VVA applauds bipartisan legislation introduced in the House updating GI Bill benefits

[boardman]

VVA applauds bipartisan legislation introduced in the House updating GI Bill benefits

VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA
PRESS RELEASE

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 13, 2017
No. 17-26
Contact: Mokie Porter
301-996-0901; 301-585-4000, Ext. 146

VVA Applauds Roe, Walz, Veterans Community for Support of Forever GI Bill

(Washington, DC) -- "The Forever GI bill will make the GI Bill a lifetime benefit, so that veterans can go to school when it's right for them -- not when the government tells them to," said John Rowan, President of Vietnam Veterans of America. "Vietnam Veterans of America has long advocated for improvements to the GI Bill to allow veterans greater flexibility in accessing their educational and vocational benefits. We are glad that veterans will no longer be forfeiting their educational benefits because their timing didn't fit the government's random guidelines."

The removal of the arbitrary, 15-year time limit will benefit veterans on two ends of the employment continuum:

* In many cases, veterans are unable to use the GI Bill because health and family have to be their main priorities when they transition out of the service.

* For others, a successful transition may mean beginning a career as soon as they leave the service. However, if unforeseen economic and technological changes end that career, a veteran would under current rules have lost their eligibility to retrain under the GI Bill.

"We are thankful to Chairman Roe, Ranking Member Walz, and the members of the 'Forever GI Bill Coalition' for fighting with us to ensure that future veterans have an improved, lifetime GI Bill," said Rowan. "We will continue to fight for those left ineligible for the GI Bill benefits due to unfair administrative discharges."