Congress raises VA mileage reimbursement for veterans' medical travel
H.R. 1288 — DRIVE Act of 2025 · Filed by Julia Brownley (D-CA) · 52 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 13, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill increases the mileage reimbursement rate that the Department of Veterans Affairs pays to veterans traveling for health care. Instead of a fixed rate, the VA must now reimburse at the same rate the federal government pays its own employees for using personal vehicles on official business (currently 67 cents per mile under the General Services Administration standard). The bill also requires the VA to process and pay mileage reimbursement requests within 90 days.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to raise the mileage reimbursement rate for veterans' health-related travel and impose a processing deadline. It is a straightforward benefit expansion for a defined beneficiary class.
What the text implies
- The bill ties the VA rate to the GSA employee rate, which means the VA reimbursement will automatically increase whenever the federal government raises its employee mileage standard, without requiring future legislative action.
- Veterans in rural areas with longer travel distances to VA facilities will see proportionally larger absolute dollar increases in reimbursement, potentially improving access equity.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
veterans receiving VA health care