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Today, Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations delivered the following opening remarks, as prepared at the start of the subcommittee’s oversight hearing to examine the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) progress in implementation of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act (Dole Act), which was signed into law in 2025. The Dole Act authorized significant expansions to modernize VA health care delivery, strengthen support for caregivers, improve access to education and job training, and expand in-home care options for aging veterans. For a section-by-section summary of the provisions in the Dole Act, click here. Bill text can be found here.

Good morning, everyone. The Subcommittee will come to order.

I would like to welcome everyone to this subcommittee hearing to discuss the implementation of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act – this landmark bill led by House Republicans and my friend, Rep. Ciscomani from Arizona, made a slew of changes at VA to modernize health care delivery – especially for aging veterans.

First, I would like to take a pause and ask that everyone join us in keeping the service members deployed to the Middle East and in harm’s way in our thoughts, as well as the families of the six service members who recently gave their lives in our prayers.

Today’s hearing is about oversight, accountability, and ensuring that the promises Congress made to veterans, caregivers, and their families are fully realized.

While veterans and their caretakers are beginning to feel the benefits of this legislation, VA’s and Congress’s work is not done.

Last year, Congress passed with bipartisan support the Dole Act with the goal of improving veterans’ access to education, healthcare, and programs designed to prevent and reduce veteran homelessness.

This was a sweeping, bipartisan, bicameral package negotiated and supported by members in both the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans alike, united by a shared commitment to those who served.

The Dole Act represented one of the most comprehensive veterans’ reform packages in recent years, and I was proud to support it.

This legislation moves the needle to modernize VA healthcare delivery, strengthen support for caregivers, expand access to education and job training, improve long-term care, address rural health disparities, and reduce veteran homelessness.

It was designed to make systemic improvements — not incremental tweaks — across the continuum of care for veterans and their families.

The Dole Act included my Caregiver Outreach and Program Enhancement Act or COPE Act, which intended to establish a grant program to provide mental health care to family caregivers supporting their veteran family members.

The COPE Act was meant to recognize that when we care for veterans, we must also support those who care for them.

Family caregivers are the backbone of our long-term care system, often sacrificing careers, financial stability, and their own health to support their loved ones.

As a veteran, the wife of a veteran, and a healthcare worker, I understand the importance of investing in our veteran communities to improve health outcomes.

I understand firsthand the sacrifices military families make and the strain that caregiving can place on spouses and loved ones. That perspective makes oversight of this law not just a policy responsibility for me — but a personal one.

But to my dismay, it appears that VA has not followed the Congressional intent of the COPE Act, and, to my knowledge, has not followed many other provisions within the Dole Act.

So now I am asking VA to follow Congressional intent and fulfill all statutory promises in the Dole Act.

Failure to carry out the will of Congress is unacceptable, and I hope my colleagues will be united in demanding accountability from VA.

Passing a bill and having it signed into law is only one part of our job. Sometimes, it is the easiest part.

The most important part of our responsibility is ensuring that the law is faithfully and efficiently implemented, in full alignment with congressional intent on behalf of the veterans and families it seeks to benefit.

Oversight is not optional — it is a constitutional obligation. And today’s hearing is about making sure this landmark law does not fall short in execution.

Over a year after enactment, 55 out of 72 sections are currently in progress.

VA says it is on track to implement most sections within the timeframes required, but two “on track” sections are set to expire in less than a year.           

Section 106, which would increase access to dental care, is set to end in January of 2027, and it is my understanding that only one phase of the pilot program has been rolled out.

Section 143, which covers ambulance costs for veterans in rural areas, is set to sunset in September of this year. VA has not fully implemented this provision.

These are not minor provisions. These are real benefits affecting real veterans — access to dental care, emergency transportation in rural communities, and essential services that directly impact health outcomes.

When implementation lags and sunset dates approach, veterans are the ones who pay the price.

Another 8 sections have been marked as “at risk” or “behind schedule.” For example, the VET-TEC pilot program to provide short term training and employment opportunities in specialized high-tech fields is behind schedule, putting implementation at risk.

Congress and this Committee are delivering on the promises we have made to the veteran community. VA needs to mobilize and fully implement the Dole Act.

This bipartisan, bicameral package was meant to drive sweeping improvements — not sit in prolonged implementation. Veterans, caregivers, and their families upheld their end of the bargain through service and sacrifice.

Congress upheld its end by passing comprehensive reform. Now, VA must uphold its end by executing the law with urgency, transparency, and accountability.

Today, we are not here to relitigate the merits of the Dole Act. We are here to ensure that it succeeds. Because the true measure of this legislation will not be the vote tally that passed it, but whether veterans on the ground feel the difference in their daily lives.

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about concrete timelines, measurable benchmarks, and the specific steps VA is taking to ensure that every section of this law is implemented as Congress intended.

I now recognize Ranking Member Ramirez for her opening comments.