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GAO-23-106191 1 (2023-09-28)

handle is hein.gao/gaopfq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 




        G             U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

441 G St. N.W.
Washington, DC  20548

September  28, 2023

The Honorable  Jon Tester
Chairman
The Honorable  Jerry Moran
Ranking  Member
Committee  on Veterans' Affairs
United States Senate

The Honorable  Mike Bost
Chairman
The Honorable  Mark Takano
Ranking  Member
Committee  on Veterans' Affairs
House  of Representatives


VETERANS EMPLOYMENT: Identifying Lessons Learned from Rapid Retraining Program
Could  Benefit Future Efforts

In 2020, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the veteran unemployment rate rose to
6.5 percent. The American Rescue  Plan Act of 2021 directed the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
to carry out the Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program (VRRAP) for eligible veterans
who  lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.1 The law provided the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) $386 million to carry out the program in consultation with the Department of Labor
(DOL). VRRAP   included a housing stipend and payments for eligible veterans to cover up to 12
months  of tuition and fees while they are pursuing an approved education program for high-
demand  occupations. As modified by the Training in High-demand Roles to Improve Veteran
Employment  Act (THRIVE  Act), VRRAP  was  open to new enrollments until December 10,
2022.2

To be eligible for VRRAP, a veteran needed to be between 22 and 66 years old, unemployed
due to the pandemic, and ineligible for or not receiving compensation from certain state and
federal benefits programs, among other requirements.3 Veterans must have begun their


1Pub. L. No. 117-2, § 8006, 135 Stat. 4, 113-116 (2021).

2The THRIVE Act also directed VA to survey participants, notify participants of employment services, and coordinate
with nonprofit organizations on veteran employment, among other changes. Pub. L. No. 117-16, § 2, 135 Stat. 280,
280-82 (2021).

3Eligibility requirements for VRRAP included that participants not be eligible for certain other veterans' educational
benefits or Veteran Readiness and Employment, not be enrolled in federal or state jobs programs, not be receiving
unemployment compensation, and not be receiving compensation for service-connected disabilities rated totally
disabling by reason of unemployability.


GAO-23-106191: VA Rapid Retraining Program


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