Legislative Hearing on: H.R. 2334, To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to preempt any squatter’s rights established by State law regarding real property owned by a member of the uniformed services; H.R. 2791, To amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the maximum amount of housing loan guaranty entitlement available to certain veterans under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; H.R. 3031, the Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act; H.R. 3384, the Refinancing Relief for Veterans Act; H.R. 3386, the Streamlining the Solid Start Communications Act; H.R. 3387, the Enhancing the Transitioning Servicemember’s Experience Act; H.R. 3481, the Delivering Digitally to Our Veterans Act of 2025; H.R. 3579, the Veterans Readiness and Employment Program Integrity Act; H.R. 3619, the Patriots Over Politics Act; Discussion Draft, the Heroes Owning & Materializing Equity Act of 2025; Discussion Draft, the Expanding Access for Online Veteran Students Act; Discussion Draft, To amend title 38, United States Code, to limit the amount of time the Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs may extend the period of a vocational rehabilitation program for a veteran, H.R. 1965, the Veterans Education Assistance Adjustment Act; H.R. 2034, the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship Opportunity Act; H.R. 2720, the Gold Star Family Education Parity Act; H.R. 2954, the Veterans’ Transition to Trucking Act of 2025; Discussion Draft, the Every Veteran Housed Act.”

House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity

2025-06-11

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Source: Congress.gov

Summary

This subcommittee meeting focused on a range of legislative proposals aimed at improving benefits and services for veterans, including enhancing education programs, increasing accessibility to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and strengthening the VA's home loan program[ 00:22:45-00:22:58 ] . Witnesses from the Department of Defense (DoD), the VA, and various veteran service organizations offered testimony, highlighting areas of support, concern, and specific recommendations for the proposed bills.

Themes

Transition Assistance Program (TAP) Enhancements

Discussion centered on improving the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) to better support service members transitioning to civilian life[ 00:24:19 ]

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. Chairman Van Orden introduced the "Enhancing the Transition Service Members' Experience Act" (ETS Act) to require data collection, identify best practices, and view TAP as a recruitment and retention tool. Dr. Liz Clark from the DoD emphasized TAP's evolution to an individualized program since the FY19 NDAA, providing comprehensive support at numerous locations and including "warm handovers" for at-risk members. However, Mr. Pamperin from the VA raised concerns about the ETS Act's resource and logistical implications, such as unannounced audits and spouse counseling outside normal hours. Representative King-Hinds noted that TAP is perceived as a "one-size-fits-all" program lacking post-transition follow-up, while Representative Ramirez advocated for trauma-informed, culturally competent counseling that addresses the diverse needs of all veterans. The Reserve Organization of America (ROA) highlighted the importance of tailored TAP tracks for reserve component members and addressing the program's active-duty centric design.

Veterans' Education and Training Benefits

Several legislative proposals aimed to update and expand veterans' education benefits[ 00:22:58 ] . Key bills discussed included the "Veterans Transition to Trucking Act" to expedite apprenticeship approvals for multi-state trucking companies, the "Veteran Education Assistance Adjustment Act" to increase the GI Bill book stipend from $1,000 to $1,400, and the "Edith North Rogers STEM Scholarship Opportunity Act" to make STEM scholarships more accessible. The "Gold Star Family Education Parity Act" (HR 2720) was a significant topic, seeking to match educational benefits for surviving dependents with those offered under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, effectively sunsetting the less generous Chapter 35 benefits. The VA acknowledged the concept but cited concerns about differing eligibility rules and payment structures, requesting technical amendments. The expansion of monthly housing allowances for online students also sparked debate, with the American Legion and University of Arizona advocating for parity with in-person rates due to the financial needs of veteran families, while TAPS strongly opposed, citing potential for predatory schools and penalization of students in low-cost areas.

VA Home Loan Program and Homelessness

Legislative efforts were discussed to improve the VA home loan program and address veteran homelessness[ 00:22:58 ] . Chairman Van Orden's "Refinancing Relief for Veterans Act" aims to reduce fees for interest rate reduction loans, but the VA expressed concerns about its impact on program funding and the significant system changes required[ 00:23:43-00:24:10 ] . The "Every Veteran Housed Act," supported by Representative Pappas and Representative Dexter, seeks to expand eligibility for homeless support services to include all veterans who received anything but a dishonorable discharge[ 01:50:37-01:51:07 ]

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. The VA, while supporting the intent to resolve homelessness, expressed reservations about altering the statutory definition of "veteran" and the unknown resource implications. Additionally, the "Heroes Owning and Materializing Equity Act" (HOME Act) was introduced to provide financial counseling and create a database of adapted homes for disabled veterans.

Program Oversight and Accountability

The meeting touched on oversight of the Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program, with the VA supporting a 180-day time limit for employment assistance and an 8-year limit for the program due to veteran engagement patterns[ 01:10:48 ]

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. Chairman Van Orden raised significant concerns about reports of individuals being on the VR&E program for over 20-30 years, implying potential waste, fraud, and abuse, and demanded greater accountability and investigation from the VA. VA clarified that extended program durations involved periods of "interrupt" status without active benefit receipt[ 01:13:38-01:13:46 ]

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. The "Patriots Over Politics Act" was also discussed, aiming to restore GI Bill transferability for service members affected by the COVID vaccine mandate, with the VA deferring to DoD on implementation timelines[ 00:57:53-00:58:08 ]

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.

