To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to restrict the access and use of veterans’ data by the US DOGE Service and special Government employees, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Conaway (for himself, Mr. Carbajal, and Ms. Houlahan) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The VA DATA Act prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs from sharing veterans' personal data with DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency) and restricts special Government employees from accessing or using this data for commercial purposes. The bill aims to protect sensitive health, financial, and identifying information about veterans from unauthorized access or commercial exploitation.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans are the primary beneficiaries, as their sensitive personal health information, social security numbers, medical records, financial data, and biometric records are protected from being shared with DOGE or exploited commercially. Privacy advocates and civil liberties organizations also benefit, as the bill establishes strict data protection standards aligned with their privacy protection goals. The Department of Veterans Affairs gains clearer authority to deny data requests and protect veteran privacy.
Who Bears the Burden and How
DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) is explicitly prohibited from accessing any veterans' data held by the VA, blocking its ability to review VA operations or efficiency. Special Government employees working with the VA face restrictions on accessing veterans' data and cannot use it for commercial gain. Technology companies and consultants who might employ special Government employees lose opportunities to access VA data for developing private sector products or services. The VA itself faces increased compliance burdens to implement monitoring systems, enforce access controls, and ensure departing special Government employees return all data.
Key Provisions
- Prohibits the VA Secretary from providing any veterans' data to DOGE or its Administrator
- Bans special Government employees from accessing or exfiltrating veterans' data for commercial gain or unauthorized purposes
- Requires special Government employees to return all veterans' data upon termination and prohibits them from retaining copies
- Defines protected "veteran's data" to include personal health information, personal identifying information (SSN, address, DOB, biometric records), and financial information
- Establishes that only governmental purposes authorized by the VA Secretary permit special Government employee access to veterans' data
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Restricts the Department of Veterans Affairs from providing veterans' personal data to DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) and limits special Government employees from accessing or exfiltrating such data for unauthorized purposes.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Protect veteran privacy by establishing strict data access controls and prohibitions on commercial use of veterans' sensitive information by DOGE and special Government employees"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Veterans
- Privacy advocates
- Department of Veterans Affairs (operational control)
Likely Burden Bearers
- DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency)
- Special Government employees working with VA
- Technology companies potentially interested in VA data for commercial purposes
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of the United States DOGE Service
- "special_government_employee"
- → As defined in 18 USC 202(a)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Has the meaning given in section 202(a) of title 18, United States Code (an officer or employee who performs temporary duties with or without compensation for not more than 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days)
Data relating to an individual veteran, including personal health information, personal identifying information, and financial information
Any information (oral or recorded) related to: (1) health of veteran (past/present/future), (2) medical treatment of veteran, or (3) any payment related to health or medical treatment
Any information that can uncover veteran's identity, including: name, signature, initials, SSN, driver's license/passport number, address, DOB, medical records, financial/credit card numbers, biometric records
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology