Tuberville Introduces Legislation to Help Disabled Veterans

May 14, 2025 - WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced the Automotive Support Services to Improved Safe Transportation (ASSIST) Act, which would help disabled veterans make the vehicle modifications they need to travel safely by giving the VA greater flexibility to offer financial assistance for a wider range of necessary adaptations.

"We take things like driving or riding in a vehicle for granted, but for some veterans, operating a vehicle can be challenging without the proper modifications," said Senator Tuberville. "Alabama is home to more than 400,000 veterans, and we want to ensure that each of them has the necessary resources to lead safe, independent lives. The ASSIST Act is a commonsense piece of legislation that would give veterans access to needed vehicle modifications such as ramps and device lifts. I'm proud to lead the ASSIST Act in the Senate and will continue fighting to help the heroes who have sacrificed so much for us."

BACKGROUND:

As Alabama's voice on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, the ASSIST Act follows a series of bills Senator Tuberville has introduced to make small, yet meaningful changes to how the VA delivers care and benefits to veterans. Last week, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs passed the ASSIST Act unanimously out of committee.

Currently, the VA is restricted to funding only a limited list of adaptive equipment, such as wheelchair tie-downs, van lifts, and raised roofs. This unintentionally limits, and in many cases prevents all together, some veterans from being able to make necessary modifications to their vehicles such as ramp and kneeling systems, mobility device lifts, and ingress or egress accessibility modifications. The ASSIST Act fixes this gap in assistance and would help ensure veterans are able to continue traveling safely and freely.