The record

LegislationLegislation· Jan 2026
HR 659 Passed House — in Senate

Sponsored by Julia Brownley (D)

Veterans Law Judge Experience Act of 2025

Requires the Board of Veterans' Appeals to prioritize lawyers with three years of relevant legal experience.

Tradeoff

Narrows the pool of candidates for Board of Veterans' Appeals positions to those with specific legal backgrounds. No fiscal cost identified.

What's in it

See official bill text

No impact on federal spending or revenues; $0 deficit effect over 10 years.

This bill creates a hiring preference rule for the Board of Veterans Appeals with no federal cost to implement — it simply requires the Board Chairman to prioritize candidates with relevant veterans' law experience when recommending new members, but does not expand the Board's size or budget.

H.R. 659, Veterans Law Judge Experience Act of 2025 · Aug 2025

Passed the House by on January 20, 2026 — sitting in the Senate.

  1. House

    Introduced

    (Jan 23, 2025)

  2. House

    Committee on Veterans' Affairs(Jan 23, 2025)

  3. House

    The Committee on Veterans' Affairs voted to send it to the floor

    Reported by (Jul 23, 2025)

    Committee report H. Rept. 119-309.

  4. House

    Passage of the bill

    Passed by (Jan 20, 2026)

    No individual votes were recorded.

  5. Senate

    Received from the House

    on Veterans' Affairs(Jan 26, 2026)