Pappas’s Bipartisan Veteran Bill Signed into Law

This week a bipartisan veteran bill introduced by Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), Ranking Member of the Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs (DAMA), was signed into law, the Veteran Improvement Commercial Driver License Act of 2023.

“Veterans seeking to use their GI benefits to pursue career opportunities after their service is over should not have to wait. That’s why I’m pleased to share that my bipartisan bill to remove unnecessary delays for veterans seeking to acquire a commercial driving license was signed into law,” said Congressman Pappas. “This simple, commonsense fix will increase opportunities for veterans, help address the current truck driver shortage, and support our supply chains and economy. I will continue working across the aisle to pass critical legislation that ensures the needs of our veterans and their families are being met.”

TheVeteran Improvement Commercial Driver License Act of 2023 will eliminate barriers for veterans accessing commercial driver-education programs using their GI Bill benefits. Specifically, it will exempt new branches of established commercial driver-training facilities from the statutory two-year waiting period to accept GI Bill benefits if the primary training facility has already been approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and state approving agencies to receive those benefits. Reps. Pappas and Edwards introduced this legislation, and it passed the House in September.