VFW Urges Congress to Hold Oversight Hearings on Forever GI Bill
Senate must also pass the SIT-REP Act of 2018 to ensure veterans aren’t affected by VA errors
WASHINGTON (Oct. 22, 2018) – The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is calling on both the Senate and House Committees on Veterans’ Affairs to hold oversight hearings on the recent delayed payments of Department of Veterans Affairs educational benefits.
VFW is also urging the Senate to pass the SIT-REP Act of 2018, which would ensure that student veterans cannot be disenrolled from their educational programs due to processing errors by VA.
In a letter sent to the House and Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs chairmen and ranking members, Carlos Fuentes, VFW’s director of National Legislative Service, said that in the months preceding the deadline to enact the Forever GI Bill by Aug. 1, “VA officials repeatedly vowed that students and schools would receive payments on time and, while the amounts may not be correct, veterans would not be harmed.”
Fuentes also noted that the SIT-REP Act of 2018 was passed unanimously in the House in May, “but lack of Senate action has prevented this important bill from becoming law in time to prevent current issues from negatively affecting veterans.”
Read the full letter here.
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About the VFW: The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is the nation’s largest and oldest major war veterans organization. Founded in 1899, the congressionally-chartered VFW is comprised entirely of eligible veterans and military service members from the active, Guard and Reserve forces. With more than 1.6 million VFW and Auxiliary members located in more than 6,300 Posts worldwide, the nonprofit veterans service organization is proud to proclaim “NO ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS” than the VFW, which is dedicated to veterans’ service, legislative advocacy, and military and community service programs. For more information or to join, visit our website at www.vfw.org.