The House Monday overwhelmingly passed the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, which increases veterans’ access to in-home health care and provider services outside the VA system, as Military.com reported.

“The Dole Act would change the landscape for elderly veterans and finally give them a choice in where they choose to live out their sunset years,” House Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Mike Bost, (R-Ill.) said on the House floor.

The bill had been stalled for almost two years as Republicans and Democrats tweaked the language.

“This is not a perfect package – they rarely are – but it achieves many of the goals we set out to accomplish at the beginning of the Congress, and better late than never,” said Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), the committee’s top Democrat.

The bill also raises the amount of housing per diem the VA can pay to organizations providing short-term transitional housing and allowing VA to provide unhoused veterans with comfort items and rideshare services to medical appointments.

“I am eager to see this package now quickly pass in the Senate and be sent to the President’s desk for his signature,” former Sen. Elizabeth Dole said in a statement.

Senate leaders have not said if they will bring the bill to the floor, which they’d need to do before the end of the year.

Air Force photo by Ismael Ortega