H.R. 232House118th Congress (2023-2025)In Committee

Real Justice for Our Veterans Act of 2023

AI-Generated Summary

Updated January 20, 2026 at 2:05 AM UTC

The Real Justice for Our Veterans Act of 2023 amends the 1968 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act to improve veterans treatment courts. It requires the Attorney General to report on program effectiveness and whether racial, ethnic minorities and women have equal access. It creates a pilot grant program to help local courts retain veterans in treatment and drug courts, and allows veterans to join drug courts when a veterans court is not available.

Key Provisions

Attorney General must submit a report within three years evaluating veterans treatment courts, including data on participants, evidence‑based treatments, recidivism, completion rates, and equity for minorities and women.
Establishes a pilot grant program, funded at $3 million per year from FY2023‑2028, for local governments operating veterans treatment or drug courts to develop retention‑focused treatment models.
Grant applicants must detail their therapeutic approach, provide supporting data, and report demographic and completion information after receiving funds.
Permits veterans, even violent offenders, to be placed in drug courts in jurisdictions that lack a veterans treatment court.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

January 10, 2023

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

January 10, 2023

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

January 10, 2023

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.R. 232 on the floor

1 Democrat

Rep. Sheila Jackson LeeD-TX-18 · Nov 9, 2023

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States and risked their lives to defend our freedoms and way of life and took and lived the oath to ``support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.''

Our Veterans have borne ``true faith and allegiance to the same, an obligation they took freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.''

Veterans are truly heroes walking among us.

I want to thank all of our armed servicemen and women for their selfless dedication to our protection every day.

Veterans Day is a reminder to all of us who live in freedom that as President Kennedy said, ``The price of freedom is high, but Americans have always paid it.''

This Veterans Day is a welcome opportunity to remember the fallen who gave the last full measure of devotion to their country on battlefields around the world--in places whose names may be unforgettable--or locations that have slipped into the pages of history.

We will never forget:

Revolutionary War--Valley Forge; York Town;

Civil War--The Battle of Antietam; The Battle of

Gettysburg;

World War I--The Battle of Argonne; Flanders Field; Verdun;

World War II--Pearl Harbor; Battle of Bataan; The Battle of

Midway; D-Day; Battle of the Bulge; Battle of Anzio; Battle

of Corregidor;

Korean War--Inchon; Heart Break Ridge; Pork Chop Hill;

Vietnam--Tet Offensive; Battle of Hue;

Desert Storm--September 11, 2001; Pentagon Attack (125

killed);

Operation Enduring Freedom; Battle of Kandahar;

Operation Iraqi Freedom; Second Battle of Fallujah;

Operation Allies Refuge; Operation Allies Welcome.

The memory of the fallen is never forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, each Veterans Day, Americans come together to remember those who have served our country around the world in the name of freedom and democracy.

The debt that we owe to them is immeasurable.

Their sacrifices, and those of their families, are freedom's foundation.

Without the brave efforts of all the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and Coast Guardsmen and women and their families, our country would not live so freely.

I offer my deepest gratitude to our nation's 1.4 million troops and reservists, their families, and the 16.2 million veterans, including 22,809 here in the 18th Congressional District.

16.2 million brave men and women are veterans of our nation's military service.

This includes more than 1.7 million women, 2.7 million African American men and women, 1.32 million Hispanic men and women, 342,000 Asian American Pacific Islanders, and 113,000 American Indians.

Of the veteran population in the country, 1.5 million veterans call Texas their home.

We use Veterans Day to show our veterans and military families how important they are to us and how grateful we are for them each day.

November is National Caregivers Month to show our caregivers how grateful we are for them.

It is only fitting that we thank those caregivers who serve our military today.

5.5 million spouses, parents, children, and other loved ones care for our wounded warriors and 15 percent of caregivers spend 40+ hours a week providing care for our military families.

As a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland Security, I care deeply about our veterans.

In Congress, I have sponsored many legislative proposals and co- sponsored more than 50 pieces of legislation that will positively benefit our veterans and their families.

Including H.R. 232, the Real Justice for Our Veterans Act of 2023, which looks to prioritize veterans court treatment programs, ensuring equal access for women, as well as racial and ethnic minorities who have served.

Additionally, I introduced H.R. 236, which would create a ``Battle Buddy Check Week,'' meant to provide outreach and education, as well as peer wellness checks for Veterans.

On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldiers behind.

As a Nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we will leave no veteran behind.

This day and every day, let us honor their service with actions that fulfill our commitment to our troops, their families, and our veterans--and that are worthy of our grateful Nation.

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued January 10, 2023

118th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 232

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 10, 2023

Ms. Jackson Lee introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to prioritize veterans court treatment programs that ensure equal access for racial and ethnic minorities and women, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Real Justice for Our Veterans Act of 2023.

Equal access to veterans court treatment programs for racial and ethnic minorities and women

Section 2991(i)(2) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10651(i)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(C)

Report

Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on the effectiveness of veterans treatment court programs. In preparing such a report, the Attorney General shall conduct a national multi-site evaluation of such programs, including an assessment of—

(i)

the population served by such programs;

(ii)

whether such programs use evidence-based treatments for substance use and mental health, including medication for addiction treatment;

(iii)

recidivism rates of participants in such programs;

(iv)

program completion rates; and

(v)

whether racial and ethnic minorities and women have equal access to such programs and an equal opportunity to complete such programs, including by collecting and analyzing data related to admission in such programs and completion of such programs, to ensure there are not disparities related to race, ethnicity, or sex.

Veterans pilot program on promising retention models

(a)

Establishment

The Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, shall carry out a pilot program to make grants to eligible units of local government to improve retention in veterans treatment court programs (as such term is defined in section 2991 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10651)) and drug court programs.

(b)

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for a grant under subsection (a), a unit of local government shall operate a veterans treatment court program or a drug court.

(c)

Application

A unit of local government seeking a grant through the pilot program under subsection (a) shall submit to the Attorney General an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Attorney General may reasonably require, including—

(1)

a description of the therapeutic or treatment modality that the unit of local government plans to implement and data to support the use of the therapeutic or treatment modality, including information showing how the therapeutic or treatment modality will promote retention in and completion of veterans treatment court programs and drug court programs; and

(2)

detailed plans on how the applicant would test the efficacy of the therapeutic or treatment modality.

(d)

Reporting metrics

Not later than 180 days after receiving a grant under subsection (a), a unit of local government shall submit to the Attorney General a report, which includes demographic information of participants in the veterans treatment court program, and completion rates of such participants. The Attorney General shall develop guidelines for the report required under this subsection.

(e)

Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2028 to carry out this section.

Admission of veterans to drug courts

In the case of a jurisdiction that does not operate a veterans treatment court program (as such term is defined in section 2991 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10651)), but that does operate a drug court under part EE of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10611 et seq.), a veteran who would be eligible to participate in a veterans treatment court program may participate in the drug court, including a veteran who is a violent offender (as such term is defined in section 2953(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10613(a))).