VETS Opportunity Act of 2025
Latest action · Feb 3, 2026 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 21, 2025
- Passed HouseFeb 2, 2026
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Veterans Education and Technical Skills Opportunity Act of 2025 or the VETS Opportunity Act of 2025
This bill addresses the administration of and eligibility for certain Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) educational assistance benefits and programs.
The bill modifies the process for repaying service members and veterans who paid to keep benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill, but later chose to utilize Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. Specifically, the bill requires that the VA issue a repayment within 60 days of an individual exhausting their eligibility for Post-9/11 benefits, regardless of their housing stipend eligibility.
The bill also modifies which independent study programs are covered under veterans’ educational assistance benefits. The bill requires independent study programs that lead to a certificate that reflects graduation from a course of study to include regular and substantive interaction between students and instructors. Additionally, the bill allows such independent study programs to be offered by any institutions of higher education, including for-profit institutions, that are approved to participate in the Department of Education’s financial assistance programs.
Upon receiving orders for active service, inactive duty training, or state active duty, the bill authorizes a member of the Armed Forces or reserves to enter into an agreement with their educational institution to complete a course of education to the satisfaction of the institution if they have completed at least half of the course.
The bill extends through March 31, 2033, a pension cap for veterans who are being furnished VA domiciliary care.
Cosponsors 10
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 21, 2025 to Sep 2, 2025; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NC | Donald G. Davis | Original | Feb 21, 2025 |
| D-CO | Joe Neguse | Feb 24, 2025 | |
| R-NC | Richard Hudson | Feb 24, 2025 | |
| R-WI | Derrick Van Orden | Feb 25, 2025 | |
| D-FL | Darren Soto | Feb 26, 2025 | |
| R-NC | Addison P. McDowell | Feb 27, 2025 | |
| R-NC | Gregory F. Murphy | Mar 14, 2025 | |
| R-VA | Robert J. Wittman | Apr 7, 2025 | |
| D-VA | Eugene Simon Vindman | Jul 14, 2025 | |
| D-NM | Gabe Vasquez | Sep 2, 2025 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Feb 21, 2025Markup May 6, 2025Reported Sep 26, 2025 |
| Economic Opportunity Subcommittee | Referred Mar 10, 2025Hearings Mar 11, 2025Markup Apr 9, 2025Reported Apr 9, 2025 | |
| Senate | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Feb 3, 2026 |
Actions 15
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 3, 2026Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- Feb 2, 2026Mr. Bost moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Feb 2, 2026Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H1933-1935)
- Feb 2, 2026DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1458.
- Feb 2, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H1933-1934)
- Feb 2, 2026Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Sep 26, 2025Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 119-308.
- Sep 26, 2025Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 262.
- May 6, 2025Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Apr 9, 2025Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Apr 9, 2025Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
- Mar 11, 2025Subcommittee Hearings Held
- Mar 10, 2025Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.
- Feb 21, 2025Introduced in House
- Feb 21, 2025Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H1933–H1935Text printed H1933 | Donald G. Davis D-NC, Juan Ciscomani R-AZ, Mark Takano D-CA, Mike Bost R-IL | Feb 2, 2026 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- May 30, 2025H.R. 1458, Veterans Education and Technical Skills Opportunity Act of 2025As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 6, 2025
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 35, February 21, 2025, page H729.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 119-36 | STRENGTHENING THE WORKFORCE OF VETERANS IN AMERICA106 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Dec 2, 2025 |
| Serial No. 119-9 | LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON . H.R. 913; H.R. 980; H.R. 1364; H.R. 1458; H.R. 1960; H.R. 1527; H.R. 1793; H.R. 1872; H.R. 1815; H.R. 1814; H.R. 1957; H.R. 1423; AND H.R. 1803126 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Mar 11, 2025 |
Related bills 4
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 972 | Fairness in Veterans' Education Act of 2025 | Related bill | Dec 9, 2025 |
| S 1308 | VETS Opportunity Act of 2025 | Related bill | Apr 4, 2025 |
| S 4744 | Take Care of America’s Veterans Act | Related bill | Jun 11, 2026 |
| HR 9237 | Take Care of America’s Veterans Act | Related bill | Jul 16, 2026 |
Titles 10
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the criteria for approval of certain independent study programs for purposes of the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- VETS Opportunity Act of 2025
- Veterans Education and Technical Skills Opportunity Act of 2025
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- VETS Opportunity Act of 2025
- Veterans Education and Technical Skills Opportunity Act of 2025
- Short Title(s) as Passed House
- VETS Opportunity Act of 2025
- Veterans Education and Technical Skills Opportunity Act of 2025
- Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text
- VETS Opportunity Act of 2025
- Veterans Education and Technical Skills Opportunity Act of 2025
- Official Title from EH (Engrossed in House) bill text
- To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the criteria for approval of certain independent study programs for purposes of the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 3, 2026Referred in Senate
- Feb 2, 2026Engrossed in House
- Sep 26, 2025Reported in House
- Feb 21, 2025Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
