U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) on May 26 sponsored a bipartisan bill that would better inform United States military veterans with disabilities about available education benefits.
“We need to do a better job communicating the opportunities and support available to our veterans after they leave active service,” Sen. Cassidy said. “This bill makes sure our disabled veterans can access the education benefits they earned.”
The Informing Veterans on Education for Transitioning Servicemembers Act of 2022, S. 4319, also known as the Informing VETS Act of 2022, would amend direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to regularly promote the Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) Program by sending a letter to each veteran that explains its educational benefits; and to provide a side-by-side comparison of benefits for the VR&E Program and GI Bill program and their available educational assistance, according to the text of the bill.
The majority of veterans do not know about the VR&E Program, despite knowing about the benefits available to them through the GI Bill, according to a July 2021 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
“This legislation directs the VA to proactively engage with disabled veterans so they know what important educational opportunities they might be eligible for,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), original cosponsor of S. 4319. “I’m proud to join Senator Cassidy in this bipartisan effort to ensure our veterans are fully informed about their hard-earned and essential educational benefits.”
S. 4319, which has been endorsed by AMVETS, is the identical bill to H.R. 5483, which U.S. Reps. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) and Colin Allred (D-TX) introduced in October 2021 in their chamber.