Congress demands data on why veterans can't use military skills in civilian jobs
H.R. 3611 — Veterans Skilled Trades Transition Act · Filed by Norma Torres (D-CA) · Introduced May 23, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill directs the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress within 180 days on how many veterans successfully transfer military-acquired credentials (like airplane mechanic certifications) to civilian jobs, which certifications are most useful, and what barriers prevent the transfer. It builds on a 2018 DoD report and involves consultation with the Veterans Affairs and Labor departments.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a directive to collect and report data on veteran credential transfer outcomes. It is a straightforward information-gathering mandate with no regulatory, appropriations, or substantive policy change.
What the text implies
- Report findings may inform future legislation to streamline state licensing reciprocity for military credentials, potentially reducing barriers to veteran employment in skilled trades.
- Data on credential utilization gaps may expose state-level licensing requirements that unnecessarily exclude veterans, creating political pressure for regulatory reform.
- The report's focus on 'barriers' suggests Congress is positioning itself to address occupational licensing restrictions that currently block veteran credential transfer.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Veterans and the public benefit from better data on credential recognition and employment barriers, enabling more informed policy to improve veteran workforce transitions. The bill creates no new costs or restrictions; it is purely investigative and accountability-focused.
Named in the bill
Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Labor, State licensing authorities, Veterans
Where it stands
- May 23, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- May 23, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and House Committee on Armed Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $310,451 in lobbying spend. A filing names 170 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Norma Torres, the sponsor, reported $430,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Disabled American Veterans — $310,451 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 21, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,835 characters) on Aug 18, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 21, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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