[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5361 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5361
To improve the use and management of mobile medical units by the
Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 7, 2026
Ms. Rosen (for herself and Mr. Sheehy) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the use and management of mobile medical units by the
Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Mobile Medical Unit Rural Expansion
Act of 2026'' or the ``MMU Rural Expansion Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF EXISTING OFFICE TO SERVE AS PROGRAM OWNER OF
MOBILE MEDICAL UNIT PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall designate
the head of an existing office of the Department of Veterans Affairs to
serve as the program owner of the Mobile Medical Unit Program of the
Department.
(b) Responsibilities.--The head of the office designated under
subsection (a) shall be responsible for--
(1) overseeing deployments of mobile medical units of the
Department;
(2) coordinating with leadership of medical centers of the
Department with respect to such units;
(3) managing data collection with respect to such units;
(4) identifying the funding and procurement sources that
exist for such units and that are available to help deploy such
units to medical centers of the Department; and
(5) integrating such units, as appropriate, into broader
access-to-care strategies of the Veterans Health
Administration.
SEC. 3. NATIONWIDE INVENTORY AND CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT OF MOBILE
MEDICAL UNITS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a
nationwide inventory and capability assessment with respect to mobile
medical units of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(b) Elements.--The assessment required under subsection (a) shall
include an assessment of the following:
(1) The total number of mobile medical units of the
Department, including the different types of mobile medical
unit models used by the Department.
(2) The age, condition, and readiness of such units and
what sort of maintenance such units need.
(3) Where such units are currently located and the
accessibility of mobile medical unit deployment sites.
(4) How often each such unit is used and for what services
each such unit is used.
(5) Patient-level data with respect to each such unit.
(6) Accessibility and lift capability across the mobile
medical unit fleet of the Department, including an assessment
of the wheelchair accessibility of deployment locations for
each such unit.
(7) Existing unmet needs or access barriers within the
Department that such units could fill, when clinically and
operationally appropriate.
SEC. 4. ASSESSMENT OF FEASIBILITY AND ADVISABILITY OF REQUIRING ANNUAL
DEPLOYMENT OF MOBILE MEDICAL UNITS TO CERTAIN AREAS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct
an assessment to determine the feasibility and advisability of
requiring certain medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs
to deploy mobile medical units to rural or underserved areas at least
once per year to improve access to medical services by veterans and
other individuals eligible for health care under the laws administered
by the Secretary.
(b) Elements.--The assessment required by subsection (a) shall--
(1) incorporate findings from the nationwide inventory and
capability assessment required by section 3;
(2) include proposed criteria the Secretary could use to
determine which medical centers of the Department should be
subject to the requirement described in subsection (a);
(3) include proposed rural or underserved areas where
mobile medical units could be required to be deployed at least
once per year to improve access to medical services by veterans
and other individuals;
(4) include a proposed list of services that mobile medical
units could provide safely and appropriately in rural or
underserved areas;
(5) include an estimate of the number of veterans or other
individuals who could access medical services through a mobile
medical unit deployed to a rural or underserved area; and
(6) include an assessment of the ideal frequency of such
deployments in consideration of--
(A) the ability of veterans and other individuals
in such areas to access services identified under
paragraph (4);
(B) the cost to the Department to deploy mobile
medical units to such areas; and
(C) such other factors as the Secretary considers
appropriate.
(c) Report.--Not later than 90 days after completing the assessment
required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit the assessment
to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives.
SEC. 5. REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit
to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives a report--
(1) identifying gaps and opportunities to expand the
appropriate use by the Department of Veterans Affairs of mobile
medical units in rural or underserved areas, including by
identifying the gaps between the capabilities of such units and
the needs of veterans in rural areas;
(2) identifying areas that medical centers of the
Department serve with high rural veteran populations or that
are near high rural veteran populations;
(3) identifying staffing barriers, clinical support and
resources, funding barriers, accessibility barriers,
information technology, and training barriers to improving the
appropriate use of mobile medical units;
(4) identifying ways the Department can engage with local
veterans service organizations to further identify suitable and
accessible locations for mobile medical unit deployments;
(5) identifying how the head of the office designated under
section 2(a) can focus on rectifying the barriers identified
under paragraph (3);
(6) including the findings of the Secretary from the
assessment conducted under section 3;
(7) assessing the findings of the Secretary in response to
the report of the Comptroller General of the United States
published on December 14, 2023, and titled ``VA Health Care:
Actions Needed to Improve Information Reported on Mobile
Medical Units'';
(8) describing any actions taken by the Secretary in
response to the Comptroller General report specified under
paragraph (7); and
(9) recommending any legislative or administrative action
necessary to improve the use of mobile medical units by the
Department.
(b) Veterans Service Organization Defined.--In this section, the
term ``veterans service organization'' means an organization recognized
by the Secretary for the representation of veterans under section 5902
of title 38, United States Code.
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