Congress Makes Major Changes to Post-9/11 GI Bill
8/11/2017
On the heels of legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate recently passed an identical version of the Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017.
The legislation was widely supported by both student veterans’ groups and higher education associations. The legislation is now awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature to formalize it into law.
This update to existing post-9/11 GI Bill regulations would lift the current 15-year time limit for veterans to use their benefits and offers an additional year of benefit eligibility to students pursuing STEM degrees. The legislation also expands benefit eligibility to members of the National Guard and grants full eligibility to Purple Heart recipients, regardless of their time served. Further, the Department of Veterans Affairs reporting fee—a per-veteran payment issued to schools to help cover GI Bill certifications—will increase to $16 per student.
The bill also addresses student veterans impacted by the recent closing of multiple for-profit institutions by restoring all benefits students may have used to earn credits at now-closed institutions.
