Rep. Barry Moore pro-Veterans bills pass out of Committee

Washington, D.C.— Today, Rep. Barry Moore, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs released the following statement after two of his bills, the Colonel John McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act and the Overseeing the GI Bill Act of 2021, passed out of Committee as amendments to the GI Bill NEED Act:

“Members of our military and their families have sacrificed so much in the service to our country and defending our freedom. As a grateful nation, we have the responsibility to ensure that the educational needs of the survivors and dependents of our fallen heroes are taken care of. By expanding in-state tuition benefits to the survivors of eligible veterans under the Dependent Educational Assistance Program, it will ensure the families of our fallen heroes can pursue their educational goals at the institution that best suits their needs. We must also ensure the proper oversight over the VA’s new Digital GI Bill Project that will modernize the VA’s ancient processing system for processing GI bill claims. Oversight over the implementation of this project will ensure the proper use of our taxpayer dollars and the successful implementation of a much more efficient processing system for Veteran’s GI Bill claims. These developments bring us one step closer to securing long overdue support for our Veterans and their families.” 

Background:

H.R. 2457, the Colonel John McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act, and H.R. 2420, the Overseeing the GI Bill Act of 2021, were included as amendments to H.R. 2167, the GI Bill NEED Act, and passed out of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to be considered before the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Colonel John McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act:

This bill would extend in-state tuition benefits under the GI Bill for dependents and survivors of eligible veterans through the Survivor’s and Dependents Educational Assistance program. This program provides funding for higher education for survivors and dependents of certain servicemembers who died on active duty or were later found to be 100% service-connected disabled or died of a service-connected disability. Extending In-state tuition to beneficiaries of the DEA program would bring its rules in line with the Post 9/11 GI Bill. This is a commonsense solution to help our heroes’ families meet their higher education goals.

Overseeing the GI Bill Act of 2021:

This bill would require VA to submit a series of reports to provide much needed oversight of VA’s new digital GI Bill project. The VA was recently awarded a contract to modernize the VA’s ancient system for processing GI Bill claims. However, with almost every major upgrade to the GI Bill programs in the last 15 years, there has been a subsequent IT failure. This bill would require VA to submit a base level report that provides information on costs, associated outcomes for processing times, and would require subsequent reports to ensure there is full transparency on if VA is, or is not, on track. These reports will also provide Congress with critical information needed to perform proper oversight over these IT upgrades and ensure the most effective usage of taxpayer dollars.

Rep. Moore’s Remarks: CLICK HERE

Rep. Moore’s Amendment: CLICK HERE

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