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H.R. 659 119th Congress House

Veterans Law Judge Experience Act of 2025

Official title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals to give priority to individuals with certain professional exper… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals to give priority to individuals with certain professional experience in recommending such individuals to serve as members of the Board of Veterans' Appeals, and for other purposes.

Introduced: January 23, 2025 Introduced by: Julia Brownley Democratic · California See on congress.gov
Armed Forces and National Security Administrative remediesLawyers and legal servicesVeterans' pensions and compensation
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 Everywhere this bill has been 16 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jan 26, 2026
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Jan 20, 2026
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Jan 20, 2026
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H936)
Jan 20, 2026
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H936)
Jan 20, 2026
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 659.
Jan 20, 2026
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H936-937)
Jan 20, 2026
Mr. Bost moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
Sep 26, 2025
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 263.
Sep 26, 2025
Reported by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 119-309.
Jul 23, 2025
Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
Jul 23, 2025
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Jul 3, 2025
Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Discharged
Jun 24, 2025
Subcommittee Hearings Held
Mar 4, 2025
Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Jan 23, 2025
Introduced in House
Jan 23, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
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What's happening now January 26, 2026

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Veterans Law Judge Experience Act of 2025

This bill requires the Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals to prioritize individuals with three or more years of legal professional experience in relevant legal areas when recommending individuals to the Department of Veterans Affairs to serve as members of the Board.

 Bill text 4 versions

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 3
 Lobbying activity 32

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

See all 32 filings →
 Cosponsors 4
All 4 Democratic 3
D
Garcia, Robert
California · May 6, 2025
 D
Ramirez, Delia C.
Illinois · May 6, 2025
 D
Soto, Darren
Florida · May 6, 2025
 D
Grijalva, Raúl M.
Arizona · Jan 23, 2025
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 659: Veterans Law Judge Experience Act of 2025. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-659/
MLA
"H.R. 659: Veterans Law Judge Experience Act of 2025." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-659/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 659, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-659/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 659: Veterans Law Judge Experience Act of 2025](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-659/)
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