Veteran DATA Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Veteran DATA Act requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, within one year, to make sure every covered VA contract includes or is modified to include a clause prohibiting monetization, sale, or misuse of covered information by contractors, subcontractors, affiliates, or other non-VA entities. Covered information includes protected health information and personally identifiable information, including anonymized information, protected by the Privacy Act, title 38 confidentiality statutes, HIPAA regulations, and any other law the Secretary identifies. VA must also issue guidance to employees and contractors on how to identify monetization, sale, or misuse and must report the clause, guidance, and compliance actions to the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans and VA patients benefit because contractors that handle their health, disability, substance-use, and personal records would face explicit contract terms against sale, monetization, or misuse, even when data is anonymized. VA privacy officers and procurement officials benefit from a standard clause and guidance for detecting contractor misuse. Congressional veterans committees benefit from a required report showing the contract language and other compliance steps. Responsible VA contractors benefit from clearer data-use boundaries that can reduce reputational and legal risk.
Who Bears the Burden and How
VA contractors, subcontractors, affiliates, and non-VA entities handling covered information must accept new contract clauses, update data-governance practices, and avoid monetizing, selling, or otherwise misusing veterans' information. VA procurement staff must modify existing covered contracts and insert clauses into future ones. VA privacy and compliance staff must write guidance, train employees and contractors to spot misuse, and prepare the congressional report within one year.
Key Provisions
- Requires VA covered contracts to prohibit monetization, sale, or misuse of veterans' protected health and personal information.
- Applies the prohibition to contractors, subcontractors, affiliates, and other non-VA entities handling covered information.
- Requires VA guidance on identifying contractor monetization, sale, or misuse of covered information.
- Requires a one-year report to House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees with the contract clause, guidance, and compliance actions.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires VA contracts handling veterans' health or personal information to ban contractors, subcontractors, affiliates, and other non-VA entities from monetizing, selling, or misusing that information, including anonymized data.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans, Healthcare, Government Procurement
Primary Purpose
Requires VA contracts handling veterans' health or personal information to ban contractors, subcontractors, affiliates, and other non-VA entities from monetizing, selling, or misusing that information, including anonymized data.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Veterans
- VA patients
- VA privacy officers
- Congressional veterans committees
Identified Costs
- VA contractors
- VA subcontractors
- VA procurement staff
- VA privacy staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeForwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Subcommittee Hearings Held
Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Ms. Budzinski (for herself and Mr. Barrett) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
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.
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