WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House unanimously passed the bipartisan Strengthening and Amplifying Vaccination Efforts to Locally Immunize all Veterans and Every Spouse (SAVE LIVES) Act today spearheaded by House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee leaders, Ranking Member Mike Bost (R-Ill.), Chairman Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Chairman Jon Tester (D-Mont.), to expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to veterans and their families under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This legislation now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

 

“I am proud of the work my colleagues and I have done to send the SAVE LIVES Act to the President’s desk,” said Bost. “There is no question that vaccines are the key to getting past this pandemic and restoring our way of life. Our bill allows VA to vaccinate all veterans, regardless of their eligibility to enroll in the VA healthcare system. It also allows VA to vaccinate veteran spouses and caregivers. I hope the President signs it into law immediately.”

 

The SAVE LIVES Act will expand VA’s authority to provide vaccines to:

 

• Veterans who are not eligible for enrollment in VA’s health care system, including veterans without compensable service-connected disabilities and veterans who have incomes above a certain threshold
• Caregivers of veterans who are enrolled in various VA home-based and long-term care programs
• Spouses of veterans
• CHAMPVA recipients (spouses of permanently and totally disabled veterans or of veterans who have died from service-connected disabilities)

 

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