S. 3303, Leveraging Integrated Networks in Communities for Veterans Act

Bill Summary

S. 3303 would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a limited community integration program to connect veterans with community organizations that provide services such as employment assistance, health care, housing, and transportation. The bill also would require VA to collect information about veterans’ nonmedical conditions that affect health and well-being as part of routine health care screenings.

The bill would require VA to report to the Congress on its implementation of the community integration program and would require the Government Accountability Office to evaluate and report on VA’s efforts.

Estimated Federal Cost

The estimated budgetary effects of S. 3303 are shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall within budget function 700 (veterans benefits and services).

Basis of Estimate

For this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 3303 will be enacted in fiscal year 2026, that VA will begin implementing the program in fiscal year 2027, and that outlays will follow historical spending patterns for affected programs.

Provisions That Affect Direct Spending and Spending Subject to Appropriation

S. 3303 would require VA, within 18 months of enactment, to establish at five or more medical facilities a program to connect veterans with community organizations that provide health care and supportive services. The bill would authorize VA to create a new platform or modify an existing one that veterans could access through the internet and through alternative methods. VA would use that platform to securely exchange information; coordinate referrals; track outcomes; and facilitate communication among VA, veterans, and participating organizations. CBO estimates that developing those capabilities would cost $10 million and that operating and maintaining the platform would cost about $500,000 annually thereafter for a total of $15 million over the 2026-2036 period.

CBO expects that VA would operate the community integration program at 10 facilities and estimates that coordinating referrals, overseeing participating organizations, monitoring outcomes, and completing other administrative requirements would increase the workload at each facility by the equivalent of one full-time employee. Using information on the costs of similar VA administrative positions, CBO estimates that annual compensation, benefits, and operating expenses would average about $170,000 per employee. On that basis, CBO estimates that administering the program would cost $16 million over the 2026-2036 period.

S. 3303 also would require VA to collect, during routine health care screenings, information about veterans’ nonmedical conditions that affect their health and well-being. According to VA, the department collects much of that information, such as whether veterans have housing and sufficient food, through existing screening processes at many medical centers but would need to modify those processes to capture all of the required information. CBO expects that VA would satisfy the requirement by updating its existing screening tools and information systems. On that basis, CBO estimates that collecting additional information would cost $1 million over the 2026‑2036 period.

In total,implementing the program and updating screening practices would cost $32 million over the 2026-2036 period, CBO estimates.

VA uses several appropriation accounts to pay for the costs of health care, disability claims processing, medical research, and information technology modernization. One of those accounts, the Toxic Exposures Fund (TEF), is a mandatory appropriation that can be used to pay for some of the costs of those activities if they support veterans who were exposed to toxic substances or environmental hazards.^[1] The other accounts are discretionary appropriations. S. 3303 would affect information technology modernization that benefits veterans with and without toxic exposures; therefore, enacting the bill would increase direct spending from the TEF as well as spending subject to appropriation. CBO allocates the estimated costs of legislation between the TEF and the discretionary appropriation accounts on the basis of the portion of all funding for those activities that are projected, in CBO’s baseline, to come from the TEF.

On that basis, CBO estimates that over the 2026-2036 period, implementing the community integration program and the related information technology, administrative, and screening requirements under S. 3303 would increase direct spending by $13 million and spending subject to appropriation by $19 million.

Spending Subject to Appropriation

In addition to establishing the community integration program and collecting additional information from veterans, S. 3303 would require VA to report to the Congress on its implementation of the community integration program. The bill also would require the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the program and report on its findings. Based on the costs of similar requirements, CBO estimates that preparing those reports would cost less than $500,000 over the 2026-2031 period.

In total, CBO estimates that implementing S. 3303 would increase spending subject to appropriation by $19 million over the 2026-2036 period.

Uncertainty

The bill would require VA to operate the community integration program at not fewer than five medical facilities. CBO anticipates the department would operate the program at 10 facilities. Should the department operate the program in more or fewer facilities than the 10 locations CBO anticipates, costs would differ from the amounts estimated.

Pay-As-You-Go Considerations

The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. The net changes in direct spending outlays that are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in Table 1.

Increase in Long-Term Net Direct Spending and Deficits

CBO estimates that enacting S. 3303 would not increase net direct spending by more than $2.5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037.

CBO estimates that enacting S. 3303 would not increase on‑budget deficits by more than $5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037.

Mandates

The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

Estimate Prepared By

Federal Costs: Noah Callahan

Mandates: Brandon Lever

Estimate Reviewed By

David Newman
Chief, Defense, International Affairs, and Veterans’ Affairs Cost Estimates Unit

Kathleen FitzGerald 
Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit

Christina Hawley Anthony
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis

Estimate Approved By