This bill became law on 2025-08-14 as Public Law No. 119-33.
The summary below describes the bill at the version we last reviewed; the enacted text may differ.
YourVoice.Now Summary
Workers & JobsCivil LibertiesTransparency & AccountabilityVeterans' benefits don't change — but the VA now briefs Congress on budget shortfalls and limits bonuses for top staff.
Workers & Jobs
A "critical skill" bonus is extra pay the VA uses to keep staff with rare skills. Senior executives based at VA's central office can no longer get one. That holds even if they work somewhere else.
These bonuses can no longer be handed to a group at once. Each one needs sign-off from a named senior official, such as the Under Secretary for Health.
Civil Liberties
The new office, called the Veterans Experience Office, asks veterans how the VA is doing. It cannot be given a veteran's name or details unless that veteran says yes first. The Privacy Act still applies.
Transparency & Accountability
The VA Secretary must show up in person before four committees of Congress. This happens every three months. A shortfall means the VA needs more money for the year than the President asked for.
Once a year, the VA must name the senior staff who got a critical skill bonus. The report goes to the Veterans' Affairs committees in the House and Senate.
The report breaks the answers down by benefit and asks what stops people from using one they qualify for: not knowing about it, technology, or time. Congress gets it once a year.
Congress's watchdog agency, the GAO, must judge how well the VA measures what veterans think. That includes its trust scores and VSignals surveys.
The law closes the office on that date unless Congress passes a new law. The yearly reports on veteran satisfaction stop too.
More about this bill
Veterans see no change in their benefits or payments from this law. It changed how the VA reports its budget to Congress. It also changed bonus pay rules for senior staff. The VA Secretary now briefs Congress in person every three months on the department's budget. Those briefings run for three years. If the VA runs short of money, the Secretary must bring a plan to that same briefing. Senior executives based at VA headquarters can no longer receive a "critical skill" bonus, which is extra pay for hard-to-fill skills. Senior staff at other VA sites can still get one. It must be approved one person at a time by a top official. The VA now reports to Congress each year on who got these bonuses. A new Veterans Experience Office tracks how veterans feel about VA benefits and services. It also studies why some veterans never use benefits they qualify for. Those findings go to Congress once a year. Personal details cannot reach the office unless the veteran agrees to share them. A government watchdog must review how well the office works within 540 days. The office and its reports end on September 30, 2028.
Congressional Summary
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide quarterly budget briefings to Congress, prohibits the VA from providing specified pay incentives to senior-level employees, and establishes an office to carry out customer service initiatives of the VA.Protecting Regular Order for Veterans Act of 2025 or the PRO Veterans Act of 2025(Sec. 1) This section requires the VA to provide quarterly budget briefings to Congress, which must include information on any budget shortfalls the VA may be experiencing. The VA must present its plans to address or mitigate shortfalls during such briefings.Next, the section prohibits the VA from providing certain senior-level employees with a critical skill incentive, which is generally a payment bonus for employees possessing a high-demand skill or skill that is at a shortage. Specifically, the VA may not provide such an incentive to an employee in a Senior Executive Service position or other comparable position in the VA Central Office, regardless of the actual location where the employee performs the functions of the position. Senior-level employees whose positions are primarily in the VA Central Office but perform some portion of their job function based out of non-Central Office VA facilities are eligible for an incentive for their non-Central Office work.The section also provides that an incentive may only be provided to senior-level employees on an individual basis and upon approval by specified officers (e.g., the Under Secretary for Health).The VA must report to Congress annually regarding senior-level employees who were provided a critical skill incentive.Improving Veterans’ Experience Act of 2025(Sec. 2) This section establishes the Veterans Experience Office through FY2028 to carry out the key customer experience initiatives of the VA relating to veteran and beneficiary satisfaction with and usage of VA benefits and services.The Government Accountability Office must complete an analysis of and report on the methodology, effectiveness, and implementation of findings and feedback of veterans and beneficiaries used by the VA, including the Veterans Experience Office, to improve customer experience and satisfaction.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Public Law
- Action Date
- 2025-08-14
- Date Added
- 2026-07-15
- Source
- Congress.gov →
Like reading a bill in plain English?
We're building an app that does this for every bill in Congress and lets you tell your reps how you want them to vote. We're a small team getting ready to launch, and we're trying to show investors that real people want this. Be one of them. Help us get it built. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment the app is ready.