To authorize the Secretary of the Army to convey to the State of North Carolina a certain parcel of real property located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on which the State shall construct a veterans’ State home, and for other purposes.

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Bill ID: 119/hr/10159
Last Updated: September 15, 2026

Sponsored by

Rep. Hudson, Richard [R-NC-9]

ID: H001067

Follow the money

The bill

To authorize the Secretary of the Army to convey to the State of North Carolina a certain parcel of real property located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on which the State shall construct a veterans’ State home, and for other purposes.

HR. 10159, 119th Congress — read as touching Long-Term Care & Nursing Homes.

The sponsor

Rep. Hudson, Richard [R-NC-9]

Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.

The money

$545,400 raised

23 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.

The alignment

85% match to Project 2025

This bill's text tracks the "Department of Transportation" section, p. 673-675 of the Mandate for Leadership.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

September 14, 2026

Introduced

Committee Review

Floor Action

Passed House

Senate Review

📍 Current Status

Next: Both chambers must agree on the same version of the bill.

🎉

Passed Congress

🖊️

Presidential Action

⚖️

Became Law

📚 How does a bill become a law?

1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.

2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.

3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.

4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.

5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.

6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!

Bill Summary

**HR 10159: A Land Giveaway Dressed as Patriotism** *Diagnosis: Legislative Malpractice with a Side of Bureaucratic Theater*

**1. Main Purpose & Objectives** The stated goal of HR 10159 is to transfer approximately 20 acres of federal land at Fort Bragg—known as Parcel 3B—to the State of North Carolina so it can build a veterans’ State home. On paper, it’s a noble gesture: honoring those who served by giving them a place to live out their final years with dignity. In reality, it’s a low-effort, high-visibility way for Congress to appear supportive of veterans without actually spending money or addressing systemic failures in veterans’ care. The bill doesn’t fund construction, staffing, or operations—it just hands over dirt and calls it a win. It’s like diagnosing malnutrition and prescribing a photo of a sandwich.

**2. Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law** This bill amends nothing substantive in veterans’ law or land management policy. Instead, it authorizes the Secretary of the Army to convey federal land *without consideration* (i.e., for free) to North Carolina, provided the state uses it solely for a veterans’ home under VA-defined standards. Key mechanics include: - The state must cover all costs associated with the transfer (surveys, environmental reviews, legal fees), with refunds only if they overpay. - The land comes with a reversionary clause: if North Carolina stops using it for a veterans’ home, the Army can reclaim it—immediately and without compensation. - The Secretary may impose additional conditions to “protect U.S. interests,” a vague grant of power that invites arbitrary oversight. No new funding, no oversight mechanisms for care quality, and no requirement that the home meet specific capacity or service standards. It’s a real estate transaction with a patriotism sticker.

**3. Affected Parties & Stakeholders** - **Veterans in North Carolina**: Theoretically beneficiaries, but only if the state actually builds and funds the home—which this bill does nothing to ensure. - **North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs**: Gets free land but assumes all financial and operational risk. A sweet deal for the state; a potential unfunded mandate. - **U.S. Army**: Offloads liability and maintenance costs while retaining the right to repossess the land if the state fails to perform—heads they win, tails the state loses. - **Taxpayers**: Fund the bureaucratic process (surveys, legal work) indirectly through state reimbursement requirements, while getting nothing in return for the lost federal asset. - **Contractors & Real Estate Interests**: May profit from construction, but only if the state allocates funds—a big if.

**4. Potential Impact & Implications** This bill is legislative placebo care. It creates the illusion of support for veterans while doing nothing to address the chronic underfunding, staffing shortages, and bureaucratic neglect plaguing state veterans’ homes nationwide. If North Carolina lacks the political will or budget to build and operate the facility, the land sits unused—or worse, gets reclaimed by the Army after years of state investment in planning, leaving everyone worse off. The reversion clause turns good faith into a hostage situation: build it or lose it, with no safety net. Ultimately, HR 10159 isn’t about veterans—it’s about politicians avoiding hard choices. It’s easier to give away land than to appropriate money for care. It’s a symptom of a deeper disease: a Congress that confuses symbolism with substance, and mistakes photo ops for policy. Prognosis? Chronic disappointment, with occasional flare-ups of cynical optimism.

