VA Launches New 'Veterans Experience Office' to Boost Service Satisfaction—But It's Set to Expire in 2028

The "Improving Veterans Experience Act of 2025" sets up a new Veterans Experience Office inside the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This office, led by a Chief Veterans Experience Officer who reports directly to the VA Secretary, is all about making sure veterans and their beneficiaries are actually happy with the services they receive. It is tasked to lead customer experience initiatives. (SEC. 2.)

Putting Veteran Feedback to Work

The core of the bill is about collecting and using feedback. The new office will gather data on how satisfied veterans are with different VA benefits and services. They'll also look at why eligible veterans might not be using certain benefits – is it because they don't know about them, can't access them, or think they're not eligible? This data gets summarized annually for the Secretary, who then reports to Congress with a breakdown of customer service feedback, satisfaction levels, and usage data. (SEC. 2.)

Imagine a veteran who's struggling to navigate the VA's website to find information on education benefits. This office is supposed to identify that kind of problem, track it, and advise the Secretary on how to fix it. Or, picture a caregiver who feels overwhelmed by the paperwork required for a specific program. The office would collect that feedback and work to streamline the process. (SEC. 2.)

Coordination and Cash

Another goal of the office is to improve coordination within the VA itself. The idea is to avoid duplicating efforts and make sure different parts of the department are working together effectively. The bill also allows the Veterans Experience Office to get reimbursed from other VA departments for services provided – as long as it doesn't hurt those other departments' ability to do their jobs. (SEC. 2.)

The Clock is Ticking

One key detail: this office has a built-in expiration date. The bill states that the office's authority ends on September 30, 2028. That means, unless Congress acts to extend it, the Veterans Experience Office will shut down after three years. Additionally, within 540 days of this Act becoming law, the Comptroller General has to analyze how the VA is using veteran feedback to improve the customer experience and get a report to Congress. (SEC. 2.)

While the aim is to make things better for veterans, there are a couple of things to keep an eye on. The sunset clause means this might be a temporary fix, and the funding arrangement could potentially impact other VA services if not managed carefully. This bill forces the VA to get serious about customer service, but whether it leads to lasting change remains to be seen.