With more than 675,000 veterans in Virginia, lawmakers face pressure to show that new technology can solve the VA’s chronic delays—without sacrificing trust or privacy.
Since he left the US Army 10 years ago, Chesterfield County’s Stephen Miller-Pitts has been inextricably linked to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Medically retired in 2015 with post-traumatic stress disorder and other service-related disabilities, Miller-Pitts has relied on the agency for many things: his disability check, his health insurance, the degrees he earned through VA education benefits and the vocational rehab program that helped him retrain for civilian work. Every doctor’s appointment, every prescription refill, every job search—it has all run through the VA.
It’s a system of support that’s been part of America’s most basic ideals since the Revolutionary War, which was formalized as the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in 1930.
“If everything went to hell in a hand basket in the country, I promise you, veterans would pick up the mantle and go back in the fight,” Miller-Pitts said.
Despite their long history serving the country, veterans are at the eye of a truly modern storm brewing in Washington, DC. It’s a conflict between Republicans and Democrats about using artificial intelligence to improve the VA.
Here’s what’s happening, in plain English
There are two bills advancing in the House Veterans Affairs Committee—the Veterans Affairs Distributed Ledger Innovation Act (H.R. 3455) and the Modernizing All Veterans and Survivors Claims Processing Act (H.R. 3854).
If passed, the bills would implement artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technologies in VA systems. Supporters, largely Republican, of the bills say adding these two tech elements could help reduce fraud and cut down on wait times.
But many veterans and Democrats remain unconvinced.
“Innovation is important,” said Naveed A. Shah, an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran from the Army and political director at Common Defense. “It’s something that America does best. However, this technology is still in its early stages of development. We haven’t perfected it yet, and we shouldn’t be using veterans’ health care as a testing ground for it.”
That’s the biggest argument against these bills—that rather than modernizing the VA, the untested initiatives create new risks for people who don’t deserve to be unwitting lab mice.
“Veterans who have served our country all over the world and now are relying on the VA for their benefits—whether health care, education, employment, or all of the above—these systems are already strained, and we want them to make sure that they are working properly to serve our veterans,” Shah said. “Introducing technologies like blockchain and AI, which are still under development and new frontiers are being broken every day, we don’t know all the repercussions yet. I think we need to take all that into consideration…especially when veterans and their families’ livelihoods could be on the line.”
What are the risks?
Blockchain technology is essentially a digital ledger, often compared to a shared notebook that records transactions or data in a permanent, tamper-resistant way.
Once veteran information is recorded on a blockchain, it cannot be erased or changed, and the entire chain of entries is transparent to anyone with access.
Representatives like Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina), H.R. 3455’s lead sponsor, argue this could make VA claims more efficient and harder to manipulate.
But critics like Rep. Mark Takano (D-California) warn that the technology is still largely untested in government benefits systems. The “permanence” feature could make correcting errors, updating information, and revisiting disability determinations a nightmare, and a lack of clear regulatory frameworks around blockchain creates a major privacy risk.
Blockchain networks also struggle with bottlenecks—so it’s unclear if the technology will help speed up veterans’ claims, or slow them down.
The AI element of the bills would work differently from blockchain: Instead of creating records, AI tools would scan thousands of veterans’ claims at once, identifying patterns and flagging them for faster decisions, say supporters.
But AI use in health care and benefits processing has already shown documented risks of algorithmic bias that could disadvantage certain veterans. And opponents also argue that AI can make mistakes, raising the risks that veterans could be wrongly denied or delayed. In 2019, one study found that Black patients had to be much sicker than white patients to be recommended for care by an algorithm system a number of hospitals were using.
The VA’s existing REACH VET suicide prevention algorithm has already shown bias, with claims that it failed to account for risk factors that were unique to female veterans and military sexual trauma survivors.
Who regulates what?
Virginia is home to nearly 675,000 veterans, making up over 9% of its civilian population—one of the highest concentrations of veterans in the nation. From Hampton Roads to Northern Virginia, they form a visible part of the state’s identity, relying on a network of VA hospitals, clinics, and benefits offices that often struggle to keep up with demand.
Virginia Delegate Michelle Maldonado (D-20), who chairs the Commonwealth’s AI workgroup and led key state legislation on algorithmic fairness and privacy, said she shares the same concerns that her fellow Democrats have about the bills, while acknowledging the need for modernization—but warns it must not outpace safeguards.
“The challenge and valid concern is we have not done a good job at the federal level,” Maldonado said. “States have been, in various capacities, addressing privacy issues and protection issues for years. But at the federal level, we have not done that in a meaningful way—in a consistent and cohesive way.”
Several states—including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia—have already enacted comprehensive consumer privacy laws, granting residents rights to access, correct, or delete their personal data and opt out of its sale. Additionally, some of those same states have passed state-level AI legislation, dealing with issues ranging from biometric deepfakes to limiting algorithmic profiling.
Maldonado said that while federal action plans and executive orders on AI often emphasize efficiency, they rarely give equal attention to protecting people’s data and making sure individuals have control over their own information.
Her concerns highlight a larger problem: Modernization debates often focus on what new technology can deliver, without acknowledging the deep cracks already visible inside the VA.
Blockchain can’t fill the role that’s needed most
A recent VA Inspector General report revealed a 50% increase in staffing shortages at VA health facilities over the past year, and 94% of VA facilities reported severe shortages of doctors, or medical officers—while 79% lacked enough nurses. Psychology was among the hardest-hit specialities, with more than half of facilities saying they could not fill those roles.
Supporters of the new bills argue that technology like blockchain and AI could help ease those workforce pressures. But the Inspector General’s finding suggests something different: Many of the delays veterans face come down to people, not paperwork. A digital ledger or algorithm might help prevent lost records, but it won’t fill the psychiatrist’s chair or shorten the wait for a nurse who isn’t there.
For Miller-Pitts, the problem isn’t efficiency alone—it’s that the human connections veterans depend on keep breaking down.
“My anxiety goes up because then I have to repeat things that you should be able to find in my record,” he said, having gone through his fifth psychiatrist. “That makes the process longer for me, because now if I only have a 45-minute session, and I’m spending 25 minutes re-updating you…I’m not getting the full service that I should in that appointment, which then pushes my care down the road.”
‘Everybody’s getting something, except us’
In Virginia, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have said they would work on regulating Big Tech—but just before a legislative session focused on those regulations kicked off, donations to their campaigns started rolling in from the industry’s biggest names. Of the 27 proposed bills to regulate Big Tech, just one passed.
To Miller-Pitts, the lesson is clear.
“It’s like everybody gets something except the people that sacrifice the most for this country,” he said.
He added that veterans’ willingness to serve doesn’t end with politics.
“Veterans will step out of their comfort zone and begin to run for these positions and take these seats if these legislators can’t get it together and protect the people that are most vulnerable,” he said. “So I just think legislators need to do the right thing.”
Right now, both bills remain at the committee stage and have not yet advanced to the House floor. Virginians, including the state’s 675,000 veterans, are watching closely to see whether their lawmakers will put protections and care ahead of industry pressure.
Read More: Do you trust Gov. Youngkin’s plan to let AI edit state regulations? Tech policy experts don’t.
