S. 423, Public Law 119-33

Congress will receive regular information about VA finances, executive incentive payments, and efforts to improve services for veterans and other beneficiaries.

What the law does ​

• Requires the VA Secretary to brief designated House and Senate committees quarterly for three years on the department’s budget, funding shortfalls, and response plans.
• Generally bars critical-skill incentives for senior executives at the VA Central Office and requires individual awards and specified approvals for other senior executives.
• Requires annual reports to congressional veterans’ affairs committees on senior executives receiving critical-skill incentives.
• Establishes a Veterans Experience Office reporting directly to the VA Secretary to coordinate customer-experience policy, gather feedback and usage data, review public information, and recommend improvements.
• Requires the office to protect personal information, support annual reports to Congress, and close on September 30, 2028.
• Directs the Comptroller General to independently review the VA’s customer-experience methods and results.

Who it affects ​

• Veterans and other beneficiaries who use VA services.
• VA senior executives, especially those based at the VA Central Office.
• VA officials responsible for budgets, customer experience, data, and public-facing information.
• Congressional committees overseeing veterans’ affairs and VA funding.

Context ​

The Veterans Experience Office is temporary and ends on September 30, 2028.

Breakdown ​

To protect regular order for budgeting for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. ​

This law increases congressional oversight of Department of Veterans Affairs budget shortfalls and restricts critical-skill incentive payments for senior VA employees. It also formally creates a temporary Veterans Experience Office to improve how veterans and other beneficiaries experience VA services, requires related reports, and directs an independent review of those efforts.

Key takeaways

• For three years, the VA Secretary must brief designated House and Senate committees in person each quarter on the VA budget and any funding shortfall.
• If the VA reports a shortfall, the Secretary must present plans to address or reduce it during the briefing.
• Senior executives whose positions are at the VA Central Office generally cannot receive critical-skill incentives, while incentives for other senior executives must be awarded individually and receive specified approvals.
• The VA must report annually to the congressional veterans’ affairs committees on senior executives who received critical-skill incentives.
• The law establishes a Veterans Experience Office reporting directly to the VA Secretary to coordinate customer-experience policy, collect feedback and usage data, assess public-facing information, and recommend service improvements.
• The Veterans Experience Office must support annual reporting to Congress, protect personal information, and end on September 30, 2028, while the Comptroller General must independently review the VA’s customer-experience methods and results.