July 14, 2025
Mr. Blumenthal (for himself and Ms. Hirono) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
To improve the emergency management capabilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 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 Advancing VA’s Emergency Response to (AVERT) Crises Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Report on emergency management roles for Department of Veterans Affairs
(a) In general
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report outlining the roles and responsibilities of all offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs involved with emergency management.
(b) Consultation
In preparing the report required by subsection (a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall consult with the Comptroller General of the United States, the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and such other Federal agencies as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs considers relevant, to obtain insights from their experience and trends that they have found, and such recommendations as they may have with respect to the management by the Department of Veterans Affairs of emergency management functions.
(c) Contents
The report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1)
A description of the organizational structure of each office, both during normal operations and during emergency or disaster operations.
(2)
The roles and responsibilities of each office.
(3)
A detailed description of roles and responsibilities that are shared by both the Office of Emergency Management of the Department and the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness of the Department, including an analysis of how each office plays a part in emergency management functions.
(4)
Recommendations for improving the structure and alignment of relevant offices to better prepare the Department for emergencies, remove redundancies, and improve accountability.
(5)
An analysis of the feasibility and advisability of consolidating relevant offices into one centralized emergency management office to improve communication and streamline emergency preparedness and response efforts of the Department.
Sec. 3. Report on Regional Readiness Centers of Department of Veterans Affairs
(a) In general
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the Regional Readiness Centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(b) Contents
The report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1)
The number of requests made by facilities of the Department to obtain supplies from a Regional Readiness Center since the inception of the Regional Readiness Center program, disaggregated by Regional Readiness Center.
(2)
Information on types and amounts of material distributed since the inception of the Regional Readiness Center program, disaggregated by Regional Readiness Center.
(3)
Current inventory, disaggregated by Regional Readiness Center.
(4)
An overview of the change in inventory in each Regional Readiness Center during the two-year period ending on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(5)
The percentage of inventory that is expired or that will expire in the next month, disaggregated by Regional Readiness Center.
(6)
Operational costs since the inception of the Regional Readiness Center program, disaggregated by Regional Readiness Center.
(7)
An analysis of the types and sizes of emergencies, including natural disasters, public health emergencies, or Fourth Mission activations of the Department, with respect to which each Regional Readiness Center would be able to provide sufficient resources to respond to, based on the current capacity of the Regional Readiness Center.
(8)
Any plans of the Secretary to realign or change the number of Regional Readiness Centers.
Sec. 4. Plan to allow fuel sharing and increased coordination between the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Veterans Affairs
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, after consulting with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a report regarding—
(1)
the current limitations preventing the Federal Emergency Management Agency from providing fuel or other resources to the Department of Veterans Affairs during emergencies;
(2)
whether the Department requires action by Congress to allow such resource provision to occur;
(3)
whether the Secretary has been unable to coordinate with the Administrator during prior emergencies or Fourth Mission activations due to a lack of authority for such coordination; and
(4)
whether the Secretary requires action by Congress to address any of the issues mentioned under paragraph (3).