H.R. 239 · 117th Congress

Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act

Introduced on Jan 11, 2021 by Julia Brownley (D-CA-26). 76 cosponsors, all from the sponsor's party. Latest action (Jul 12, 2021): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Jan 11, 2021
Cosponsors
76
0 from the other party
Policy area
Armed Forces and National Security
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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. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for limitations on copayments for contraception furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Family planning and birth control
  • Health care costs and insurance
  • Health care coverage and access
  • Veterans' medical care
  • Women's health

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Jun 24, 2021). Public domain.

Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act

This bill prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs from requiring payment from a veteran for any contraceptive item that is required to be covered by health insurance plans without a cost-sharing requirement.

Sponsor and cosponsors

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

Julia BrownleyD-CA-26Sponsor

Democrats · 76

Roll calls

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

  1. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass
    Jun 15, 2021· House· Passage· Failed 240–188
  2. On Passage
    Jun 24, 2021· House· Passage· Passed 245–181

History

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

  1. Jan 11, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Jan 11, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Jan 11, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  4. Feb 17, 2021 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.
  5. May 4, 2021 · HouseOrdered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 22 - 6.
  6. May 4, 2021 · HouseSubcommittee on Health Discharged.
  7. May 4, 2021 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  8. Jun 14, 2021Reported by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 117-60.
  9. Jun 14, 2021 · HouseReported by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 117-60.
  10. Jun 14, 2021 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 42.
  11. Jun 15, 2021 · HouseMr. Takano moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  12. Jun 15, 2021 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2774-2775)
  13. Jun 15, 2021 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 239.
  14. Jun 15, 2021 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  15. Jun 15, 2021 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H2799)
  16. Jun 15, 2021Failed of passage/not agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Failed by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 240 - 188 (Roll no. 160).House · Roll call 160
  17. Jun 15, 2021 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Failed by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 240 - 188 (Roll no. 160).House · Roll call 160
  18. Jun 15, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  19. Jun 22, 2021 · HouseRules Committee Resolution H. Res. 486 Reported to House. The resolution provides for 1 hour of debate, orders the previous question, and allows a motion to recommit for each measure. Provides that H. Res. 485 is adopted. Provides that anytime through the legislative day of June 25, 2021, the Speaker may entertain motions offered by the Majority Leader or his designee that the House suspend the rules with respect to multiple measures that were the object of motions to suspend the rules on the legislative days of June 22 or 23, and on which the yeas and nays were ordered and further proceedings postponed.
  20. Jun 24, 2021 · HouseConsidered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 486. (consideration: CR H3094-3097)
  21. Jun 24, 2021 · HouseThe resolution provides for 1 hour of debate, orders the previous question, and allows a motion to recommit for each measure. Provides that H. Res. 485 is adopted. Provides that anytime through the legislative day of June 25, 2021, the Speaker may entertain motions offered by the Majority Leader or his designee that the House suspend the rules with respect to multiple measures that were the object of motions to suspend the rules on the legislative days of June 22 or 23, and on which the yeas and nays were ordered and further proceedings postponed.
  22. Jun 24, 2021 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 239.
  23. Jun 24, 2021 · HouseThe previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
  24. Jun 24, 2021 · HousePOSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on H. R. 239, the Chair put the question on passage of the bill and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Rosendale demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings on passage of the bill until a time to be announced.
  25. Jun 24, 2021 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H3116-3117)
  26. Jun 24, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 245 - 181 (Roll no. 184).(text: CR H3094)House · Roll call 184
  27. Jun 24, 2021 · HouseOn passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 245 - 181 (Roll no. 184). (text: CR H3094)House · Roll call 184
  28. Jun 24, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  29. Jul 12, 2021 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

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 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 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 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 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.