Restore VA Accountability Act of 2025
Latest action · Mar 11, 2025 Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 119-35.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 16, 2025
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Restore Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability Act of 2025 or the Restore VA Accountability Act of 2025
This bill modifies personnel action procedures regarding certain employees and executives of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The bill authorizes the VA to remove from civil service, demote, or suspend VA employees that are supervisors or managers if the VA determines by substantial evidence that the performance or misconduct of such individual warrants such action. This authority does not apply to certain appointees or individuals in their probationary or trial period.
Supervisors or managers who are subject to a removal, demotion, or suspension under this bill are entitled to (1) advance notice of the action and supporting evidence, (2) representation by an attorney or representative, and (3) grieve the action in accordance with an internal grievance process.
The bill also provides protections from removal, demotion, or suspension for supervisor or managers who are whistleblowers or are seeking corrective action for an alleged prohibited personnel practice such as discrimination.
The bill also modifies the procedures to remove, demote, or suspend VA employees or senior executives based on performance or misconduct, specifically by requiring the VA to determine by substantial evidence that the performance or misconduct of the individual warrants such removal, demotion, or suspension. Such procedures must apply retroactively, beginning on the date of enactment of the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 (June 23, 2017).
Cosponsors 18
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 16, 2025 to Apr 14, 2026; 12 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-LA | Bill Cassidy | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| R-ID | James E. Risch | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| R-IN | Jim Banks | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| R-AR | John Boozman | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| R-ND | Kevin Cramer | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| R-SC | Lindsey Graham | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| R-TN | Marsha Blackburn | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| R-NE | Pete Ricketts | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| R-FL | Rick Scott | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| R-NC | Thom Tillis | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| R-MT | Tim Sheehy | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| R-AL | Tommy Tuberville | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| R-TN | Bill Hagerty | Jan 21, 2025 | |
| R-NC | Ted Budd | Jan 21, 2025 | |
| R-SD | Mike Rounds | Jan 22, 2025 | |
| R-TX | Ted Cruz | Jan 28, 2025 | |
| R-FL | Ashley Moody | Apr 9, 2025 | |
| R-AK | Dan Sullivan | Apr 14, 2026 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Jan 16, 2025Hearings Mar 11, 2025 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 11, 2025Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 119-35.
- Jan 16, 2025Introduced in Senate
- Jan 16, 2025Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 119-35 | HEARING TO CONSIDER PENDING LEGISLATION250 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Mar 11, 2025 |
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 472 | Restore VA Accountability Act of 2025 | Identical bill | Dec 19, 2025 |
| S 2158 | Restore VA Accountability Act of 2023 | Cross-Congress related bill | Jun 22, 2023 |
| HR 4278 | Restore VA Accountability Act of 2023 | Cross-Congress related bill | Mar 15, 2024 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for disciplinary procedures for supervisors and managers at the Department of Veterans Affairs and to modify the procedures of personnel actions against employees of the Department, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Restore VA Accountability Act of 2025
- Restore Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability Act of 2025
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Congressional oversight
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Employee performance
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government studies and investigations
- Judicial review and appeals
- Veterans' medical care
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 16, 2025Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
