VA must staff sexual assault nurses at every hospital
H.R. 602 — SANE Act of 2025 · Filed by Tim Burchett (R-TN) · 10 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 22, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to employ at least one sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) at each VA hospital and urgent care facility, or a qualified alternative if a SANE is unavailable. After examining a veteran for sexual assault, the provider must refer the veteran to mental health services, either within the VA or through a Veterans Care Agreement if VA wait times exceed 30 days. The bill also requires that these new duties not reduce existing patient care responsibilities.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is a direct operational mandate to the VA to staff specialized sexual assault response capacity and establish a care referral pathway. It is a public-health and veterans-services measure, not a financial mechanism or commemorative act.
What the text implies
- The 30-day wait-time threshold for external mental health referral may create incentive for VA to manage internal wait times strategically; if internal wait times consistently exceed 30 days, the bill effectively shifts mental health burden to external Veterans Care Agreements, potentially straining community provider networks.
- The requirement that SANE duties not reduce existing patient care responsibilities may create staffing pressure if SANEs are hired without corresponding backfill or if existing staff are reassigned; implementation cost and feasibility depend on appropriations not specified in the bill.
- Definitions of SANE and sexual assault forensic examination are cross-referenced to the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2004, meaning changes to that statute's definitions would automatically alter this bill's scope without explicit amendment.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Veterans who experience sexual assault gain access to specialized forensic examination and guaranteed mental health referral, addressing a documented gap in VA sexual assault response capacity. The mandate ensures consistent, trauma-informed care across all VA facilities regardless of location or facility size.
Named in the bill
Department of Veterans Affairs, VA hospitals, VA urgent care facilities, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE), Veterans Care Agreement, DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2004
Where it stands
10 cosponsors: 8 Democrats, 2 Republicans.
- Jan 22, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 22, 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.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,497 characters) on Aug 17, 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.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“VA must staff sexual assault nurses at every hospital” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr602 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.