S. 1068 — Putting Veterans First Act of 2025

This section nullifies any removal, demotion, or suspension from civil service positions of veterans, military spouses, caregivers, survivors, or reserve component members that occurred during the period beginning January 20, 2025, and ending on the date of enactment. Affected individuals receive back pay for the period from the adverse action to enactment and have benefits restored retroactively to the date of the action. Such individuals may elect to resign after enactment without forfeiting back pay or restored benefits for that period.

This section prohibits the removal, demotion, or suspension of federal civil service employees who are veterans, military spouses, caregivers, survivors, or reserve component members in specified circumstances, including: (1) as part of a group of more than 5 persons on the same day; (2) without at least 10 business days' notice to their direct supervisor (unless the supervisor advises or approves); (3) on the basis of performance, unless the employee received at least one performance rating at or below level 2 or minimally satisfactory (or equivalent) in the prior year; or (4) if it would result in a greater than 50% vacancy rate in the employee's office or position or a significant reduction or elimination of their duties, without direct supervisor approval. The section further requires that any such removal, demotion, or suspension be referred to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) or Office of Special Counsel (OSC) for review not later than 10 days after the action, unless the affected individual waives the referral.

This section directs each federal agency to submit reports to specified Senate and House committees (Veterans’ Affairs, Armed Services, Appropriations, and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs or Homeland Security) not later than 90 days after enactment of this Act and 90 days after the end of each fiscal year thereafter. The reports must include (1) the number of veterans, military spouses, caregivers, survivors, and reserve component members hired, separated, or removed by the agency during the prior fiscal year (disaggregated by interagency transfers, external hires, and transfers to or from other agencies); (2) the number of such individuals employed by the agency as of the end of the prior fiscal year; (3) data on recruitment and retention efforts or incentives used during the prior fiscal year; and (4) for the second report and thereafter, changes in hiring, separations, removals, or employment numbers compared to the most recent report.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans’ Affairs, Appropriations, and Armed Services and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and House Committee on Homeland Security, and publicly issue, not later than April 1, 2027, a report on federal employment of veterans, military spouses, caregivers, survivors, and reserve component members. The report must (1) review such employment during FY2024 and FY2025; (2) analyze their civil service tenure and rates of removal, suspension, or demotion compared to other civil servants; and (3) describe employment changes for these groups across agencies from the end of FY2024 to the end of FY2025.

This section establishes a requirement that the President appoint an individual to fill a vacancy on the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)—an independent agency that adjudicates appeals of federal employee adverse actions and protects merit system principles—not later than 30 days after the vacancy occurs (whether before or at the end of a term).

This section expands Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeal rights to include federal employees serving in a probationary period, notwithstanding any other provision of law. (As background, 5 U.S.C. § 7701(a) allows covered federal employees to appeal adverse personnel actions—such as removal, reduction in grade or pay, or suspension for more than 14 days—to the MSPB.)

This section authorizes any civil service employee to nullify, without penalty, any accepted offer or contract relating to a deferred resignation commitment at any time until the close of business on the employee's last day of agency employment. Violations of this authority may be appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board under the procedures of 5 U.S.C. 7701 or challenged in a court of competent jurisdiction.

This section prohibits an agency from shifting a civil service position from the competitive service (i.e., positions filled through open merit competition) to the excepted service (i.e., positions exempt from such competition) unless (1) the incumbent employee agrees, (2) the position is vacant, or (3) two years have elapsed after the agency head notifies the employee and Congress. Violations may be appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board under the procedures of 5 U.S.C. 7701 (i.e., with rights to a hearing and representation) or reviewed by a court of competent jurisdiction.

This section requires the federal agency that currently employs or most recently employed a covered civil service employee—defined as a veteran, military spouse, caregiver, survivor, or reserve component member—who is removed, demoted, or suspended on or after January 20, 2025, to reimburse the cost of all mental health services provided during the 90-day period beginning on the date of such action.

This section requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to deploy a mobile Vet Center (i.e., VA outreach vehicle providing readjustment counseling to veterans, service members, and families) to the office of any federal agency that, on or after January 20, 2025, removes, suspends, or demotes more than five veterans, military spouses, caregivers, survivors, or reserve component members on a single day, for use by the agency's current and former employees in those categories. It further prohibits, subject to appropriations, any federal agency from reducing funds spent, contracts, staff, or programming for mental health counseling, financial and legal services, dependent care, workplace conflict resolution, cultural competency, substance use treatment, crisis intervention, or employee assistance programs below January 5, 2025, levels through February 1, 2030.

