[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3578 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3578
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the Office of
Veterans Experience, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 23, 2025
Ms. Budzinski (for herself, Ms. Brownley, and Mr. McGarvey) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the Office of
Veterans Experience, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Improving Veterans' Experience Act
of 2025''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF VETERANS EXPERIENCE OFFICE.
(a) 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.''.
(b) 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).
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