Congress in December approved a sweeping package of veteran-related legislation, H.R. 7105, the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act, reported The Military Times. The measure includes a modified version of the Protect the GI Bill Act, H.R. 4625, legislation designed to protect student veterans and help ensure that they can use their GI Bill benefits to complete a quality postsecondary education.
AACRAO, along with the broader higher education community, issued concerns with parts of the original version of the legislation and some improvements were made in response, such as removing language that would require monthly certification of every student veteran. However, other concerns remain.
Ahead of consideration of the updated legislation, AACRAO joined 14 higher education groups in letters to House and Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs leaders regarding the revised Protect the GI Bill Act. The letters express support for the broader objective of the legislation to "provide important protections for student veterans and for taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud, and abuse," as well as the important improvements and clarifications included in the updated language. However, the groups noted some concerns regarding several provisions that could create unintended consequences for veterans and institutions.
In particular, the bill still includes language that would make colleges and universities responsible for repaying the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the amount of overpayments of tuition and fees that result from changes to a veteran's enrollment status. Currently, when a veteran drops a class or withdraws from a program, the VA treats that as a debt owed by the veteran back to the institution. Under the bill, institutions are responsible for paying back this debt, effectively putting colleges and universities in the unreasonable position of becoming the VA's debt collector. Additionally, the change could also prevent student veterans with an outstanding debt to the institution from re-enrolling or from obtaining a transcript to continue at another institution, which may end the veteran's pursuit of higher education.
Related Link
The Military Times
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/12/16/congress-finalizes-sweeping-veterans-policy-bill-with-new-protections-for-women-students/