S. 2943Active in CommitteeMarket BullishArmed Forces and National Security

ACE Veterans Act

Official Congressional Title (ACE Veterans Act)

ACE Veterans Act

Sponsor:Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL)

Cosponsors (6 total):

6 Dem•0 Rep

Bipartisan Consensus Score5/100

Legislative Status Tracker (Latest Action: 2025-09-30)

Introduced

In Committee

Passed 1 Chamber

Passed Both

Signed into Law

Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

The Plain-English Breakdown

This Senate legislation (S. 2943) addresses armed forces and national security by proposing statutory changes described as: "ACE Veterans Act"

What Actually Changes in Real Life If Passed

Updates federal statute under the Armed Forces and National Security policy area (S. 2943).
Sponsored by Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] with 6 cosponsor(s).
Latest status (2025-09-30): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Clause-by-Clause: Official Verbiage vs. Plain English

Side-by-side translation of the bill's key statutory sections

Core Statutory DirectiveArmed Forces and National Security

📜 Official Statutory Verbiage

“ACE Veterans Act”

✨ Plain-English Translation

ACE Veterans Act

Who Wins / Benefits

Armed Forces and National Security Stakeholders & Constituents

Primary targeted beneficiaries of the statutory updates or authorizations in this bill.

Who Pays / Loses

Federal Agency / Compliance Budget

Requires administrative implementation or reallocation of federal resources.

Market & Public Equity Impact

Sectors, ETFs, and public companies exposed to this legislation

Market Bullish

Monitored under Aerospace & Defense for legislative and regulatory ripple effects.

ITAiShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF

POSITIVE

Federal defense authorizations and procurement programs support contractor backlogs.

Rider & Hidden Pork Detector

Checks for unrelated attachments, earmarks, or omnibus logrolling

Rider Complexity18/100

Targeted single-topic legislation with low rider complexity.

Legalese Jargon Decoder

Phrases in this bill that sound technical—and what they really mean

"...and for other purposes"

Plain Meaning: Allows lawmakers to include related or secondary provisions inside the bill that aren't explicitly listed in the first sentence of the title.

Why Congress uses it: Standard Congressional drafting catch-all so procedural objections can't strike down clauses that go slightly beyond a narrow title.

"Notwithstanding any other provision of law..."

Plain Meaning: This rule overrides any existing federal laws that might conflict with it.

Why Congress uses it: Used as a legal trump card so courts and agencies must follow this new rule even if older laws say the opposite.

Official Congressional Record

Congressional Research Service (CRS) & Statutory Text

Official Legislative Verbiage Excerpt

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2943 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2943

  To amend chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, to direct the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to allow a veteran to receive a full-year 
supply of contraceptive pills, transdermal patches, vaginal rings, and 
         other contraceptive products, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 30, 2025

Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Murray, Ms. 
 Alsobrooks, Mr. Heinrich, and Mrs. Shaheen) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To amend chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, to direct the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to allow a veteran to receive a full-year 
supply of contraceptive pills, transdermal patches, vaginal rings, and 
         other contraceptive products, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Access to Contraception Expansion 
for Veterans Act'' or the ``ACE Veterans Act''.

SEC. 2. FULL-YEAR SUPPLY OF CONTRACEPTIVE PILLS, TRANSDERMAL PATCHES, 
              VAGINAL RINGS, AND OTHER CONTRACEPTIVE PRODUCTS.

    (a) Full Year Supply.--Subchapter II of chapter 17 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1720L the 
following new section:
``Sec. 1720M. Full-year supply of contraceptive pills, transdermal 
              patches, vaginal rings, and other contraceptive products
    ``(a) Availability of Full-Year Supply.--The Secretary shall ensure 
that a veteran who is enrolled in the system of annual patient 
enrollment under section 1705 of this title and to whom a medical 
provider of the Department prescribes contraceptive pills, transdermal 
patches, vaginal rings, or other contraceptive products may elect to 
fill such prescription as a full-year supply.
    ``(b) Notice.--A medical provider of the Department who prescribes 
to a veteran contraceptive pills, transdermal patches, vaginal rings, 
or other contraceptive products shall notify the veteran of the option 
to fill the prescription as a full-year supply.
    ``(c) Contraceptive Product Defined.--In this section, the term 
`contraceptive product' means any drug, device, or biological product 
intended for use in the prevention of pregnancy, whether specifically 
intended to prevent pregnancy or for other health needs, that is 
approved, cleared, authorized, or licensed under section 505, 510(k), 
513(f)(2), 515, or 564 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
U.S.C. 355, 360(k), 360c(f)(2), 360e, 360bbb-3) or section 351 of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
1720L the following new item:

``1720M. Full-year supply of contraceptive pills, transdermal patches, 
                            vaginal rings, and other contraceptive 
                            products.''.
                                 <all>

Official Action Timeline

2025-09-30

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

2025-09-30

Introduced in Senate