Tone of the Meeting

The meeting maintained a generally collaborative and respectful tone among subcommittee members, reflecting a shared commitment to improving veterans' lives[ 00:22:31 ] . However, direct and sometimes frustrated questioning arose, particularly from Chairman Van Orden, who pressed VA witnesses for greater accountability and action on program oversight and implementation challenges, notably regarding the VR&E program and justifications for perceived delays or lack of action on certain proposals. Chairman Van Orden also engaged in pointed questioning regarding TAPS' receipt of funds from TikTok, raising concerns about potential geopolitical influence and data compromise. Witnesses from the VA expressed concerns and reservations about resource limitations and logistical challenges for several bills, while non-governmental organization witnesses were largely supportive of the legislative changes.

Participants

Transcript

The subcommittee will come to order.  Welcome the witnesses and subcommittee members to today's hearing.  As I've said many times, the subcommittee is a nonpartisan committee.  It is not a bipartisan committee.  And I'm very thankful for my ranking member, Mr. Pappas, for adhering to that.  We have 17 important legislative proposals to consider here today.  It's important to note that not all of these proposals will move forward in the legislative process.   A number of these proposals seek to improve education programs, accessibility to the VA and VA's home loan program.  I specifically want to highlight three of my bills that are on today's agenda.  My first bill will expand communication outreach methods within the Solid Start program by allowing digital communication so that the VA can increase the ways they connect with veterans.  America's new generation of veterans, they oftentimes just don't want to pick up the phone, so we're going to get crazy and allow them to use text messaging   But we're not going to get rid of the other methods of communications that older generations such as myself are used to, which is a letter in the mail.  So, in other words, this is additive.  Another bill that I have today is the Refinancing Relief for Veterans Act.  This legislation will reduce the fee for veterans who are using an interest rate reduction loan, or IRRRL.   This bill would allow veterans an even less expensive way to get a mortgage with a lower interest rate.  This would have the refinancing, half the refinancing fee associated with the VA home loans, making it easier for veterans to secure better rates.  It's the duty of this subcommittee to get money back in the veterans' pockets when we can.  My final bill is the Enhancing the Transition Service Members' Experience Act, or ETS Act.  This bill would make improvements to the Transition Assistance Program for service members leaving the military.   Legislation would require data collection on the experience of transitioning service members.
We need to have a better understanding of how we are preparing our military members and their families for civilian life.  Certain military branches are doing TAP better than others, and those doing it well are setting their members up for success, and individual units in the different branches are doing things better, so we're gonna find the best practices.   Service members leaving the successful branches will show the others the value of their military service.  The Transition Assistance Program is actually, I view it as a retention and recruitment tool.  So when the veterans know that we care about them coming in while they're in and while they're leaving and after they're in their service, that's gonna help with our recruitment and retention because they go home and they tell their friends.   Additional bills we'll consider would address modernization improvements to the VRNE program, VA home loan program, and the GI Bill.  I have reservations about some of these proposals on the agenda today.  The witnesses' testimony and questions from these fellow members will hopefully address some of these issues so we can make informed decisions and move forward with the process.  We look forward to hearing from the members who are here and introduce these proposals as well as our witnesses on how we can continue to improve the bills and better the lives of our veterans.
i now yielded to ranking member pappas for as much time as he would consume for his opening remarks thank you very much chairman van orden for holding this legislative hearing on a number of issues covered by the economic opportunities subcommittee on the agenda today there are several bills that improve support for veterans education and job training including my bipartisan bill hr 2954 veterans transition to trucking act which will expedite the approval process for truck driving apprenticeship programs that have multi-state locations   Currently, interstate trucking companies must get approval from every state they operate in for veterans to use their VA education benefits for apprenticeship programs at that company.  This legislation will cut unnecessary red tape and allow interstate commercial carriers to get one approval for all their apprenticeship programs from VA, simplifying the administration of these programs so that veterans can become truck drivers more easily.   I thank Representative Kiggins for partnering with me on this important legislation and the chairman for including this bill on the agenda.  I also want to thank Senators Blumenthal and Cassidy for introducing the bipartisan bill in the Senate.  I hope we can all continue to work together to get this passed into law.  Other bills I wish to highlight include Congressman Vasquez's H.R.  1965, the Veteran Education Assistance Adjustment Act, which increases the book and supplies stipend from $1,000 to $1,400 per year.   We all know that things cost more today than they did even a year ago, but the book stipend has remained the same since the post-911 GI Bill was enacted in 2008.  Congresswoman Bosinski's H.R.  2034, the Edith North Rogers STEM Scholarship Opportunity Act, makes the requirements for the scholarship program more accessible for students pursuing rigorous STEM fields.  Lastly, Congressman Kennedy's H.R. 2720,   The Gold Star Family Education Parity Act reduces the challenges faced by surviving dependents by matching their educational benefits with those offered under the post-911 GI Bill.  Under the existing Chapter 35 Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance, Gold Star families are often left with a less generous education benefit while simultaneously dealing with their loss.
So by expanding this benefit to surviving dependents, families can pursue the education and training they need to secure gainful employment following the loss of a loved one.   Our veterans need additional support to keep up with the cost of living, and education expenses are certainly no exception.  So I urge members of this subcommittee to support veterans' education and training by supporting these bills.  Lastly, I want to remind the subcommittee that during last month's full committee hearing with Secretary Collins, he committed to addressing veterans' homelessness.   We don't want to lose the gains already made toward ending veteran homelessness, and we have a legislative solution to continue this momentum.  Representative Dexter's Every Veteran Housed Act.

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