,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gagf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,january #ba1        
#bjbf,mr4 ,edwards 7for himself and ,ms4
 ,budzinski7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs  ,a   
,,bill  ,to amend title #ch1 ,united    
,states ,code1 to require the ,secretary
 of ,veterans ,affairs to establish a   
secure database and messaging platform  
to enable veterans to reconnect with    
other veterans with whom they served1   
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,vets ,connect ,act4  #b4 ,vets ,connect
 secure database and messaging platform 
7a7 ,establishment of secure database   
and messaging platform ,the ,secretary  
of ,veterans ,affairs shall establish   
and maintain a secure1                  
privacy-preserving database and         
messaging platform 7in this section     
referred to as the ,vets ,connect       
,system7 for the purpose of enabling    

veterans to reconnect with other        
veterans with whom they served1 without 
disclosing personal contact information 
such as phone numbers1 email addresses1 
physical addresses1 or social media     
identifiers unless expressly authorized 
by the veteran4  7b7 ,content of system 
,the ,secretary shall ensure that the   
,vets ,connect ,system includes only the
 minimum information necessary to       
facilitate service-based matching       
between veterans1 including-- 7#a7      
service-connection information1 such as 
branch of service1 units1 dates of      
service1 deployments1 occupational      
specialty1 and rank2  7#b7 a display    
name selected by the veteran1 which need
 not contain the veteran's legal name2  
and  7#c7 any additional information the
 veteran elects to include for          
visibility within the ,system by taking 
an affirmative1 documented opt-in action
 executed within the ,system4  7c7 ,use 
within ,department ,information         
contained in the ,vets ,connect ,system 

may not be used by the ,department for  
any purpose other than operating1       
securing1 and overseeing the ,system4   
7d7 ,access limited to verified veterans
 ,except for access required by         
subsection 7c71 the ,secretary shall    
ensure that-- 7#a7 access to the ,vets  
,connect ,system is limited to          
individuals whose military service has  
been verified by the ,department of     
,veterans ,affairs or the ,department of
 ,defense2 and  7#b7 no individual whose
 service has not been verified may gain 
access4  7e7 ,information about veterans
 only if they opt in ,the ,secretary    
shall ensure that-- 7#a7 no veteran     
appears in search results or is         
discoverable by other users unless the  
veteran has affirmatively opted in to   
participation in the ,system2 and  7#b7 
no veteran's personal contact           
information is stored in1 displayed     
through1 or retrievable from the ,vets  
,connect ,system1 or disclosed through  
the messaging platform within the       

,system1 except to the extent the       
veteran takes an affirmative1 documented
 opt-in action executed within the      
,system4  7f7 ,options to opt-,out ,the 
,secretary shall ensure that a veteran  
may at any time--  7#a7 change their    
visibility settings2  7#b7 restrict     
communications from some or all other   
users2  7#c7 opt out of participation in
 the ,system2 or  7#d7 delete any       
information the veteran has contributed 
to the ,system4  7g7 ,prohibition on    
commercial solicitation and data        
brokerage  7#a7 ,in general ,no veteran 
or other person or entity may use       
information contained in or derived from
 the ,vets ,connect ,system for-- 7,a7  
solicitation of legal1 financial1 or    
claims-related services2  7,b7          
advertising1 marketing1 or commercial   
outreach2 or  7,c7 any data-brokerage   
activity1 including the sale1 transfer1 
licensing1 or aggregation of user       
information4  7#b7 ,contractors1        
subcontractors1 and third parties ,no   

contractor1 subcontractor1 or third     
party may use ,system data for any      
purpose other than performing duties    
under a contract with the ,department4  
7h7 ,security1 audit logs1 and oversight
  7#a7 ,security ,the ,secretary shall  
implement industry-standard             
cybersecurity protections1 including    
encryption1 access controls1 and        
monitoring1 to prevent unauthorized     
access1 scraping1 mass-messaging1 or    
harvesting of veteran data in the       
,system4  7#b7 ,audit logs ,the         
,secretary shall maintain system-level  
audit logs documenting all access1      
queries1 administrative actions1 and    
communications metadata 7but not message
 content7 for the purpose of oversight4 
7#c7 ,oversight ,the ,inspector ,general
 of the ,department of ,veterans        
,affairs shall have access to such audit
 logs and may conduct periodic reviews  
of compliance1 security controls1 and   
misuse prevention4  7i7 ,penalties for  
misuse ,any individual who knowingly    

accesses1 attempts to access1 or uses   
information in the ,vets ,connect       
,system for a prohibited purpose or     
otherwise violates this section shall be
 subject to such penalties as the       
,secretary may prescribe by regulation  
and any other penalties available under 
law1 including section #egja of title   
#ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 if          
applicable4  7j7 ,rule of construction  
,nothing in this section shall be       
construed to authorize the disclosure of
 any record protected under section     
#egja of title #ch1 ,united ,states     
,code1 or any other privacy or security 
law applicable to the ,department of    
,veterans ,affairs4