I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 356 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and publish an action 
plan for improving the vocational rehabilitation services and assistance 
provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 14, 2015 
Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York (for himself, Mr. TAKANO, and 
Mr. MULLIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and 
publish an action plan for improving the vocational reha-
bilitation services and assistance provided by the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wounded Warrior Em-
ployment Improvement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) Despite an improving economy, a recent 
study indicates that among veterans with service- 
connected disabilities who served in the Armed 
Forces after September 11, 2001 (hereinafter re-
ferred to as ‘‘wounded warriors’’) the unemployment 
rate is nearly 17.8 percent. 
(2) Wounded warriors should receive the tools, 
skills, education, resources, and support needed to 
find work and thrive economically. 
(3) Designed to provide the expert counseling 
and other services and supports vital to achieving 
economic empowerment, the vocational rehabilitation 
and employment program of the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs should be the premier program assist-
ing wounded warriors to realize their economic goals. 
(4) Only 20 percent of wounded warriors pur-
suing an education in 2013 chose to pursue voca-
tional rehabilitation, while 54 percent chose to use 
their entitlement to educational assistance under the 
Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs, thereby foregoing 
counseling and other supports. 
(5) Wounded warriors who elect to pursue an 
education through the Post-9/11 Educational Assist-
ance Program rather than vocational rehabilitation 
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and education report choosing the such program be-
cause of its relatively easier, more expeditious appli-
cation process, and the far greater freedom it af-
fords the veteran to pursue his or her career or edu-
cational goals. 
(6) The Department of Veterans Affairs con-
tinues to face challenges with the program’s work-
load management, particularly with staff and re-
source allocation models, decentralized program ad-
ministration, and staff training, resulting in some 
regional offices struggling with average caseloads as 
high as 175 per counselor, all of which are affecting 
the delivery and quality of services to veterans, ac-
cording to the Government Accountability Office. 
SEC. 3. VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AND EDUCATION 
ACTION PLAN. 
Not later than 270 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
develop and publish an action plan for improving the serv-
ices and assistance provided under chapter 31 of title 38, 
United States Code. Such plan shall include each of the 
following: 
(1) A comprehensive analysis of, and rec-
ommendations and a proposed implementation plan 
for remedying workload management challenges at 
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regional offices of the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs, including steps to reduce counselor caseloads 
of veterans participating in a rehabilitation program 
under such chapter, particularly for counselors who 
are assisting veterans with traumatic brain injury 
and post-traumatic stress disorder and counselors 
with educational and vocational counseling work-
loads. 
(2) A comprehensive analysis of the reasons for 
the disproportionately low percentage of veterans 
with service-connected disabilities who served in the 
Armed Forces after September 11, 2001, who opt to 
participate in a rehabilitation program under such 
chapter relative to the percentage of such veterans 
who use their entitlement to educational assistance 
under chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code, in-
cluding an analysis of barriers to timely enrollment 
in rehabilitation programs under chapter 31 of such 
title and of any barriers to a veteran enrolling in the 
program of that veteran’s choice. 
(3) Recommendations and a proposed imple-
mentation plan for encouraging more veterans with 
service-connected disabilities who served in the 
Armed Forces after September 11, 2001, to partici-
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pate in rehabilitation programs under chapter 31 of 
such title. 
(4) A national staff training program for voca-
tional rehabilitation counselors of the Department 
that includes the provision of— 
(A) training to assist counselors in under-
standing the very profound disorientation expe-
rienced by warriors whose lives and life-plans 
have been upended and out of their control be-
cause of their injury; 
(B) training to assist counselors in work-
ing in partnership with veterans on individual 
rehabilitation plans; and 
(C) training on post-traumatic stress dis-
order and other mental health conditions and 
on moderate to severe traumatic brain injury 
that is designed to improve the ability of such 
counselors to assist veterans with these condi-
tions, including by providing information on the 
broad spectrum of such conditions and the ef-
fect of such conditions on an individual’s abili-
ties and functional limitations. 
Æ 
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