“This new Forever GI Bill has a long list of expansive changes, but here are the most significant changes veterans should know about for 2018.”
At a time when unity on any issue in Washington, DC is a rare commodity, it was gratifying to see lawmakers quickly pass and send to the president for signature the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2017 (HR 3218). The bill made its way to the desk of President Donald Trump, where he signed it on August 16, 2017.
Reported by this writer for OpsLens, the new Forever GI Bill will have an unparalleled impact on America’s service members, veterans, and their families, because it protects the benefits they’ve earned, expands access and eligibility, and properly recognizes the long service and sacrifice of the one percent of Americans who have voluntarily put their personal lives on hold to fight an unimaginable multi-front war for almost 16 years.
This new Forever GI Bill has a long list of expansive changes, but here are the most significant changes veterans should know about for 2018.
Consideration of Time Spent Receiving Medical Care
Section 101 of the bill would add time spent on active duty under orders authorized by section 12301(h) of title 10, U.S.C. as qualifying time for the Post-9/11 GI Bill. These particular orders are used when a National Guard member or reservist is receiving medical care or is recovering from active duty injuries. This change would apply to service in the US Armed Forces occurring on or after September 11, 2001. An eligible individual would be able to use this entitlement beginning August 1, 2018.
Purple Heart Recipients
Purple Heart recipients—soldiers wounded by the enemy— will receive economic compensation. Starting Aug. 1, 2018, all honorably discharged veterans and service members awarded a Purple Heart after Sept. 11, 2001 will receive full Post-9/11 GI benefits for up to 36 months.
Reserve Restoration
Section 106 would allow certain members of the Reserve component to transfer into the Post-9/11 GI Bill who lost educational assistance benefits when Congress repealed the Reserve Educational Assistant Program (REAP) in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016.
Section 401 would make individuals who have served and who will serve on 12304, 12304(a), and 12304(b) orders eligible for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and benefits under the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program in chapter 31 of title 38, U.S.C. An eligible individual would be able to use this entitlement beginning August 1, 2018.
Technology Pilot Program and STEM Program Benefit Expansion
The expansion emphasizes science, technology, engineering, and math degrees by offering additional money to veterans enrolled in those programs. Veterans must apply for a specific STEM scholarship but could get either nine months of additional GI Bill benefits or a lump sum of $30,000. (The scholarship is limited to $100 million a year in aggregate benefits.) There will also be scholarship funds available on a first-come, first-serve basis for GI Bill users who need a fifth year of school to complete science, technology, engineering, or math programs.
VA would enter into contracts with these schools or programs and would provide tuition and fees payments on a sliding scale that incentivizes the schools to graduate the student and ensure they find a job in their field of study. The section would also authorize a living stipend payment equal to the Post-9/11 rate to students while they are using the benefit. The Veterans Affairs Department will begin calculating housing stipends based on where a student takes the most classes—a change from current policy, which uses the ZIP code of a student’s school.
Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Expansion
Section 203 of the bill would increase the monthly payment for educational assistance provided under the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program, impacting not only pre-9/11 survivors but also dependents of 100 percent service-connected disabled veterans or those where the service member died of a service-connected injury. The VA estimates that in FY 2018 nearly 100,000 dependents and survivors would be positively impacted by this change. These changes would apply beginning on or after October 1, 2018.
Further, section 202 of the bill would realign the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program from 45 months to 36 months of eligibility for individuals entitled to the program on or after August 1, 2018.
The VA estimates that in FY 2018 nearly 100,000 dependents and survivors would be positively impacted by this change. These changes would apply beginning on or after October 1, 2018.
Section 110 would allow a veteran to transfer remaining months of GI Bill entitlement to another dependent if the dependent who originally received the transferred benefits dies before they can use all of the benefits. The section would also allow a dependent to transfer remaining months of GI Bill entitlement to another dependent after the death of the service member or veteran. The amendment will apply to deaths occurring on or after August 1, 2009, but the dependent will not be eligible until the effective date beginning on or after August 1, 2018.
Yellow Ribbon
The Yellow Ribbon Program is a voluntary agreement between schools and the VA to split school costs not covered by the GI Bill, reducing or eliminating the amount students must pay themselves.
