Automotive Support Services to Improve Safe Transportation Act of 2025
Click any stage to learn more about the legislative process.
Would clarify that the Department of Veterans Affairs' definition of 'medical services' includes a specific list of medically necessary automobile adaptations — such as ramps, raised roofs, air conditioning, wheelchair tiedowns, and adapted seating — so that eligible veterans can receive VA funding for these vehicle modifications.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend title 38 of the U.S. Code to rewrite the existing provision covering medically necessary automobile adaptations within the VA's definition of "medical services." It would replace the current language with an explicit enumerated list of covered adaptations for driver or passenger use, including ramp and kneeling systems, raised doors or lowered floors, raised roofs, air conditioning, occupied and unoccupied mobility lifts, ingress or egress accessibility modifications, wheelchair tiedowns, and adapted seating.
The bill would also extend a separate pension-related payment limit deadline from November 30, 2031, to September 30, 2032. It does not change overall VA eligibility criteria for automobile adaptive equipment benefits, and it does not appropriate new money — it clarifies what types of vehicle adaptations already fall within the medical services definition.
Key provisions
- 1Would amend 38 U.S.C. § 1701(6)(I) to replace current automobile adaptation language with an explicit enumerated list covering ramps, raised doors or lowered floors, raised roofs, air conditioning, mobility lifts, accessibility modifications, wheelchair tiedowns, and adapted seating.
- 2Would extend a pension payment limit deadline in 38 U.S.C. § 5503(d)(7) from November 30, 2031, to September 30, 2032.
Who would be affected
Veterans with disabilities who rely on adapted vehicles for transportation and who receive or seek VA medical services benefits. Adaptive vehicle modification vendors and installers who work with VA-eligible veterans may also be affected. The VA's Veterans Health Administration, which administers medical services benefits, would implement the clarified definition.
Why it matters
By spelling out an explicit list of covered adaptations, the bill would remove ambiguity about what the VA is authorized to fund, potentially reducing claim denials for veterans who need modifications like raised roofs, air conditioning, or wheelchair tiedowns. Veterans with mobility impairments may gain more reliable access to a broader range of vehicle modifications under the VA benefit.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends 38 U.S.C. § 1701(6)(I) (Sec. 2)
Rewrites the provision to enumerate specific medically necessary automobile adaptations — including raised roofs, air conditioning, wheelchair tiedowns, and adapted seating — within the VA's definition of medical services.
Amends 38 U.S.C. § 5503(d)(7) (Sec. 3)
Extends a pension payment limit deadline by approximately 10 months, from November 30, 2031, to September 30, 2032.
Agencies directed to act
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 1364 would decrease net direct spending by $29 million and increase discretionary spending by $26 million over the 2025–2035 period, with no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates.
CBO estimates that H.R. 1364 would decrease net direct spending (mandatory outlays) by $29 million over the 2025–2035 period, driven primarily by a $40 million reduction in VA pension payments to veterans and survivors in Medicaid nursing homes — partially offset by $11 million in new mandatory spending from the Toxic Exposures Fund to cover adaptive vehicle equipment for eligible veterans. The bill would also increase spending subject to appropriation (discretionary funding that Congress must separately authorize each year) by $26 million over the same period to cover the remaining cost of expanded adaptive vehicle equipment, such as kneeling systems. The bill would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits by more than $2.5 billion or $5 billion, respectively, in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2036, and it contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
How implementation would work
Because the change is a statutory clarification rather than a new program, implementation would be largely self-executing: the VA would apply the updated definition of "medical services" when adjudicating claims for automobile adaptation benefits. No new rulemaking mandate is specified in the bill, though the VA may update internal guidance to align with the enumerated list. The pension deadline extension in Section 3 is also self-executing.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill expands the definition of medical services for purposes of veterans’ benefits to include additional medically necessary automobile adaptations. Under the bill, the Department of Veterans Affairs may provide funding for ramp and kneeling systems, lowered floors, mobility device lifts, non-articulating trailers, and ingress or egress accessibility modifications.
Legislative subjects
Armed Forces and National Security; Disability and health-based discrimination; Motor vehicles; Veterans' medical care
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-96