Proposed Legislation Protects GI Bill Benefits for Student Veterans

Northville, MI (Law Firm Newswire) June 23, 2020 – A proposed bill introduced by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs would protect student veterans and their GI Bill benefits as schools across the country close during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Student Veteran Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 expands S. 3503, which was signed into law in late March to restore GI Bill benefits to student veterans whose college classes have transitioned fully to online learning.

“If no protections were put into place, campus closures would be devastating to the veterans who rely on GI Bill benefits to pay for their education,” said James G. Fausone, lead attorney at Legal Help for Veterans, a VA disability law firm in Northville, Michigan. “The Student Veteran Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 will help get student veterans through this very uncertain time when it is passed.”

If passed, the bill will preserve housing allowances and tuition benefits under the GI Bill for student veterans. These beneficiaries will not have to pay for classes or programs they are unable to finish because they are cancelled or moved online because of COVID-19. This would prevent a student from losing a semester of GI Bill tuition benefits.

It will protect their eligibility for next semester too if they are unable to finish the required work online by ending the eligibility clock. It will extend the “use or lose” date for benefits by the same amount of time the campus is closed.

VA work study participants will be protected from losing their benefits even though they are unable to work and be paid throughout any emergency campus closures.
Vocational rehabilitation, work-study and employment benefits are covered by the bill too. Since widespread COVID-19 closures will likely affect job searches, the bill will extend benefits and the subsistence allowance for these veterans for two months.

Legal Help for Veterans is a VA disability law firm in Northville, Michigan that is veteran owned and operated.

Learn more at http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC 41700 West Six Mile Road, Suite 101 Northville, MI 48168 Toll Free Phone: 800.693.4800