YourVoice.Now Summary
Transparency & AccountabilityRequires 48 hours' notice to Congress before the VA fires any Veterans Crisis Line employee, plus monthly hotline performance reports.
Transparency & Accountability
- Pre-termination notice requirement — VA must notify Congress 48 hours before firing Crisis Line employees
- VA performance reporting — Monthly reports to Congress on wait times, staffing, and call volume required through 2029
- GAO oversight — Comptroller General must review Crisis Line operations and recommend improvements within 180 days
The details
The Department of Veterans Affairs would need to give Congress 48 hours' notice — including a justification and a continuity plan — before firing any employee of the Veterans Crisis Line, the toll-free hotline for veterans in crisis, under this bill. It also requires the VA to report detailed staffing numbers, including how many crisis-line employees were terminated around February 13 and February 24, 2025, broken down by job category and veteran or military-spouse status. Going forward, the VA would have to submit monthly performance reports to Congress on call wait times, staffing ratios, and unanswered call volume through January 20, 2029. The Government Accountability Office would also be required to review the Crisis Line's operations and recommend improvements within 180 days of enactment. The bill responds to concerns about staffing cuts affecting a hotline that handles a rising number of veteran crisis calls.
Congressional Summary
Protecting Veterans in Crisis ActThis bill temporarily requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to submit a notification to Congress not later than 48 hours before terminating any employee of the Veterans Crisis Line.The notification must provide a justification of cause for such termination, a clarification on whether the employee is a veteran or military spouse, and a detailed plan to ensure continuity of the mission readiness of the Veterans Crisis Line. This requirement terminates on January 20, 2029.The bill also requires the VA to report to Congress on the Veterans Crisis Line’s personnel, operations, and performance.The Government Accountability Office must report on the operation and performance of the Veterans Crisis Line, including recommendations for improvement.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-05-07
- Date Added
- 2026-07-19
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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