Sen. Scott Introduces SCHEDULES Act to Track and Report VA Appointment Wait Times
The SCHEDULES Act of 2026 is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently introduced in the Senate and sent to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs for review. There are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time.
Companion bill: Rep. Franklin Introduces the SCHEDULES Act to Track VA Appointment Wait Times →While veterans' issues often get bipartisan support, most bills introduced by a single senator without a large group of cosponsors fail to make it out of committee.
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Veterans using VA healthcare would benefit from a clear, enforceable standard for how quickly they should be seen after a referral. The quarterly public reports ranking VA facilities would create pressure on underperforming locations to improve, potentially reducing the long wait times that have plagued the system. However, the bill creates transparency and accountability requirements rather than direct funding or new care capacity, so actual improvement in wait times would depend on the VA acting on the data.
“The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a comprehensive standard for timing between the date on which a referral for care for a veteran under the laws administered by the Secretary is entered into the care coordination system of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the date on which an appointment for care for the veteran occurs”
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Sen. Rick Scott introduced the SCHEDULES Act to require the VA to create a department-wide standard for wait times between referrals and appointments. The bill mandates quarterly reports to Congress and public rankings of VA medical centers to ensure accountability for veteran care.
The SCHEDULES Act establishes a comprehensive standard for how quickly veterans receive care after a referral. It requires the VA to publish these standards, provide quarterly reports to Congress, and rank medical centers from best to worst based on their performance in meeting wait-time goals.
Rep. Scott Franklin filed the bipartisan SCHEDULES Act in the House, seeking to tighten VA referral timelines. The legislation would require the VA to report progress to Congress and sets a national timing standard for both VA facilities and community care referrals.
No votes recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
SCHEDULES Act of 2026
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