By Glynn Wilson –
Due to an ongoing crisis with the Trump administration failing to pay VA benefits to student veterans and students who are the children of veterans, and the lack of an adequate response from the Department of Veterans Affairs, bipartisan legislation was introduced in the United States Senate on Tuesday to begin addressing the problem.
U.S. Senators Doug Jones, the Democrat from Alabama, and Cory Gardner, a Republican from Colorado, announced Tuesday they will introduce the Fix Immediately Outstanding Underpayments for Student Veterans Act, a bill that will force the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to pay student veterans money they are entitled to but did not receive because of the VA’s own accounting and computer error.
“When young men and women step up to serve our country in uniform, we make a solemn promise to have their backs when they come home,” Senator Jone said in announcing the legislation. “We commit to provide them the tools needed to re-enter civilian life and to earn an education that will enable them to serve our communities in new ways.”
When the VA failed to implement the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, many student veterans did not receive the full benefits they were entitled to, Jones said, causing a financial crisis for students, colleges and universities.
Senator Jones sent a letter last Friday to the senior VA leader overseeing GI Bill benefits, VA Under Secretary for Benefits Paul Lawrence, seeking answers about the situation, but apparently never heard anything back.
Jones also joined his colleagues last week in a bipartisan letter calling on the VA Inspector General to launch an investigation into allegations that the VA would not be reimbursing veterans for any missed or underpaid benefits.
Full previous coverage: Senator Doug Jones of Alabama Calls for Investigation Into VA Failure to Pay Veterans
“When I heard that thousands of veterans in Alabama and across the country were being underpaid – or not paid at all – for their GI Bill benefits and that the VA might not make them whole, I was appalled,” Jones said. “While I’m glad the VA has since begun to reverse course, action from Congress is needed to make sure that these veterans receive what they’re owed.”
The Jones-Gardner legislation, if passed, would set up a commission at the VA to ensure all monthly stipends are audited, and force the VA to pay back students who were underpaid, Jones said. And it will ensure that the VA does not take back money from students they overpaid through the agency’s error.
“The VA let these veterans down and this cannot be tolerated,” Senator Gardner said in joining in the announcement and legislation with Senator Jones.
“First, the VA made a mistake and did not properly pay student veterans the money they are entitled to; and now the VA is failing in their responsibility again by not providing a plan to pay those students back quickly,” Gardner said.
“Most problems Congress addresses are complicated and do not have one ‘right’ answer,” he continued. “This is not one of those issues. To me, it’s pretty clear what the right thing to do is: Congress must act to ensure our student veterans receive every penny they are entitled to.”
