Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs is responsible for providing a variety of benefits and services to more than 19,000,000 living veterans. (2) Pursuant to section 527 of title 38, United States Code, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has conducted the National Survey of Veterans to assess the needs and sentiments of a statistically valid sample of all veterans. (3) The Secretary has conducted this National Survey of Veterans in the late 1970s, 1987, 1993, 2001, and 2010. (4) The last survey conducted in 2010 included veterans and other beneficiary groups, such as members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty, members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces, military spouses, and surviving spouses of such veterans and members. (5) The 2010 survey included information on demographics, awareness and utilization of benefits, health status, military service, and employment. (6) These surveys provide valuable information on the veteran population to the Secretary, Congress, Federal, State, and local governments, academic institutions, and various non-governmental organizations that serve veterans. (7) This information is used to inform policymaking efforts and to ensure the needs of the ever-changing veteran population are met. (8) However, since 2010, the statutory framework for data collection has substantially evolved, notably with the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (Public Law 115–435), the Data Act (Public Law 113–139), and the Geospatial Data Act (subtitle F of title VII of Public Law 115–254), known collectively as the Evidence Act, building on previously enacted laws. (9) Further, the Department, through the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, has leveraged the vast amount of data generated within the Department and collected by other Federal partners to improve population-based descriptive, statistical, and predictive analytic products to support the Secretary and in evidence-based policymaking, facilitate innovative and collaborative research, and empower modern business intelligence applications. (10) The Department has been a consistent leader in the Federal Open Data program and offers a platform for scaling access to useful data and insight to external stakeholders. (11) Notwithstanding these recent advances, opportunities exist to strengthen the capability of the Department to develop and disseminate actionable insights into the veteran population through— (A) developing enterprise-focused management and improvements in the quality of administrative data collected by the Department through its delivery of benefits and services; (B) increased access to data collected by other Federal entities through more flexible and efficient information sharing policies; (C) increased use of publicly available and commercially generated data; and (D) maturing data management of the Department. (12) In line with the Evidence Act, it is incumbent upon the Secretary to regularly engage with key stakeholders, including Congress, veterans service organizations, advocacy groups, and open government groups to— (A) enhance the open data program of the Department; and (B) improve development and dissemination of relevant data assets and analytic products to provide more current, accurate, and useful insights on veterans and their families. (13) It is necessary for the Department to collect, collate, and analyze all available data on veteran demographics, and to share this data with Congress and other stakeholders on an ongoing basis, in an easily digestible format, to direct outreach and align policy with the needs of the changing veteran population.