Blumenthal, Democratic Colleagues Introduce Sweeping Veterans Bill to Reform & Improve VA Health Care

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is leading a group of his Senate colleagues in introducing the Honor Our Promise to Veterans Act (the Honor Act)-sweeping legislation to invest in the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) aging infrastructure, improve VA's ability to recruit high quality health care employees, and improve the standards of care veterans receive.

He was joined by fellow Committee members U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), and Patty Murray (D-WA), and U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

"Democrats are pushing sweeping reforms to fix a VA system stretched to its limits. The VA system is underfunded, understaffed, and overdue for reform. We are demanding major capital investments in VA facilities, more money for the staff who deliver health care, and increased standards for community care," said Ranking Member Blumenthal.

Blumenthal continued, "Built on years of feedback from veterans and recommendations from watchdogs, our legislation enacts sweeping historic reforms to ensure veterans receive high-quality, timely care-both at VA facilities and in the community. The Honor Act mandates broad, landmark investments to replace VA's aging infrastructure and make VA clinicians' compensation more competitive. It aims to guarantee veterans' access to well-trained, veteran-informed care no matter where they live."

"We have an obligation to do more than just thank our veterans for their service. We owe veterans the full, critical benefits they earned through their service," said Senator Alsobrooks. "The Honor Act is an important step in fulfilling our obligation by ensuring the VA can easily improve its infrastructure, recruit high quality candidates, and always ensure our veterans are receiving the highest quality health care."

"We owe it to veterans in Maine and across the nation to provide them with the highest standard of care and support," said Senator King. "A critical part of meeting that responsibility is ensuring the VA has a strong workforce and the infrastructure necessary to serve those who have served us. The Honor Our Promises to Veterans Act does exactly what its name suggests: it helps ensure the VA remains accountable to our veterans and fulfills the commitments our nation has made to them."

"The Honor Act is a critical investment into the VA that truly prioritizes our Veterans," Senator Duckworth said. "It will expedite Veterans' access to much-needed care, hold community practitioners to higher standards and increase oversight into VA infrastructure projects. Further, it will help alleviate the staffing shortages largely caused by the Trump Administration's extreme measures to push out nearly 30,000 employees this year. I'm proud to join Senator Blumenthal in introducing this comprehensive legislation that upholds the integrity of VA as the medical center home and keeps the care of our Veterans as VA's highest priority."

"Veterans are important members of our communities who have risked their lives in service to our country, and they deserve the highest possible quality of care, education, and training," said Senator Hirono. "Instead of supporting our veterans, the Trump Administration has spent the last year repeatedly attacked our veteran community, gutting VA funding and stripping veterans of care they need. By helping to initiate policy reforms including recruiting high-quality employees, improving infrastructure, and supporting education, this comprehensive legislation is another step in the right direction to ensuring that veterans are prioritized."

"America's veterans deserve the highest standard of care, and I'm proud to join this commonsense legislation to deliver just that," said Senator Cortez Masto. "This bill will make it easier to upgrade old infrastructure and help the VA recruit the highest quality candidates. Together, we can undertake real VA reforms that make a meaningful difference for our veterans."

"As part of our commitment to the brave men and women who so bravely served our nation in uniform, this commonsense bill incorporates recommendations directly from experts and veterans across this country to ensure the VA can better serve them and their families," said Senator Shaheen.

The Senators' legislation would implement critical policy reforms based on feedback from veterans, Veterans Service Organizations, labor representatives, VA employees, the Government Accountability Office, and VA's Office of Inspector General (OIG). It is the most comprehensive legislation to reform VA health care since the MISSION Act.

Among its many provisions, the Honor Act would:

Improve care at VA and in the community for veterans:

• Improves scheduling of appointments for veterans by establishing specific timing requirements;
• Increases transparency around access to care for veterans by requiring publicly accessible information on available providers, wait times, and drive times for both VA and the community;
• Designates community care providers as informed on military sexual trauma (MST) if they complete certain relevant trainings, to ensure MST survivors can make informed choices about their care;
• Roots out community care providers who have felony connections or who have been been investigated for or confirmed for providing poor care from VA's list of authorized providers, to ensure veterans are only receiving care at VA and in the community from high quality providers;
• Ensures community care providers are held accountable for meeting the training and quality standards required of VA providers;
• Codifies VA OIG's oversight authority for community care providers and facilities so it can review and audit them with the same thoroughness as VA care;
• Requires community care providers give VA specific data to determine the quality, safety, and timeliness of the care they are providing veterans; and
• Directs VA OIG to investigate life-saving dialysis care provided at VA and in the community, following investigations of community providers uncovering extremely substandard practices.

