To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide for electronic communication relating to educational assistance benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Additional sponsors: Mr. Van Orden, Mr. Vindman, and Ms. Lee …
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Mr. Barrett (for himself and Mr. Tran) introduced the following …
Mr. Barrett (for himself and Mr. Tran) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Delivering Digitally to Our Veterans Act modernizes how the VA communicates with veterans about their educational benefits. It requires the VA to offer electronic communication options—including text messaging, virtual chat, and other digital methods—as alternatives to traditional mail for GI Bill and other education assistance correspondence. The bill also expands the "Solid Start" program (which reaches out to newly separated service members) to use digital communication methods.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans using education benefits can opt into receiving correspondence about their GI Bill and other educational assistance through text messages, virtual chat, or email instead of waiting for mail. This means faster responses and more convenient access to benefit information.
Newly separated service members benefit from expanded Solid Start outreach that now includes text messaging and virtual chat, making it easier for the VA to connect with them during the critical transition period after leaving service.
The VA benefits from reduced mailing costs and faster communication turnaround times with beneficiaries.
Who Bears the Burden and How
VA IT systems must be upgraded to support the new communication channels, requiring development of secure text messaging, virtual chat, and electronic correspondence infrastructure.
Veterans who prefer traditional mail are not harmed—the bill creates an opt-in system, so veterans must actively choose to receive electronic communications.
Key Provisions
- Creates opt-in electronic communication for all VA educational assistance correspondence
- Requires notification to enrolled veterans about the option to switch to digital communications
- Expands Solid Start program from phone calls only to include text messaging, virtual chat, and other electronic messaging
- Defines "tailored lines of communication" to include mailings, text messaging, virtual chatting, and other electronic messaging
- Extends pension payment limits from November 30, 2031 to January 31, 2033 (unrelated budget offset provision)
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
Modernizes VA communications by requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer electronic communication options (text messaging, virtual chat, email) for educational assistance benefits correspondence, and expands the Solid Start outreach program to include digital communication methods.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Bring VA communication into the digital age by giving veterans the option to receive GI Bill and other education benefit correspondence electronically instead of relying solely on physical mail"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Veterans using GI Bill and educational assistance benefits
- Newly separated service members (Solid Start program)
- VA administration (reduced mailing costs, faster communication)
- Younger veterans who prefer digital communication
Likely Burden Bearers
- VA IT systems (must build new communication infrastructure)
- Veterans who prefer mail-only communication (must actively opt out)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Includes mailings, text messaging, virtual chatting, and other electronic forms of messaging.
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