ETS Act
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Enhancing the Transitioning Servicemember’s Experience Act or the ETS Act
This bill expands the provision of pre-separation counseling under the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) and other services for members of the Armed Forces who are transitioning to civilian life.
Regarding pre-separation counseling under TAP, the bill
sets a minimum duration of counseling depending on a member's post-service employment, education, or training status;
prohibits individuals who are responsible for the retention of members in any of the Armed Forces from providing counseling;
removes restrictions on the types of counseling for which a spouse of a member may be included;
expands financial planning counseling to include information about debt and investing;
requires that financial planning counseling be provided by an individual who has significant experience in financial planning; and
requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Labor to audit counseling annually.
If a military department determines an individual is at risk for a difficult transition to civilian life, that department must provide the individual's information to the VA and Labor. The VA and Labor must timely contact the individual, as specified.
Additionally, the bill extends transitional health care for members separating from service to 270 days (currently 180).
The bill also
expands eligibility for certain Labor job counseling, training, and placement services for veterans to members of the Armed Forces who are eligible for TAP; and
expands the Solid Start program by requiring the VA to provide TAP materials to veterans and analyze data assessing the effectiveness of TAP.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 14, 2025. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 11, 2025: Subcommittee Hearings Held
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) introduced it on May 14, 2025. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 14, 2025, 484 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 456 days ago, on June 11, 2025.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers