VA Bonus and Relocation Recovery Act

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Bill ID: 119/hr/7319
Last Updated: March 25, 2026

Sponsored by

Rep. Self, Keith [R-TX-3]

ID: S001224

Follow the money

The bill

VA Bonus and Relocation Recovery Act

HR. 7319, 119th Congress — read as touching Hospitals & Health Systems.

The sponsor

Rep. Self, Keith [R-TX-3]

Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.

The money

$105,700 raised

21 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.

The alignment

85% match to Project 2025

This bill's text tracks the "Department of Veterans Affairs" section, p. 688-691 of the Mandate for Leadership.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Subcommittee Hearings Held

March 24, 2026

Introduced

Committee Review

📍 Current Status

Next: The bill moves to the floor for full chamber debate and voting.

🗳️

Floor Action

✅

Passed House

🏛️

Senate Review

🎉

Passed Congress

🖊️

Presidential Action

⚖️

Became Law

📚 How does a bill become a law?

1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.

2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.

3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.

4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.

5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.

6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!

Bill Summary

Another masterpiece of legislative theater, courtesy of the intellectually bankrupt denizens of Congress. The VA Bonus and Relocation Recovery Act (HR 7319) is a perfect example of a bill that sounds good on paper but reeks of underlying corruption, incompetence, and bureaucratic CYA.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The stated purpose of this bill is to allow the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to recoup awards, bonuses, and relocation expenses from former employees who have allegedly abused these benefits. How noble. In reality, this bill is a Band-Aid on a festering wound of bureaucratic ineptitude and cronyism.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill amends title 38 of the United States Code to grant the Secretary authority to collect debts from former employees who have received awards, bonuses, or relocation expenses under questionable circumstances. Because, you know, the VA has a stellar track record of managing its finances and personnel (insert eye-roll). The changes are largely cosmetic, designed to create the illusion of accountability while maintaining the status quo of bureaucratic bloat.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The affected parties include former VA employees who have received these benefits, as well as current employees who may be subject to similar "recovery" actions in the future. One can only assume that the real stakeholders are the politicians and bureaucrats who will use this bill to deflect criticism of their own incompetence while maintaining their grip on power.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** The potential impact of this bill is negligible, as it does little to address the systemic problems within the VA. It's a classic case of treating symptoms rather than the underlying disease – in this case, corruption, mismanagement, and a lack of accountability. The implications are clear: more bureaucratic red tape, more opportunities for abuse, and more excuses for politicians to avoid real reform.

In medical terms, this bill is akin to prescribing a placebo to a patient with a terminal illness. It may make the patient (or in this case, the voters) feel better temporarily, but it does nothing to address the underlying condition. The diagnosis? A bad case of " Politician-itis" – a disease characterized by an inability to tell the truth, a lack of accountability, and a penchant for self-serving grandstanding. Prognosis? Poor. Treatment? A healthy dose of skepticism, a strong stomach, and a willingness to call out the nonsense that passes for governance in this country.

Related Topics

Military & Veterans Affairs
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Rep. Self, Keith [R-TX-3]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$105,700
20 donors
PACs
$0
Organizations
$300
Committees
$0
Individuals
$105,400

No PAC contributions found

1
TUCKER HILL HOA
1 transaction
$300

No committee contributions found

1
CHALIN, THOMAS
2 transactions
$11,600
2
MULLIGI, GINO
1 transaction
$9,000
3
FRITCHER, SAMMY
1 transaction
$6,600
4
LOBB, PAT
1 transaction
$6,600
5
MYERS, ROBERT
1 transaction
$6,600
6
HUFFINES, RAY
1 transaction
$6,600
7
MOSES, FRED
1 transaction
$6,600
8
LI, QINGSONG
1 transaction
$6,000
9
UIHLEIN, RICHARD
1 transaction
$5,800
10
HILTON, W.D.
1 transaction
$5,000
11
KORCA, YLBER
1 transaction
$5,000
12
SMAJLI, MARIO
1 transaction
$5,000
13
KRASNIQI, BLERINA
1 transaction
$4,500
14
QUILLIN, GEORGE
1 transaction
$4,000
15
ADAMS, CAROL A
1 transaction
$3,300
16
DEASON, DARWIN
1 transaction
$3,300
17
MCCLELLAND, MARK
1 transaction
$3,300
18
KELLOGG, DAVID H
1 transaction
$3,300
19
HILTON, MARY JEAN
1 transaction
$3,300

Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance

This bill has 1 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.

