Sunflower State News

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation introduced by Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, aimed at preventing PACT Act Critical Skill Incentive (CSI) payments from being awarded to Senior Executive Service employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office (VACO) in Washington, D.C. This measure was included in S.423, known as the Protecting Regular Order for Veterans Act.

“Under the previous administration, VA leadership used the PACT Act's critical skill payments to boost the salaries of senior executives in Washington,” said Sen. Moran. “This abuse of taxpayer dollars led to the introduction of my bill, the Stop GREED Act, which will make certain these resources are used to support the workforce that directly serves our nation’s veterans. This legislation will also provide greater transparency on how the VA is spending taxpayer dollars to help prevent further abuse of taxpayer dollars. I appreciate the House passing this legislation and look forward to it becoming law."

Senator Moran introduced S.396, titled the Stop Government Rewards Enriching Executives in the District – or Stop GREED – Act, alongside Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). The proposal followed a report from the VA Office of Inspector General indicating that in 2023, $10.8 million in PACT Act CSI payments were improperly directed by VA’s Under Secretaries for Health and Benefits to VACO’s senior executives rather than to rank-and-file employees nationwide as Congress had intended.

The broader Protecting Regular Order for Veterans Act of 2025 was introduced by Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). It mandates quarterly budget reporting to Congress after a 2024 incident where the department did not disclose a multibillion-dollar shortfall promptly. The bill also incorporates elements from S.264, known as the Improving Veterans’ Experience Act of 2025, which was brought forward by Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) to formally authorize VA’s Veterans Experience Office.

The full text of the legislation can be found here.