Reform VA's hiring process to ensure the Department can recruit & retain talented employees, especially for positions facing urgent shortages:

• Reforms VA's hiring process by establishing common sense processes and requirements to speed up the current extremely long hiring timeline to fill critical vacancies at VA;
• Requires VA to establish staffing models for each service and program in the Department to provide veterans and Congress more transparency on the staffing and resources needed for facilities;
• Allows VA to waive certain pay limitations or increase incentive pay to help recruit and retain high-quality in demand health care positions at the Department;
• Modernizes VA's telework policy by making it the default for all positions that do not require employees to be onsite;
• Makes it easier for VA to hire psychologists, a position facing severe staffing shortages at the Department, and for them to earn higher pay; and
• Establishes additional education programs to make VA more competitive when it comes to hiring and retaining the workforce critical to VA operations, including creating two new education and career growth incentive programs for facilities staff and schedulers.

Strengthen VA infrastructure to increase the Department's capacity to serve veterans:

• Authorizes the level of funding estimated by VA - approximately $10 billion a year over ten years - to tackle its infrastructure needs for modern medical facilities, renovations, and cemeteries;
• Allows VA to purchase land for medical facilities earlier, which will speed up the delivery of new facilities;
• Develops relevant plans and infrastructure workforce hiring strategies to accomplish new facility projects and provide Congress performance data for enhanced oversight;
• Examines infrastructure budgeting strategies and identifies what reforms are required, informed by industry best practices; and
• Provides annual budget requirements over a 10-year period allowing Congress and the Department to modernize VA's infrastructure through a strategic, comprehensive approach.

A link to the bill's full text and section by section can be found HERE and HERE.

The Honor Act has received support from critical veteran advocates, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Common Defense, Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute, Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs, VoteVets, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), Veterans Affairs PA Association (AVAPAA), American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Military Association of America, and Minority Veterans of America.

"AFGE appreciates Ranking Member Blumenthal's commitment to maintaining the viability of the direct care system and improving compensation for the VA workforce. The "Honor Act of 2025" would help create a more even playing field between direct care and private care by removing the bias against VA telehealth, reinstating telework and requiring private care to meet standards expected of VA. The Honor Act would also ensure that VA police receive law enforcement pensions and expand reimbursement for continuing professional education for clinicians. We look forward to working with Sen. Blumenthal to improve and refine this important legislation," said MJ Burke, President of AFGE National VA Council.

"This is the strongest, most veteran-centered VA reform bill we've seen in years: it delivers faster appointments, real transparency, tougher standards for private contractors, life changing investments in VA hospitals and clinics, and smarter hiring so we actually have the doctors, nurses, and staff we need. It honors our service by making the care we earned work better, inside the VA and in the community. This is what putting veterans first actually looks like in action," said Naveed Shah, Army veteran and Political Director of Common Defense.

"The Honor Act of 2025 fulfills the unmet aspirations of the VA MISSION Act of 2018, which sought to empower veterans with the information needed to make informed healthcare decisions and to guarantee high-quality care regardless of where it's delivered. The Honor Act directly addresses these gaps by providing veterans with transparent, real-time access to wait times at both VA facilities and community providers, as well as publicized information about their providers' specialized training and High Performing designations. It expands telehealth options for veterans who prefer virtual care, assures consistent quality standards across all providers-whether within the VA system or in the community-and broadens the VA Office of Inspector General's authority to investigate care delivery wherever it occurs, ensuring comprehensive oversight that veterans can trust," said Dr. Russell Lemle, Senior Policy Analyst, Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute.

"The American Psychological Association applauds the introduction of the Honor Act of 2025 and thanks Senator Blumenthal and his staff for championing veterans and the professionals who care for them. This bill takes meaningful steps to strengthen the VA's ability to recruit and keep the psychologists it urgently needs - a pressing issue as more than half of VHA facilities report severe psychologist shortages, the highest among all clinical roles. The Honor Act also creates transparency and parity between VA direct care and community care, helping ensure every veteran receives high-quality care, no matter where they're served," said Dr. Arthur C. Evans Jr., Chief Executive Officer, American Psychological Association.

