FAST VETS Act
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The FAST VETS Act amends federal law to specify when the Department of Veterans Affairs must redevelop a veteran's individualized vocational rehabilitation plan, requiring redevelopment when original goals are no longer feasible due to changes in the veteran's employment handicap and a different plan would be more likely to succeed.
What this law does
What it does
The act amends Section 3107 of title 38 of the U.S. Code to clarify the conditions under which the VA must redevelop a veteran's individualized vocational rehabilitation plan under the Veteran Readiness and Employment program — a program that provides job training and employment-related services to veterans with service-connected disabilities. Under the amended provision, the VA must redevelop the plan together with the veteran if two conditions are met: the veteran's long-range rehabilitation goals are no longer feasible due to changes in the veteran's employment handicap, and those goals are more likely to be achieved under a different plan. The act also expressly authorizes the VA to formally disapprove redevelopment if it determines redevelopment is not appropriate.
Key provisions
- 1Requires the VA to redevelop a veteran's individualized vocational rehabilitation plan if goals are no longer feasible due to changed employment handicap and a different plan would be likelier to succeed.
- 2Authorizes the VA to formally disapprove redevelopment of a plan when the Secretary determines redevelopment is not appropriate.
Who is affected
Veterans with service-connected disabilities who are enrolled in the VA's Veteran Readiness and Employment program and have existing individualized vocational rehabilitation plans, and the VA counselors and staff responsible for annually reviewing and managing those plans.
Why it matters
The act establishes a clearer, two-part legal standard for when the VA must revisit a veteran's rehabilitation plan, which could lead to more timely plan adjustments for veterans whose disabilities or circumstances have changed significantly — giving them a more realistic path to employment rather than remaining locked to goals that have become unachievable.
What changed
Changes to existing law
Amends 38 U.S.C. § 3107 (Sec. 2)
Replaces previous second sentence with a two-part test specifying when VA must redevelop or may disapprove redevelopment of a veteran's vocational rehabilitation plan.
Agencies directed to act
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that enacting the FAST VETS Act (H.R. 4446) would change direct spending by less than $500,000 over the 2025–2035 period, with no effect on revenues.
H.R. 4446 would modify how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) amends individualized vocational rehabilitation plans for veterans under the Veteran Readiness and Employment program, restricting amendments to cases where changes in employment barriers make an existing plan infeasible. Because benefits under this program are paid from mandatory appropriations (direct spending), CBO analyzed the bill's effect on that category of spending. CBO expects the impact to be minor — amended plans could cost either more or less than prior plans — resulting in a change to direct spending of less than $500,000 over the 2025–2035 period. No intergovernmental or private-sector mandates were identified.
How it works
During its existing annual review of each veteran's vocational rehabilitation plan, the VA applies the new two-part test: if the agency determines that long-range goals are no longer feasible due to changes in the veteran's employment handicap and that a different plan would be more likely to succeed, it must redevelop the plan with the veteran. If redevelopment is not appropriate, the VA must formally disapprove it. No new rulemaking deadlines or reporting requirements are specified in the act's text.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Became Public Law No: 119-72.
Official CRS summary
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This act establishes conditions under which a veteran's individualized vocational rehabilitation plan (under the Veteran Readiness and Employment program) must be redeveloped. The program provides job training and employment-related services to veterans with service-connected disabilities.
Currently, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must formulate and annually review an individualized vocational rehabilitation plan for veterans who have a serious employment handicap and have a reasonably feasible vocational goal.
The act provides that such plan must be redeveloped with the veteran if the VA determines the achievement of the long-range rehabilitation goals for the veteran are no longer feasible due to changes in the employment handicap of the veteran and are more likely under a different plan.
Legislative subjects
Armed Forces and National Security; Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-266