Rep. Ciscomani, Juan [R-AZ-6]

ID: C001133

Top Contributors

10

1
SALT RIVER PIMA MARICOPA INDIAN COMMUNITY
PACSCOTTSDALE, AZ
$1,000
Jun 14, 2024
2
CHEROKEE NATION
OrganizationTAHLEQUAH, OK
$3,300
Oct 31, 2024
3
EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS
OrganizationCHEROKEE, NC
$3,300
Nov 5, 2024
4
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
OrganizationATMORE, AL
$3,300
Jun 30, 2024
5
DELTA AIRLINES
OrganizationATLANTA, GA
$2,500
Jul 30, 2024
6
THE CHICKASAW NATION
OrganizationADA, OK
$2,000
Oct 8, 2024
7
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
OrganizationATMORE, AL
$1,834
Jun 30, 2024
8
MS BAND OF CHOCTAW INDIANS
OrganizationCHOCTAW, MS
$1,000
Nov 5, 2024
9
COLORADO RIVER INDIAN TRIBES
OrganizationPARKER, AZ
$1,000
Jun 30, 2023
10
THE CHICKASAW NATION
OrganizationADA, OK
$1,000
Jun 30, 2023

Donor Network - Rep. Self, Keith [R-TX-3]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

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Showing 38 nodes and 24 connections (31 secondary connections hidden)

Total contributions: $113,300

Top Donors - Rep. Self, Keith [R-TX-3]

Showing top 20 donors by contribution amount

1 Org19 Individuals

Industry Impact

Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 1 harmed.

  • Section 2(a) and (b) imply that former employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which includes VA hospitals, may be required to repay awards, bonuses, or relocation expenses, potentially affecting hospital finances and operations, as cited in amended sections of title 38, United States Code.

Who funds the sponsor on these industries

For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Rep. Self, Keith [R-TX-3])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022–present cycles. Donations are not proof of intent — they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.

Industries this bill HARMS

Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.AI-enhanced analysis provides detailed alignment ratings.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Strong
Vector: 65%
Pages: 688-691AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"HR 7319 directly supports Project 2025's focus on strengthening VA accountability and fiscal integrity by authorizing recovery of improperly awarded bonuses, bonuses, and relocation expenses from former employees, thereby reducing waste and deterring misconduct."

Key themes:VA accountabilityfiscal responsibilityrecovery of improper paymentsemployee misconduct deterrenceVA financial management

— 655 — Department of Veterans Affairs ENDNOTES 1. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Division, VHA Directive 1003, “VHA Veteran Patient Experience,” April 14, 2020, pp. 1 and B-1. 2. S. 2372, VA Mission Act of 2018, Public Law No. 115-182, 115th Congress, June 6, 2018, https://www.congress. gov/115/plaws/publ182/PLAW-115publ182.pdf (accessed January 30, 2023). 3. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA History Office, “VA History,” last updated May 27, 2021, https://www. va.gov/HISTORY/VA_History/Overview.asp (accessed January 28, 2023). 4. 38 U.S. Code § 1116, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/38/1116 (accessed January 28, 2023). 5. S. 3373, Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022), Public Law No. 117-168, 117th Congress, August 10, 2022, https://www. congress.gov/117/plaws/publ168/PLAW-117publ168.pdf (accessed January 28, 2023). 6. H.R. 2471, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Public Law No. 117-103, 117th Congress, March 15, 2022, Division S, Title I, https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ103/PLAW-117publ103.pdf (accessed March 18, 2023). Known variously as the Department of Veterans Affairs Nurse and Physician Assistant Retention and Income Security Enhancement Act and the VA Nurse and Physician Assistant RAISE Act. 7. See note 5, supra.

Department of Transportation

Strong
Vector: 63%
Pages: 673-675AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The bill strengthens VA accountability and fiscal responsibility by allowing recovery of improperly paid bonuses and relocation expenses, directly supporting the VA's mission to be a veteran‑centric, best‑in‑class organization that manages resources effectively."

