National Veterans Strategy Act of 2026

Key Points

• The bill requires the President to create measurable standards for veteran well-being across seven areas: physical health, mental health, spiritual health, economic security, education, family and social engagement, and civic engagement.
• A wide coalition of stakeholders must help shape these metrics and the strategy, including federal agencies (VA, Defense, Labor, HHS, HUD, SBA), state and local governments, tribal organizations, veterans service organizations, nonprofits, colleges, research groups, and private companies.
• Every four years the President must send Congress a National Veterans Strategy that aligns government, nonprofit, and private sector efforts to help veterans succeed. Congress can block the strategy through a joint resolution of disapproval within 60 days.
• Federal agencies must incorporate the strategy's metrics into their own strategic plans and report to Congress annually on progress, spending alignment, barriers, and best practices that could be replicated in other jurisdictions.
• The first success metrics must be established within one to two years of enactment, and the first full National Veterans Strategy must be delivered to Congress within two to four years after the law takes effect.
• The bill includes a rule of construction to protect existing veterans' programs, stating that nothing in the law authorizes eliminating or cutting any benefit or service already required by federal law.