# 119-hr-7176: Vets Connect Act

119-hr-7176, Vets Connect Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Edwards, Chuck [R-NC-11] (R-NC); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-06-04).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7176
- As of: 2026-06-04
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-7176
- Congress: 119
- Title: Vets Connect Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-01-21
- Sponsor: Rep. Edwards, Chuck [R-NC-11] (R-NC)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-06-04

## Summary

**A secure, privacy-first platform for veterans to reconnect with service peers.** This bill would direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to build and operate a Vets Connect System that matches veterans by service details while preventing disclosure of personal contact information unless a veteran affirmatively opts in. - Veterans choose a display name and control what service details or extra information are visible. They must opt in to be discoverable and can change visibility, restrict messages, opt out, or delete their contributions at any time. - Only people whose military service is verified by the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense can access the system. No unverified person may search or message users. - The system stores only minimal service-related information and user-chosen details. It forbids commercial solicitation and data-brokering and bars contractors from using system data for other purposes. - Security rules require industry-standard protections, audit logs of access and queries, and Inspector General reviews. The Secretary may impose penalties for misuse, including penalties under section 5701 of title 38 where applicable.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Budzinski, Nikki [D-IL-13] (D-IL), 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Secure reconnect platform for veterans: benefit, medium. This bill would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to create and run a secure Vets Connect database and messaging platform for veterans. Only verified service members (verified by the VA or the Department of Defense) would be allowed access. The system would store only basic service details…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025
- 119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-7176 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7176)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2725)
- [119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6644)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7176 (as of 2026-06-04).