H.R. 4673 · 117th Congress

Ensuring Veterans' Smooth Transition Act

Introduced on Jul 22, 2021 by Mark Takano (D-CA-41). Latest action (Jan 20, 2022): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Jul 22, 2021
Cosponsors
0
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. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the automatic enrollment of eligible veterans in patient enrollment system of Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Congressional oversight
  • Government information and archives
  • Government studies and investigations
  • Health information and medical records
  • Rural conditions and development
  • Veterans' medical care

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Jan 20, 2022). Public domain.

Ensuring Veterans' Smooth Transition Act or the EVEST Act

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to automatically enroll veterans who are eligible for VA health care into the VA health care system upon the receipt of information from the Defense Manpower Data Center of the Department of Defense that proves eligibility of such veterans for enrollment.

The VA must provide a veteran notice that the veteran has been enrolled, instructions on how the veteran may elect to opt out of such enrollment, and instructions for how such veteran may elect to enroll at a later date.

Notice or instructions must be provided in a physical copy and, as is practical, in an electronic copy. Additionally, the VA must consider using mass texting capabilities to provide the notice and relevant instructions required by this bill.

The provisions of the bill apply to veterans who are discharged or separated from the Armed Forces on or after the date that is 90 days before this bill's enactment.

Any veteran who is eligible for automatic enrollment must be able to access an electronic version of the certificate of eligibility and an electronic mechanism to opt out of such enrollment.

The Government Accountability Office must report on the best methods for the VA to provide notice regarding a veteran's automatic enrollment in the VA health care system and related instructions.

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

No cosponsors.

Roll calls

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

  1. On Agreeing to the Amendment
    Jan 20, 2022· House· Amendments· Agreed to 228–198
  2. On Motion to Recommit
    Jan 20, 2022· House· Procedural· Failed 206–221
  3. On Passage
    Jan 20, 2022· House· Passage· Passed 265–163

History

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

  1. Jul 22, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Jul 22, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Jul 22, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  4. Jul 26, 2021 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.
  5. Jul 26, 2021 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.
  6. Jul 28, 2021 · HouseSubcommittee on Health Discharged.
  7. Jul 28, 2021 · HouseSubcommittee on Economic Opportunity Discharged.
  8. Jul 28, 2021 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  9. Jul 28, 2021 · HouseOrdered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 16 - 10.
  10. Jan 6, 2022Reported by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 117-223.
  11. Jan 6, 2022 · HouseReported by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 117-223.
  12. Jan 6, 2022 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 160.
  13. Jan 10, 2022 · HouseRules Committee Resolution H. Res. 860 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 1836 and H.R. 4673. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order.
  14. Jan 11, 2022 · HouseRule H. Res. 860 passed House.
  15. Jan 20, 2022 · HouseConsidered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 860. (consideration: CR H257-270)
  16. Jan 20, 2022 · HouseRule provides for consideration of H.R. 1836 and H.R. 4673. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order.
  17. Jan 20, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 4673.
  18. Jan 20, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 860, the House proceeded with 20 minutes of debate on the Mr. Takano amendment en bloc No. 1.
  19. Jan 20, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 860, the House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Escobar amendment No. 3.
  20. Jan 20, 2022 · HouseThe previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
  21. Jan 20, 2022 · HouseMr. Bost moved to recommit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. (text: CR H268)
  22. Jan 20, 2022 · HouseThe previous question on the motion was ordered pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XIX.
  23. Jan 20, 2022 · HouseOn motion to recommit Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 206 - 221 (Roll no. 13).House · Roll call 13
  24. Jan 20, 2022Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 265 - 163 (Roll no. 14).House · Roll call 14
  25. Jan 20, 2022 · HouseOn passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 265 - 163 (Roll no. 14).House · Roll call 14
  26. Jan 20, 2022 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  27. Jan 20, 2022 · 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 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.