The Forever GI Bill will expand eligibility for this program to surviving spouses or children of service members in August 2018 and active-duty service members in August 2022. Previously, only veterans eligible for GI Bill benefits at the 100 percent level or their dependents using transferred benefits were eligible for Yellow Ribbon.
Apprenticeship Programs
Section 304 of the bill would allow the VA to provide a fee to schools or a sponsor of a program of apprenticeship for the reports or certifications that these institutions are required to submit to VA about the individuals at their school receiving GI Bill benefits. Specifically, it would require VA to provide $16 to the institution for each individual that it certifies as using GI Bill benefits at the institution.
For schools with 100 or more enrollees using GI Bill benefits, this section states they may not use the funds received by the institution from the reporting fees for the institution’s general fund and that those funds may only be used for VA-approved programs at that institution. This provision would be effective on August 1, 2018.
School Certifying Official
Section 305 of the bill would require VA, in consultation with the State Approving Agencies (SAA), to expand requirements for training for school certifying officials at educational institutions that are approved for GI Bill benefits. This section would also allow VA to disapprove a course of education if a school does not ensure that the school certifying official meets the training requirements. This provision would be effective on August 1, 2018.
Section 309 would provide more flexibility to the school certifying officials if the first day of a course does not start on the first day of an academic term, by allowing the school certifying official to certify the course as beginning on that first day of the academic term for purposes of certifying a veteran for GI Bill benefits.
Offset
Section 501 would be the offset for the package by realigning the living stipend payments for those using the Post-9/11 GI Bill (E-5 with dependents rate) to the same Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) payments currently paid to active duty service members at the E-5 with dependents rate.
Several years ago, the annual percentage increase in active duty BAH payments was reduced by 1 percent a year for five years, but GI Bill payments were exempt. This bill would realign these payments so that a GI Bill recipient would receive the same living stipend per month as an E-5 active duty service member with dependents. This section also stipulates that these decreases to the annual percentage increase would only be in effect for individuals who first begin using their education benefits on or after January 1, 2018.
Other Changes
Section 107 would change the way living stipend amounts are calculated from the current rule that says the living stipend payment is based on where the school is located to instead having the payment calculated based on where the student attends the majority of his or her classes. This section would apply with respect to initial enrollment on or after August 1, 2018.
Section 307 would codify VA’s Veterans Success on Campus (VSOC) program, each providing a VR&E counselor to assist veterans with their transition from military to college life as well as provide the support and assistance needed to pursue their educational and employment goals.
Section 113 would require VA to prorate the GI Bill housing stipend provided to reservists who get called up for active duty during the middle of a month. Current law prohibits them from prorating the stipend, so if the reservist is on active duty orders for even one day of a month, then they would lose the entire month’s worth of VA housing allowance. This section would apply to a quarter, semester, or term commencing on or after August 1, 2018.
Section 115 would authorize $30 million to improve GI Bill claims processing and complete their rules-based processing system for these claims.
Section 201 would repeal the sunset date in the law that allows VA work-study benefits for outreach to student veterans and to assist state approving agencies.
Section 302 would allow an eligible individual to use their GI Bill benefit for an accredited independent study program (including open circuit television) at an educational institution that is an area career and technical education school or a postsecondary vocational school providing postsecondary-level education.
Section 303 would require VA to include on its GI Bill Comparison Tool information on whether a school has a priority enrollment system in place that allows veterans to enroll in courses earlier than other students attending the school.
Section 306 would extend the authority for VA’s Advisory Committee on Education from December 2017 through to December 2022.
Section 307 would codify VA’s Veterans Success on Campus (VSOC) program, which is administered and overseen by the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Services (VR&E). There are currently 94 schools with a VSOC program, each providing a VR&E counselor to assist veterans with their transition from military to college life as well as provide the support and assistance needed to pursue their educational and employment goals.
Section 308 would require VA to make available to educational institutions the ability to view the remaining benefit amount for each veteran attending that institution. This section would also allow the veteran or their dependent (if they are a beneficiary of their GI Bill benefits) to opt out of the school’s ability to receive such information from VA. The effective date of this section is August 1, 2018.
