Fisher House Availability Act of 2026

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chair Bost for yielding time to me.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my bill, the Fisher House Availability Act. This life-changing bill would ease the burden on the families of veterans staying in Fisher Houses across the country by making lodging more accessible for veterans, servicemembers, and their families during treatment.

Thousands of American families travel long distances every year to accompany their veteran loved one so that they can receive serious medical treatment at VA facilities.

The Fisher House Foundation provides those families with a helping hand through free, safe lodging. The Fisher House Foundation and their many volunteers make a painful time bearable.

Fisher Houses help bridge the gap for veterans and their families when care becomes difficult instead of easy. What better mission than to provide a place to stay while their loved one, servicemember, or veteran receives the medical care they need.

The value of these homes can be understood by their numbers. Over the past 30 years, Fisher Houses have served 500,000 people, kept $650 million in people's wallets, and offered 12.5 million nights of lodging.

More than the numbers, however, the value can be understood through the stories, as founder Zachary Fisher put it, hardships we helped ease and friendships we helped form.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe and United States Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom were tragically attacked last year here in D.C. Fisher House provided shelter to the loved ones of Staff Sergeant Wolfe while he received care at a VA-owned home. This is an example of the mission being met.

However, this story is an exception, not the standard. Staff Sergeant Wolfe's family required a waiver in order to stay in the lodging due to burdensome regulations. We must do better, and my bill, the Fisher House Availability Act, would make it so that we can do better.

Under current law, a VA-owned Fisher House cannot let the family of a servicemember stay, even if there is space available, and veterans and military are used to space available. The family of a veteran cannot stay, either, if the veteran happens to need care from a non-VA medical facility.

Mr. Speaker, this interpretation of the law forces the door shut to vacant rooms when space is available that is meant to serve those who serve or who have served.

My bill would fix this issue head-on by not displacing veterans or veterans' families. It would only open the door for more of them. Further, the bill simply ensures that servicemembers have access to available lodging.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to the Fisher House Foundation and to Chairman Bost for supporting this bill, and I am proud to address this issue on behalf of the veteran and military families I know it will help across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3726) to amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make temporary lodging facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs available for certain TRICARE beneficiaries on a space-available basis, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 3726, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3726, the Fisher House Availability Act of 2026, offered by Representative Dr. Miller-Meeks.

The Fisher House Foundation has done great work for our military and veteran families by providing a place to stay while their loved one received medical care.

Helping to ease the emotional and financial burdens, this bill would further that mission by extending eligibility to servicemembers' families, allowing them to stay in these temporary VA lodging facilities.

Simply put, if these homes have space, our military families should be able to use them.

Dr. Miller-Meeks' bill would also improve coordination between VA and DOW, so that we can ensure our military families have the best quality of life.

This bill would also maximize the use of existing resources and help ensure veterans' families have access to safe and affordable lodging when they need it most.

This is a practical solution that makes better use of resources already available to support both those who have served our Nation and their families.

I thank my friend, our Health Subcommittee chairwoman, Dr. Miller- Meeks, for her work on expanding healthcare access.

Mr. Speaker, our servicemembers, veterans, and their families have sacrificed greatly on behalf of this country. I believe we should ensure they have the support and stability they have earned while receiving medical care. This bill answers the call.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 3726, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks), the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support this legislation. This is an opportunity to take advantage of the kindness of family and to continue to do that with everybody who needs this.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3726, the Fisher House Availability Act.

I would first like to thank my colleague, Congresswoman Miller-Meeks, for her leadership on this effort. I am very proud to co-lead this bill with her. I thank the chair and ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee for making this happen.

This bill will ensure that servicemembers and their families are eligible to stay at VA lodging, the Fisher Houses, as we are discussing, when space allows, regardless of where care is provided. It doesn't matter if they are receiving care at a VA facility, a military hospital, or a civilian provider.

Fisher Houses are home away from home near VA and military hospitals. No veteran or servicemember who has served their country should have to face medical care or a hospital stay without the support of their loved ones by their side.

Fisher Houses has allowed these families to be where they are needed most, without worrying about whether they can afford a place to stay. This allows veterans and servicemembers to focus on what is important: the healing process.

I was with family at a military hospital, sitting in the intensive care waiting room, with a young mother whose husband was in intensive care in a coma, and she had a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old. She had no money for a motel or a hotel. She didn't know how she was feeding her children, and they were sleeping on couches in the intensive care.

I was not a Member of Congress then, but I called my friend, Alma Powell, and said that this is unacceptable. No family should not have support.

She introduced me to the Fisher family. At that point, there were just a couple of Fisher Houses. There are now more than 100.

We have two Fisher Houses in Michigan--yes--at the John D. Dingell Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Detroit and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, and I visit them often. I know the work that they do and the comfort that they are able to provide to our military and veteran families during some of the most difficult times.

We must do the right thing for the families of our servicemembers and veterans, and we must always fight to stand up and support our veterans and those who fought to defend our freedoms. This should never be partisan. It is always important to give bipartisan support to our veterans and to our active military.

That is why this matters so much to me, and that is why I strongly support passage of H.R. 3726.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3726, the Fisher House Availability Act of 2026, as amended.

Created in 1990, Fisher Houses have provided veteran and military families a cost-free, home-away-from-home environment while their loved ones receive medical care at nearby VA, DOD, and community hospitals.

Grounded in the understanding that social support is instrumental to the healing process, families of veterans and Active-Duty servicemembers can access these comfortable and welcoming houses without worry about cost and geographical distance from their loved ones who are receiving care.

Regrettably, since the fall of 2024, VA Fisher Houses have been restricted in their ability to serve the entire veteran and military community.

VA made guidance changes at that time that altered eligibility and only permitted families of veterans receiving care at a VA facility to stay at Fisher Houses.

Military families falling outside of this criteria, specifically, Active-Duty families receiving care at facilities near VA medical centers, have been turned away, even when rooms at Fisher Houses have been available.

The bipartisan Fisher House Availability Act of 2026 would restore the flexibility of VA Fisher Houses to not only accommodate veteran families but Active-Duty families on a space-available basis. As veteran families would still receive prioritization, veteran access to VA Fisher Houses will not change.

This bill will increase VA Fisher House usage by simply allowing for eligible DOD beneficiaries to be considered for a room when one is available, while also strengthening the partnership between the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense.

Mr. Speaker, veteran and military caregivers deserve access to VA Fisher Houses. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3726, the Fisher House Availability Act. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell), cosponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the wonderful history of the Fisher Houses and all of the support that my colleague from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell) has given over the years. What a wonderful story about Alma Powell.

Mr. Speaker, with all of that, I ask my colleagues to join me in passing

H.R. 3726, the Fisher House Availability Act, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.