This story originally published March 11. It was updated March 17, 19, 22 and on April 9.
While the list of colleges closing and moving classes online grows and coronavirus spreads, so too are concerns of student veterans, troops and others using the GI Bill.
Now a fix is on the books after President Donald Trump signed emergency legislation rushed through both chambers of Congress to protect GI Bill recipients from being negatively affected this semester by school closures and other changes over COVID-19. Congress passed the bill this week and Trump signed it into law on March 21.
The law gives VA temporary authority to continue GI Bill payments at their normal levels, uninterrupted, in the event of national emergencies. So long as a college program has been approved by state creditors to move online, GI Bill benefits payments will continue as normal. Before the law was enacted, GI Bill benefits would stop, or be reduced, if classes moved online, including MHA payments, tuition and fees.
Also under the bill, if a program switches from in-person to online mid-term, benefit payments will stay the same for that term, but could later be reduced to half the Defense Department's housing allowance rates for an E-5 with dependents for every term after, Congressional staff told Connecting Vets.
Now that the law is in place, benefits will stay the same for accredited and approved programs that move online from March to December 21 and could be extended until whenever school resumes in-person classes.
“I commend President Trump and Congress for their work on this important law,” VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said in a statement. “It will give veteran students certainty as they continue their education.”
Students using GI Bill benefits are not required to take any action, VA officials said. Benefits will continue automatically. Updates will be provided to students via email campaigns and social media, VA said.
The bill was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, and Jon Tester, D-Mont., leaders of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and in the House by House Veterans Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn.
“The Senate acted quickly to pass this legislative fix to make certain student veterans relying on the GI Bill to attend college would not be stripped of their benefits because universities are temporarily moving to online classes to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” Moran said in a statement. “We must make certain veterans can still receive the benefits they’ve earned despite concerns surrounding coronavirus and have the opportunity to earn a college degree and achieve success after service.”
“We worked quickly to pass our bipartisan bill that will allow student veterans to receive their earned education benefits, regardless of whether their classes are online or in the classroom,” Tester said. “It’s critically important that we provide schools adapting an online curriculum, with the support they need to continue serving students across the country."
“No student veteran, dependent, or spouse should be worried about their GI Bill benefits being reduced or cut off because of actions their school is taking in response to COVID-19," Roe said in a statement upon introduction.
In a time of "so much fear and uncertainty," Roe said Congress must act quickly to assure student vets and others who rely on the GI Bill to make ends meet won't suffer because of school shutdowns to prevent virus spread.
"I am heartened that Congress was able to come together so quickly to assure them that we've got their backs throughout this crisis," he said.
VA is a last line of defense in the US against national medical emergencies like pandemics
During a Congressional hearing March 11, the same day the bill was introduced, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told lawmakers the virus is 10 times more deadly than the flu and "it's going to get worse."
"That is why as soon as the Student Veterans of America brought it to my attention that GI Bill beneficiaries at schools who are closing or transitioning to an online-only curriculum could receive lower monthly housing payments or have their degree program disapproved by VA, I took action to prevent it," Roe said. "My bill would ensure that Secretary Wilkie has the flexibility to continue serving students well during times of uncertainty and I am committed to seeing it signed into law quickly.”
Under current Post-9/11 GI Bill regulations, student veterans in online classes receive about half the housing allowance that students who take classes in person receive. If classes moved fully online before this law was enacted, those students could face significant cuts to their benefits.
On March 12, Student Veterans of America and Veterans Education Success led a coalition of more than 50 veteran service organizations and educational institutions in writing to House and Senate lawmakers, urging support for the legislation and clarifying the financial effects for veterans and their families, according to Michelle Reitze, assistant vice president of veterans programs for stateside military operations at the University of Maryland Global Campus.
“The uncertainty facing student veterans in the wake of unexpected school closures and changes in response to COVID-19 is unprecedented,” Jared Lyon, CEO and national president of Student Veterans of America said in a statement. “This critical, time-sensitive legislation explicitly ensures student veterans will be able to continue to attend school and experience no changes to monthly housing allowances as more schools take COVID-19 prevention measures."
Students with questions can call the VA Education Call Center at 888-442-4551l, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST, Monday-Friday.
The University of Maryland Global Campus is a Connecting Vets partner.
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Reach Abbie Bennett: abbie@connectingvets.com or @AbbieRBennett.
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