Three Veterans Bills Signed into Law in 2026: What Veterans Should Know

CCK Law: Our Vital Role in Veterans Law

In January 2026, the White House signed three bills into law that will significantly impact veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). These new laws are the Disabled Veterans Housing Support Act, the FAST VETS Act, and the VA Budget Shortfall Accountability Act.

In this article, you will learn more about each of these laws, including how they may affect veterans’ housing assistance, employment rehabilitation, and VA financial accountability, respectively.

Key takeaways:

• Disabled Veterans Housing Support Act—This law excludes VA disability compensation from income calculations for certain HUD housing programs.
• FAST VETS Act—The FAST VETS Act requires VA to update Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) plans when a veteran’s disability rating changes.
• VA Budget Shortfall Accountability Act—This act directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to audit VA’s 2024–2025 funding shortfalls and perform yearly audits for an additional five years.

What Is the Disabled Veterans Housing Support Act?

The Disabled Veterans Housing Support Act excludes VA service-connected disability compensation from income calculations used by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs.

In effect, this exclusion allows veterans to more easily qualify for certain low-income housing assistance programs administered by HUD, since their disability compensation will no longer be factored in as a part of their income.

What Problem Is the Disabled Veterans Housing Support Act Addressing?

Before this law, veterans with significant service-connected disabilities could often be disqualified from low-income housing assistance due to their VA disability compensation pushing them above the required income thresholds.

For example, a veteran with a 100 percent disability rating and dependents may receive approximately $4,000 per month in VA compensation. Under prior rules, that income could make them ineligible for the very programs designed to assist them and other vulnerable groups.

What Other Requirements Does This Law Have?

The act also requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine how disability compensation is treated across all HUD programs. This is an important step, since similar income-counting issues exist in other housing programs, such as the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).

What Is the FAST VETS Act?

The Focused Assistance and Skills Training for Veterans’ Employment and Transition Success (FAST VETS) Act aims to make the Veterans Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program more efficient and flexible in order to help a greater number of veterans move through the program and into employment.

The act accomplishes this primarily by allowing veterans and VA to more easily update a veteran’s VR&E rehabilitation plan when their health status, disability rating, or career goal changes.

What Problem Is the FAST VETS Act Addressing?

When a veteran’s disability rating increases or their health changes, their vocational goals and VR&E rehabilitation plan often need to change, too.

Before the FAST VETS Act, veterans often faced significant administrative hurdles and wait times in order to make changes to their VR&E rehabilitation plan. Following the passage of the PACT Act, VR&E enrollment also increased dramatically, stretching counselor capacity and further extending wait times.

With the passage of the FAST VETS Act, clearer standards were set for making changes to a rehabilitation plan. It also requires VA to help the veteran redevelop their plan in the event that their health changes or a different vocational path becomes more feasible.

This act is intended to make the VR&E program more efficient and outcome-focused so that more veterans can move through it and achieve their employment goals.

Want to learn more about VA’s VR&E program? Watch the video below, where VA-Accredited Claims Advocates Jacob Nadreau and Brandon Paiva discuss the essentials of the program:

What Is the VA Budget Shortfall Accountability Act?

The VA Budget Shortfall Accountability Act directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to audit the circumstances behind VA’s reported funding shortfalls in 2024–2025, and implement ongoing budget oversight for an additional five years.

What Happened With VA’s Budget in 2024?

In 2024, VA reported a funding shortfall, warning Congress that it might not be able to pay benefits on time without emergency supplemental funding. In response, Congress passed that funding — only for VA to later report a budget surplus, indicating that the emergency funding may have actually been unnecessary and that its initial report was inaccurate. This reversal frustrated legislators on both sides of the aisle.

In March 2025, VA’s Inspector General issued findings identifying accounting and communication issues that contributed to the situation. The VA Budget Shortfall Accountability Act builds on that finding by requiring ongoing budget oversight reporting for five years.

What Will the GAO Audit Cover?

The ongoing GAO audit will examine how VA projects, manages, and communicates its budget needs, with the goal of preventing future shortfalls — or surplus reversals — that could jeopardize timely payments to veterans.

This act is unlikely to directly affect veterans in the short term, since its primary purpose is to add transparency to VA’s financial management going forward.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Disabled Veterans Housing Support Act apply to all HUD programs?

No, it does not. The act only provides disability benefit income exclusion in regard to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.

While the act also requires GAO to study how VA disability compensation is treated across other HUD programs, making changes to those programs would likely require additional legislation to be passed.

What is VR&E, and who is eligible?

Veterans Readiness and Employment (VR&E), also known as Chapter 31, is a VA program that provides job training, education, employment support, and other services to veterans with service-connected disabilities.

To qualify for VR&E, veterans generally must have a service-connected disability rating and an employment handicap.

When will these laws take effect?

All three bills were signed into law in January 2026 and took effect immediately.

However, the specific timelines for implementation — such as when GAO audits begin or when VA must update VR&E plans — may depend on the agencies involved.

Does the VA Budget Shortfall Accountability Act affect benefits payments?

No, the law does not directly change how benefits are paid. Instead, it requires GAO to audit the accounting and communication failures behind VA’s 2024–2025 budget situation and mandates ongoing oversight reporting for five years.

The goal of this law is to prevent future shortfalls that could threaten timely payment of veteran benefits.

How can I find out if my VA disability rating has changed?

Veterans can check their current disability rating by logging into VA.gov or by contacting their VA regional office.

If you believe your rating is incorrect or your condition has worsened, you may have options to appeal. Consider contacting a VA-accredited veterans law attorney for further advice or representation.