Related Topics

Military & Veterans AffairsDefense Spending & ProcurementState & Local Government Affairs
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Rep. Hudson, Richard [R-NC-9]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$545,400
20 donors
PACs
$0
Organizations
$8,100
Committees
$0
Individuals
$537,300

No PAC contributions found

1
MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
1 transaction
$3,300
2
SAN MANUEL BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
1 transaction
$3,300
3
CATAWBA INDIAN NATION
1 transaction
$1,500

No committee contributions found

1
HENDRICK, JOSEPH RIDDICK III
1 transaction
$50,000
2
GROSS, MARK J.
1 transaction
$50,000
3
WARLICK, ANDERSON D. MR.
1 transaction
$50,000
4
BARNHILL, ROBERT E. MR. JR.
1 transaction
$50,000
5
ALLISON, DENNIS KEITH MR.
2 transactions
$50,000
6
PARRISH, R. DOYLE MR.
2 transactions
$50,000
7
CURRIE, NEILL MR.
2 transactions
$50,000
8
HUNTER, FRED NEAL
1 transaction
$35,000
9
SULLIVAN, SCOTT C.
1 transaction
$25,000
10
KANE, JOHN
1 transaction
$25,000
11
SMITH, EDDIE C. MR. JR.
1 transaction
$25,000
12
CARLSON, MARSHALL
1 transaction
$13,200
13
GILL, MALINDA
1 transaction
$13,200
14
HODGKIN, JAY
1 transaction
$13,200
15
O'MALLEY, JAMES B. MR.
1 transaction
$13,200
16
RAWL, JULIAN WHITE
1 transaction
$12,500
17
CUPISZ, ANTHONY
1 transaction
$12,000

Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance

This bill has 10 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.

Rep. Knott, Brad [R-NC-13]

ID: K000405

Top Contributors

20

1
WORDSWORTH, BRIAN L
BRIGADE • MANAGING PARTNER
IndividualRALEIGH, NC
$3,300
Oct 17, 2024
2
BROCK, DAMON A
BROCK CONTRACT SERVICES • CONSTRUCTION
IndividualRALEIGH, NC
$3,300
Oct 21, 2024
3
FONVILLE, KATE J
RETIRD • RETIRD
IndividualRALEIGH, NC
$3,300
Oct 21, 2024
4
HOLDING, FRANK ROYALL
SELF-EMPLOYED • REAL ESTATE
IndividualNEW BERN, NC
$3,300
Oct 23, 2024
5
JOHNSON, C DAVID
JOHNSON LEXUS • OWNER
IndividualRALEIGH, NC
$3,300
Oct 31, 2024
6
TUCKER, GARLAND S III
TRIANGLE CAPITAL CORP. • BROKER
IndividualRALEIGH, NC
$3,300
Dec 5, 2023
7
ARTHUR, KATHERINE CHALK
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualMOREHEAD CITY, NC
$3,300
Dec 11, 2023
8
SEWELL, CECIL WHITAKER MR. JR
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualRALEIGH, NC
$3,300
Dec 22, 2023
9
HUDSON, KRISTEN ANDERSON
ANDERSON AUTO GROUP • HUMAN RESOURCES
IndividualRALEIGH, NC
$3,300
Nov 30, 2023
10
WALL, NANCY
WALL RECYCLING • ATTORNEY
IndividualWILMINGTON, NC
$3,300
Nov 21, 2023

Rep. Rouzer, David [R-NC-7]

ID: R000603

Top Contributors

20

1
WRIGHT, DEREK
MERIDIEN MARKETING AND LOGISTICS, INC • EXPORT
IndividualWILMINGTON, NC
$3,435
Mar 27, 2024
2
CREASY, DONALD J
CARUTHERS PROPERTIES • REAL ESTATE
IndividualCLAYTON, NC
$3,435
Jun 11, 2024
3
ESTEP, HANK
GRIFFIN ESTEP • INSURANCE
IndividualWILMINGTON, NC
$3,435
May 16, 2024
4
POWERS, DAVID M.
SELF EMPLOYED • PUBLIC AFFAIRS
IndividualRALEIGH, NC
$3,435
Sep 6, 2024
5
BERGMAN, LEAH MARIE
SOUTHERN REPAIR SERVICE INC • REAL ESTATE
IndividualCHAPEL HILL, NC
$3,300
Oct 28, 2024
6
CONNORS, CATHERINE F
SOLSTICE PARTNERS LLC • REAL ESTATE
IndividualCARY, NC
$3,300
Oct 28, 2024
7
DEGIACINTO, CLAY
AXONIC CAPITAL • MANAGING PARTNER
IndividualRALEIGH, NC
$3,300
Oct 31, 2024
8
ELLIS, GARY
SELF-EMPLOYED • INVESTOR
IndividualMATTHEWS, NC
$3,300
Oct 28, 2024
9
MILLS, FRED G JR.
MILLS CONSTRUCTION • GENERAL CONTRACTOR
IndividualWAKE FOREST, NC
$3,300
Oct 28, 2024
10
ROCKEFELLER, LISENNE
WINROCK GROUP INC • PRESIDENT
IndividualLITTLE ROCK, AR
$3,300
Oct 28, 2024

