage threshold from 90% to 67.5% for certain veterans. The changes prioritize veterans who have used the most months of their regular education benefits and those pursuing STEM degrees. Veterans must now exhaust all their regular education benefits under Chapter 33 before accessing this scholarship, as specified in new subsection (d)(5). The bill directly affects veterans using education benefits to pursue STEM fields.

HJRES 144 is a congressional disapproval resolution targeting a specific rule issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on December 31, 2025, which addressed "Reproductive Health Services" (90 Fed. Reg. 61310). This resolution directs Congress to disapprove the VA rule under Chapter 8 of Title 5, U.S. Code, meaning the rule would have no legal effect if passed. The bill directly affects the VA's implementation of reproductive health services for veterans, as it seeks to nullify the agency's existing policy. This is a procedural measure, not a substantive policy change, aimed solely at blocking the VA's rule through congressional action.

SRES 105 is a Senate resolution condemning the February 2025 mass terminations of 2,400 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees by Secretary Doug Collins, without justification or analysis of impacts on veterans. The resolution states the Senate opposes these terminations - specifically noting the lack of transparency about effects on critical services like mental health care, claims processing, and cybersecurity - and calls for all affected employees to be reinstated. This resolution does not change VA policy but expresses the Senate’s formal disapproval of the terminations and demands accountability. It was introduced by 30 Senators on March 4, 2025.

SJRES 103 is a congressional disapproval resolution targeting a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rule on reproductive health services for veterans. The resolution, if passed, would block the VA rule from taking effect by invoking the Congressional Review Act (Chapter 8 of Title 5, U.S. Code), meaning the rule published in the Federal Register (December 31, 2025) would have no legal force. This directly affects the VA’s ability to implement new guidelines for reproductive health services at its facilities, preserving existing policies instead. The resolution does not create new policy but halts a specific administrative rule.