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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.

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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.

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Veterans, Lawmakers Rally Against Proposed GI Bill Cuts

Apr 21, 2016, 17:02 PM
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House Democrats joined the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and several other veterans' groups last week to protest a proposed cut to a benefit included in the Post-9/11 GI Bill, reported The Military Times.

The Veterans Employment, Education, and Healthcare Improvement Act (H.R. 3016), passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in February, includes a 50 percent cut in the housing stipend for dependents of a military or veteran parent who had transferred the benefit to them. The U.S. Senate is considering a similar version of the bill.

The housing stipend often exceeds dependents' actual housing costs in college — sometimes by thousands of dollars, a commission said last year, Politico reported. The House bill would transfer some of the savings to extend education benefits to military widows by giving them more time to use the new GI Bill. Jonathan Schleifer, chief policy officer for IAVA, told Politico that the group is concerned this is a step toward Congress shifting funds instead of properly funding the benefit.

"We think it's tragic that Congress is playing a cynical game by putting one provision against another one," Schleifer said.

More than $58 billion has been paid out in new GI Bill benefits since 2009. Veterans' groups have long been concerned that it will become less generous as the wars wind down. But not all veterans group agree this way is the best approach to highlight their cause, according to the Military Times.  

 

Related Links

The Military Times

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/04/14/lawmakers-join-vets-criticize-proposal-curb-post-911-gi-bill.html

Politico

http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-education/2016/04/teachers-unions-celebrate-california-ruling-213785

Michelle Mott
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  • AACRAO Transcript
  • Advocacy
  • Financial Aid and FAFSA
  • Veterans and Service Members
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