VA goes smoke-free: veterans, staff gain healthier facilities
H.R. 3855 — To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit smoking on the premises of any facility of the Veterans Health Administration, and for other purposes. · Filed by Neal Dunn (R-FL) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jun 10, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
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What it does
This bill prohibits smoking—including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and e-cigarettes—on all Veterans Health Administration (VHA) premises by any person (veterans, patients, employees, contractors, visitors). It amends federal law to establish a comprehensive smoke-free policy across VA medical centers, nursing homes, clinics, and counseling centers, and repeals a prior provision from the 1992 Veterans Health Care Act.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a straightforward smoking prohibition on VA property, grounded in occupational and environmental health protection for a vulnerable population. It is routine public-health legislation with no hidden provisions or narrow beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- May create enforcement challenges at VA facilities without clear compliance mechanisms or penalties for violations.
- Could affect veteran access or comfort at VA facilities if smokers avoid seeking care due to the restriction, though public-health literature suggests smoke-free policies do not materially reduce healthcare utilization.
- Repeals Section 526 of the 1992 Veterans Health Care Act; the bill does not state what that section contained, so the full scope of the repeal cannot be assessed from this text alone.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Veterans, patients, and staff at VA facilities gain protection from secondhand smoke exposure and a healthier environment; the restriction applies equally to all persons and serves a clear public-health purpose. The cost—inability to smoke on VA grounds—is a minor inconvenience compared to the health benefit to a vulnerable population (veterans, many with service-related health conditions).
Named in the bill
Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), General Services Administration, Public Law 102–585 (Veterans Health Care Act of 1992)
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Jun 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 10, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Veterans' Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $0 in lobbying spend. A filing names 10 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Neal Dunn, the sponsor, reported $438,583 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights — $0 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 21, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,565 characters) on Jun 3, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 21, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“VA goes smoke-free: veterans, staff gain healthier facilities” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr3855 Report an error
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