House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), along with Representatives Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Keith Self (R-Texas), and Mike Flood (R-Neb.), has introduced a new set of bills as part of a strategy to update and reauthorize programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Many of these programs have not been thoroughly reviewed in three decades.
The proposed legislation targets several areas, including the structure of VA’s Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs), the pay structure for Senior Executive Service (SES) employees, oversight of federal advisory committees, and political appointments within the VA. The committee believes that a lack of accountability in these areas has negatively affected healthcare and benefits delivery for veterans.
Chairman Bost said, “Veterans have earned a system that works with them – not against them. For far too long too many VA programs have gone unchecked and too many employees who don’t have VA’s core mission of serving veterans well in mind have flown under the radar. During the Biden administration we uncovered real problems that were directly impacting the delivery of care and services. The VA reauthorization strategy I am leading is to build on the changes Secretary Collins and the Trump administration are doing to right the ship and make VA programs work better,” he continued. “One of these areas that lacks accountability and needs to be modernized is VA’s VISN. Simply put, this outdated structure created in the mid-1990s no longer aligns with the scale, complexity, geographic demands, or performance management requirements of the modern VHA, which is important to improving VA healthcare delivery. My bill would change this to deliver better healthcare to veterans across the country and our territories.”
If enacted, these four bills would establish VISNs in statute for the first time as regional integrated healthcare systems; reform SES pay structures; increase accountability in federal advisory committees; and restructure how political and executive appointments are made within the department.
Rep. Mace commented, “When veterans need care, every second counts, and VA leadership must be able to act without bureaucratic slowdowns. This bill brings the VA in line with the rest of the executive branch by clarifying chains of command and ensuring leaders responsible for health care, benefits delivery, and modernization are accountable to appointed leadership. Veterans who served our nation with decisive action deserve a VA that can respond with equal urgency.”
Rep. Self stated, “Congress has a responsibility to ensure that the VA’s advisory system provides real value to veterans, not just additional layers of bureaucracy. For too long, many of these advisory committees have operated without proper oversight or have sat idle while veterans face real challenges that demand attention. This bill creates a more targeted, accountable, and efficient advisory structure that reflects the needs of today’s veterans and upholds our duty to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
Rep. Flood added, “The VA TRUST Act is a needed step in ensuring the VA remains focused on its core mission of serving our nation’s veterans. Building on my efforts last Congress to bring more transparency and common sense to the pay and bonuses of the VA’s Senior Executive Service employees, the VA TRUST Act will help the Department better prioritize its mission to effectively serve veterans. I’m hopeful to see these reforms advance through the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs as part of its broader effort to reauthorize several key programs within the VA for the first time in decades.”
The bills represent an effort by House Republicans on the committee to address what they view as longstanding structural issues within various aspects of veteran services administration.