Rep. Davis, Donald G. [D-NC-1]

ID: D000230

Top Contributors

26

1
FEDERATED INDIANS OF GRATON RANCHERIA
OrganizationROHNERT PARK, CA
$3,300
Mar 5, 2024
2
TUNICA-BILOXI TRIBE OF LA
OrganizationMARKSVILLE, LA
$2,000
Dec 31, 2023
3
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
OrganizationPRIOR LAKE, MN
$1,650
Jun 6, 2023
4
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
OrganizationPRIOR LAKE, MN
$1,650
May 13, 2024
5
BARONA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationLAKESIDE, CA
$1,500
May 31, 2023
6
CHEROKEE NATION
OrganizationTAHLEQUAH, OK
$1,000
Dec 28, 2023
7
FISHER, DEBORAH
NOT EMPLOYED • NOT EMPLOYED
IndividualCOEUR D ALENE, ID
$4,000
Jul 29, 2024
8
BLOOM, BRADLEY
BERKSHIRE PARTNERS LLC • INVESTMENTS
IndividualWELLESLEY, MA
$3,300
Oct 31, 2024
9
BRAUFMAN, JILL
NOT EMPLOYED • RETIRED
IndividualSURFSIDE, FL
$3,300
Oct 18, 2024
10
CLAPP, STEPHEN
SELF EMPLOYED • RANCHER
IndividualSEQUIM, WA
$3,300
Oct 30, 2024

Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2]

ID: R000305

Top Contributors

21

1
CHEROKEE NATION
OrganizationTAHLEQUAH, OK
$1,000
Dec 8, 2023
2
COOPER, JOHN D JR.
NOT EMPLOYED • CONTRACTOR/ENGINEER
IndividualRALEIGH, NC
$6,600
May 8, 2023
3
MARTIN, LOUISE PORTER
NOT EMPLOYED • NOT EMPLOYED
IndividualRALEIGH, NC
$4,600
Dec 29, 2023
4
WILKES, NANCY
UNC HOSPITALS • PHYSICIAN
IndividualCHAPEL HILL, NC
$3,300
Oct 31, 2024
5
ALLEN, DIANA
NOT EMPLOYED • NOT EMPLOYED
IndividualCARY, NC
$3,300
Dec 30, 2023
6
ALSOP, JOSEPH
ALSOP LOUIE PARTNERS • VENTURE PARTNER
IndividualBEVERLY, MA
$3,300
Dec 29, 2023
7
ALSUP, WILLIAM B III
NOT EMPLOYED • NOT EMPLOYED
IndividualWASHINGTON, DC
$3,300
Oct 17, 2023
8
BEEUWKES, REINIER
ISCHEMIX • CEO
IndividualCONCORD, MA
$3,300
Dec 31, 2023
9
DEBNAM, CAREY
SELF EMPLOYED • PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
IndividualRALEIGH, NC
$3,300
Dec 21, 2023
10
DEBNAM, SESHA F
DEBNAM PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LLC • PROPERTY MANAGER
IndividualRALEIGH, NC
$3,300
Dec 21, 2023

Rep. Murphy, Gregory F. [R-NC-3]

