On September 15, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee approved, by voice vote, a bill (S. 1182) to expand health care services for veterans. The measure includes a provision that would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs to furnish 14 days’ care for newborns of women veterans if the child was born in a VA facility or a facility under contract to the VA. During the 108th Congress, a similar provision was included in legislation (S. 2485) approved by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (see The Source, 7/23/04), but was excluded from a House bill (H.R. 4658) (see The Source, 10/08/04).
