Ensuring Benefits for Disabled Veterans Act (S. 3818)

Summary

The Ensuring Benefits for Disabled Veterans Act is a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on February 10, 2026. The main purpose of the bill is to remove a limitation on veterans' ability to receive assistance under both the Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program and the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Key Provisions

• Repeals Subsection (b) of Section 3695 of Title 38, U.S. Code: This section previously placed a limit on the total period of educational assistance that a veteran could receive by combining assistance from the VR&E program and other VA education programs.
• Redesignates Subsection (c) as Subsection (b): This technical change reorganizes the remaining subsections following the repeal of the limitation.

Impact

• Disabled Veterans: The bill would benefit disabled veterans by removing restrictions on their ability to utilize both the VR&E program and VA educational assistance programs, providing them greater flexibility and support for their rehabilitation and education needs.
• Department of Veterans Affairs: The VA would be required to administer the VR&E and education assistance programs without the previous limitation, potentially resulting in increased utilization and costs.

Timeline

• The bill was introduced in the Senate on February 10, 2026 and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs for consideration.

Overall, the Ensuring Benefits for Disabled Veterans Act is aimed at expanding access to VA assistance programs for disabled veterans, removing a restriction that previously limited their ability to combine different forms of education and employment support.