House Passes Bipartisan COPE Act, Includes Pappas’s Provision to Support Law Enforcement, Improve VA Safety

Yesterday Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), Ranking Member of the Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs (DAMA), helped lead the House in passing the bipartisan Caregiver Outreach and Program Enhancement (COPE) Act which included his bipartisan VA Medical Security Report Act of 2023. Congressman Pappas introduced the VA Medical Security Report Act of 2023 alongside Congresswoman Kiggans (VA-02) earlier this year.

The COPE Act would increase mental health resources available to caregivers of America’s veteran population by establishing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) grant programs for entities that support caregiver mental health and well-being. 

The VA Medical Security Report Act of 2023 ensures the VA police force and its officers have the resources they need to guarantee the safety of VA medical centers.

“Veterans risked their lives to serve our country and we must ensure that VA medical centers are a safe environment for them after their service is over,” said Congressman Pappas. “This bipartisan legislation will improve our understanding of how to improve the security and safety of VA medical centers and ensure law enforcement has the resources they need to prevent crime. I’m pleased that this bipartisan legislation has passed the House, and I urge the Senate to swiftly take it up to ensure our law enforcement are supported in their efforts to keep veterans safe.”

“Improving the lives of our nation’s heroes is one of my top priorities in Congress,” said Congresswoman Kiggans. “With the passage of my COPE Act today, we are taking several important steps to ensure our veterans are receiving the quality healthcare they have earned and deserve in a safe environment. As the granddaughter of a veteran, the daughter of a veteran, the wife of a veteran, the mother of future veterans, and having served 10 years in the Navy as a helicopter pilot, I will always fight to provide our former servicemembers with a VA care system they can depend on.”

“The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and its National Veterans Affairs Council (NVAC) are proud to endorse the ‘VA Medical Center Security Reporting Act,’ introduced by Rep. Jen Kiggans and Rep. Chris Pappas.  This bi-partisan legislation, appropriately introduced during police week, will better enable congress to perform oversight over the VA Police force, and help ensure that VA police departments are fully staffed, and officers are fully trained to protect veterans and the VA employees who serve them.  AFGE and the NVAC are proud to represent thousands of VA Police Officers in facilities across the country, 90 percent of whom are veterans themselves, and will continue to advocate for legislation to help recruit, retain, and train this critical group of dedicated VA employees,” said M.J. Burke, First Executive Vice President of AFGE’s NVAC. 

Background: 

The COPE Act authorizes the VA to provide grants to organizations whose mission is focused on the mental healthcare of participants in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC). It also requires the VA to provide outreach to registered caregivers and requires both the VA and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to provide Congress with research on the program and its outcomes.

The VA Medical Security Report Act of 2023 aims to increase safety and security at VA Medical facilities by requiring VA leadership to provide reports that accurately detail the health of VA police forces and security at VA Medical Centers. These reports – which will be shared with Congress over the next five years – will detail staffing vacancies, security weakness, and data on criminal activities, training, vacancies, and security weaknesses. Additionally, the bill requires that these reports include input from police leaders on the ground. The billis endorsed by the American Federation of Government Employees’ (AFGE) National Veterans Affairs Council (NVAC) and the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE). 

The full text of the bill can be found here.