ID: M001210

Top Contributors

20

1
DOISE, DARYL
OCEANS HEALTHCARE • EXEC VP
IndividualDALLAS, TX
$6,700
Apr 1, 2024
2
DOISE, DARYL
IndividualDALLAS, TX
$6,700
Apr 10, 2024
3
KAPOOR, DEEPAK
SOLARIS HEALTH • PHYSICIAN EXECUTIVE
IndividualFORT LAUDERDALE, FL
$6,600
Sep 23, 2024
4
KAPOOR, DEEPAK
IndividualFORT LAUDERDALE, FL
$6,600
Sep 30, 2024
5
SCHWARZMAN, STEPHEN
BLACKSTONE • CEO AND CHAIRMAN
IndividualNEW YORK, NY
$3,300
Oct 21, 2024
6
ARUMUGHAM, PRADEEP
ECU • DOCTOR
IndividualKINSTON, NC
$3,300
Dec 11, 2023
7
BOWEN, JOEY M
PRIVATEER TOBACCO CO. INC. • TOBACCONIST
IndividualGREENVILLE, NC
$3,300
Nov 15, 2023
8
BOWEN, JOEY M
PRIVATEER TOBACCO CO. INC. • TOBACCONIST
IndividualGREENVILLE, NC
$3,300
Nov 15, 2023
9
CLARK, MELISSA A
HOMEMAKER • HOMEMAKER
IndividualGREENVILLE, NC
$3,300
Oct 6, 2023
10
CLARK, MELISSA A
HOMEMAKER • HOMEMAKER
IndividualGREENVILLE, NC
$3,300
Oct 6, 2023

Rep. Foushee, Valerie P. [D-NC-4]

ID: F000477

Top Contributors

20

1
PERRY, ROGER L.
NOT EMPLOYED • NOT EMPLOYED
IndividualCHAPEL HILL, NC
$3,300
Dec 14, 2023
2
IRELAND, LORI A.
IRELAND FAMILY FOUNDATION • PRESIDENT
IndividualCHAPEL HILL, NC
$3,300
Dec 31, 2023
3
JOHNSON, LACY
TAFT LAW • ATTORNEY
IndividualINDIANAPOLIS, IN
$3,300
Dec 28, 2023
4
TUCKER, THOMAS
SELF EMPLOYED • REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL
IndividualCHAPEL HILL, NC
$3,300
Dec 3, 2023
5
BURROUGHS, MIA DAY
NOT EMPLOYED • NOT EMPLOYED
IndividualCHAPEL HILL, NC
$3,300
Mar 3, 2023
6
KUHN, MARK A.
KUHN ADVISORS INC. • INVESTMENT ADVISOR
IndividualDURHAM, NC
$3,300
Mar 4, 2024
7
NIEDEL, JAMES
NOT EMPLOYED • RETIRED
IndividualCHAPEL HILL, NC
$3,300
Feb 29, 2024
8
KUHN, CYNTHIA
DUKE UNIVERSITY • SCIENTIST
IndividualDURHAM, NC
$3,300
Feb 29, 2024
9
JURVETSON, KARLA
SELF EMPLOYED • PHYSICIAN
IndividualLOS ALTOS, CA
$3,300
May 11, 2023
10
RUMER, ANDREW
NOT EMPLOYED • RETIRED
IndividualSAN FRANCISCO, CA
$3,300
Aug 1, 2024

Rep. Foxx, Virginia [R-NC-5]

ID: F000450

Top Contributors

27

1
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
OrganizationPRIOR LAKE, MN
$3,300
Apr 26, 2024
2
EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS
OrganizationCHEROKEE, NC
$2,000
Dec 18, 2023
3
SANTA YNEZ BAND OF CHUMASH INDIANS
OrganizationSANTA YNEZ, CA
$2,000
Mar 11, 2024
4
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
OrganizationPRIOR LAKE, MN
$1,650
May 31, 2023
5
CATAWBA NATION TRIBE
OrganizationROCK HILL, SC
$1,500
Mar 1, 2024
6
MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationBANNING, CA
$1,500
Jun 30, 2023
7
MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationBANNING, CA
$1,500
Apr 29, 2024
8
MOORE, JOHN T. MR.
MARWOOD GROUP • CEO
IndividualNEW YORK, NY
$5,000
Aug 26, 2024
9
BARKER, PATRICIA M. MRS.
BOB BARKER CO • CORP SECRETARY
IndividualFUQUAY VARINA, NC
$3,300
Oct 28, 2024
10
DRESCHER, STEPHANIE MS.
APOLLO • PARTNER
IndividualNEW YORK, NY
$3,300
Nov 4, 2024

