U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) last week unveiled bipartisan legislation that would rectify how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reimburses America’s student veterans for housing benefits under the GI Bill.
The Forever GI Bill Housing Payment Fulfillment Act of 2018, H.R. 7273, which Rep. Barr sponsored on Dec. 12, would authorize the U.S. VA Secretary to establish a team to address the difficulties the VA has had in making federally required educational housing benefit payments to military veterans attending institutions of higher education, according to the text of the bill.
H.R. 7273 also would ensure the VA properly and retroactively pays student veterans their educational housing benefits, the congressman said in a statement.
“The Forever GI Bill provides housing benefits to thousands of Kentucky’s active military, reservists and veterans as they pursue higher education,” said Rep. Barr. “The VA must be held accountable for properly implementing the law and administering the Forever GI Bill in accordance with congressional intent. Our nation’s veterans deserve better than to be faced with inaccurate, late payments.”
Rep. Barr said the introduction of H.R. 7273 is in response to the VA’s failure to comply with the reimbursement rates set by the Forever GI Bill, officially known as the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017.
The law made certain improvements to the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance program for veterans, including those related to how the VA Secretary calculates the amount of payments for monthly housing stipends under that program, according to the text of H.R. 7273 in the congressional record.
Specifically, Section 107 of the law requires the VA Secretary to calculate payment amounts for monthly housing stipends based on the location of the campus of the institution of higher learning where the individual attends classes, a change from the previous direction to make the calculation based on the location of the institution of higher learning, according to H.R. 7273.
However, the VA’s difficulties to fulfill the law’s requirements, reportedly the result of an information technology problem, have hindered the department’s ability to correctly disburse educational benefits to the student veterans, according to Rep. Barr’s statement.
In fact, VA officials have said that the department won’t be able to determine the correct payment amounts until Dec. 1, 2019, adding that “outdated information technology systems have stymied efforts to update necessary information that enable proper housing payments as required by the provisions of law,” according to the bill.
“This legislation will remedy an undue hardship placed on veteran students and provide oversight and accountability to ensure these payments are made in a timely manner,” said Rep. Barr. “I look forward to the swift passage of this legislation to provide relief and certainty to our veterans.”
If enacted, H.R. 7273 would establish a team that would have 90 days from enactment of the measure to come up with a plan on correcting the VA’s problems in this instance. The team, according to the text of the bill, would present its plan to Congress within that time frame.
H.R. 7273, which is cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), has been referred for consideration to the U.S. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.