Veterans Readiness and Employment Improvement Act of 2025
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Would make several targeted improvements to how the Department of Veterans Affairs delivers vocational rehabilitation and educational counseling to veterans, including removing a staffing restriction on campus counseling and allowing non-degree flight training as part of rehabilitation programs.
The changes are administrative in nature but could meaningfully expand options for veterans with service-connected disabilities seeking to re-enter the workforce through VA's readiness and employment programs.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would make four distinct changes to the VA's vocational rehabilitation and educational counseling programs. First, it would remove the requirement that on-campus educational and vocational counseling at colleges and universities be provided specifically by VA counselors, giving the VA more flexibility in staffing. Second, it would allow the VA Secretary to approve non-degree flight training courses as part of a rehabilitation program for veterans with service-connected disabilities — a type of training currently restricted. Third, it would require the VA to establish a dedicated phone number and regional office contact information for veterans seeking vocational rehabilitation and employment services. Fourth, it would require the VA to approve or deny program extension requests within 30 days and submit annual reports to Congress on those decisions for five years. It would also extend a pension payment limit deadline by six months.
The bill would not broadly restructure VA vocational rehabilitation programs, and the flight training provision would apply only to rehabilitation programs approved on or after August 1, 2026.
Key provisions
- 1Would remove the requirement that on-campus educational and vocational counseling at higher education institutions be provided specifically by VA counselors, giving VA more staffing flexibility.
- 2Would authorize the VA Secretary to approve non-degree flight training courses as part of vocational rehabilitation programs for veterans with service-connected disabilities, notwithstanding current restrictions.
- 3Would require VA to establish a dedicated telephone number within the Education Call Center and require each regional office to publish contact information for vocational rehabilitation services.
- 4Would require the VA Secretary to approve or deny veterans' requests for rehabilitation program extensions within 30 days of submission.
- 5Would require the VA Secretary to submit annual reports to Congress for five years on the number of rehabilitation program extension requests received, approved, and denied.
- 6Would extend a pension payment limit deadline from January 31, 2033, to July 31, 2033.
Who would be affected
Veterans with service-connected disabilities who are enrolled in or seeking VA vocational rehabilitation and employment programs, particularly those at institutions of higher learning or pursuing flight training careers. VA regional offices and the Education Call Center would also be affected, as they would need to post dedicated contact information and meet new response deadlines for extension requests.
Why it matters
Veterans who previously had limited counseling access on campus, or who could not pursue non-degree flight training through VA rehabilitation, would gain new options. The 30-day decision window on extension requests would create an enforceable accountability standard where none currently exists, reducing delays that can interrupt veterans' rehabilitation timelines.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends 38 U.S.C. § 3697B(a) (Sec. 2)
Strikes the sentence requiring that on-campus educational and vocational counseling at higher education institutions be provided by VA counselors.
Amends 38 U.S.C. § 3104(b) (Sec. 3)
Adds authority for the VA Secretary to approve non-degree flight training as part of a veteran's vocational rehabilitation program, notwithstanding existing restrictions.
Amends 38 U.S.C. § 3104 (Sec. 4(a))
Adds a new subsection requiring a dedicated VA phone number and regional office contact information for vocational rehabilitation and employment services.
Amends 38 U.S.C. § 3105 (Sec. 4(b))
Requires the VA Secretary to approve or deny rehabilitation program extension requests within 30 days of receipt.
Amends 38 U.S.C. § 5503(d)(7) (Sec. 5)
Extends a pension payment limit expiration date from January 31, 2033, to July 31, 2033.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Flight training rehabilitation program approvals may begin under new authority
- First annual report on rehabilitation program extension requests due to Congress
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 980 would have a negligible effect on the deficit from direct spending and would increase spending subject to appropriation by $137 million over the 2025–2035 period.
CBO estimates the bill would change net direct spending (mandatory spending) by less than $500,000 over the 2025–2035 period, as a $24 million increase from expanding flight training benefits for veterans is nearly offset by a $24 million reduction from extending the cap on pension payments for veterans residing in Medicaid nursing homes. It would also increase discretionary spending — funds that Congress must separately appropriate — by $137 million over 2025–2035, driven primarily by the cost of hiring outreach specialists at VA's 56 regional offices to implement new VR&E program informational requirements. CBO found that the bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
How implementation would work
The VA would need to update staffing or contracting arrangements for on-campus counseling, establish a dedicated phone line within its Education Call Center, and update regional office websites with new contact information. For flight training approvals, VA officials would evaluate non-degree programs on a case-by-case basis beginning August 1, 2026. VA vocational rehabilitation staff would be required to act on extension requests within 30 days. The Secretary must submit an annual report to the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees for five consecutive years, tracking the number of extension requests received, approved, and denied.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill removes the requirement that educational and vocational counseling services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on campus at institutions of higher learning must be provided by VA counselors.
Legislative subjects
Armed Forces and National Security; Educational guidance; Higher education; Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-228