This section directs the President to order measures providing employment assistance and opportunities to veterans, military spouses, caregivers, survivors, and members of a reserve component who are removed, demoted, or suspended from civil service on or after January 20, 2025.

This section directs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the Secretary of Labor to (1) work with other agency heads to expand and facilitate federal programs, hiring and training opportunities, and retention incentives for veterans, military spouses, caregivers, survivors, and reserve component members; (2) develop private-sector partnerships to enhance employment opportunities and job portability for such individuals; (3) collaborate with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other private-sector entities to form such partnerships; and (4) examine ways to incorporate hiring preferences for such individuals into agency contracts with private-sector entities.

This section establishes limitations on access to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) information technology systems, health and benefits data repositories, contracting and financial information, record systems, and other relevant systems or data containing veteran, surviving spouse, caregiver, or benefits recipient information (new 38 U.S.C. §5729). Access is prohibited except by VA officers, employees, or contractors, or—in the case of other individuals—those holding an appropriate security clearance under 50 U.S.C. §3161, whose access complies with 18 U.S.C. §208, who are not special government employees, who have at least one year of continuous civil service as defined in 5 U.S.C. §2101, who have completed required privacy, cybersecurity, national security, and best practices training, and who have signed a written ethics agreement with VA's senior career Designated Agency Ethics Official or the Office of Government Ethics. Non-executive branch individuals accessing such systems are treated as executive branch employees for 18 U.S.C. §208 purposes, with exercise of administrative control or impacts to payments or data deemed substantial participation; authorizes courts in Privacy Act violation suits (5 U.S.C. §552a(b), (e)) to order deletion of improperly disclosed or maintained records; and directs the VA Secretary to remove IT connections to noncompliant entities within 15 days of enactment.

This section exempts the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from Executive Orders 14158 (establishing the President's Department of Government Efficiency), 14210 (workforce optimization initiative), 14219 (lawful governance and deregulatory initiative), and 14222 (cost efficiency initiative).

This section requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to the congressional veterans' affairs committees, not later than 30 days after enactment, a report on VA compliance with this section and new 38 U.S.C. §5729 (added by sec. 601(a)), including removals of connections under sec. 601(c) and of relevant employees and their credentials from all VA systems, premises, and networks. It further directs the VA Inspector General to (1) initiate, not later than 10 days after enactment, a review of any unauthorized use or access to systems described in 38 U.S.C. §5729(a) occurring from November 6, 2024, through enactment; (2) provide the committees a preliminary briefing on review findings not later than 90 days after enactment; and (3) submit to the committees a final report on such findings and any recommendations for administrative or legislative action not later than 180 days after enactment. Each Inspector General report must describe (A) the unauthorized use or access, including actions taken; (B) risks to privacy, contracting and financial information, protected veteran health and disability information, national security, cybersecurity, or system integrity; and (C) any interrupted VA benefits, health care delivery, or other services.

This section defines "mass contract cancellation" for purposes of this title as the termination by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of (1) five or more contracts in a single business day or (2) ten or more contracts in a five-business-day period. It further specifies that nothing in this title prevents the Secretary from cancelling individual contracts for poor performance, fraud, breach of contract, or other reasons in accordance with applicable law, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

This section requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit quarterly reports through September 30, 2029, to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans’ Affairs and Appropriations detailing estimated costs to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from policy changes prompted by the Department of Government Efficiency or the President since January 20, 2025. The reports must cover (1) contract cancellations and related litigation costs, (2) wrongful employee terminations and settlements, (3) hiring contracted providers or staff to backfill vacant roles, and (4) other matters the Secretary considers appropriate.

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to (1) reinstate all contracts cancelled during mass contract cancellations from January 20, 2025, through the date of enactment; (2) pause any mass contract cancellations in progress as of enactment; and (3) prohibit commencing new mass contract cancellations unless the Secretary reviews all contracts cancelled or proposed for cancellation from January 20, 2025, through April 30, 2025, submits required reports to Congress, and fulfills section 704 requirements. The required reports include (1) for each reviewed contract, a certification by the Secretary and relevant career VA officials that its cancellation does not affect 25 specified critical areas (e.g., veterans' health care and benefits delivery, facility safety, waste/fraud prevention, medical research, cyber security, PACT Act implementation, mental health services, home loans, police services); and (2) a day-by-day timeline of the mass cancellation effort's initiation and execution, including leadership details, parameters, savings targets, search terms, review criteria, costs of Department responses, restored contracts and mitigation expenses, and estimated government personnel costs to perform cancelled work amid hiring freezes and reductions in force. (Thus, future mass cancellations are effectively barred absent congressional notification certifying no harm to core VA missions serving veterans.) This section further requires the VA Inspector General, not later than one year after submission of the Secretary's reports, to review them for accuracy and completeness and submit to Congress (and publicly release) a report with findings on consistency with Department officials' public statements, recommendations for contract management improvements, and other matters to enhance efficiency and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.

