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Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 14, 2025
Veterans Equal Access Act
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to authorize VA health care providers to (1) provide veterans with recommendations and opinions regarding participation in their state's marijuana programs, and (2) complete forms reflecting such recommendations and opinions.
People & committees
Rep. Mast, Brian J. [R-FL-21] · R–FL
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Oct 16, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-14 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Veterans Equal Access Act would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to allow its physicians and other health care providers to give recommendations and opinions about participation in State marijuana programs to veterans who live in States with those programs. Providers would also be allowed to complete forms reflecting those recommendations and opinions.
This Act may be cited as the Veterans Equal Access Act.
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall authorize physicians and other health care providers employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to— (1) provide recommendations and opinions to veterans who are residents of States with State marijuana programs regarding the participation of veterans in such State marijuana programs; and (2) complete forms reflecting such recommendations and opinions.
The bill would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to authorize these activities despite other provisions of law. It requires the Secretary to give permission; it does not require individual providers to recommend participation.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall authorize physicians and other health care providers employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to— (1) provide recommendations and opinions
The authorization would cover recommendations and opinions for veterans residing in States with marijuana programs, along with completion of forms reflecting those recommendations and opinions.
(1) provide recommendations and opinions to veterans who are residents of States with State marijuana programs regarding the participation of veterans in such State marijuana programs; and (2) complete forms reflecting such recommendations and opinions.
For this authorization, “State” would include the States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, every U.S. territory or possession, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe.
In this section, the term State means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any territory or possession of the United States, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated October 16, 2026, records introduction and referral to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs on February 14, 2025, followed by referral to the Subcommittee on Health on March 14, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-16T08:05:32Z. 2025-03-14: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. 2025-02-14: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. 2025-02-14: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-14. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not extend to other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish the absence of earmarks in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential treatment beyond the bill's ordinary intended coverage was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 16, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI