Accelerating Access to Veterans' Benefits and Employment Opportunities

Millions of brave men and women have served in our Armed Forces with courage, commitment, and sacrifice, guaranteeing our security, prosperity, and freedom. These veterans deserve the best available services in return. However, outdated and unwieldy records management and data systems and procedures hinder military personnel file and medical record sharing between the Department of War and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which complicates the effective transition of military personnel from active-duty service to civilian life. Such complications result in delays in healthcare coverage, benefits processing and payment, education opportunities, and job training and placement for our Nation's veterans. This order rectifies this problem and ensures that veterans promptly receive the benefits and services to which they are entitled.

(a) The Secretary of War and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall: (i) within 180 days of the date of this order, establish updated information technology systems and policy guidance and memoranda to ensure, between the Department of War and the Department of Veterans Affairs, the permanent, prospective, and ongoing sharing of all Official Military Personnel Files and Service Treatment Records from the moment an individual enters into military service until such time as he or she no longer requires benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, consistent with 38 U.S.C. 5103A, 38 U.S.C. 8111, 38 U.S.C. 7332(e), 5 U.S.C. 552a, and any other applicable statutes; (ii) within 180 days of the date of this order, create and deploy new digital tools using artificial intelligence and other emerging capabilities to streamline veterans' applications for and access to benefits earned through military service in a comprehensive single source that includes job training and opportunities offered by the Department of Labor; and (iii) within 30 days of the date of this order and at all times thereafter, ensure all current service member Official Military Personnel Files, health records, and Service Treatment Records are shared by the Department of War, or any service component thereof, with the Department of Veterans Affairs immediately when a service member is discharged or released from the Armed Forces. (b) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of War and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), including HHS's Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), including OMB's Federal Chief Information Officer and the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, shall review and modify, to the extent consistent with law and Federal procurement policy, any existing contracts for information technology systems and software relevant to the purpose of this order, including by adding a requirement that such systems be interoperable with any other military personnel records system, health records system, or Service Treatment Records system operated by the Department of War and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and shall ensure that all future contracts for medical and personnel information technology systems and software include this requirement.

Within 180 days of the date of this order and at all times thereafter as applicable, the Secretary of War, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall update the Transition Assistance Program and other workforce programs authorized at 10 U.S.C. 1142, 10 U.S.C. 1143, 10 U.S.C. 1144, and 38 U.S.C. 4113 to ensure every service member leaving active military service is, to the maximum extent practicable and applicable: (a) either: (i) connected to specific, open jobs in fields related to their skills, interests, and the specific goals outlined in America's Talent Strategy or the Department of War's Project Patriot Pipeline, prior to separation from active service; or (ii) enrolled, at his or her discretion, in career and technical education, an eligible Department of Labor-funded employment or training program, or a registered apprenticeship, as applicable, for which he or she has priority under 38 U.S.C. 4215; and (b) connected with appropriate veterans' representatives acting on behalf of a Federal, State, or local government to facilitate their application for healthcare, disability, home loan, job placement, or education benefits.

(a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. (d) The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the Department of Veterans Affairs.