On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, introduced the Automotive Support Services to Improved Safe Transportation Act, a bill which would expand the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ coverage of vehicle modifications for disabled veterans. Tuberville’s bill acts as companion legislation to H.R. 1364, which unanimously passed the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee last week.
Currently, the VA can only offer financial assistance for specific vehicle modifications like wheelchair tie-downs, van lifts and raised roofs. If passed into law, the ASSIST Act would expand that list of eligible adaptive equipment to include ramp and kneeling systems, mobility device lifts, and ingress or egress accessibility modifications for disabled veterans.
Tuberville, who represents Alabama on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, applauded the ASSIST Act in an official statement as he introduced his companion legislation in the Senate.
“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 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.”
Although the ASSIST Act looks to expand the VA’s ability to provide financial assistance to disabled veterans, the agency itself is currently facing significant cuts from the Trump administration. Those cuts — which include the planned firing of over 80,000 VA employees — are reportedly resulting in widespread disruptions in veterans’ healthcare, including decreased access to treatments, therapies and “life-saving cancer trials” for veterans.
Sen. Tuberville has been a staunch supporter of President Trump and DOGE-czar Elon Musk’s mission to weed out “waste, fraud and abuse” in the federal government, standing by the administration’s cuts to agencies like the VA.
“The president and the Department of Government Efficiency have quickly exposed how bureaucrats in the federal government have been taking the American taxpayers for a ride. As a proud member of the Senate DOGE caucus, I couldn’t be more thrilled,” Tuberville wrote in a March op-ed.
While Tuberville lauds the cuts spearheaded by Musk and DOGE, other lawmakers — including supporters of the ASSIST Act — view the administration’s relentless downsizing efforts as reckless and particularly harmful for veterans.
“We all want to cut waste, fraud, and abuse, but what we see today is when you cancel a contract, it means the end of a clinical trial that’s going to save someone’s life,” U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander — a New Hampshire Democrat and one of the primary co-sponsors of the ASSIST Act in the House — recently said of Trump’s VA cuts.
For now, Tuberville’s version of the ASSIST Act awaits further consideration by the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
