H.R. 6564 — Historically Underserved Veterans Inclusion Act of 2025

This section renames the Center for Minority Veterans as the Center for Minority and Historically Underserved Veterans, designates its head as an Executive Director (previously Director), and expands the center's advisory, outreach, research, and other functions from veterans who are minorities to covered veterans (i.e., minority group members and veterans who are historically underserved). (As background, the center advises the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on policies and programs to improve services and benefits for eligible veterans.) This section also renames the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans as the Advisory Committee on Minority and Historically Underserved Veterans; expands its scope to covered veterans; adds ex officio members (Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development and Education, Attorney General, Small Business Administration Administrator, and Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy); specifies new committee duties (e.g., advising on program modifications, expanding benefits for health care and homelessness, improving feedback mechanisms, and developing outreach); requires the Secretary to conduct a biennial review of disparities in benefits receipt among veteran groups and submit a report with recommendations to the congressional Veterans' Affairs Committees within 120 days of completion; and strikes the committee's prior termination provision.

This section requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, not later than 30 days after enactment, to (1) permanently reinstate the authority, functions, responsibilities, and research activities of the Office of Equity Assurance of the Veterans Benefits Administration; (2) reinstate the employment of each employee of that office terminated after January 20, 2025; (3) ensure no position in the office may be eliminated pursuant to a reduction in force; and (4) brief the House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs on the status of implementing recommendations from the GAO report titled “VA Disability Benefits: Action Needed to Further Examine Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Compensation” (GAO–23–106097; published July 26, 2023). Additionally, this section requires the Under Secretary for Benefits to provide biannual briefings to those committees, beginning not later than 30 days after reinstatement, on data, research, and analysis developed by the office.