S. 1031 · 117th Congress

A bill to require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on disparities associated with race and ethnicity with respect to certain benefits administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Introduced on Mar 25, 2021 by Raphael G. Warnock (D-GA). 6 cosponsors, all from the sponsor's party. Became Public Law 117-66.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 117-66
Introduced
Mar 25, 2021
Cosponsors
6
0 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

Subjects

  • Congressional oversight
  • Disability assistance
  • Government information and archives
  • Government studies and investigations
  • Racial and ethnic relations
  • Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Nov 30, 2021). Public domain.

This bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study to assess whether there are disparities associated with race and ethnicity with respect to (1) compensation benefits administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), (2) disability ratings determined by the VA, and (3) the rejection of fully developed claims for VA benefits. The GAO must also develop recommendations to facilitate better data collection on such disparities associated with race and ethnicity.

Within one year, the GAO must brief Congress on the initial results of the study. The GAO must also submit a final report on the study following the briefing.

Sponsor and cosponsors

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

Raphael G. WarnockD-GASponsor

Democrats · 6

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. Mar 25, 2021Introduced in Senate
  2. Mar 25, 2021 · SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  3. Apr 28, 2021 · SenateCommittee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held.
  4. May 26, 2021 · SenateCommittee on Veterans' Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
  5. Aug 6, 2021Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S5990)
  6. Aug 6, 2021 · SenateSenate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S5990)
  7. Aug 6, 2021Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.(text: CR S5990)
  8. Aug 6, 2021 · SenatePassed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (text: CR S5990)
  9. Aug 9, 2021 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  10. Aug 10, 2021 · HouseReceived in the House.
  11. Aug 10, 2021 · HouseHeld at the desk.
  12. Nov 15, 2021 · HouseMr. Takano moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  13. Nov 15, 2021 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H6251-6252)
  14. Nov 15, 2021 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 1031.
  15. Nov 15, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
  16. Nov 15, 2021 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
  17. Nov 15, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  18. Nov 19, 2021Presented to President.
  19. Nov 19, 2021 · HousePresented to President.
  20. Nov 30, 2021Signed by President.
  21. Nov 30, 2021Signed by President.
  22. Nov 30, 2021Became Public Law No: 117-66.
  23. Nov 30, 2021Became Public Law No: 117-66.

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.