Prioritizing Veterans’ Survivors Act
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Would move the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Survivors Assistance from within the Veterans Benefits Administration to directly under the Office of the Secretary, a structural change intended to elevate the office's standing within the department.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend title 38 of the United States Code to change where the Office of Survivors Assistance (OSA) sits organizationally within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Currently, the OSA operates within the Pension and Fiduciary Service of the Veterans Benefits Administration. The bill would require it to operate within the Office of the Secretary instead — a single-phrase amendment replacing "in the Department" with "in the Office of the Secretary" in the relevant statute.
The bill makes no change to the OSA's mission, staffing, funding, or authorities. It does not alter the benefits or services available to veterans' survivors; it addresses only the office's placement within the department's organizational hierarchy.
Key provisions
- 1Would amend 38 U.S.C. § 321(a) to require the Office of Survivors Assistance to operate within the Office of the Secretary rather than elsewhere in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Who would be affected
The Office of Survivors Assistance itself and the Department of Veterans Affairs leadership structure are most directly affected. Veterans' surviving family members who rely on the OSA for assistance would not see a change in services, but the office would report at a higher level within the department.
Why it matters
Placing the OSA directly under the Secretary rather than within a subordinate benefits administration could give the office greater visibility and independence within the department's chain of command. Whether that structural elevation translates into practical differences for survivors depends on how the department exercises oversight of the office.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends 38 U.S.C. § 321(a) (Sec. 2)
Replaces 'in the Department' with 'in the Office of the Secretary,' relocating the Office of Survivors Assistance to report directly to the Secretary.
Agencies directed to act
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Official CRS summary
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This bill provides that the Office of Survivors Assistance (OSA) must operate within the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Currently, OSA operates within the Pension and Fiduciary Service of the Veterans Benefits Administration.)
Legislative subjects
Armed Forces and National Security; Department of Veterans Affairs; Executive agency funding and structure; Veterans' pensions and compensation