Rep. McDowell, Addison P. [R-NC-6]

ID: M001240

Top Contributors

20

1
FLOW, MEGHAN
HOMEMAKER • HOMEMAKER
IndividualLEWISVILLE, NC
$6,600
Mar 1, 2024
2
FLOW, MEGHAN
IndividualLEWISVILLE, NC
$6,600
Feb 29, 2024
3
KING, SEBASTIAN
SELF EMPLOYED • CONSULTANT
IndividualPFAFFTOWN, NC
$3,435
May 28, 2024
4
JOHNSON, BRIAN
IndividualALEXANDRIA, VA
$3,300
Oct 23, 2024
5
BROWN, THOMAS
MINDSET • PARTNER
IndividualCHEVY CHASE, MD
$3,300
Nov 5, 2024
6
TOWNSEND, JOHN
PAY TEL COMMUNICATIONS • OWNER
IndividualKERNERSVILLE, NC
$3,300
Oct 20, 2024
7
BRAUER, CAMILLA
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualBRIDGETON, MO
$3,300
Sep 20, 2024
8
BRAUER, STEPHEN
HUNTER ENGINEERING • CHAIRMAN
IndividualBRIDGETON, MO
$3,300
Sep 18, 2024
9
SHAHEEN, LAWRENCE
SELF-EMPLOYED • ATTORNEY
IndividualCHARLOTTE, NC
$3,300
Jul 16, 2024
10
CANNON, CRAIG
KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON • ATTORNEY
IndividualWINSTON SALEM, NC
$3,300
Dec 31, 2024

Rep. Harris, Mark [R-NC-8]

ID: H001102

Top Contributors

20

1
CARSTEN, KATHERINE M
NO EMPLOYER • HOMEMAKER
IndividualWAXHAW, NC
$10,000
Feb 14, 2024
2
HORNE, CHRIS
HORNE HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING • PRINICPAL
IndividualCHARLOTTE, NC
$6,600
Nov 3, 2023
3
DIMICCO, DANIEL
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualWAXHAW, NC
$6,600
Jan 17, 2024
4
GREENBLATT, SCOTT
VETERANS GUARDIAN • OWNER
IndividualPINEHURST, NC
$6,600
May 17, 2024
5
HENDLEY, JOHN NANCE
BREWER-HENSLEY OIL COMPANY • EXECUTIVE
IndividualMONROE, NC
$6,600
Jun 7, 2024
6
BUTLER, DONALD R
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualMOORESVILLE, NC
$6,600
Sep 13, 2023
7
CHERRY, LINDA
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualCHARLOTTE, NC
$6,600
Sep 13, 2023
8
GOLDING, ERNEST G
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualADVANCE, NC
$6,600
Sep 13, 2023
9
KIDD, VICKIE
SELF • REAL ESTATE
IndividualMOORESVILLE, NC
$6,600
Sep 12, 2023
10
LAMB, JOHN R
AMERICAN AIRLINES • PILOT
IndividualMOORESVILLE, NC
$6,600
Sep 21, 2023

Rep. Harrigan, Pat [R-NC-10]

ID: H001101

Top Contributors

20

1
STARNES, BRYAN
ALG SENIOR LLC • CFO
IndividualGRANITE FALLS, NC
$3,300
Oct 23, 2024
2
ATALA, KATHERINE DAWSON
WAKE FOREST UNIV SCHOOL OF MED • PHYSICIAN
IndividualWINSTON SALEM, NC
$3,300
Oct 21, 2024
3
SMITH, HARRY
RISE CAPITAL • FOUNDER
IndividualATLANTIC BEACH, NC
$3,300
Oct 31, 2024
4
CHEROKEE INDIANS, EASTERN BAND OF
INDIAN TRIBE • INDIAN TRIBE
IndividualCHEROKEE, NC
$3,300
Oct 28, 2024
5
TREFZGER, CHARLIE
ALG SENIOR • CEO
IndividualGRANITE FALLS, NC, NC
$3,300
Oct 23, 2024
6
SMITH, HARRY
RISE CAPITAL • FOUNDER
IndividualATLANTIC BEACH, NC
$3,300
Oct 31, 2024
7
KELLIGREW, JIM
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualCHARLOTTE, NC
$3,300
Nov 19, 2024
8
DUNN, MELANIE
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualMORGANTON, NC
$3,300
Oct 31, 2024
9
WILSON, PETE
WILSON WALSH CONSULTING • ATTORNEY CONSULTANT
IndividualLOS ANGELES, CA
$3,300
Oct 31, 2024
10
SCHILBERG, BERNARD
IMC • CEO
IndividualSOUTH WINDSOR, CT
$3,300
Oct 31, 2024

Donor Network - Rep. Hudson, Richard [R-NC-9]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

Loading...

