Delivering Digitally to Our Veterans Act of 2025
Click any stage to learn more about the legislative process.
Would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer veterans an electronic option — including text messaging and virtual chat — for sending and receiving correspondence about their education benefits, replacing an exclusive reliance on physical mail. The bill also expands the VA's outreach communication tools under the SOLID START program and extends a pension payment limit deadline by about 14 months.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would direct the VA Secretary to create a mechanism allowing eligible veterans and other eligible persons to use "tailored lines of communication" — defined to include text messaging, virtual chatting, and other electronic forms of messaging — to correspond with the VA about their educational assistance benefits. The VA would be required to give enrolled veterans an explicit opportunity to opt in to electronic correspondence rather than mail, and to notify them of that option.
The bill would also amend the SOLID START outreach program to similarly expand its communication tools beyond phone calls to include the same range of electronic channels. Separately, it would extend an existing deadline related to limits on pension payments from November 30, 2031 to January 31, 2033. The bill does not mandate that veterans switch to electronic communication — participation remains opt-in.
Key provisions
- 1Would require the VA Secretary to create a mechanism for eligible veterans to send and receive educational assistance correspondence via text messaging, virtual chat, or other electronic forms instead of mail, on an opt-in basis.
- 2Would require the VA to notify veterans enrolled in education or training programs of the opportunity to opt in to electronic correspondence for educational assistance matters.
- 3Would expand the SOLID START outreach program's communication tools from phone calls to tailored lines of communication, including text messaging, virtual chatting, and other electronic messaging.
- 4Would extend the deadline for certain pension payment limits from November 30, 2031 to January 31, 2033.
Who would be affected
Veterans and other eligible persons who are enrolled in a VA-approved course or program of education or training and currently receive paper mail from the VA regarding their educational assistance benefits. VA staff who administer educational assistance and SOLID START outreach would also need to implement the new electronic communication mechanisms.
Why it matters
Veterans who prefer digital communication would gain a faster, more convenient way to manage their education benefit correspondence without waiting for physical mail. The opt-in structure means no veteran is forced to switch. The SOLID START expansion gives the VA more flexibility to reach newly transitioning service members through channels they may actually use.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends 38 U.S.C. § 6320(b) (SOLID START Program) (Sec. 2)
Replaces 'calling' with 'communicating with' and expands outreach methods to include tailored lines of communication such as text messaging and virtual chatting.
Amends 38 U.S.C. § 3680 (Sec. 3)
Adds a new subsection requiring the VA to provide an opt-in electronic correspondence mechanism for educational assistance benefits.
Amends 38 U.S.C. § 5503(d)(7) (Sec. 4)
Extends the deadline for certain limits on pension payments by striking 'November 30, 2031' and inserting 'January 31, 2033'.
Agencies directed to act
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 3481 would reduce the deficit by a net $2 million over the 2025–2035 period, decreasing direct spending by $56 million while increasing spending subject to appropriation by $54 million.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3481 would increase spending subject to appropriation (discretionary spending requiring Congress to provide funding) by $54 million over 2025–2035, primarily to build and implement an electronic correspondence system for VA education-benefit recipients. At the same time, the bill would reduce direct (mandatory) spending by a net $56 million over the same period, by extending through January 31, 2033 a current-law requirement that caps VA pension payments at $90 per month for veterans in Medicaid nursing homes — with VA benefit savings of roughly $10 million per month partially offset by about $6 million per month in additional Medicaid costs. CBO identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill.
How implementation would work
The VA Secretary would be responsible for establishing the electronic correspondence mechanism and ensuring eligible veterans enrolled in education programs receive notice of the opt-in opportunity. No specific rulemaking deadline is set, but the Secretary must both build the system and provide notice to enrolled participants. The SOLID START amendments are self-executing changes to existing program language. No grant cycles, reporting requirements, or enforcement provisions are specified.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide a way for individuals who are entitled to VA educational assistance to electronically send and receive correspondence with the VA related to such assistance. The VA must ensure individuals are provided an opportunity to opt in to electronic correspondence.
Legislative subjects
Armed Forces and National Security; Computers and information technology; Government information and archives; Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-257