By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-08 22:31:36 | Updated at 2026-09-08 23:22:27
51 minutes ago
President Donald Trump on Sept. 8 signed an executive order to accelerate access to benefits and employment opportunities for U.S. military veterans.
The executive order aims to address delays caused by extended transition timelines for benefit processing, healthcare coverage, educational opportunities, and job training and placement for U.S. military veterans. This comes after the Trump administration announced significant reductions in the backlog of veterans waiting for benefits in July.
The transfer of records for service members transitioning into civilian life can take an average of 90 to 180 days, the White House said in a fact sheet released alongside Tuesday’s executive order.
The White House added that service members are often left without guidance or may be confused regarding the process of applying for benefits and accessing employment opportunity programs under the current framework of the Transition Assistance Program.
Tuesday’s executive order directed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins to take steps to modernize data management and data sharing between the War Department and Veterans Affairs to speed up access to benefits for U.S. veterans.
Hegseth and Collins were ordered to update information technology systems to ensure that all military personnel files and service treatment records were shared between the two departments. The records would be shared from the start of an individual’s military service, throughout their military service, and for the duration they receive Veterans Affairs benefits.
Under the president’s order, the War Department and Veterans Affairs will coordinate with the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that both current and future information technology contracts enable the electronic sharing of such files with privacy protections in place.
The order also directed the departments to develop and deploy new digital tools, including artificial intelligence, to streamline the process of service members applying for and accessing benefits.
In addition to requiring the War Department and Veterans Affairs to share military personnel and medical records, Trump also ordered Hegseth, Collins, and acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling to make changes to the military’s Transition Assistance Program.
The U.S. military’s Transition Assistance Program helps service members as they transition into civilian life by providing them with information, training, services, and assistance in finding employment opportunities.
Trump directed the departments to improve career guidance, including the job and training opportunities that are provided for service members leaving active-duty service.
The order will require the federal government to connect transitioning service members with a veterans specialist from federal, state, or local governments who can help them facilitate benefit applications.
“President Trump is expediting veterans’ access to benefits by removing the delays that hinder service members & vets from receiving the support they deserve,” the White House wrote in a statement on X.
“Millions of brave men & women have served in our Armed Forces with courage & sacrifice, guaranteeing our freedom—they deserve the best services in return.”
In July, Veterans Affairs announced that the backlog of veterans waiting for benefits had dropped below 70,000 for the first time since 2020. The department said it had reduced that backlog by more than 74 percent since the start of Trump’s second administration, after it had increased by 24 percent under the previous administration.
“This is what putting Veterans first looks like,” Collins said at the time. “We are incredibly proud of these historic numbers, which mean faster decisions, better service, and more benefits for the men and women who have worn the uniform.”
