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Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), delivered the following opening remarks, as prepared, at the start of the Full Committee’s legislative hearing on the following key bill priorities for House Republicans: H.R. 472 The Restore VA Accountability Act of 2025; H.R. 1041 Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act; and H.R. 740, Veterans’ ACCESS Act of 2025. The following additional bills were also discussed during the legislative hearing: H.R. XXX To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from transmitting certain information to the Department of Justice for use by the national instant criminal background check system; and H.R. XXX Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 2025:

Good afternoon, everyone.

The Committee will come to order.

I am glad to be here today to consider my bills: H.R. 472, The Restore V.A. Accountability Act of 2025; H.R.1041, the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act; and H.R. 740, Veterans’ ACCESS Act of 2025.

We will also be discussing a discussion draft related to information the Secretary is allowed to transmit to the Department of Justice related to second amendment issues.

Finally, we will consider Ms. Ramirez’s bill, the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 2025.

Before I discuss the bills before us today, I would first like to welcome all the witnesses who are here to testify on the legislation before us.

We have discussed at-length each of the issues these bills would address in multiple oversight hearings, and through letters and travel outside the beltway to listen to the men and women who work at V.A. and the veterans they serve to fix these problems.

That is what each of these bills would do–fix a significant problem.

I’m sure the Ranking Member will suggest otherwise during his comments, and he is welcome to continue to disagree.

I remain concerned by the rhetoric, baseless talking points, and fearmongering coming from our friends on the other side of the aisle.

Despite this, I am focused on action on behalf of the millions of men and women we serve from my seat as Chairman.

That is what the American people elected us to do, and that is what the House Republican majority will deliver on.

None of the bills on today’s agenda are new or should come as a shock.

In fact, we marked two of them up last Congress.

I should also point out that the Ranking Member voted for the V.A. Accountability Act in 2017 along with the MISSION Act in 2018 when they both passed with large bipartisan majorities.

With that, I am proud to have introduced my bill H.R. 472, The Restore V.A. Accountability Act of 2025 again this Congress.

My bill would codify Congress’ intent in 2017 to protect veteran care and the taxpayer’s investment by holding V.A. employees accountable.

The Biden-Harris administration repeatably protected employees who were accused of all kinds of misconduct.

From disturbing sexual harassment to racism, to senior executives incorrectly pocketing funds, to poor patient care, our investigation list was long and continues to grow.

And holding people accountable, who failed the veterans they were charged with serving, took far too long.

Under President Trump’s leadership, accountability is back at V.A.

Veterans – not protecting bureaucrats – is our mission once again.

This means providing exceptional service to veterans by building a world-class workforce at V.A.

The V.A. workforce is the second largest bureaucracy in the world.

My legislation would protect those employees who come to work every day and do the right thing.

I am 100% confident that most V.A. employees want to do good work.

But time and time again, members on both sides of the aisle have heard from whistleblowers that bad employees continue to serve as a distraction from the mission.

Right now, V.A. does not have the ability to hold these bad employees accountable.

This has a direct impact on the delivery of services across V.A.

We must ask ourselves, if bad employees know they will not face consequences, then what is the incentive to correct the behavior?

I am grateful to the over 15 organizations who support my bill and I look forward to the discussion today.

I am proud to also have introduced my bill H.R. 1041, the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act.

My bill would prohibit V.A. from sending a veteran’s name to the F.B.I.’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, unless a judge or court decides that the person could be a danger to themselves or others.

In some cases, V.A. will appoint a fiduciary to a veteran to help them manage their V.A. benefits and finances.

The appointment of a fiduciary has nothing to do with dangerousness.

It is about the veteran’s ability to manage their financial benefits.

But the minute V.A. appoints a fiduciary, that veteran’s name is automatically sent to NICS.

In every other system, a person must be found to be dangerous by a judge based on evidence before being reported to NICS.

But our veterans are reported to NICS without the same due process, as others who have not worn the uniform.

My message remains simple.

V.A. should not be able to take away a veteran’s Second Amendment rights without due process simply because they need help managing their finances.

Veterans should not be treated any different than every other American citizen.

We know this practice creates a stigma around accessing veterans crucial V.A. care and services.

It is time to stop it.

This bill is not about guns on demand.

It is about giving veterans the same due process as every other American.

We also have a discussion draft before us today that would fix how V.A. has already reported over 250 thousand veterans to NICS without due process solely because they have a fiduciary.

I look forward to today’s discussion about this bill.

I am proud to have introduced my bill H.R. 740, the Veterans’ ACCESS Act of 2025.
This House Republican bill would:
-safeguard a veteran’s right to the health care they want, whether in the community or in-house,

-ensure veterans have access to life saving mental healthcare and treatment,

-place veterans – not bureaucrats – back in the control seat of their own healthcare decisions.

It would make clear that community care is V.A. care.

The ACCESS Act would ensure V.A.’s focus is veterans.

Not bureaucracy.

V.A. healthcare is some of the best healthcare in the world.

But only when it fully relies on the assets in the community.

This bill ensures that we uphold the promise of President Trump’s and House Republican’s MISSION Act.

To ensure that veterans receive the care they deserve.

We drafted this legislation following too many reports of V.A. bureaucrats during the Biden-Harris administration who were actively working to keep veterans’ healthcare in-house.

That is unacceptable.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it – the MISSION Act is not optional; it is the law.

My bill makes that message perfectly clear.

I am looking forward to a thoughtful discussion on the legislation before us today so that we can make a meaningful impact for veterans this Congress.

I now yield to Ranking Member Takano for his opening remarks.