Key themes:VA accountabilityfinancial managementveteran‑centric serviceoversight and integrity

— 640 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise ENDNOTES 1. U.S. Department of Transportation, 2023 Budget Highlights, p. 1, https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot. gov/files/2022-03/Budget_Highlights_FY2023.pdf (accessed March 3, 2023). 2. U.S. Department of Transportation, DEIA [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility] Strategic Plan FY22– FY26, p. 2, https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-09/DOT%20DEIA%20Strategic%20Plan. pdf (accessed March 3, 2023). 3. 23 U.S. Code §§ 601–609, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/23 (accessed March 3, 2023). 4. U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary, “Administrative Rulemaking, Guidance, and Enforcement Procedures,” Final Rule, Federal Register, Vol. 84, No. 248 (December 27, 2019), pp. 71714–71734, https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/regulations/361831/fed-reg-published-final-admin- rule.pdf (accessed March 3, 2023). 5. U.S. Department of Transportation, Build America Bureau, “About the Build America Bureau,” last updated October 24, 2022, https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/about (accessed March 3, 2023). 6. S. 622, Energy Policy and Conservation Act, Public Law No. 94-163, 94th Congress, December 22, 1995, https:// www.congress.gov/94/statute/STATUTE-89/STATUTE-89-Pg871.pdf (accessed March 3, 2023). 7. 42 U.S. Code Chapter 85, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/chapter-85 (accessed March 3, 2023). 8. U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards for Model Years 2024–2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks,” Final Rule, Federal Register, Vol. 87, No. 84 (May 2, 2022), pp. 25710–26092, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-05- 02/pdf/2022-07200.pdf (accessed March 10, 2023). 9. U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary, “Defining Unfair or Deceptive Practices,” Final Rule, Federal Register, Vol. 85, No. 235 (December 7, 2020), pp. 78707–78718, https://www.transportation.gov/ sites/dot.gov/files/2020-12/Defining%20Unfair%20or%20Deceptive%20Practices%20Final%20Rule%20-%20 85%20FR%2078707.pdf (accessed March 3, 2023). 10. U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary, “Procedures in Regulating Unfair or Deceptive Practices,” Final Rule, Federal Register, Vol. 87, No. 22 (February 2, 2022), pp. 5655–5659, https://www. govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-02-02/pdf/2022-01589.pdf (accessed March 3, 2023). 11. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Budget Estimates Fiscal Year 2023, p. 1, https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-04/FAA_Budget_Estimates_FY2023.pdf (accessed March 3, 2023). 12. Robert W. Poole, Jr., Organization and Innovation in Air Traffic Control, Hudson Institute Initiative on Future Innovation, November 2013, https://www.hudson.org/sites/default/files/researchattachments/ attachment/1199/poole_hi_res.pdf (accessed March 3, 2023). Also published subsequently as Reason Foundation Policy Study No. 431, January 2014, https://reason.org/wp-content/uploads/files/air_traffic_ control_organization_innovation.pdf (accessed March 3, 2023). 13. H.R. 3684, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law No. 117-58, 117th Congress, November 15, 2021, https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf (accessed March 3, 2023). 14. S. 6, Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, Public Law 88-365, 88th Congress, July 9, 1964, https://www. govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-78/pdf/STATUTE-78-Pg302-2.pdf (accessed March 3, 2023). 15. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, “About Us,” last updated March 23, 2022, https:// www.maritime.dot.gov/about-us (accessed March 4, 2023). 16. H.R. 10378, Merchant Marine Act of 1920, Public Law 66-261, 66th Congress, June 5, 1920, https://govtrackus. s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/41/STATUTE-41-Pg988.pdf (accessed March 3, 2023). — 641 — 20 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Brooks D. Tucker MISSION STATEMENT The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the primary provider of health care, benefits, and memorial affairs for America’s veterans and their families. The VA has the noble responsibility to render exceptional and timely support and services with respect, compassion, and competence. The veteran is at the forefront of every VA process and interaction. The VA must continually strive to be recognized as a “best in class,” “Veteran-centric”1 system with an organizational ethos inspired by and accountable to the needs and problems of veterans, not subservient to the parochial preferences of a bureaucracy. OVERVIEW At the end of the Obama Administration, the VA was held in low esteem both by the veterans it served and by the employees who served these former warriors. Eroding morale caused by the downstream effects of a health care access crisis in 2014 led to the resignation of Secretary Eric Shinseki and extensive oversight investigations by Congress from 2015–2016. By 2020, however, the VA had become one of the most respected U.S. agencies. This significant progress was due in part to the leadership of Secretary Robert Wilkie (2018–2021) and his team of political appointees and career senior executives, many of them veterans, who led the effort to ensure that the VA became “Veteran-centric” in its governance decisions and fostered a more positive work environment. This mindset translated into a department that was better attuned to employees’ and veterans’ needs and experiences in the daily operations of health care, benefits,

