Consolidating Veteran Employment Services Act

Summary#

This bill would move several veterans' employment programs from the Department of Labor to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) effective October 1, 2027. Programs named for transfer include job counseling, training, and placement services for veterans; certain Federal Government employment services; administration of employment and reemployment rights of members of the uniformed services; and homeless veterans reintegration programs. The bill transfers personnel, assets, and liabilities for those programs to the VA, and lets the VA enter memorandums of agreement with the Labor Department and States to carry out the change. It also requires the President to request funding for these functions in the VA budget starting in fiscal year 2028.

The bill creates a new Deputy Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition at the VA to oversee these programs. It consolidates two existing program roles into a single position called "veteran employment specialists," sets hiring preferences and reporting rules for those specialists, and requires training for them. The bill makes many technical changes to U.S. Code to update references to the VA and the new Deputy Under Secretary. It preserves existing legal documents, proceedings, and suits related to transferred functions.

The VA and the Labor Department must jointly study how to implement the transfers and report to the Veterans' Affairs committees within one year. That study must include a detailed plan, timeline, cost estimate, staffing analysis, training plan, and other implementation details.

What it means for you#

• If you use or work in the listed veterans' employment services, those programs would be run by the VA instead of the Labor Department starting October 1, 2027.
• States would be asked to employ and assign veteran employment specialists, and the VA would approve state arrangements.
• The bill requires training for the consolidated veteran employment specialists and sets hiring preferences favoring qualifying veterans, including disabled veterans.
• Existing applications, benefits, contracts, and court cases involving the transferred functions would continue and would not be voided by the transfer.
• The VA and Labor Department must produce a detailed study and report within one year about how to carry out the transfer.

Expenses#

• The bill requires the President to include funding for the transferred functions in the VA budget request for fiscal year 2028 and thereafter.
• The joint study required by the bill must include a detailed estimate of the cost to the Federal Government to implement the transfer and any costs or savings from the VA carrying out the transferred functions.
• Existing appropriations and funds for the terminated functions remain available for necessary close-out expenses.
• No publicly available information on a total dollar cost is provided in the bill text.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.