[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 423 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 423
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To protect regular order for budgeting for the Department of Veterans
Affairs, 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. PROTECTING REGULAR ORDER FOR VETERANS.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Protecting
Regular Order for Veterans Act of 2025'' or the ``PRO Veterans Act of
2025''.
(b) Quarterly Briefings on Department of Veterans Affairs Budgetary
Shortfalls.--
(1) Quarterly briefings.--
(A) Quarterly briefings required.--During the first
quarter beginning after the date of the enactment of
this Act and in each quarter thereafter until the date
that is three years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
provide to the appropriate committees of Congress a
quarterly briefing, in person, on the budget of the
Department of Veterans Affairs and any shortfall the
Department may be experiencing.
(B) Plans.--In any case in which the Secretary
informs Congress during a briefing under paragraph (1)
that the Department is experiencing a shortfall, the
Secretary shall, during such briefing, present the
plans of the Secretary to address or mitigate the
shortfall.
(2) Definitions.--In this subsection:
(A) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(i) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
and
(ii) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(B) Shortfall.--The term ``shortfall'', with
respect to a fiscal year, means that the amount of
appropriations required by the Department of Veterans
Affairs for such fiscal year to meet all of the
statutory obligations of the Department during that
fiscal year exceeds the amount of appropriations
requested for the Department for that fiscal year in
the budget of the President submitted pursuant to
section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, for
that fiscal year.
(c) Limitations on Provision of Incentives for Critical Skills to
Senior Executive Service Employees of Department of Veterans Affairs.--
Section 706(d) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(7)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B)(ii), a critical skill
incentive may not be provided under paragraph (1) to an employee of the
Department employed in a Senior Executive Service position, or a
position in another comparable system for senior-level Government
employees, as defined by the Secretary, whose position is at the
Central Office of the Department, including the Veterans Health
Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the National
Cemetery Administration, regardless of the actual location where the
employee performs the functions of the position.
``(B)(i) A critical skill incentive provided under paragraph (1) to
an employee of the Department employed in a Senior Executive Service
position, or a position in another comparable system for senior-level
Government employees, as defined by the Secretary, not described in
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph may only be provided--
``(I) on an individual basis and may not be provided to a
group of such employees; and
``(II) upon approval of the following officers or those
serving in an acting capacity:
``(aa) The Under Secretary for Benefits, the Under
Secretary for Health, or the Under Secretary for
Memorial Affairs.
``(bb) The Assistant Secretary for Human Resources
and Administration.
``(cc) The Director of the Office of Management or
the Chief Financial Officer.
``(dd) The Assistant Secretary for Accountability
and Whistleblower Protection.
``(ee) The General Counsel.
``(ff) Such other officers as the Secretary
determines appropriate.
``(ii) In the case of an employee of the Department employed in a
Senior Executive Service position, or a position in another comparable
system for senior-level Government employees, as defined by the
Secretary, whose position is primarily at the Central Office of the
Department, but who performs some portion of the employee's job
function at other facilities of the Department, as defined by the
Secretary, not at Central Office--
``(I) the employee shall not be considered described in
subparagraph (A) with respect to the portion of the employee's
job function that is based out of non-Central Office facilities
of the Department; and
``(II) any critical skill incentive provided under
paragraph (1) to the employee for the portion of the employee's
job function that is based out of facilities of the Department
other than the Central Office shall be proportionate to the
time spent at those Department facilities.
``(C)(i) Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of
the Protecting Regular Order for Veterans Act of 2025, and not less
frequently than once each year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit
to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives an annual report
on the employees of the Department employed in a Senior Executive
Service position, or a position in another comparable system for
senior-level Government employees, as defined by the Secretary, who
were provided a critical skill incentive under paragraph (1).
``(ii) Reports submitted pursuant to clause (i) may be submitted by
incorporating their contents into other congressionally mandated
reports to the committees described in such clause.
``(D) In this paragraph, the term `Senior Executive Service
position' has the meaning given such term in section 3132(a) of title
5.''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF VETERANS EXPERIENCE OFFICE.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Improving
Veterans' Experience Act of 2025''.
(b) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 3 of title 38, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 325. Veterans experience office
``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department within
the Office of the Secretary an office to be known as the `Veterans
Experience Office' (in this section referred to as the `Office').
``(b) Head of Office.--(1) The head of the Office shall be the
Chief Veterans Experience Officer.
``(2) The Chief Veterans Experience Officer shall--
``(A) be appointed by the Secretary from among individuals
the Secretary considers qualified to perform the duties of the
position;
``(B) report directly to the Secretary; and
``(C) be responsible for carrying out the functions of the
Office set forth under subsection (c).
