PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Apr 26, 2017
Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act of 2017
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to hire at least 50 Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists, place each one at an eligible VA medical center, and ensure that each one serves as part of a justice team in a veterans treatment court or other veteran-focused court.
An eligible VA medical center is one that:
complies with all VA guidelines and regulations for placement of a specialist;
works with a veteran with active, ongoing, or recent contact with some component of a local criminal justice system;
maintains an affiliation with one or more veterans treatment courts or other veteran-focused courts; and
either routinely provides specialists, or establishes a VA-approved plan to provide specialists, to serve as part of a justice team in such a court.
The VA shall prioritize the placement of specialists at eligible VA medical centers that have an affiliation with such a court that: (1) was established after the date of this bill's enactment, or (2) was established before such date and is not fully staffed with specialists.
People & committees
Sen. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ] · R–AZ
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Received in the House.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S1190)
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 115-320.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2555-2556)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.946 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.946 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.946 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.946 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.