Bill > HR5172

This bill, titled the POW Accountability Act, directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a thorough review of existing lists of former prisoners of war (POWs) to identify any discrepancies between the list maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA POW list) and the list maintained by the Department of Defense (DOD POW list). The Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs will also examine the process the Secretary uses to determine if a veteran qualifies as a former POW, ensuring adherence to established guidelines. Within 180 days of the bill's enactment, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs must submit a report to Congress detailing any differences in POW numbers between the two lists, explaining how veterans on the VA POW list but not the DOD POW list were identified, and including the Inspector General's findings. The "DOD POW list" refers to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office's record of service members who were POWs, while the "VA POW list" is the Department of Veterans Affairs' record of veterans determined to be former POWs.