Showing 38 nodes and 39 connections

Total contributions: $39

Top Donors - Rep. Hudson, Richard [R-NC-9]

Showing top 20 donors by contribution amount

3 Orgs17 Individuals

Industry Impact

Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 3 helped.

  • Section 1(a) mentions the construction of a State home, which is defined in Section 1(f) as a home for veterans, implying a benefit to the long-term care industry.

  • Section 1(a) mentions the construction of a veterans' State home, which could provide a benefit to construction and engineering firms.

  • +Real Estateconfidence 0.70

    Section 1(a) involves the conveyance of real property, which could provide a benefit to real estate developers or managers.

Who funds the sponsor on these industries

For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Rep. Hudson, Richard [R-NC-9])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022–present cycles. Donations are not proof of intent — they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.

Industries this bill HELPS

Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.AI-enhanced analysis provides detailed alignment ratings.

Department of Transportation

Strong
Vector: 60%
Pages: 673-675AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The bill aligns with Project 2025's emphasis on improving veterans' access to care through state-federal collaboration and repurposing underutilized federal assets for veterans' services, particularly state veterans' homes. It supports the VA's mission of delivering veteran-centric care by expanding community-based long-term care options."

Key themes:veterans' healthcare accessstate veterans' homesfederal land repurposingVA mission supportcommunity-based care

— 641 — 20 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Brooks D. Tucker MISSION STATEMENT The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the primary provider of health care, benefits, and memorial affairs for America’s veterans and their families. The VA has the noble responsibility to render exceptional and timely support and services with respect, compassion, and competence. The veteran is at the forefront of every VA process and interaction. The VA must continually strive to be recognized as a “best in class,” “Veteran-centric”1 system with an organizational ethos inspired by and accountable to the needs and problems of veterans, not subservient to the parochial preferences of a bureaucracy. OVERVIEW At the end of the Obama Administration, the VA was held in low esteem both by the veterans it served and by the employees who served these former warriors. Eroding morale caused by the downstream effects of a health care access crisis in 2014 led to the resignation of Secretary Eric Shinseki and extensive oversight investigations by Congress from 2015–2016. By 2020, however, the VA had become one of the most respected U.S. agencies. This significant progress was due in part to the leadership of Secretary Robert Wilkie (2018–2021) and his team of political appointees and career senior executives, many of them veterans, who led the effort to ensure that the VA became “Veteran-centric” in its governance decisions and fostered a more positive work environment. This mindset translated into a department that was better attuned to employees’ and veterans’ needs and experiences in the daily operations of health care, benefits, — 642 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise and memorial affairs. During that period, the VA received the largest number of watershed congressional authorizations to reform its health care and benefits that it had received since the post–Vietnam War years along with historic increases in annual appropriations, which have tripled since the last full year of the George W. Bush Administration. The current VA leadership team of Biden appointees has adopted some of their predecessors’ governance processes. However, they have not sustained the previous Administration’s commitment to a genuine “Veteran-centric” philosophy, most nota- bly with respect to the delivery of health care, and harbor a bias toward expanding the unionized federal employee workforce that has not always been aligned with a focus on “Veteran-centric” care. There also is growing concern in Congress and the veteran community that the VA is poorly managing and in some cases disregarding provisions of the VA MISSION [Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Out- side Networks] Act of 20182 that codify broad access for veterans to non-VA health care providers. Efforts to expand disability benefits to large populations without adequate planning have caused an erosion of veterans’ trust in the VA enterprise. Additionally, the current VA leadership is focusing very publicly on “social equity and inclusion” within departmental policy discussions toward ends that will affect only a small minority of the veterans who use the VA. For the first time, the VA is allowing access to abortion services, a medical procedure unrelated to military service that the VA lacks the legal authority and clinical proficiency to perform. In addition to continuing the grotesque culture of violence against the child in the womb, these sociopolitical initiatives and ideological indoctrinations distract from the department’s core missions. DEPARTMENTAL HISTORY Following the Civil War, state veterans homes were established to provide med- ical and hospital treatment for all injuries and diseases. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, “Congress established a new system of Veterans benefits, including programs for disability compensation, insurance for service personnel and Veterans, and vocational rehabilitation for the disabled”3 that was overseen by three different federal programs: the Veterans Bureau, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Pensions, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. In 1921, Congress combined those programs into the Veterans Bureau. Following World War II, a national VA hospital system, much of which remains operational today, was established to care for millions of returning veterans. Following the Vietnam War, the VA’s federally owned and operated hospital network expanded again to meet the needs of the volunteer and draftee population. In the past two decades, the VA has purposely transitioned to leasing medical prop- erties rather than building expensive new facilities that can take years to complete and often experience budget overruns. As the nature of health care has evolved

