Full Committee Oversight Hearing

Committee on Veterans' Affairs

2025-06-24

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Source: Congress.gov

Summary

This meeting of the committee addressed critical issues surrounding the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) and the broader experience of service members moving into civilian life, highlighting the program's current shortcomings and exploring innovative solutions for improvement. Discussions underscored the importance of comprehensive support for veterans, particularly leveraging technology and strengthening partnerships between government agencies and nonprofit organizations to ensure a smoother and more successful transition for all service members .

Themes

Effectiveness and Gaps in the Transition Assistance Program (TAP)

The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) is recognized as a vital bridge for veterans entering civilian life, but it faces significant challenges and is often perceived as insufficient . Despite legislative efforts, only 52% of service members meet the one-year TAP timeline requirements, a figure described as a failure rather than a success . Research indicates that over 60% of veterans are either unemployed or underemployed, and nearly 20% feel they haven't fully transitioned even after six years, often due to poor transition support . Junior enlisted personnel, women, and minority veterans face the steepest post-service challenges, exacerbated by low utilization of existing services and a lack of individualized support . Concerns were raised about the Department of Defense's (DoD) consistent lack of prioritization for transition services, regardless of the controlling political party, and issues with inter-agency communication between DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) [ 00:39:37 ]

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Role of Technology and Nonprofits in Veteran Transition

Nonprofit organizations are crucial in bridging the gaps left by federal programs, providing personalized, one-on-one support that federal programs often cannot . Organizations like Combined Arms utilize advanced technology, including SaaS platforms and data analytics, to connect over 85,000 veterans and military families with more than 1,500 social services, such as housing, jobs, and healthcare . Hire Heroes USA focuses on employment, helping over 110,000 service members and spouses find meaningful careers through tailored coaching and employer engagement . TurboVets aims to create a secure, centralized digital platform to manage veteran benefits, integrate with government systems, and combat fraudulent "claim sharks" by ensuring secure data access and verification . These organizations advocate for public-private partnerships, emphasizing that technology can enable personalized curricula, real-time data, and more effective outreach to veterans .

Policy Recommendations and Future Directions

Key recommendations include prioritizing individualized solutions in federal transition programs, moving from output-based to outcome-based metrics, and incentivizing sustainable participation of nonprofits through grants and contracts . There's a call to reestablish the Chairman's Office of Reintegration within the DoD to underscore the importance of transition outcomes for maintaining the All-Volunteer Force . Congress is urged to mandate technology integration with TAP platforms, leveraging VA systems for cost-efficient support, and to standardize VA liaisons . Starting TAP earlier, ideally 12 months prior to discharge, is suggested to address issues like financial literacy and credit repair . Additionally, proposals include automatic enrollment for VA healthcare, connecting DoD and VA identity repositories with payroll data from the Social Security Administration for better resource allocation, and focusing on a positive "social asset" narrative for veterans [ 00:57:03 ]

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Tone of the Meeting

The overall tone of the meeting was one of deep concern and frustration regarding the inadequacies of the current veteran transition system, particularly the perceived lack of engagement from federal agencies like the DoD [ 00:36:56 ]

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[ 00:39:37 ]

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. While there was a shared bipartisan goal to improve veteran services, underlying partisan tensions surfaced, especially concerning the administration's actions and the perceived politicization of veteran care . Despite these frustrations, a hopeful and innovative spirit prevailed, driven by the potential of technology and the dedicated efforts of nonprofit organizations to provide more personalized and effective support for transitioning service members . There was a strong sense of urgency, with speakers emphasizing the catastrophic consequences of failed transitions, including underemployment and increased suicide risk [ 00:37:41 ]

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Participants

Transcript

Mic check.  Test one, two, one, two.  House recordings.  Okay, thanks.
Test, test, test, test.  Good.
The committee will come to order.  And without objection, the chair may declare recess at any time.  And good morning, everyone, and thank you for being here.  And I want to thank the witnesses for being here.  Now, before we begin, I want to take a moment to pause and think about the service members stationed throughout the Middle East right now.  I, along with some of our colleagues, just returned from a visit with our service members that were deployed overseas in Spain.   Whenever I met with these men and women, I always returned home with the assurance that, one, we have the best and most capable military in the world, and two, the people that do that are some of the best people in the world.  While we were in Spain,   we were going to visit and see the destroyers that were located there.  They had all shipped out.  Matter of fact, one of them, it reminded me of what it was like to be a young person in the military.  There at the   reception area in the airport, it was a volunteer, and she and her husband had just, this was their first duty station in Spain, and I came, we came in and her husband, when they deploy those cruisers normally it is about four months to four and a half months out.  Her husband had come back in and 48 hours went right back out.   So she was learning what it was like to be a military spouse, as well as him understanding what it was like to be and be in the military.  So if you would, just remember them all in your prayers and make sure that you ask for the Lord to keep them all safe, no matter what their duty is.
But today we're going to focus on the importance of the TAP, our Transition Assistance Program, or TAP, and broader themes of service members' transition experience.   A service member's transition begins during the last year of their active duty.  During TAP, a service member is required to go to classes hosted by DOD, DOL, and VA.  The goal of TAP is to set each service member up for success in civilian life regardless of their role in the military.  Now that means whether you're a young corporal,   our three-star general, TAP should offer the personalized assistance service members need to thrive.   My staff knows that I always make this statement and I'll make it again now.  So it's in my, in my script here, but I'm going to add a little to it.  You know, when I was a Marine when, and I went through, there was a tap program and the tap program was whenever the Colonel tapped you on the shoulder and said, goodbye, have a great life.  The other tap program was when you got with your buddies the last time and you hit the tap at the bar.  Other than that, that was the tap programs that were available.   However, thanks to former members of this committee and this committee as a whole, we've done a lot of work to make the program mandatory and improve outcomes to find what works for our veterans.  This is not to say that progress doesn't still need to be made.  Matter of fact, a lot of progress still needs to be made.   Even after significant legislation, only 52% of service members meet the one-year tap timeline requirements.  I believe that 52 should not be counted as a success.
but as a failure.  Additionally, research from Pennsylvania State University Veterans Metric Initiative shows that more than 60% of veterans are either unemployed or underemployed.  In many cases, this is due to poor transition.  Finally, nearly 20% of veterans do not feel like they are fully transitioned until six years after leaving the military service.   I also believe we must view TAP and transition as vitally important to all volunteer forces.  And an unsuccessful transition can impact public view of how we treat our military members, which can impact our nation's security by the fact that in all voluntary service, people are not encouraged to volunteer.   Clearly there is more work to be done by this committee and by the community to fill the gaps.  In front of us today are innovators in the transition community.  These groups have unique programs and forward-thinking technologies that have helped make thousands of service members transition to veteran status better.   Now, without these organizations, veterans will continue to slip through the cracks and VA will always be playing catch up to get these veterans back in the groove of civilian life.  Under President Trump leadership, I know we are going to put you, the veterans, VA services back at the center of the VA mission.  And I hope to hear from these groups about the broader solution that Congress can take back

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