# 119-hr-980: Veterans Readiness and Employment Improvement Act of 2025

119-hr-980, Veterans Readiness and Employment Improvement Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Van Orden, Derrick [R-WI-3] (R-WI); status passed_house; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-20).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-980
- As of: 2026-07-20
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-980
- Congress: 119
- Title: Veterans Readiness and Employment Improvement Act of 2025
- Status: passed_house
- Introduced: 2025-02-05
- Sponsor: Rep. Van Orden, Derrick [R-WI-3] (R-WI)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-20

## Summary

**Expands vocational rehabilitation to allow non-degree flight training for certain veterans with service-connected disabilities.** It also changes who must provide on-campus counseling, requires new VA outreach contacts, speeds extension decisions, and moves a pension-related payment deadline to July 31, 2033. - Would let the Secretary approve non-degree flight training as part of vocational rehabilitation for eligible veterans. This applies to rehabilitation programs approved on or after August 1, 2026. - Removes the statutory requirement that certain VA employees must provide on-campus educational and vocational counseling, which could change who delivers those services. - Requires a dedicated Education Call Center telephone line and that each VA regional office post a contact name, phone number, and email. It also requires the Secretary to approve or deny extension requests within 30 days and to report annually for 5 years on extension request totals and outcomes.

## Votes

| Date | Chamber | Question | Result | Yea | Nay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-02T00:00:00.000Z | house | On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended | Passed | 402 | 2 |

## Provisions PRIA read

- Pension limit date moved to July 2033: benefit, low. If enacted, this bill would move the date that triggers certain VA pension payment limits from January 31, 2033 to July 31, 2033. If your VA pension is subject to that rule, the limit would be delayed by six months.
- Faster VA rehab decisions and contacts: benefit, low. If enacted, this bill would require the VA to approve or deny your vocational rehab extension request within 30 days of when you apply. The VA would set up a dedicated phone number in the Education Call Center for these services. Each VA regional office would post a contact name, phone, and email o…
- Flight training in VA rehab plans: benefit, low. If enacted, this bill would let the VA approve non‑degree flight training as part of a veteran’s vocational rehabilitation plan. This would apply only to rehab programs approved on or after August 1, 2026. The training could be included even if the course does not provide college credit toward a st…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-6976: Duty Status Reform Act
- 119-hr-2570: Maximum Pressure Act
- 119-hr-4317: PBM Reform Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-980 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/980)

## Related
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-6976: Duty Status Reform Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6976)
- [119-hr-2570: Maximum Pressure Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2570)
- [119-hr-4317: PBM Reform Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4317)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-980 (as of 2026-07-20).