June 20, 2018

Roe, Walz Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Resolution to Commemorate National GI Bill Week

Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.) and Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, respectively, introduced a resolution to designate the week of June 18, 2018 as National GI Bill Commemoration Week.

Senators Carper (D-Del.), Isakson (R-Ga.), Sullivan (R-Ala.) and Tester (D-Mont.) introduced the Senate version of this resolution.

The first-ever GI Bill was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 22, 1944. Last August, the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, or Forever GI Bill, was signed into law.  

The members released the following joint statement:

“As Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, we strongly support providing education benefits to the men and women who serve our nation. That’s why we worked together on the Forever GI Bill, the largest-ever expansion of GI Bill benefits that will enable veterans to use the education benefits they’ve earned when and how it suits them best, setting them up for future success in whatever career they pursue. We were proud to work together on the Forever GI Bill, and we’re glad to work together now to acknowledge the contributions this generous benefit has made to the veteran community.”

Background: You can read Chairman Roe and Ranking Member Walz’s resolution here.

The Forever GI Bill, once fully implemented, will remove time restrictions to use the GI Bill, enabling future eligible recipients to use their GI bill benefits for their entire lives as opposed to the current 15-year timeline. It will also simplify the benefit for future servicemembers by consolidating the GI Bill into a single program over time, which will reduce Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative costs. The law also provides significant increases in GI Bill funding for Reservists and Guardsmen, dependents, surviving spouses and surviving dependents. It also provides 100% GI Bill eligibility to Post 9/11 Purple Heart recipients. In addition, the Forever GI Bill restores eligibility for servicemembers whose school closes in the middle of a semester and creates a pilot program that would pay for veterans to take accelerated learning programs in technology courses.

You can read more about the law’s implementation on VA’s website at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/forevergibill.asp.