HR 6564

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

December 10, 2025

Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand the Center for Minority Veterans and the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans to include services for historically underserved veterans, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Historically Underserved Veterans Inclusion Act of 2025”.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF CENTER FOR MINORITY VETERANS AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON MINORITY VETERANS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

(a) Center for Minority and Historically Underserved Veterans.— Section 317 of title 38, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in the heading, by inserting “and Historically Underserved” after “Minority”;

(2) by inserting “Executive” before “Director” each place it appears;

(3) in subsection (a)—

(A) by inserting “and Historically Underserved” after “Minority”; and

(B) by striking “the Center a” and inserting “the Center an”;

(4) in subsection (d), by striking “veterans who are minorities” each place it appears and inserting “covered veterans”; and

(5) in subsection (g)—

(A) in paragraph (1)—

(i) by striking “‘veterans who are minorities”’ means and inserting “‘covered veterans”’; and

(ii) by inserting “and veterans who are historically underserved” after “minority group members”; and

(B) in paragraph (2)—

(i) by striking “The term” and inserting “The terms”;

(ii) by inserting “and ‘veterans who are historically underserved”’ after “minority group member”;

(iii) by striking “has the meaning given such term” and inserting “have the meanings given such terms”; and

(iv) by striking “section 544(d)” and inserting “section 544”.

(b) Advisory Committee on Minority and Historically Underserved Veterans.—Section 544 of title 38, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in the heading, by inserting “and Historically Underserved” after “Minority”;

(2) by striking “veterans who are minority group members” each place it appears and inserting “covered veterans”;

(3) in subsection (a)—

(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting “and Historically Underserved” after “Minority”;

(B) in paragraph (2)—

(i) in subparagraph (A)(v)—

(I) by striking “women”; and

(II) by inserting “who are women” before “and are”; and

(ii) in subparagraph (B), by adding at the end the following new clauses:

“(vii) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (or a representative of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development designated by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development).

“(viii) The Secretary of Education (or a representative of the Secretary of Education designated by the Secretary of Education).

“(ix) The Attorney General (or a representative of the Attorney General designated by the Attorney General).

“(x) The Administrator of the Small Business Administration (or a representative of the Administrator of the Small Business Administration designated by the Administrator of the Small Business Administration).

“(xi) The Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (or a representative of the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy designated by the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy).”; and

(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(5) The duties of the Committee are to advise the Secretary on the following:

“(A) Modifying programs of the Department relating to policy, regulations, and legislative affairs to improve the representation of covered veterans within the Department.

“(B) Expanding benefits and services under the laws administered by the Secretary for covered veterans, including such benefits and services relating to health care, suicide prevention, and homelessness.

“(C) Incorporating research and practices from outreach programs to improve the provision of health care and burial benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary to covered veterans.

“(D) Addressing issues raised by State and local organizations that serve covered veterans.

“(E) Issuing, to private, non-profit, and faith-based organizations that serve covered veterans, guidance relating to addressing the needs of covered veterans.

“(F) Helping covered veterans receive benefits and services under the laws administered by the Secretary to which covered veterans are entitled.

“(G) Improving the methods by which covered veterans may submit feedback to the Department with respect to policies and regulations of the Secretary, including through stakeholder forums, social media, and virtual town halls.

“(H) Developing outreach and engagement to covered veterans.

“(I) Commemorating the contributions of covered veterans to their respective communities.

“(J) To explore options on how the Secretary may incorporate lessons learned utilizing journey mapping, human center design, social determinants of wellness metrics, or other means to illustrate the life experience cycle of minority and historically underserved veterans to create a more holistic understanding of important life cycle events and their impact.”;

(4) by striking subsection (e);

(5) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e);

(6) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new subsection:

“(d)(1) The Secretary shall, on a biennial basis, carry out a review to identify any disparities among groups of veterans in the receipt of benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary. In carrying out any such review, the Secretary shall consider relevant recommendations from the Committee and data analysis conducted by the Department.

“(2) Not later than 120 days after the date on which Secretary completes any such review, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report that includes, if applicable, recommendations with respect to extending services of Center for Minority and Historically Underserved Veterans under section 517 of this title to groups of veterans the Secretary determines to be historically underserved pursuant to such review.”; and

(7) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated)—

(A) by striking “section,” and all that follows through “who is—” and inserting “section:”;

(B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as subparagraphs (A) through (E), respectively (and adjusting the margins accordingly);

(C) by inserting before subparagraph (A) (as so redesignated) the following new paragraphs:

“(1) The term ‘covered veterans’ means veterans who are minority group members and veterans who are historically underserved.

“(2) The term ‘minority group member’ means an individual who is—”;

(D) in paragraph (2) (as added by subparagraph

(C))—

(i) in subparagraph (D) (as so redesignated), by striking “or”;

(ii) in subparagraph (E) (as so redesignated), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(iii) by adding at the end of the following new subparagraphs:

“(F) Middle Eastern or North African American; or

“(G) identified with more than one race or ethnicity described in subparagraphs (A) through

(F).”; and

(E) by adding after paragraph (2) (as added by subparagraph (D)) the following new paragraph:

“(3) The term ‘veterans who are historically underserved’ means veterans the Committee determines have experienced difficulty in receiving benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary to which such veterans are entitled on the basis of one or more of the following:

“(A) Sexual orientation.

“(B) Gender identity.

“(C) English language proficiency.

“(D) United States citizenship.

“(E) Religion.

“(F) Low socioeconomic status.

“(G) Residing in a rural community (as defined in regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Agriculture).

“(H) Membership in a group of veterans the Secretary determines appropriate pursuant to the biennial review required under subsection (d).”.

SEC. 3. REINSTATEMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OFFICE OF EQUITY ASSURANCE; BIANNUAL BRIEFING.

(a) Reinstatement.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall—

(1) permanently reinstate the authority, functions, responsibilities, and research activities of the Office of Equity Assurance of the Veterans Benefits Administration;

(2) reinstate the employment of each employee of the Office of Equity Assurance, if such employee was terminated after January 20, 2025;

(3) ensure that a position in the Office of Equity Assurance may not be eliminated pursuant to a reduction in force; and

(4) provide to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a briefing with respect to the status of the implementation of recommendations included in the report of the Comptroller General of the United States titled “VA Disability Benefits: Action Needed to Further Examine Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Compensation” (GAO- 23-106097; published July 26, 2023).

(b) Biannual Briefing.—Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary reinstates the Office of Equity Assurance pursuant to subsection (a), and on a biannual basis thereafter, the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Benefits shall provide to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a briefing on the data, research, and analysis developed by the Office of Equity Assurance during the period covered by the briefing. <all>