HR 3387119th CongressIntroduced

ETS Act

Introduced: May 14, 2025

Defense & National SecurityLabor & EmploymentVeterans Affairs

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The Enhancing the Transitioning Servicemember's Experience Act (ETS Act) is a broad package aimed at strengthening the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) and related support for service members about to leave the military and for veterans who have recently separated. Key changes include extending pre-separation preparation, standardizing TAP paths across the armed forces, expanding eligibility for certain job counseling programs to include those entering TAP, adding stronger interagency coordination with the VA and the Labor Department, piloting a spouses’ TAP program, and extending post-separation health care and related services. The bill also adds oversight provisions (audits, annual reports), studies of SkillBridge programs, and new public-facing tools (a VA website search for veteran programs) to help navigate benefits. Overall, the ETS Act seeks to improve preparation, coordination, and access to benefits and services to smooth the civilian transition for service members and their families.

Key Points

1Transition Assistance Program (TAP) improvements
2- Includes all special operations forces in TAP and requires preseparation counseling with minimum timeframes: at least 3 days if bound for full-time work or education after separation; otherwise at least 5 days.
3- Counseling must be in person when possible, may be remote if necessary, and must not be provided by someone whose job is to retain personnel.
4- Expanded eligibility window for preseparation counseling from 365 to 540 days; allows certain waivers for reserve component members; space-available counseling for those who reenlist.
5- Repeats attendance allowed (second counseling session on a space-available basis) and expands spouse participation in TAP discussions.
6- Strengthened financial planning counseling with a minimum duration (at least one hour) and individualized assistance, covering debts and investing.
7- Standardized TAP “pathways” across the services, with a record of the assigned pathway in the service member’s record; creates a Reserve-component pathway specifically.
8- Enhanced interagency coordination requiring timely sharing of contact information and other data with the VA and the Labor Department, plus annual joint reporting on failures to follow through with referrals.
9- Authority for contracting with outside entities to provide preseparation counseling, with efforts to centralize on a common provider when possible.
10- Annual “surprise” audits of preseparation counseling by VA and Labor staff or contractors, with reporting duties.
11Spouse-focused and family support
12- Pilot program for military spouses to receive TAP-related preseparation counseling, including quarterly sessions at multiple installations (including at least one non-contiguous location), with times to accommodate evenings/weekends and content from multiple agencies.
13Data, tracking, and transparency
14- Annual and periodic reports on TAP participation, curricula, and timeliness, including installation-by-installation data on how quickly members begin TAP counseling, referrals to other agencies, and unemployment benefits.
15- Establishment of a tracking system to measure timeliness of TAP delivery and identify installations with lower compliance rates.
16Health care during transition
17- Extends Transitional Health Care for recently separated members from 180 to 270 days.
18SkillBridge study
19- GAO study of SkillBridge programs to compare eligibility criteria, best practices, and feasibility of uniform programs across the Services; report due within two years.
20Public-facing information and eligibility expansions
21- VA website: new publicly accessible site to help veterans or dependents locate programs by ZIP code for recently separated veterans and their families.
22- Expands eligibility for certain job counseling and placement programs to include members eligible for TAP.
23TAP interaction with other programs
24- Clarifies how the Solid Start program interacts with TAP and updates TAP materials, assessments, and definitions to improve alignment with civilian transition resources and veteran services.
25Administrative and definitional updates
26- Various cross-agency coordination provisions and updated definitions to ensure consistent terminology across TAP, VA, and Labor programs.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Service members nearing separation (including Special Operations Forces and Reserve components) and recently separated veterans, along with their spouses and families.Secondary group/area affected- Department of Defense (DoD) civilian staff administering TAP; Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); Department of Labor; state veterans agencies.Additional impacts- Employers and potential employers through better-prepared job seekers; training and education providers contracted to deliver TAP components; military installations implementing standardized pathways and tracking.- Oversight and accountability mechanisms (audits, annual reports) that could influence funding and program adjustments.- Public access to information about veteran and family programs via a VA website, and standardized interagency referrals to unemployment and benefits programs.

Generated by gpt-5-nano on Oct 3, 2025