Department of Veterans Affairs

Moderate
Vector: 60%
Pages: 679-681AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The bill supports expanding veterans' access to community-based long-term care through a State-run veterans' home, which aligns with Project 2025's goal of reimagining the VA health care footprint and increasing access to care in underserved areas. While it does not directly address CBOCs, facility-sharing, or personnel reforms, it advances the broader objective of leveraging partnerships and underutilized resources to improve veterans' care access."

Key themes:veterans' healthcare accesscommunity-based carefederal-state partnershipuse of underutilized facilitieslong-term care expansion

— 647 — Department of Veterans Affairs reimagine the health care footprint in some locales, and spur a realignment of capacity through budgetary allocations. Specifically: 1. Embrace the expansion of Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) as an avenue to maintain a VA footprint in challenging medical markets without investing further in obsolete and unaffordable VA health care campuses. 2. Explore the potential to pilot facility-sharing partnerships between the VA and strained local health care systems to reduce costs by leveraging limited talent and resources. Personnel l Extend the term of the Under Secretary for Health (USH) to five years. Additionally, authority should be given to reappoint this individual for a second five-year term both to allow for continuity and to protect the USH from political transition. l Establish a Senior Executive Service (SES) position of VHA Care System Chief Information Officer (CIO), selected by and reporting to the chief of the VHA Care System with a dotted line to the VA CIO. l Identify a workflow process to bring wait times in compliance with VA MISSION Act–required time frames wherever possible. 1. Assess the daily clinical appointment load for physicians and clinical staff in medical facilities where wait times for care are well outside of the time frames required by the VA MISSION Act. 2. Require VHA facilities to increase the number of patients seen each day to equal the number seen by DOD medical facilities: approximately 19 patients per provider per day. Currently, VA facilities may be seeing as few as six patients per provider per day. 3. Consider a pilot program to extend weekday appointment hours and offer Saturday appointment options to veterans if a facility continues to demonstrate that it has excess capacity and is experiencing delays in the delivery of care for veterans. 4. Identify clinical services that are consistently in high demand but require cost-prohibitive compensation to recruit and retain talent, and examine exceptions for higher competitive pay. — 648 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise 5. Assess the medical facilities where Community Care is readily available but referrals for Community Care are below the averages in other similar markets, referrals expiring are above the average, and/ or canceled appointments are above the average. Identify reasons and factors and consider possible ways to improve timeliness and responsiveness for veterans. 6. Further explore how to leverage telehealth to reduce personnel costs across the enterprise and serve veterans. Continue to pursue expansion of broadband services to remote and rural areas. 7. Assess recruitment and retention in highly competitive medical markets to identify common limiting factors for attracting high-demand, specialized occupations. 8. Consider aggressively recruiting retired physicians who desire to serve veterans. 9. Consider expanding VA tuition assistance in exchange for reciprocal service in rural or understaffed VAMCs. 10. Examine the surpluses or deficits in mental health professionals throughout the enterprise, recognizing that the department needs a blend of social workers, therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists with a focus on attracting high-quality talent. l Conduct a high-priority assessment of Electronic Health Record (EHR) transition delays and functionality problems. VA innovation in health care for the next 20 years and beyond will rest squarely on the timely implementation of the new VHA EHR in coordination with the DOD’s parallel pacing effort. The VA’s EHR rollout has been blocked by technical delays at local facilities where personnel have raised safety concerns and infrastructure has not been modernized to accept the new system. VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION (VBA) Needed Reforms The most evident and ongoing concern is the complexity of benefits, which can lead to confusion for the veteran and, if not mitigated early in the veteran’s interactions, long-term distrust of and animosity toward the VA. Wholesale ben- efits reform is unnecessary and politically a “third rail,” but effective managerial

