HR980-119

What This Bill Does

The Veterans Readiness and Employment Improvement Act of 2025 updates several title 38 provisions affecting veterans with service-connected disabilities. It removes a requirement that certain on-campus educational and vocational counseling be provided only by specified VA employees. That gives VA more flexibility in how it delivers on-campus counseling and outreach.

The bill authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to approve non-degree flight training courses as part of a chapter 31 vocational rehabilitation program for eligible veterans with service-connected disabilities, notwithstanding the usual rule limiting flight training to courses at institutions of higher learning for credit toward a standard college degree. The authority applies to rehabilitation programs approved on or after August 1, 2025.

The bill also creates VR&E outreach duties. VA must establish a dedicated phone number inside the Education Call Center for chapter 31 services, and each regional office must post a name, telephone number, and email address for service information. VA must provide monthly Q&A sessions for school certifying officials, send veteran readiness and employment counselors or trained outreach specialists to in-person briefings at educational institutions in each regional office area, allow virtual briefings for schools more than 50 miles from the regional office headquarters, report annually to the Veterans' Affairs committees on vocational-rehabilitation program-extension requests, and decide each extension request within 30 days. It also extends certain limits on pension payments under section 5503(d)(7), with dates that changed across versions.

Who Benefits and How

Veterans with service-connected disabilities benefit from more outreach about VR&E services and potential access to non-degree flight training when VA approves it as part of rehabilitation. Veterans seeking program extensions benefit from a 30-day VA decision deadline and annual reporting on approval and rejection counts. School certifying officials benefit from monthly Q&A sessions with VA counselors or trained outreach specialists. Educational institutions benefit from in-person or virtual VA briefings for veterans. VA regional offices benefit from clearer outreach responsibilities and public contact points. Flight training providers benefit if eligible veterans can use VR&E programs for approved non-degree courses.

Who Bears the Burden and How

VA VR&E staff must manage a dedicated phone line, regional office website contacts, monthly Q&A sessions, school briefings, annual reports, and 30-day extension decisions. VA counselors and trained outreach specialists must appear at educational institutions or provide virtual briefings when schools are more than 50 miles away. VA approval staff must review non-degree flight training requests inside rehabilitation plans. School certifying officials must coordinate with VA and participate in Q&A sessions. VA pension administrators must apply the revised section 5503(d)(7) dates.

Key Provisions

• Removes a restriction on who may provide certain VA on-campus educational and vocational counseling.
• Authorizes VA approval of non-degree flight training courses in chapter 31 vocational rehabilitation programs.
• Requires a dedicated Education Call Center phone number and regional office contact information for VR&E services.
• Requires monthly Q&A sessions for school certifying officials and in-person or virtual briefings at educational institutions.
• Requires annual reports on vocational rehabilitation extension requests and 30-day decisions on those requests.
• Extends certain limits on VA pension payments under section 5503(d)(7).