To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs in the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
H.R. 7950 establishes a new Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs within the Department of Veterans Affairs to serve as the main point of contact between the VA and Congress. The office will handle communications with Congress, arrange hearings and briefings, prepare testimony, track information requests, and ensure timely responses to the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees. The office will be led by an Assistant Secretary (a presidential appointee confirmed by the Senate) along with two Deputy Assistant Secretaries—one handling legislative strategy and one managing congressional operations—with built-in checks to ensure political appointees don't control operational decisions or delay official communications. At least 65 percent of the office's staff must be career civil servants rather than political appointees. The bill requires the VA to acknowledge congressional information requests within two business days, provide a delivery timeline within five days, and produce all materials within 45 days (or 60 days for complex requests). If the VA misses these deadlines, funding for the office's operations is frozen until it complies, and the VA Inspector General must investigate the delay. The Government Accountability Office must evaluate the office's implementation two years after the law takes effect.
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