Eugene Vindman

Improving Travel for American Families Act

This bill directs the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to establish a pilot program to implement alternative security screenings for passengers traveling with children who are 12 years old and younger.

Specifically, TSA must implement alternative security screening lanes and security screening approaches for passengers traveling with children in order to support and facilitate the ease of travel for these passengers.

TSA must implement the pilot program at a minimum of five airports, with priority given to airports that have a high volume of passengers traveling with children.

Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meals Program Pilot Act

This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a temporary program through which certain Medicare beneficiaries with diet-impacted diseases may receive medically tailored meals at home to reduce their rate of hospital readmissions.

Specifically, the CMS must select, upon application, at least 40 hospitals to participate in a six-year program to deliver medically tailored meals to qualifying individuals' homes. Participating hospitals must meet specified program integrity and quality of care metrics and certify that they are able to provide the required meals and associated medical nutrition therapy. Hospitals must have a physician, registered dietitian or nutrition professional, advanced practice nurse, or clinical social worker screen inpatients upon discharge from the hospital and every 12 weeks thereafter to determine whether these individuals qualify for the meal program.

In order to qualify for the program, individuals must have a diet-impacted disease (e.g., kidney disease), live at home, not be receiving extended care services or hospice care, be limited with respect to at least two activities of daily living, and meet any other criteria for high-risk readmissions (as determined by the CMS).

Essential Caregivers Act of 2025

This bill prohibits certain health care facilities from limiting the access of essential caregivers to residents of those facilities, including during designated emergency periods.

Specifically, the bill generally prohibits Medicare skilled nursing facilities, Medicaid nursing facilities, Medicaid intermediate care facilities, and associated inpatient rehabilitation facilities from restricting the access of essential caregivers to residents of the facilities, including during emergency periods in which visitation rights are otherwise restricted. During emergency periods, facilities may restrict access for an initial period of up to seven days and for one additional maximum seven-day period (if the additional period is approved by the state health department). Facilities may restrict access for a total of 7 days (or 14 days with the approval of the state health department) during an emergency period.

Essential caregivers must agree to comply with any safety protocols set by the facility, which may be no more stringent for caregivers compared to those for staff. Caregivers who fail to comply with these requirements may be denied access, subject to an appeals process.

Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act of 2025

This bill expands certain health professional programs and Medicare covered services to include physical therapists.

Specifically, the bill expands the National Health Service Corps to include physical therapists and provides for the designation of specific health professional target areas for physical therapists under the program. The bill also expands covered services of rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers under Medicare to include physical therapy services.

The bill increases funds for FY2025 for the corps and requires a certain amount of funds to be used for student loan repayments for participating physical therapists in the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program.

Fentanyl Awareness for Children and Teens in Schools Act or the FACTS Act

This bill establishes grant programs and requires strategies and studies to address the misuse of synthetic opioids (i.e., laboratory-derived substances such as fentanyl and its derivatives) among youth.

The bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to partnerships between educational and health organizations for prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts related to the use of synthetic opioids by middle and high school-aged children. It also allows school-based health centers to use existing HHS grants to purchase naloxone to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses and to establish programs to address misuse of synthetic opioids.

Also, the bill authorizes state educational agencies to use certain Department of Education (ED) grant funds to provide training to school personnel on addressing students’ misuse of synthetic opioids. State and local educational agencies must also address such misuse in their educational plans in order to qualify for certain ED grants.

Finally, the bill (1) establishes an interagency taskforce to coordinate federal efforts to address synthetic opioid misuse among youth, (2) requires an evaluation of the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System’s effectiveness in identifying the specific synthetic opioids causing youth overdoses, (3) expands the data reported by the National Center for Education Statistics to include information about the use of synthetic opioids in schools, and (4) requires two recurring HHS surveys to include questions on youth exposure to synthetic opioids.

Dental Care for Veterans Act

This bill expands eligibility for veterans for dental care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Specifically, the bill makes all veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system eligible for VA-provided dental services. Currently, only veterans who have a service-connected dental issue or meet other narrow criteria are eligible for certain dental services.

The bill phases in eligibility over four years based upon existing eligibility, degree of service-connected disability or other disability, prisoner of war status, award of a Purple Heart, financial need, or VA health care eligibility.

Caring for Survivors Act of 2025

This bill increases the monthly rate of dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Dependency and indemnity compensation is a monthly payment made to eligible survivors (i.e., spouses, parents, or children) of (1) certain veterans who died as a result of a service-connected condition; (2) service members killed while on active military duty or active or inactive duty for training; or (3) veterans who did not die from a service-connected condition, but were totally disabled by a service-connected disability for a certain period of time.

The bill also (1) reduces, from 10 years to 5 years, the period of time that certain veterans must have been rated totally disabled due to a service-connected disability in order for a survivor to qualify for benefits; and (2) specifies the amount that is payable to survivors of veterans who were rated totally disabled for a period of less than 10 years before their death.