Department of Veterans Affairs

Weak
Vector: 59%
Pages: 679-681AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The bill focuses on land conveyance for a state veterans' home, which is unrelated to Project 2025's VA policy objectives centered on healthcare system reform, infrastructure realignment, workforce optimization, and accountability measures. There is no direct connection to the specific initiatives outlined in the Project 2025 VA section."

Key themes:veterans' healthcarestate-federal collaboration

— 646 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise 3. Section 121 (developing and administering an education program that teaches veterans about their health care options available from the Department of Veterans Affairs). 4. Section 152 (returning the Office for Innovation of Care and Payment to the Office of Enterprise Integration with a joint governance process set up with the VHA). 5. Section 161 (overhauling Family Caregiver Program expansion, which has gone poorly, so that it focuses on consistency of eligibility and awareness that the most severely wounded or injured may require the program indefinitely). l Require the VHA to report publicly on all aspects of its operation, including quality, safety, patient experience, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness, using standards similar to those in the Medicare Accountable Care Organization program so that the government may monitor and achieve continuous improvement in the VA system more effectively. l Encourage VA Medical Centers to seek out relevant academic and private- sector input in their communities to improve the overall patient experience. Budget l Conduct an independent audit of the VA similar to the 2018 Department of Defense (DOD) audit to identify IT, management, financial, contracting, and other deficiencies. l Assess the misalignment of VHA facilities and rising infrastructure costs. The VHA operates 172 inpatient medical facilities nationally that are an average of 60 years old. Some of these facilities are underutilized and inadequately staffed. Facilities in certain urban and rural areas are seeing significant declines in the veteran population and strong competition for fresh medical staff. In 2018, Congress authorized an Asset Infrastructure Review (AIR) of national VHA medical markets to provide insight into where the VA health care budget should be responsibly allocated to serve veterans most effectively. However, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee lacked the political will to act on the White House’s nominations of commission members, and this ultimately led to termination of the AIR process. The next Administration should seek out agile, creative, and politically acceptable operational solutions to this aging infrastructure status quo, — 647 — Department of Veterans Affairs reimagine the health care footprint in some locales, and spur a realignment of capacity through budgetary allocations. Specifically: 1. Embrace the expansion of Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) as an avenue to maintain a VA footprint in challenging medical markets without investing further in obsolete and unaffordable VA health care campuses. 2. Explore the potential to pilot facility-sharing partnerships between the VA and strained local health care systems to reduce costs by leveraging limited talent and resources. Personnel l Extend the term of the Under Secretary for Health (USH) to five years. Additionally, authority should be given to reappoint this individual for a second five-year term both to allow for continuity and to protect the USH from political transition. l Establish a Senior Executive Service (SES) position of VHA Care System Chief Information Officer (CIO), selected by and reporting to the chief of the VHA Care System with a dotted line to the VA CIO. l Identify a workflow process to bring wait times in compliance with VA MISSION Act–required time frames wherever possible. 1. Assess the daily clinical appointment load for physicians and clinical staff in medical facilities where wait times for care are well outside of the time frames required by the VA MISSION Act. 2. Require VHA facilities to increase the number of patients seen each day to equal the number seen by DOD medical facilities: approximately 19 patients per provider per day. Currently, VA facilities may be seeing as few as six patients per provider per day. 3. Consider a pilot program to extend weekday appointment hours and offer Saturday appointment options to veterans if a facility continues to demonstrate that it has excess capacity and is experiencing delays in the delivery of care for veterans. 4. Identify clinical services that are consistently in high demand but require cost-prohibitive compensation to recruit and retain talent, and examine exceptions for higher competitive pay.

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About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using a hybrid approach: initial candidates are found using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text, then an AI model (Llama 3.1 70B) provides detailed alignment ratings and analysis. Ratings range from 1 (minimal alignment) to 5 (very strong alignment). This analysis does not imply direct causation or intent.

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