The U.S. House approved a bill, with Congressman Dave Joyce as a main sponsor, that ensures the Department of Veterans Affairs reaches out to veterans during their first year out of military service to connect them with needed services and benefits, but passage didn’t come without some controversy.

The Solid Start Act makes permanent a trial VA program that contacts every new veteran three times in their first year after leaving military service to help navigate their transition.

It was approved 296-127 on Thursday in the U.S. House and was passed Sept. 19 in the Senate by unanimous consent.

Right before passage, some House Republicans had threatened to vote against the bill because of a provision stating the VA would provide “women veterans with information that is tailored to their specific health care and benefit needs.”

The provision means the VA could provide abortion services to female veterans in cases of rape, incest or if the life of the mother is jeopardized. About a month ago, the VA said it would provide access to abortion counseling and to abortions in the instances listed.

U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, whose district includes a part of Mahoning County and all of Columbiana County, voted against the bill. That was because of the pro-life provision, Ben Keeler, his spokesman, said.

The issue with some Republicans led U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin — a Democrat from Lansing, Mich., who sponsored the bill with Joyce, R-Bainbridge — to deliver a floor speech Wednesday, the day before the vote, criticizing some Republicans for their “heartless, violent approach to women’s health.”

She added: “If that’s what you want for veterans, shame on you. Shame on you.” and the bill “should be the most bipartisan issue in the world and you’re making it political.”

Slotkin’s remarks were directed specifically to U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, a Republican from Murphysboro, Ill., and ranking minority member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said Austin Cook, Slotkin’s spokesman. Bost ended up voting in favor of the bill.

Slotkin defended “the bill from partisan GOP attacks over language around women’s health,” Cook said. “After that speech, enough Republicans backed down from their threats to block the bill and voted for it.”

Joyce, whose district includes part of Trumbull County, issued a statement touting the passage of the bill, but didn’t specifically mention the abortion issue though it did include the language that the VA has to provide “women veterans with information that is tailored to their specific health care and benefit needs.”

Asked Friday to comment, Katherine Sears, Joyce’s spokeswoman, said the bill passed “with the support of over 80 pro-life Republicans after passing the Senate by unanimous consent.”

In a prepared statement, Joyce said: “Veterans shouldn’t struggle to understand or access mental health care, education benefits or any other critical resource or service as they transition back to civilian life. As the son of a World War II veteran, I refuse to allow the brave men and women who have served our country to slip through the cracks. I was proud to introduce this bill to successfully connect veterans with the resources at their disposal following their discharge, separation or retirement and am eager for it to be signed into law.”

President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law.

Joyce’s office said the bill prioritizes outreach to veterans who accessed mental health resources prior to leaving military service in order to best serve at-risk veterans. Since the trial program began in 2019, the VA has confirmed it has successfully connected with more than 157,000 separated service members, according to Joyce’s office.

In addition to making the program permanent, the legislation authorizes the funding necessary to support the program and implement improvements by requiring the Government Accountability Office to assess its effectiveness.

Once the bill is signed into law, the VA would be required, among other things, to call each veteran three times within the first year after separation, conduct quality assurance testing to ensure calls are relevant to the needs of each individual veteran, provide information on access to state and local resources, collect up-to-date contact information throughout the transition process and follow up on missed calls and other forms of outreach.