H.R. 7950

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7950 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7950

To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the Office of 
Congressional and Legislative Affairs in the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 16, 2026

Mr. Self introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the Office of 
Congressional and Legislative Affairs in the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL AND LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS IN THE 
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

(a) Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs.--Chapter 3 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:
``Sec. 326. Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs.
``(a) Establishment.--There is established within the Department an 
Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs (referred to in this 
section as the `Office'), which shall serve as the principal liaison 
between the Department and Congress.
``(b) Functions.--The Office shall--
``(1) coordinate communications and legislative engagement 
with Congress;
``(2) facilitate hearings, briefings, and technical 
assistance;
``(3) coordinate the preparation and submission of 
testimony and witness materials for congressional hearings, 
including written statements, oral testimony, and responses for 
the record;
``(4) manage and track congressional requests for 
information;
``(5) support the development and analysis of legislative 
proposals; and
``(6) ensure timely and accurate responses to the 
Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives 
and the Senate (in this section, referred to as `the 
Committees').
``(c) Leadership.--(1) There is at the head of the Office an 
Assistant Secretary appointed by the President, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, who shall ensure that the functions of 
legislative strategy and congressional operations are exercised 
independently, concurrently, and in mutual restraint, and who shall be 
responsible for resolving impasses between the Deputy Assistant 
Secretaries.
``(2) The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Strategy, a 
noncareer appointee (as defined in section 3132(a) of title 5), shall 
be responsible for the formulation and articulation of each legislative 
position and policy communication conveyed to Congress, but may not 
direct or control the timing, production, or transmission of 
congressional materials.
``(3) The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Operations, 
a career appointee (as defined in section 3132(a) of title 5) in the 
Senior Executive Service, shall be responsible for coordination, 
production, and transmission of congressional materials, but may not 
alter, delay, or substitute any legislative position established by the 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Strategy.
``(d) Position Designations.--(1) The Assistant Secretary, the 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Strategy, and any 
supervisory policy official, who shall be accountable for the 
substance, consistency, and attribution of each legislative position 
communicated to Congress, shall be a noncareer appointee (as defined in 
section 3132(a) of title 5).
``(2) Any analyst, liaison, records manager, member of production 
staff, technical specialist, and administrative support personnel shall 
be a career employee in the competitive service.
``(e) Staffing Composition.--(1) Not fewer than 65 percent of the 
employees occupying full-time equivalent positions of the Office shall 
be career employees in the competitive service.
``(2) A political appointee may perform policy and strategy 
functions but shall not replace a core operational career role.
``(3) In this subsection, `political appointee' means an individual 
who is--
``(A) a noncareer appointee in the Senior Executive 
Service, as defined under section 3132(a) of title 5; or
``(B) employed in a position of a confidential or policy-
determining character under schedule C of subpart C of part 213 
of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, or successor 
regulation.
``(f) Procedures.--The Assistant Secretary shall maintain 
procedures for the following:
``(1) Ensuring prompt acknowledgment of congressional 
requests, coordinated and complete responses, availability of 
subject-matter experts for briefings, and internal tracking of 
outstanding inquiries.
``(2) Documenting the source of each legislative position 
and the timing of each congressional production, such that 
responsibility for substance and responsibility for timeliness 
are separately identifiable.
``(g) Supervision.--The Office shall operate under the supervision 
of the Assistant Secretary. In supervising the Office, the Assistant 
Secretary shall receive parallel reports from each Deputy Assistant 
Secretary concerning the performance of the Office, including instances 
in which action or inaction of the other Deputy Assistant Secretary 
affected accuracy, consistency, or timeliness of engagement with 
Congress.
``(h) Congressional Information Access and Timelines.--(1) Upon 
receipt of a written or electronic request for information from the 
Committees, the Assistant Secretary shall--
``(A) send to the requesting committee an acknowledgment of 
the request not later than two business days after receipt of 
such request;
``(B) provide to the requesting committee a production plan 
and estimated date of the delivery of the requested material 
not later than five business days after receipt of such 
request; and
``(C) produce all requested records and materials not later 
than 45 days after receipt.
``(2) If the Secretary certifies that the scope or complexity of 
the request prevents full production not later than 30 days after the 
receipt of such request, the Assistant Secretary shall--
``(A) provide a partial response to the request not later 
than 45 days after receipt; and
``(B) produce a complete response to the request not later 
than 60 days after receipt.
``(3) Information shall be provided in the form requested by the 
Committees, including underlying records, datasets, methodologies, 
contracts, and communications, and may not be limited to summaries or 
briefing materials in lieu of original source documents unless 
authorized by the requesting committee.
``(4) No official or employee of the Department may--
``(A) withhold, screen, or alter responsive information;
``(B) delay or condition production on initial clearance or 
political review;
``(C) require a nondisclosure agreement unless required by 
law;
``(D) substitute summaries for requested records; or
``(E) otherwise impede or interfere with direct 
transmission of information to the Committees.
``(5) If the Secretary determines that any information requested by 
Congress is classified, the Secretary shall make arrangements to 
present such information to the Chair of the requesting committee using 
appropriate security measures.
``(i) Noncompliance.--If the Secretary fails to comply with the 
required timeline for response to a congressional request under 
subsection (h)--
``(1) the Secretary shall provide written notice to the requesting 
committee explaining the delay and identifying corrective actions;
``(2) the Secretary shall submit to the requesting committee a 
corrective action plan, including specific deadlines for compliance and 
designated;
``(3) amounts available for the salaries and expenses of the Office 
may not be obligated or expended during the period beginning on the day 
on which the Secretary is not in substantial compliance with subsection 
(h) and ending on the day on which the Secretary enters into 
compliance, except for activities necessary to achieve compliance; and
``(4) the Inspector General of the Department shall conduct a 
review to determine the cause of such noncompliance, including whether 
any action or inaction by a senior Department official contributed to 
the noncompliance, and submit a report to the Committees not later than 
60 days after notification by the Secretary under paragraph (1).''.
(b) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 
Committees a report evaluating the implementation of this section.
(c) Clerical Amendments.--
(1) Number of deputy assistant secretaries.--Section 
308(d)(1) of such title is amended by striking ``19'' and 
inserting ``21''.
(2) Table of contents.--The table of contents for such 
chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``326. Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs''.
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