Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Veterans Affairs Heritage Act of 2026”.
Veterans Affairs Heritage Act of 2026
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish within the Department of Veterans Affairs a Veterans Affairs History Office, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress makes the following findings:
On January 19, 2017, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald signed a Memorandum of Agreement that established goals for the Department of Veterans Affairs and regional leaders of Dayton, Ohio, to advance a history office as a community partnership.
A report commissioned by the Department determined that, “a central History Office, properly staffed and resourced, can become an essential ally for the Department’s senior staff at Headquarters and in the field.”.
The establishment of a History Office in the Department pursuant to an executive memorandum of the Department, dated April 10, 2020, is a vital contribution to honoring veterans and improving the understanding of how they served the United States.
Department of Veterans Affairs Directive 7777, titled “Implementation of the VA History Program”, was issued on February 9, 2021, and established the policies, responsibilities, and management directions for the Department of Veterans Affairs History Program.
The centennial year of the Department is 2030 and such year is a goal for establishing a robust program of ongoing history outreach activities and permanent public exhibits telling the story of the Department.
Sec. 3 Establishment of Department of Veterans Affairs History Office
In general— Chapter 3 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
“325. History Office
“(a) Establishment
“(1) In general—There is established within the Department an office comprising a history program and a national history center.
“(2) Designation—The office established under paragraph (1) shall be known as the “Department of Veterans Affairs History Office” (in this section referred to as the “Office”).
“(3) Location
“(A) In general—The Office shall be located in Dayton, Ohio, at a facility of the Department that the Secretary determines appropriate.
“(B) Sunset—The requirement under subparagraph (A) shall terminate on the date that is eight years after the date of the enactment of this section.
“(b) Purposes—The purposes of the Office shall be—
“(1) to collect, preserve, and provide access to relevant historical records, artifacts, and cultural resources of the Department (and any predecessor organization); and
“(2) to tell a comprehensive story of the Department (and any predecessor organization) to veterans, government agencies, and the public.
“(c) Office composition
“(1) Chief Historian—The head of the Office shall be the Chief Historian of the Department (in this section referred to as the “Chief Historian”), who shall report directly to the Secretary.
“(2) Administrative staff—The Office may be comprised of such other professional and administrative staff as the Secretary determines necessary for the Office to fulfill the responsibilities described in subsection (d), consistent with the purposes specified in subsection (b).
“(d) Responsibilities—The Office shall be responsible for—
“(1) carrying out—
“(A) the activities set forth in VA Directive 7777, relating to implementation of a Department history program, and dated February 9, 2021, or any successor directive; and
“(B) public activities and educational opportunities, including print and web-based publications and exhibits, and virtual augmented reality technologies that increase awareness of the contributions of the Department in supporting veterans;
“(2) constructing, renovating, repairing, operating, and maintaining new or existing Department facilities used for—
“(A) preservation, restoration, and public access to Department historic materials, archives, and artifacts;
“(B) training with respect to the preservation of historic materials, archives, and artifacts; or
“(C) education relating to the history of the Department and its predecessor organizations;
“(3) maintaining facilities for access to, and storage of, historic materials, artifacts, and archives, compliant with recognized specifications for such facilities, including—
“(A) storage facilities;
“(B) conference facilities; and
“(C) public exhibit space; and
“(4) conducting education and training on the preservation of historical materials, archival management, digitization, restoration, historical research, and related subjects to assist the Department.
“(e) Internal coordination group
“(1) Establishment
“(A) In general—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall—
“(i) establish an internal coordination group (in this subsection the “Group”) to assist the Office in fulfilling the responsibilities described in subsection (d), consistent with the purposes specified in subsection (b); and
“(ii) issue, in regulations, a charter that includes requirements for the administration and operation of the Group.
“(B) Responsibilities—The Group shall be responsible for advising the Office on matters relating to operations of the Office, including such matters relating to the provisions of continuity and resourcing for the development of the history program or the national history center described in subsection (a).
“(C) Operation—The Group shall operate in accordance with—
“(i) the charter issued pursuant to subparagraph (A); and
“(ii) such other procedures relating to the administration and operation of the Group as the Secretary determines appropriate.
