H.R. 2943 would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide on its website all departmental fact sheets in English, Spanish, and Tagalog. The bill also would require VA to report to the Congress on how veterans obtain the department’s fact sheets other than on its websites and on VA’s efforts to communicate with veterans whose proficiency in English is limited.
Many of the VA’s fact sheets are already available in Spanish, and several are available in Tagalog. VA provides most of the information from its fact sheets in Spanish and Tagalog to veterans at VA’s regional offices in Puerto Rico and the Philippines, respectively. In addition, the department currently provides its various fact sheets on several webpages. Because the department has satisfied most of the requirements of the bill, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2943 would cost less than $500,000 over the 2019-2024 period; any spending would be subject to availability of appropriated funds.