Military finally studying menopause in servicewomen and veterans
S. 1320 — Servicewomen and Veterans Menopause Research Act · Filed by Patty Murray (D-WA) · 10 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 8, 2025 · Reported out
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What it does
This bill directs the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs to evaluate existing research on menopause and mid-life women's health among servicewomen and veterans, identify gaps in knowledge and treatment options, assess training resources for military and VA healthcare providers, and submit a report with recommendations and a strategic research plan within 180 days. It does not appropriate funds or mandate new research, but expresses Congress's sense that such research should be conducted.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a straightforward directive to federal health agencies to evaluate and report on menopause research gaps and training needs specific to military and veteran populations, with a non-binding sense of Congress encouraging further research.
What the text implies
- The bill's focus on combat-related exposures (burn pits, PFAS, toxic chemicals) may surface previously undocumented health impacts on servicewomen, potentially creating liability or compensation pressure on DoD.
- Identifying gaps in menopause treatment and provider training could lead to future appropriations requests or mandate expansion of VA/DoD healthcare services.
- The strategic plan requirement may reveal disparities in how menopause is addressed across military branches and VA regions, potentially driving policy standardization.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Servicewomen and female veterans gain from improved understanding of menopause-related health issues specific to military service (including combat exposure, burn pit exposure, and PFAS contamination), better provider training, and identification of treatment gaps. The bill creates no new restrictions on citizens' rights or remedies and imposes no costs on the general public.
Named in the bill
Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services, Armed Forces, Congress
Where it stands
10 cosponsors: 5 Democrats, 4 Republicans, 1 Independents.
- Apr 8, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Apr 8, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs”
- May 21, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held”
- Jul 30, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
3 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,955,904 in lobbying spend. A filing names 50 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 61% of bills with at least one filing.
Patty Murray, the sponsor, reported $307,200 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- American Academy of Family Physicians — $1,715,904 on 2 filings
- Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc. — $120,000 on 2 filings
- Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Inc — $120,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 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 (4,243 characters) on Jul 25, 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 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Military finally studying menopause in servicewomen and veterans” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s1320 Report an error
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