This section requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, before carrying out a mass contract cancellation (after meeting conditions in section 703(a)(2)), to submit to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs (1) a list of proposed contracts for cancellation; (2) for each contract, a certification under section 703(a)(2)(B); (3) the number of such contracts held by service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses or veteran-owned small businesses; and (4) a description of workforce absorption plans or hiring needs, plus a cost-benefit analysis of contracting versus staffing; and prohibits commencement until 30 days after submission receipt. It further requires the Secretary to submit to the committees, not later than 7 business days after enactment, a report listing contracts cancelled or proposed for cancellation as announced by the Department on February 25, 2025, and March 3, 2025—including for each contract career employee justifications (if submitted) and service-disabled veteran-owned small business or veteran-owned small business status—with specified data fields (i.e., contract number/PIID, vendor, NAICS category, description, termination date, unique entity identifier, and vendor headquarters city and state).

This section requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to notify the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs in writing at least 60 days before making any change to the Department of Veterans Affairs charge card program (i.e., government purchase and travel cards used for agency expenditures), including any reduction in the total number of authorized cards. The notification must include (1) the justification for the change, (2) the timeline for implementation, and (3) a description of how the Secretary intends to monitor for negative effects on health care or benefits delivery. The requirement sunsets on the date President Trump is no longer President.

This section establishes in new 38 U.S.C. §5322 a requirement for the Under Secretary for Benefits to publish, not less frequently than weekly on a publicly available Department of Veterans Affairs website, a "Monday Morning Workload Report" providing a snapshot of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) workload. (The VBA processes veterans' claims for compensation, pension, education benefits, and appeals.) Each report must include (1) national totals for pending and backlogged compensation, pension, appeals, and education workloads; (2) national, district, and regional office-level data disaggregated by station of jurisdiction, station of origination, state, and National Work Queue (including pending claims by claims life cycle stage and average pendency at each stage); (3) data for specified claim groups (e.g., non-rating bundle, entitlement bundle, burial claims, appeals with duty-to-assist errors), disaggregated by national, district, regional office, or state level; (4) national claim and appeal inventories by end product code; (5) regional office inventories by traditional aggregate groups; (6) national data on anticipated future workload volume; (7) average age of continuously pursued claims; (8) factors contributing to workload and backlog changes; and (9) other data as appropriate. Reports are due on Monday (Tuesday if a federal holiday; additional weekly reports at Under Secretary discretion). This section also makes a conforming amendment to the table of sections for 38 U.S.C. chapter 53.

This section amends sec. 5 of the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-55)—which requires periodic publication of metrics on VA appeals processing—to direct inclusion of a summary of appeal outcomes under the new appeals system (including Board of Veterans' Appeals reviews), disaggregated by (1) type of review; (2) station of origination; (3) type of appeal; and (4) diagnostic codes. (As background, the 2017 act established a modernized VA disability appeals system with options for higher-level review, supplemental claim, or direct Board appeal.)

This section directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, not later than 90 days after enactment, to publish on a publicly accessible website of each VA medical center the wait times for scheduling veterans' appointments for community care (i.e., from non-Department providers) at that medical center and each clinic in its catchment area. The publication must include wait times for primary care, specialty care, inpatient care, mental health care, and other types of care as appropriate; must be updated not less frequently than weekly; and must be calculated using metrics similar to those for wait times at VA facilities.

This section requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to the maximum extent practicable, to respond to (1) questions submitted for the record by members of the Senate or House Committees on Veterans’ Affairs within 45 business days of receipt; (2) requests for information from committee staff or members within 15 business days of receipt; and (3) letters from committee members within 15 business days of receipt. If unable to meet a deadline, the Secretary must notify the member and relevant committee beforehand, including a justification, estimated response date, and steps needed (including information from other federal agencies).