PRO Veterans Act of 2025
Officially: “PRO Veterans Act of 2025” Read the full text
What it does
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1Short title
This section states that the Act may be called the Protecting Regular Order for Veterans Act of 2025 or the PRO Veterans Act of 2025.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting Regular Order for Veterans Act of 2025 or the PRO Veterans Act of 2025 .
2Protecting regular order for veterans
This section would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to give Congress regular briefings on the Department of Veterans Affairs budget and would add new limits on a pay incentive for certain senior Department employees.
Starting with the first quarter that begins after this Act becomes law, and continuing every quarter after that until three years after enactment, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs would have to give an in-person quarterly briefing to the appropriate committees of Congress on the Department's budget and on any shortfall the Department may be experiencing. If, during any such briefing, the Secretary tells Congress the Department is experiencing a shortfall, the Secretary would also have to present, at that same briefing, the Secretary's plans to address or reduce the shortfall. For this part of the section, the appropriate committees of Congress are the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. A shortfall, for a fiscal year, means that the amount of appropriations the Department needs that year to meet all of its statutory obligations is more than the amount requested for the Department that year in the President's budget submitted under section 1105(a) of title 31 of the United States Code.
This section would also add new paragraphs to section 706(d) of title 38 of the United States Code that limit when the Department may give a critical skill incentive (an incentive payment already authorized under that section) to an employee in a Senior Executive Service position, or in another comparable senior-level pay system as defined by the Secretary. A critical skill incentive could not be given to such an employee whose position is at the Department's Central Office, including the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, or the National Cemetery Administration, regardless of where the employee actually performs the job, except as described below for employees whose jobs are split between the Central Office and other facilities. For a Senior Executive Service or comparable senior-level employee whose position is not at the Central Office, a critical skill incentive could only be given on an individual basis, never to a group of such employees, and only with the approval of one of the following officials or someone acting in that role: the Under Secretary for Benefits, the Under Secretary for Health, or the Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs; the Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration; the Director of the Office of Management or the Chief Financial Officer; the Assistant Secretary for Accountability and Whistleblower Protection; the General Counsel; or another officer the Secretary decides is appropriate. For an employee whose position is primarily at the Central Office but who also performs part of the job at other Department facilities away from the Central Office, the portion of the job performed at those other facilities would not be treated as a Central Office position, so the ban above would not apply to that portion; instead, any critical skill incentive paid for that portion of the job would have to follow the individual-basis and approval requirement described above, and the amount would have to be proportional to the time the employee spends at those other facilities.
Not later than one year after this Act becomes law, and at least once every year after that, the Secretary would have to submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives an annual report on which Senior Executive Service or comparable senior-level employees were given a critical skill incentive. The Secretary could satisfy this requirement by including the information in another report already required of the Department by Congress to those committees. For purposes of these new rules, a Senior Executive Service position has the meaning given that term in section 3132(a) of title 5 of the United States Code.
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2. Protecting regular order for veterans (a) Quarterly briefings on Department of Veterans Affairs budgetary shortfalls (1) Quarterly briefings (A) Quarterly briefings required During the first quarter beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act and in each quarter thereafter until the date that is three years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall provide to the appropriate committees of Congress a quarterly briefing, in person, on the budget of the Department of Veterans Affairs and any shortfall the Department may be experiencing. (B) Plans In any case in which the Secretary informs Congress during a briefing under paragraph (1) that the Department is experiencing a shortfall, the Secretary shall, during such briefing, present the plans of the Secretary to address or mitigate the shortfall. (2) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Appropriate committees of Congress The term appropriate committees of Congress means— (i) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and (ii) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. (B) Shortfall The term shortfall , with respect to a fiscal year, means that the amount of appropriations required by the Department of Veterans Affairs for such fiscal year to meet all of the statutory obligations of the Department during that fiscal year exceeds the amount of appropriations requested for the Department for that fiscal year in the budget of the President submitted pursuant to section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, for that fiscal year. (b) Limitations on provision of incentives for critical skills to Senior Executive Service employees of Department of Veterans Affairs Section 706(d) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (7) (A) Subject to subparagraph (B)(ii), a critical skill incentive may not be provided under paragraph (1) to an employee of the Department employed in a Senior Executive Service position, or a position in another comparable system for senior-level Government employees, as defined by the Secretary, whose position is at the Central Office of the Department, including the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the National Cemetery Administration, regardless of the actual location where the employee performs the functions of the position. (B) (i) A critical skill incentive provided under paragraph (1) to an employee of the Department employed in a Senior Executive Service position, or a position in another comparable system for senior-level Government employees, as defined by the Secretary, not described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph may only be provided— (I) on an individual basis and may not be provided to a group of such employees; and (II) upon approval of the following officers or those serving in an acting capacity: (aa) The Under Secretary for Benefits, the Under Secretary for Health, or the Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs. (bb) The Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration. (cc) The Director of the Office of Management or the Chief Financial Officer. (dd) The Assistant Secretary for Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. (ee) The General Counsel. (ff) Such other officers as the Secretary determines appropriate. (ii) In the case of an employee of the Department employed in a Senior Executive Service position, or a position in another comparable system for senior-level Government employees, as defined by the Secretary, whose position is primarily at the Central Office of the Department, but who performs some portion of the employee’s job function at other facilities of the Department, as defined by the Secretary, not at Central Office— (I) the employee shall not be considered described in subparagraph (A) with respect to the portion of the employee’s job function that is based out of non-Central Office facilities of the Department; and (II) any critical skill incentive provided under paragraph (1) to the employee for the portion of the employee’s job function that is based out of facilities of the Department other than the Central Office shall be proportionate to the time spent at those Department facilities. (C) (i) Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the Protecting Regular Order for Veterans Act of 2025 , and not less frequently than once each year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives an annual report on the employees of the Department employed in a Senior Executive Service position, or a position in another comparable system for senior-level Government employees, as defined by the Secretary, who were provided a critical skill incentive under paragraph (1). (ii) Reports submitted pursuant to clause (i) may be submitted by incorporating their contents into other congressionally mandated reports to the committees described in such clause. (D) In this paragraph, the term Senior Executive Service position has the meaning given such term in section 3132(a) of title 5. .
Where it is
In the Senate.