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Protect Veterans from the THIEF Act
To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from entering into a contract pursuant to which the contractor may sell sensitive personal information maintained by the Secretary and to ensure the protection of personal information in certain contracts of the Department.
Summary
This bill prohibits Department of Veterans Affairs contractors from selling or disclosing veterans' sensitive personal information for any consideration. The bill requires the VA Secretary to ensure all current and future contracts include clauses that prevent contractors from monetizing, selling, or misusing veterans' health and personal identifying information. Within one year, the VA must issue guidance to employees and contractors on identifying when covered information is being misused or sold in violation of contracts. The VA must also submit a report to Congress documenting the contract clause, the guidance issued, and other steps taken to protect veterans' information. The bill defines covered information broadly to include protected health information and personally identifiable information under existing federal privacy laws.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
1 cosponsor
- Rep. Barrett, Tom [R-MI-7] (R-MI)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Nikki Budzinski’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- STATE OF ILLINOIS $45,600
- SIMMONS HANLY CONROY LLC $36,800
- MARQUIS MANAGEMENT INC $29,000
- UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS $28,145
- THE GORI LAW FIRM $18,100
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Nikki Budzinski → · Outside spending →
Actions (3)
- Feb 12, 2026 Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. · house
- Jan 27, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. · house
- Jan 27, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 27, 2026
Ms. Budzinski (for herself and Mr. Barrett) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from entering into a contract pursuant to which the contractor may sell sensitive personal information maintained by the Secretary and to ensure the protection of personal information in certain contracts of the Department.
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 “Protect Veterans from the Theft of Health and Identifying Information in Electronic Forms Act” or the “Protect Veterans from the THIEF Act”.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF THE SALE OF SENSITIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION MAINTAINED BY THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
Section 5725 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(d) Prohibition of Sale of Sensitive Personal Information.—The Secretary may not enter into a contract that permits the contractor to sell (or otherwise disclose for consideration) sensitive personal information to another entity.”.
SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION IN CONTRACTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) In General.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall—
(1) ensure that each covered contract includes, or is modified to include, a clause prohibiting covered information from being monetized, sold, or otherwise misused by any contractor, including any subcontractor or affiliate thereof, or other non-Department of Veterans Affairs entity; and
(2) issue a directive or other policy providing guidance to employees and contractors of the Department on how to identify the monetization, sale, or misuse of covered information in order to ensure contractors are in compliance with clauses in covered contracts included pursuant to paragraph (1).
(b) Report.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes—
(1) a copy of the contract clause required by subsection
(a)(1);
(2) the guidance required by subsection (a)(2); and
(3) a summary of any other actions taken to comply with subsection (a).
(c) Definitions.—In this section:
(1) The term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
(2) The term “covered contract” means a contract of the Department of Veterans Affairs that provides for the handling of covered information and is entered into—
(A) after the date of the enactment of this Act; or
(B) before the date of the enactment of this Act and does not expire before the date of the enactment of this Act.
(3) The term “covered information”—
(A) means protected health information or personally identifiable information, including such information that has been anonymized; and
(B) includes information protected under—
(i) section 552a of title 5, United States Code;
(ii) section 5701 or 7332 of title 38 United States Code;
(iii) parts 160, 161, and 164 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations; and
(iv) any other provision of law, as determined by the Secretary. <all>
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