aacrao-logo_transparent

Veterans & Service Members

AACRAO recognizes and honors the sacrifices these men and women have made and its members are proud to assist them and meet their educational needs. Veterans and students on active military duty and their families face special circumstances and challenges.

Changes in federal statute and executive actions have greatly promoted the expansion of services toward veterans and their families. Since the Post-9/11 GI Bill was passed in 2009, close to 1 million veterans, service members, and eligible dependents have taken advantage of the educational benefits available to them. With the passage of more recent legislation, such as the Forever GI Bill in 2017 and the Isakson Roe and THRIVE Acts in 2021, there will be significant changes to military education benefits over the coming years.

Capitol

Latest Actions

AACRAO recently hosted a webinar to discuss the implementation of veteran legislation passed in December 2020, also known as the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act. This law will have a transformative effect on the mission of Education Service to provide ready access to, and timely and accurate delivery of, education benefits to Veterans, Service members, and their families, as well as further enable the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to empower GI Bill beneficiaries to achieve their vocational and career goals.

Other recent legislation introduced in both the House and Senate include important provisions to help ensure veterans can continue to receive their education benefits as well as technical corrections to the legislation passed last year.

UPDATES

Dept. of VA on Track to Launch GI Bill Housing Allowance Updates

Nov 20, 2019, 17:06 PM
legacy id :
Summary : Agency officials testify that they have fixed the computer processing issues and will begin to implement the Forever GI Bill monthly housing allowance changes on December 1.
Url :

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials recently told Congress that the agency is on track to launch Forever GI Bill housing allowance updates for the 2020 spring semester, reported Military.com. The monthly housing allowance change was originally scheduled to roll out on August 1, 2018, but a series of information technology-related issues led to a backlog in claims processing throughout the fall semester that resulted in housing payment delays and improper payments.

VA officials testified to Congress on Tuesday that they have fixed the computer processing issues and will begin implementing the provision on December 1, 2019.

Moving forward, a student's monthly housing allowance will be calculated based on the location of the campus where they physically attend the majority of classes, as opposed to a main campus location. 

Agency officials said that approximately 21,000 students will see their monthly housing payments go down, while 59,000 will see them increase, Military.com reported. Despite the decrease for some, the VA promised that veterans and dependants will not be penalized for the change retroactively. Students who were underpaid will receive retroactive payments in the months following December 1, while those who were overpaid will receive additional information on how the VA will waive debts.

The VA added that it will also offer financial and other assistance to those who were adversely affected by the law change.

Related Link

Military.com

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/11/19/gi-bill-housing-allowances-may-change-soon.html

 
Michelle Mott
Categories :
  • Advocacy
  • Financial Aid and FAFSA
  • Veterans and Service Members
Tags :
  • Federal relations
  • gi bill
  • Resources for Veterans Administration Certification
  • VA Programs
Related people

STATEMENTS/LETTERS

ARTICLES