“(2) Group members—The Group shall be comprised of the following:
“(A) The Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
“(B) The Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer, or designee.
“(C) The Chief Historian.
“(D) A senior employee selected by the Secretary from each of the following:
“(i) The Veterans Experience Office.
“(ii) The Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs.
“(iii) The Office of Acquisition Logistics and Construction.
“(iv) The Office of the General Counsel.
“(v) The Veterans Health Administration.
“(vi) The Veterans Benefits Administration.
“(vii) The National Cemetery Administration.
“(E) Such other officers and employees of the Department as the Secretary considers appropriate.
“(3) Chair—The chair of the Group shall be the Deputy Secretary.
“(f) Transfer of certain functions
“(1) Veterans Legacy Program; Veterans Legacy Memorial—The functions relating to the administration of the Veterans Legacy Program and the Veterans Legacy Memorial which, on the day before the date of the enactment of this section, were performed by the National Cemetery Administration, are hereby transferred to the Office. Any efforts with respect to the administration of the Veterans Legacy Program and the Veterans Legacy Memorial beginning on or after such date shall be carried out by the Office.
“(2) Veterans’ History Project—The functions relating to the administration of the oral history program required under section 3 of the Veterans’ Oral History Project Act (Public Law 106–380; 20 U.S.C. 2142) which, on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act, were performed by the Director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, are hereby transferred to the Office. Any efforts with respect to the administration of the such oral history program beginning on or after such date shall be carried out by the Office.
“(3) Rule of construction—Nothing in this subsection may be construed to require functions relating to the administration of the National Archives Veterans Oral History project to be transferred to the Office.
“(g) Gifts and bequests
“(1) Authority to accept—The Secretary may accept, hold, administer, and spend any gift, devise, or bequest of real property, personal property, or money made on the condition that the gift, devise, or bequest be used for the benefit, or in connection with, the purposes and activities of the Office, including a gift, devise, or bequest of an improvement made pursuant to subsection (f)(3).
“(2) Disposition of property—The Secretary may authorize the sale of donated property received under paragraph (1). A sale under this paragraph need not be conducted in accordance with disposal requirements that would otherwise apply, so long as the sale is conducted at arms-length and includes an auditable transaction record.
“(3) Use of money and proceeds—Any money received under paragraph (1) and any proceeds from the sale of property under paragraph (2) shall be deposited into a fund established in the Treasury to support the purposes and activities of the Office.
“(h) Partnerships, cooperative agreements, and lease authority
“(1) Partnerships—The Secretary may enter into a partnership or cooperative agreement with an organization to support the Office in fulfilling the responsibilities under subsection (d).
“(2) Lease authority
“(A) In general—The Secretary may lease portions of any real property or facility of the Office to a nonprofit organization for use in generating revenue for the support of activities of the Office and for such administrative purposes as may be necessary for support of the Office.
“(B) Rent—Any rent received by the Secretary under a lease under subparagraph (A), including rent-in-kind, shall be used solely to cover or defray the costs of fulfilling the responsibilities under subsection (d).
“(3) Improvements—The Secretary may permit a nonprofit organization to make improvements to real property or a facility of the Office for the construction of a multipurpose facility to be used for historical displays for public viewing, curation, and storage of artifacts, research facilities, classrooms, offices, and associated activities consistent with the mission of the Office.
“(i) Rule of construction—Nothing in this section may be construed as affecting the authority of the Archivist of the United States with respect to the management of permanent records of the Department.
“(j) Nonprofit organization defined—In this section, the term nonprofit organization means an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code.”
Clerical amendment— The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 3 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
Sec. 4 Reports
Long range planning— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on proposed activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs History Office established pursuant to section 325(a) of title 38, United States Code, as added by section 3.
Contents— Such report shall include plans for the following:
Staffing and budget.
Organizational charts pertaining to the current staff and location of the History Office within the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Construction and renovation of facilities supporting the History Office, including the National Department of Veterans Affairs History Center.
Such recommendations for legislative or administrative action as the Secretary determines appropriate with respect to the History Office.
Annual progress reports— Not later than one year after the date on which the Secretary submits the report required by subsection (a), and not less frequently than annually thereafter until December 31, 2030, the Chief Historian of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the progress of the History Office.