Department of Veterans Affairs

Weak
Vector: 64%
Pages: 679-681AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"HR 7319 addresses financial accountability by allowing recovery of improper bonuses and relocation expenses from former VA employees, whereas Project 2025's VA section focuses on health care delivery reforms, workforce expansion, and technology upgrades. The overlap is limited to general VA management efficiency rather than specific policy goals."

Key themes:VA personnel accountabilityfinancial managementadministrative efficiency

— 647 — Department of Veterans Affairs reimagine the health care footprint in some locales, and spur a realignment of capacity through budgetary allocations. Specifically: 1. Embrace the expansion of Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) as an avenue to maintain a VA footprint in challenging medical markets without investing further in obsolete and unaffordable VA health care campuses. 2. Explore the potential to pilot facility-sharing partnerships between the VA and strained local health care systems to reduce costs by leveraging limited talent and resources. Personnel l Extend the term of the Under Secretary for Health (USH) to five years. Additionally, authority should be given to reappoint this individual for a second five-year term both to allow for continuity and to protect the USH from political transition. l Establish a Senior Executive Service (SES) position of VHA Care System Chief Information Officer (CIO), selected by and reporting to the chief of the VHA Care System with a dotted line to the VA CIO. l Identify a workflow process to bring wait times in compliance with VA MISSION Act–required time frames wherever possible. 1. Assess the daily clinical appointment load for physicians and clinical staff in medical facilities where wait times for care are well outside of the time frames required by the VA MISSION Act. 2. Require VHA facilities to increase the number of patients seen each day to equal the number seen by DOD medical facilities: approximately 19 patients per provider per day. Currently, VA facilities may be seeing as few as six patients per provider per day. 3. Consider a pilot program to extend weekday appointment hours and offer Saturday appointment options to veterans if a facility continues to demonstrate that it has excess capacity and is experiencing delays in the delivery of care for veterans. 4. Identify clinical services that are consistently in high demand but require cost-prohibitive compensation to recruit and retain talent, and examine exceptions for higher competitive pay. — 648 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise 5. Assess the medical facilities where Community Care is readily available but referrals for Community Care are below the averages in other similar markets, referrals expiring are above the average, and/ or canceled appointments are above the average. Identify reasons and factors and consider possible ways to improve timeliness and responsiveness for veterans. 6. Further explore how to leverage telehealth to reduce personnel costs across the enterprise and serve veterans. Continue to pursue expansion of broadband services to remote and rural areas. 7. Assess recruitment and retention in highly competitive medical markets to identify common limiting factors for attracting high-demand, specialized occupations. 8. Consider aggressively recruiting retired physicians who desire to serve veterans. 9. Consider expanding VA tuition assistance in exchange for reciprocal service in rural or understaffed VAMCs. 10. Examine the surpluses or deficits in mental health professionals throughout the enterprise, recognizing that the department needs a blend of social workers, therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists with a focus on attracting high-quality talent. l Conduct a high-priority assessment of Electronic Health Record (EHR) transition delays and functionality problems. VA innovation in health care for the next 20 years and beyond will rest squarely on the timely implementation of the new VHA EHR in coordination with the DOD’s parallel pacing effort. The VA’s EHR rollout has been blocked by technical delays at local facilities where personnel have raised safety concerns and infrastructure has not been modernized to accept the new system. VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION (VBA) Needed Reforms The most evident and ongoing concern is the complexity of benefits, which can lead to confusion for the veteran and, if not mitigated early in the veteran’s interactions, long-term distrust of and animosity toward the VA. Wholesale ben- efits reform is unnecessary and politically a “third rail,” but effective managerial

Showing 3 of 5 policy matches

About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using a hybrid approach: initial candidates are found using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text, then an AI model (Llama 3.1 70B) provides detailed alignment ratings and analysis. Ratings range from 1 (minimal alignment) to 5 (very strong alignment). This analysis does not imply direct causation or intent.

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