``(c) Function.--The functions of the Office are as follows:
``(1) Carrying out the key customer experience initiatives
of the Department relating to veterans' and other
beneficiaries' satisfaction with and usage of benefits and
services furnished under laws administered by the Secretary for
which they are eligible, including setting the strategy,
framework, policy, and other guidance for the Department
relating to customer experience, including ensuring the
activities of the Office and those of other organizations and
offices within the Department are coordinated and not
duplicative.
``(2) Requiring the heads of other organizations and
offices within the Department to report regularly on customer
experience metrics, action plans, and other customer experience
improvement efforts to the Chief Veterans Experience Officer.
``(3) Collecting veteran-derived data--
``(A) to determine veteran and beneficiary
satisfaction with and usage of the benefits and
services furnished under laws administered by the
Secretary for which they are eligible; and
``(B) to be considered during policymaking.
``(4) Providing strategic guidance and strategies to
Department entities for engaging with veterans and
beneficiaries regarding benefits and services furnished under
laws administered by the Secretary, including those not using
such benefits and services.
``(5) Assessing and advising the Secretary on the accuracy
and helpfulness of the websites and other customer-facing
information of the Department, be it available electronically
or in any other format.
``(6) Assessing and advising the Secretary on the status
and opportunities for improvement of the customer service
efforts of the Department.
``(d) Reports.--(1) Each year, the Chief Veterans Experience
Officer shall submit to the Secretary a summary of the data received by
the Chief Veterans Experience Officer under subsection (c)(2).
``(2) Each year, not later than 180 days after the date on which
the Secretary receives the summary under paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall submit to Congress an annual summary and analysis of the matters
summarized pursuant to such paragraph.
``(3) Each annual summary submitted pursuant to paragraph (2) shall
include the following:
``(A) Data regarding customer service and experience
feedback, disaggregated by benefit or service furnished under
laws administered by the Secretary, and relevant demographic
data of the veterans and beneficiaries providing the feedback.
``(B) Data regarding veteran and beneficiary satisfaction
with and usage of benefits or services, disaggregated by
benefit or service furnished under laws administered by the
Secretary, and relevant demographic data of the veterans and
beneficiaries providing the feedback, including--
``(i) potential reasons for not using the benefits
or services, such as--
``(I) eligibility;
``(II) lack of knowledge or awareness of
existence of benefit or service;
``(III) barriers of technology,
information, or time; and
``(IV) other related reasons; and
``(ii) an analysis of how such reasons may be
addressed.
``(e) Staff and Resources.--(1) The Secretary shall ensure that--
``(A) the Office has such staff, resources, and access to
customer service and experience information as may be necessary
to carry out the functions of the Office; and
``(B) any information provided to the Office does not
include personally identifiable information of an individual
veteran, survivor, dependent, or other beneficiary unless such
individual provides appropriate consent to allow such
information to be shared with the Office.
``(2) Funds available for basic pay and other administrative
expenses of other Department organizations and offices may be available
to reimburse the Office for all services provided at rates which will
recover actual costs for services provided to such organizations if the
Secretary determines that contributing to such costs will not undermine
the ability of any such organization or office to provide services
required by such office.
``(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize an
increase in the number of full-time employees otherwise authorized for
the Department.
``(f) Privacy.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to
authorize the Chief Veterans Experience Officer to disclose any record
in contravention of section 552a of title 5 (commonly referred to as
the `Privacy Act of 1974').
``(g) Sunset.--The requirements and authorities of this section
shall terminate on September 30, 2028.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of chapter 3 of such title is amended by adding at
the end the following new item:
``325. Veterans Experience Office.''.
(c) Comptroller General of the United States Review of Veterans
Experience Office and Customer Service Improvement Efforts.--Not later
than 540 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall--
(1) complete an analysis of the methodology, effectiveness,
and implementation of findings and feedback of veterans and
beneficiaries used by the Department of Veterans Affairs,
including the Veterans Experience Office, to improve veteran
and beneficiary customer experience and satisfaction, including
through the use of what are known as ``trust-scores'', Veteran
Signals also known as ``VSignals'', and related survey and data
collection activities, processes, and initiatives; and
(2) submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the
Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives a report setting forth the findings of the
Comptroller General with respect to the analysis completed
pursuant to paragraph (1).
Passed the Senate April 8, 2025.
Attest:
Secretary.
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 423
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To protect regular order for budgeting for the Department of Veterans
Affairs, and for other purposes.