# Veterans Serving Veterans Act of 2021

This bill creates a system to help the Department of Veterans Affairs hire military members who are about to leave the armed forces. The core idea is straightforward: when service members are getting ready to transition to civilian life, the VA can offer them jobs that match their military training and experience, making the hiring process faster and easier for both sides.

The bill establishes a searchable database that lists open jobs at VA facilities alongside information about military members who are preparing to leave active duty. The database includes details about each service member's military skills, their expected discharge date, and contact information. When a VA job opening matches a service member's military background, the VA can reach out to them directly before they're even discharged. This is designed to help veterans find meaningful work quickly while helping the VA fill positions with people who already have relevant training. To sweeten the deal, the bill allows the VA to offer relocation bonuses to veterans who take these jobs, similar to bonuses the federal government already uses to attract other employees.

The bill also creates a training program specifically for veterans who worked as basic health care technicians in the military. The VA will set up training centers at selected medical facilities to certify these veterans as intermediate care technicians, which is a step up in responsibility and pay. This gives veterans a clear pathway to advance their careers while the VA builds its workforce in healthcare roles where it has ongoing needs.

Importantly, the bill doesn't ask Congress for any new money to make this happen. Instead, it requires the VA to use existing funding to set up the database and training program. The VA has six months to submit a detailed plan to Congress explaining how and when they'll implement these changes.

Veterans Serving Veterans Act of 2021

González-Colón, Jenniffer

Veterans Serving Veterans Act of 2021 This bill updates the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) current recruiting database by requiring the VA to maintain a single searchable database to be known as the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs Recruitment Database. With respect to vacant positions for critical jobs or mental health professionals, the database must list (1) the military occupational specialty or skill that corresponds to the position, and (2) each qualified member of the Armed Forces who may be recruited to fill the position before such qualified member has been discharged and released from active duty. Qualified members of the Armed Forces are those service members who (1) are being separated or recently separated from active duty, (2) elect to be listed in the database, and (3) have been determined by the VA to have a military occupational specialty. The database must list the following for each qualified member of the Armed Forces: name, contact information, expected discharge date, and military occupational specialty. The VA must implement direct hiring and appointment procedures for vacant database positions and may authorize relocation bonuses. The bill also requires the VA to train and certify veterans who served as basic health care technicians in the Armed Forces to work as VA intermediate care technicians.