To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure veterans may obtain a physical copy of a certain form by mail or at medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Cost and committee reports

Official records Congress.gov attaches to H.R. 5697.

• Constitutional authority statementThe sponsor’s statement of where the Constitution gives Congress the power to pass this bill. Statement by Mr. BILIRAKIS, as printed in the Congressional Record (Vol. 169, No. 156, September 26, 2023, Page H4500):
  Article 1, Section 8 The single subject of this legislation is: A bill that would mandate the VA maintain the ability to receive Veteran/Beneficiary Claims for Reimbursement of Travel Expenses (VA Form 10-3542) by mail or in person at the VA facility where they receive care.
  Source: Congress.gov, Congressional Record September 26, 2023 ↗

  Evidence

  Field in the Congress.gov record

  constitutionalAuthorityStatementText

  Statement length

  275 characters

  Congress.gov bill record

  H.R. 5697, 118th Congress

  Congress.gov API record

  https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/118/hr/5697

  Record last updated by Congress.gov

  April 29, 2026

  PORKER copy retrieved

  September 14, 2026

  Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file

  73c80d009bf42c1bf5c5f5203cb6408c9289faeeefe0376a00b4efb69697188e

  PORKER shows the statement exactly as printed, with the page markup removed. It is the sponsor’s claim; it is not a legal finding.

Congress.gov’s record for this bill does not list a CBO cost estimate or a committee report (as of April 29, 2026). Not every bill gets one.

From the Congress.gov bill record for H.R. 5697, last updated April 29, 2026. PORKER’s copy was retrieved September 14, 2026 and is refreshed nightly. Open “Evidence” on any line for the record, field and file fingerprint.