H.R. 1276 · 117th Congress

Strengthening and Amplifying Vaccination Efforts to Locally Immunize All Veterans and Every Spouse Act

Introduced on Feb 24, 2021 by Mark Takano (D-CA-41). 54 cosponsors, 24 of them from another party. Became Public Law 117-4.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 117-4
Introduced
Feb 24, 2021
Cosponsors
54
24 from the other party
Policy area
Armed Forces and National Security
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Sent to the President
  6. Became law

Official title

To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish COVID–19 vaccines to certain individuals, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Cardiovascular and respiratory health
  • Disability and paralysis
  • Emergency medical services and trauma care
  • Hospital care
  • Immunology and vaccination
  • Infectious and parasitic diseases
  • Veterans' medical care

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Mar 24, 2021). Public domain.

Strengthening and Amplifying Vaccination Efforts to Locally Immunize All Veterans and Every Spouse Act or the SAVE LIVES Act

This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish a COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) vaccine to covered individuals during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Under the bill, covered individuals are

  • veterans who are not eligible to enroll in the VA health care system;
  • specified veterans who are eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care abroad;
  • beneficiaries who are eligible for care due to a specified disability or death of a veteran;
  • family caregivers of veterans who are participating in the VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers;
  • caregivers of veterans participating in the VA's Program of General Caregiver Support Services;
  • caregivers of veterans participating in the VA's Medical Foster Home Program, Bowel and Bladder Program, Home Based Primary Care Program, or Veteran Directed Care Program; and
  • the spouses of veterans.

The VA must prioritize the vaccination of (1) veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system, (2) veterans who fail to enroll but receive hospital care and medical services for specified disabilities in their first 12 months of separation from service, and (3) caregivers accompanying such prioritized veterans.

Under the bill, the VA is authorized to determine the timing for offering a vaccine to the spouse of a veteran.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Mark TakanoD-CA-41Sponsor

Democrats · 30

Republicans · 24

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Feb 24, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Feb 24, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Feb 24, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  4. Mar 9, 2021 · HouseMr. Takano asked unanimous consent to discharge from committee and consider.
  5. Mar 9, 2021Committee on Veterans' Affairs discharged.
  6. Mar 9, 2021 · HouseCommittee on Veterans' Affairs discharged.
  7. Mar 9, 2021 · HouseConsidered by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR H1178; text: CR H1178)
  8. Mar 9, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed without objection.
  9. Mar 9, 2021 · HouseOn passage Passed without objection.
  10. Mar 9, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  11. Mar 10, 2021 · SenateReceived in the Senate, read twice.
  12. Mar 17, 2021 · SenateMeasure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S1620)
  13. Mar 17, 2021Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.(text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR S1620)
  14. Mar 17, 2021 · SenatePassed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote. (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR S1620)
  15. Mar 18, 2021 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  16. Mar 19, 2021 · HouseMr. Takano asked unanimous consent to take the bill, H.R. 1276, from the Speaker's Table and agree to the Senate amendment. (consideration: CR H1603)
  17. Mar 19, 2021Resolving differences -- House actions: On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to without objection.(text: CR H1603)
  18. Mar 19, 2021 · HouseOn motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to without objection. (text: CR H1603)
  19. Mar 19, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  20. Mar 23, 2021Presented to President.
  21. Mar 23, 2021 · HousePresented to President.
  22. Mar 24, 2021Signed by President.
  23. Mar 24, 2021Signed by President.
  24. Mar 24, 2021Became Public Law No: 117-4.
  25. Mar 24, 2021Became Public Law No: 117-4.
  26. Jun 16, 2021 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 5, 2026 · loaded Oct 5, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.