"NOVA strongly supports the 'HONOR Act of 2025' as it mandates training and transparency within the community care network and provides Veterans with the data and information they need to make the best decisions for their unique healthcare. We are happy to see more educational assistance and continuing education funding for nurses, as well as pay increases for nurse leadership along with steps that encourage VA's 'grow your own,' and mentorship programs. Many of the provisions in the Honor Act directly align with NOVA legislative priority goals and will improve and advance care for Veterans," said Catherine Giasson, President, Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs.

"The HONOR Act is a strong, veteran-first investment in the care our nation's heroes have earned. By modernizing VA infrastructure, strengthening direct-care services, and ensuring the Department can recruit and retain the world-class clinicians veterans rely on, this bill reinforces VA's ability to keep to keep delivering exceptional care to veterans. Just as importantly, The Honor Act raises the bar for accountability in community care so veterans aren't left navigating gaps in quality or access. VoteVets is proud to support this legislation that puts veterans' health and dignity at the center of VA policy. We applaud Senator Blumenthal's leadership and urge Congress to pass The Honor Act without delay," said Kayla Williams, Senior Advisor, VoteVets.

"The Modern Military Association of America supports the Honor Act 2025 as it strengthens the promise our nation makes to every veteran. By holding community care providers to the same training and quality requirements as VA clinicians, and ensuring those who fail to meet them are held accountable and removed, this bill closes dangerous gaps in veteran care. Our veterans deserve consistent, trauma-informed, and respectful treatment wherever they receive services-and the HONOR Act is an essential step toward delivering that standard nationwide," said Ash Carothers, Executive Director, Modern Military Association of America.

"AAPA appreciates Sen. Blumenthal's work to improve healthcare for veterans and the inclusion of three provisions in his HONOR Act that would be critical steps towards addressing health workforce shortages at the VA and increasing access to care for our nation's veterans. The bill would modernize PA practice by removing collaboration requirements, open job postings to all qualified candidates, and provide support for continuing professional education. VA PAs are trained and qualified to practice in all specialties, including mental health, and we thank Sen. Blumenthal for recognizing the need for improved utilization of PAs at the VA so that veterans are able to better access the high-quality care they deserve," said Todd Pickard, President, American Academy of Physician Associates.

"VAPAA extends its thanks to Senator Blumenthal for his work and attention to veterans, by ensuring they have access to the high quality healthcare they need and deserve. The HONOR Act of 2025 contains provisions that will modernize PA practice at VA, and improve parity with community healthcare organizations, by removing unnecessary barriers to PA hiring, retention, and education, particularly for PA veterans wishing to serve their fellow veterans .This is especially appreciated as it will improve access to care in rural and remote areas where PAs excel by helping to address workforce shortages of healthcare providers caring for veterans. VA PAs are trained and qualified to practice in all specialties, including Primary Care and Mental Health, so we thank Senator Blumenthal for recognizing the need for increasing utilization of PAs within VA to improve veterans' access to the high-quality care that they require, demand, and deserve," said Christopher Lorenc, President, Veterans Affairs PA Association.

"Dialysis companies that contract with the VA must provide safe working conditions for dialysis caregivers and the best quality care for our nation's veterans. Senator Blumenthal's legislation is a critical step toward ensuring worker input and that the private dialysis companies entrusted with veterans' care are held accountable for meeting minimum standards. We applaud Senator Blumenthal for championing this effort, and we stand ready to work with Senator Blumenthal to make sure dialysis caregivers have the working conditions they need to provide every veteran with the best quality care possible," said Leslie Frane, Executive Vice President, Service Employees International Union.

"NFFE is pleased to see the HONOR Act come to life and is encouraged by its potential to advance the working conditions and careers of VA healthcare workers and other professional and administrative staff, including VA police officers-all of whom are essential to maintaining a safe, high-quality environment of care for our nation's veterans. We welcome continued engagement to ensure the bill achieves its full intended impact," said Randy Erwin, National President, National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM).

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