H.R. 1039 · 119th Congress

Clear Communication for Veterans Claims Act

Introduced on Feb 6, 2025 by Tom Barrett (R-MI-7). 9 cosponsors, 2 of them from another party. Latest action (Apr 8, 2025): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Feb 6, 2025
Cosponsors
9
2 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. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center for an assessment of notice letters that the Secretary sends to claimants for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Congressional oversight
  • Government information and archives
  • Government lending and loan guarantees
  • Housing finance and home ownership
  • Research and development
  • User charges and fees
  • Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs
  • Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in House, Feb 6, 2025). Public domain.

Clear Communication for Veterans Claims Act

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center to assess notices that the VA sends to claimants applying for or submitting claims for VA benefits. The VA must report on the findings of the assessment and implement recommendations in the assessment.

The bill also extends certain loan fee rates through June 23, 2034, under the VA's home loan program.

Sponsor and cosponsors

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

Tom BarrettR-MI-7Sponsor

Democrats · 2

Republicans · 7

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, as Amended
    Apr 7, 2025· House· Passage· Passed 412–0

History

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

  1. Feb 6, 2025Introduced in House
  2. Feb 6, 2025Introduced in House
  3. Feb 6, 2025 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  4. Mar 26, 2025 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
  5. Mar 26, 2025 · HouseSubcommittee Hearings Held
  6. Apr 7, 2025 · HouseMr. Bost moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  7. Apr 7, 2025 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H1437-1439)
  8. Apr 7, 2025 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1039.
  9. Apr 7, 2025 · 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.
  10. Apr 7, 2025 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H1442-1443)
  11. Apr 7, 2025Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 412 - 0 (Roll no. 90). (text: CR H1437: 1)House · Roll call 90
  12. Apr 7, 2025 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 412 - 0 (Roll no. 90). (text: CR H1437)House · Roll call 90
  13. Apr 7, 2025 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  14. Apr 8, 2025 · 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.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS6 reports
    $910.6K reported (all issues)
  2. PARALYZED VETERANS OF AMERICA6 reports
    $572.6K reported (all issues)
  3. National Organization of Veterans' Advocates, Inc.1 report
    $67K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2025, 2026.

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 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.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.