HR 5994
Every Veteran Counts Act of 2025
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Bill overview
The Every Veteran Counts Act of 2025 directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to collect, maintain, and publish detailed demographic data on veterans. This data will include information on age, gender, race, sexual orientation, income, housing, employment, and military service history. The VA will create a publicly accessible website to share this data, and the Secretary must submit a report to Congress annually on the department’s data strategy and progress. This legislation aims to improve data collection and analysis to better serve veterans and inform policy decisions.
Key provisions
- Requires the VA to collect and maintain a comprehensive database of veteran demographics, including detailed information on various aspects of their lives.
- Mandates the publication of this data on a publicly accessible VA website, updated annually.
- Establishes requirements for data anonymization to protect sensitive personal information.
- Directs the Secretary to submit an annual report to Congress detailing the VA’s data strategy and progress.
- Requires the VA to consult with various stakeholders, including Congress, veterans organizations, and advisory committees, in developing its data strategy.
- Addresses data security and risk assessments related to data breaches.
- Includes provisions for improving data quality and interoperability across the Department.
- Calls for a review of existing data requirements and potential adjustments.
Who is affected
- Veterans
- Department of Veterans Affairs
Sponsors
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Primary sponsor
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 5994
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to maintain demographic information regarding veterans and publish such information on a website of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
This Act may be cited as the Every Veteran Counts Act of 2025
.
Congress finds the following:
The Department of Veterans Affairs is responsible for providing a variety of benefits and services to more than 19,000,000 living veterans.
Pursuant to section 527 of title 38, United States Code, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has conducted the National Survey of Veterans to assess the needs and sentiments of a statistically valid sample of all veterans.
The Secretary has conducted this National Survey of Veterans in the late 1970s, 1987, 1993, 2001, and 2010.
The last survey conducted in 2010 included veterans and other beneficiary groups, such as members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty, members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces, military spouses, and surviving spouses of such veterans and members.
The 2010 survey included information on demographics, awareness and utilization of benefits, health status, military service, and employment.
These surveys provide valuable information on the veteran population to the Secretary, Congress, Federal, State, and local governments, academic institutions, and various non-governmental organizations that serve veterans.
This information is used to inform policymaking efforts and to ensure the needs of the ever-changing veteran population are met.
However, since 2010, the statutory framework for data collection has substantially evolved, notably with the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (Public Law 115–435), the Data Act (Public Law 113–139), and the Geospatial Data Act (subtitle F of title VII of Public Law 115–254), known collectively as the Evidence Act
, building on previously enacted laws.
Further, the Department, through the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, has leveraged the vast amount of data generated within the Department and collected by other Federal partners to improve population-based descriptive, statistical, and predictive analytic products to support the Secretary and in evidence-based policymaking, facilitate innovative and collaborative research, and empower modern business intelligence applications.
The Department has been a consistent leader in the Federal Open Data program and offers a platform for scaling access to useful data and insight to external stakeholders.
Notwithstanding these recent advances, opportunities exist to strengthen the capability of the Department to develop and disseminate actionable insights into the veteran population through—
increased access to data collected by other Federal entities through more flexible and efficient information sharing policies;
increased use of publicly available and commercially generated data; and
In line with the Evidence Act, it is incumbent upon the Secretary to regularly engage with key stakeholders, including Congress, veterans service organizations, advocacy groups, and open government groups to—
enhance the open data program of the Department; and
improve development and dissemination of relevant data assets and analytic products to provide more current, accurate, and useful insights on veterans and their families.
It is necessary for the Department to collect, collate, and analyze all available data on veteran demographics, and to share this data with Congress and other stakeholders on an ongoing basis, in an easily digestible format, to direct outreach and align policy with the needs of the changing veteran population.
Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 527, the following new section:
Sex.
Gender identity, disaggregated by—
male;
female;
transgender;
gender diverse;
nonbinary; and
combinations of clauses (i) through (vi).
Age.
Educational level.
membership in an Indian tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)); and
the same major race groups as the decennial censuses.
heterosexual;
lesbian;
gay;
bisexual; and
queer.
Household makeup, including marital status and number of dependents.
Gross income and sources of income.
renter;
homeowner; or
residing in a home owned or rented by another person.
employed;
seeking employment; and
self-employed.
Armed Force;
regular or reserve component;
service in a combat theater of operations or war zone;
service during a period of war;
whether a veteran is a former prisoner of war;
whether the veteran experienced military sexual trauma (as that term is defined in section 1166 of this title).
Whether the veteran is enrolled in the patient enrollment system under section 1705 of this title.
Location of the veteran’s residence, disaggregated by—
rural or urban setting;
distance to a facility of the Department; and
whether the veteran has access to broadband service.
Any other information the Secretary determines appropriate.
Demographic data in the database under subsection (a) shall be—
anonymized to prevent the release of sensitive personal information (as that term is defined in section 5727 of this title); and
machine readable.
The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting, after the item relating to section 527, the following new item:
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out section 528 of such title, as added by this section, not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Qualitative and quantitative progress towards strengthening data management of the Department, including business and mission impact enabled by management of data as a strategic asset.
Progress and results in cataloging and inventorying data assets of the Department and using such assets to support—
internal evidence-based policymaking; and
ethical and appropriate dissemination of statistical aggregates, data-driven analysis, and open data.
Progress in implementing requirements under chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as the Paperwork Reduction Act
), and related data quality efforts to support strategic management of data collected by the Department.
Efforts to move towards a rules-based, transparent, Department-wide approach to management, integration, and sharing of, and access to, data.
Information sharing agreements and outstanding requirements with other Federal entities, including gaps best addressed by the addition of survey questions to an existing Federal survey instrument.
Progress on recently enacted public laws, Executive orders, Presidential memoranda, and outstanding recommendations of the Comptroller General of the United States or an inspector general as it pertains to veteran population-based data collection, quality, integration, sharing, interoperability, and analytics within the scope of improving and ensuring equity in services to veterans, their families, and other beneficiaries.
A discussion of current risk assessments regarding data breaches and information security (as those terms are defined in section 5727 of title 38, United States Code) of the Department.
Priority data requirements of the Department, identified through consultation with the following entities:
The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives.
The Congressional Budget Office.
Veterans service organizations.
The Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans of the Department.