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House passes bill to restructure VA VR&E staffing and expand training options for veterans
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Summary
The House suspended rules and passed HR 980, the Veterans Readiness and Employment Improvement Act, to change qualifications for campus counselors, add oversight and transparency for the VR&E program, and expand allowable training including vocational flight training. Supporters cited long wait times and the need to fill counselor vacancies; some members warned of implementation and oversight risks.
The House voted to suspend the rules and pass HR 980, the Veterans Readiness and Employment Improvement Act, a measure supporters said will overhaul staffing and transparency at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program.
Sponsor statements on the floor said the bill removes a master’s-degree-only requirement for certain veteran-success-on-campus (VSOC) positions, creates a VR&E hotline for veterans seeking assistance, and allows veterans to use VR&E benefits for nondegree vocational flight training. "This bill would move the program in the right direction by providing more transparency on these failures," the bill’s floor sponsor said, citing reported long intake waits and examples of fraud or program failure.
The bill drew extensive floor comment about the program’s performance. One supporter said VR&E currently does not track long-term outcomes for veterans who complete programs and that as many as 45 percent reenter the program. A member of the minority raised concerns about Section 4’s requirement that the VA adjudicate extension requests within 30 days without first addressing staffing shortages, calling timely decisions important but cautioning that the statutory deadline may not resolve underlying capacity problems.
Floor managers noted the chairman’s effort to include bipartisan provisions and highlighted a pilot to allow flight training for veterans to address a related workforce shortage. The House ordered the yeas and nays and later recorded 402 yeas to 2 nays; the chair announced suspension of the rules and the bill’s passage.
The measure now proceeds to the Senate for further consideration.
What’s next: The House-recorded vote and the bill text will be transmitted to the Senate. Any congressional budget office estimate or report required by the bill will be placed in the record as requested by members during floor debate.
