A Department of Veterans Affairs high-tech job training program that has proven popular among veterans but was given mixed marks by a government watchdog is a step closer to lasting beyond this year.
The House on Wednesday evening voted 409-9 to approve a bill that would extend the Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses, or VET-TEC, program for another five years. The “no” votes came from eight Republicans and one Democrat.
“The authorization of the VET-TEC training program will empower a new wave of veterans when transitioning from their time in uniform to the workforce,” Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement after the House vote.
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The VET-TEC program was approved by Congress in 2017 as a pilot program that is set to expire at the end of the year. The program, which was first proposed in a bill sponsored by now-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., gives GI Bill-like benefits to veterans pursuing training in computer software, programming, data processing and other high-tech fields.
While VET-TEC offers similar benefits to the GI Bill and veterans have to be eligible for the GI Bill to participate in the program, going through the training does not count against a veteran’s GI Bill entitlement.
By the VA’s estimate, about 12,000 veterans have gone through the program, with about 8,000 finding full-time…
