Section 3 · The General Welfare
🎖️Ch. 20 — Department of Veterans Affairs
VA · 14 tracked
Rescind VA clinical directives for abortion and gender-reassignment surgery
Proposed
Mandate directs VA to rescind clinical policy directives contrary to conservative governance, starting with abortion services and gender-reassignment surgery, arguing neither is service-connected care VA should provide.
Codify MISSION Act access standards and a veterans bill of rights for Community Care
Proposed
Mandate says a favorable Congress should rapidly codify VA MISSION Act access standards so VA cannot water them down, and first create a veterans bill of rights so veterans and staff know Community Care eligibility and dispute processes.
Issue Secretarial directives to implement MISSION Act Community Care sections aggressively
Proposed
Mandate calls for new Secretarial directives implementing MISSION Act Sections 101/103 (eligibility/best interest), 104 (access/quality standards), 121 (veteran education on options), 152 (Innovation of Care and Payment office governance), and 161 (Family Caregiver Program consistency).
Require VHA public reporting on quality, safety, experience, timeliness, and cost like Medicare ACOs
Proposed
Mandate requires VHA to report publicly on quality, safety, patient experience, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness using standards similar to Medicare Accountable Care Organization programs.
Realign aging VHA infrastructure toward CBOCs and sharing partnerships instead of large campuses
Proposed
Mandate urges creative realignment of underused 60-year-old VAMCs: expand Community Based Outpatient Clinics without further investing in obsolete campuses, and pilot facility-sharing with strained local systems—after noting AIR commission nominations stalled.
Extend Under Secretary for Health term to five years with reappointment authority
Proposed
Mandate proposes extending the Under Secretary for Health term to five years with authority to reappoint for a second term for continuity and insulation from political transition.
Force VHA providers toward DoD-like throughput of ~19 patients per day
Proposed
Mandate requires VHA facilities to raise daily patient volume to approximately 19 patients per provider per day (citing DoD) versus as few as six at some VA sites, plus related wait-time workflow changes, extended hours pilots, and telehealth leverage.
Speed VBA claims via Express 30 pilot, more private disability exams, and automation
Proposed
Mandate pushes VBA to publish quarterly benefit metrics, pilot completing first fully developed disability claims in 30 days (“Express 30”), hire more private companies for disability medical exams, and expand automation rather than hiring alone.
Accelerate VASRD revision to cut disability awards for future claimants
Proposed
Mandate says the next Administration should accelerate VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities reviews with OMB clearance to target significant cost savings by revising disability rating awards for future claimants while preserving awards fully or partially for existing claimants—criticizing growth of tenuously service-connected conditions and presumptions.
Shift VBA toward a blended workforce with more contractors processing claims
Proposed
Mandate directs Human Capital reforms so VBA builds a blended workforce with more contractors processing claims, freeing federal employees mainly for final benefit awards, plus more private-sector acquisition outreach and knowledge-exchange programs.
Day-one political control: rescind prior delegations and move career SES out of PA/PAS seats
Proposed
Mandate instructs rescinding all VA authority delegations from the prior Administration and transferring all career SES out of PA/PAS-designated positions on day one to ensure political control of VA.
Curtail hybrid/remote work and restore routine in-office headquarters presence
Proposed
Mandate demands a critical look at hybrid/remote work, arguing COVID-era and Biden-era remote norms undermine cohesiveness, accountability, and responsiveness at VA headquarters, satellites, and some VBA Regional Offices.
Expand VA political appointees and execute early civil-service/labor reform playbook
Proposed
Mandate pushes PPO to pre-vet more PA/PAS candidates, seeks higher non-career PA authorities, expands Limited Term Appointment SES, and details a six-point labor-reform execution plan (Secretarial direction, early White House EOs on official time/office space, anticipate union litigation, watch contract end dates).
Sunset Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection; decouple HRA from OSP
Proposed
Mandate recommends working with Congress to sunset OAWP as redundant with supervisors/EEO/OIG/OSC, and considering decoupling HRA from the Office of Security and Preparedness combined when OAWP was created without a new Assistant Secretary slot.