HB1288, the DRIVE Act of 2025, would amend federal veterans law to increase the Department of Veterans Affairs’ mileage reimbursement rate for beneficiary travel related to health care. The bill requires the VA mileage rate to be at least equal to the rate paid to federal employees using privately owned vehicles for official business when no government vehicle is available. It also removes the current fixed 41.5-cent-per-mile figure and replaces it with a rate tied to the General Services Administration’s reimbursement standard.
In addition to raising the reimbursement floor, the bill would require the VA to process mileage-based travel allowances more quickly. If the Secretary uses the authority to make these payments in a fiscal year, the VA would have to ensure payment is made within 90 days after a properly submitted request. The bill is framed as a beneficiary travel reform intended to reduce out-of-pocket costs for veterans who must travel for medical care.
Impact
The bill would amend section 111 of title 38, United States Code, which governs VA beneficiary travel payments. It would change the statutory mileage reimbursement formula from a fixed cents-per-mile amount to a minimum tied to the federal employee mileage rate under title 5, and it would add a new timeliness requirement for payment processing. The practical effect would be to increase potential travel reimbursements for veterans and impose an administrative deadline on the VA for paying eligible mileage claims.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan and cross-party support based on its original cosponsors, which include members from both parties and a range of ideological backgrounds. No committee transcript or recorded vote is available in the provided materials, but the sponsorship pattern suggests the measure is generally viewed favorably as a veterans’ benefits and access-to-care bill. The absence of recorded opposition in the available context points to a largely positive reception.
Contention
The main policy issue is cost and administration: increasing the mileage reimbursement floor could raise VA spending, and the 90-day payment deadline could require operational changes to claims processing. Any contention would likely center on how the VA funds the higher reimbursement rate, whether tying the rate to the GSA standard is the best benchmark, and whether the agency can reliably meet the new processing timeline. No specific objections are documented in the provided materials.