HR 9862
Responsible Artificial Intelligence for Veterans Act of 2026
TL;DR
Rep. Gregory Murphy (R-NC) introduced this bill to set rules for how the Department of Veterans Affairs uses AI, particularly in veteran benefits decisions and healthcare. It would require the VA to establish governance, testing, and transparency standards before deploying AI tools that affect veterans.
How This Might Impact Your Business
Government contractors selling AI to the VA would face new procurement requirements around bias testing, documentation, and explainability before deployment.
Healthcare AI vendors working with VA hospitals and clinics would need to demonstrate clinical validation and safety standards specific to veteran populations.
Companies providing AI for benefits adjudication, claims processing, or eligibility decisions would likely need human oversight mechanisms and appeals workflows built in.
Contractors would need to provide model documentation, training data disclosures, and performance metrics as part of VA contracts.
Currently sits in the House Veterans' Affairs Committee with no hearing scheduled, so timelines for compliance are not yet defined.
No penalty structure is set in the current text; enforcement would likely come through contract terms and procurement disqualification.
Private-sector AI use outside VA contracts is not affected.
What Should You Do
If you sell AI products or services to the VA, ask your federal sales team to flag this bill and start preparing bias audit and model documentation packages.
Healthcare AI vendors should review whether current clinical validation covers veteran-specific populations (older, higher rates of PTSD, TBI, service-connected conditions).
Have your government affairs or legal team monitor the House Veterans' Affairs Committee for markup activity and hearing announcements.
Review existing VA contracts for AI-related clauses that may be amended or supplemented if this legislation advances.
Benchmark your AI governance documentation against emerging federal standards (NIST AI RMF, OMB M-24-10) since VA rules will likely align.
Who It Affects
Sponsors
Status Timeline
committee
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
July 22, 2026
committee
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
July 22, 2026