{"id":91855,"date":"2018-07-18T22:35:39","date_gmt":"2018-07-18T22:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/18\/va-behind-schedule-on-implementing-gi-bill-changes\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:27:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:27:43","slug":"va-behind-schedule-on-implementing-gi-bill-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2018\/07\/18\/va-behind-schedule-on-implementing-gi-bill-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"VA behind schedule on implementing GI Bill changes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s Note:<\/b><\/i> This story has been updated to add information about GI Bill benefits for Purple Heart recipients.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some veterans using Post-9\/11 GI Bill benefits to attend school this fall could get an inaccurate housing stipend early in the semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s because the Veterans Affairs Department is behind schedule on implementing aspects of the Forever GI Bill<\/a>, signed into law last year, that relate to how veterans\u2019 housing stipends should be calculated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But VA promises that it will reimburse GI Bill users for any underpayments that result \u2015 and let them pocket overpayments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VA officials told members of Congress Wednesday that though these provisions were supposed to go into effect Aug. 1, the department missed its July 16 deadline to have the technology systems<\/a> ready and has pushed back its target date to the middle of August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, school certifying officials have been instructed to process students\u2019 records under the old rules, which calculate housing stipends based on the location of the school\u2019s main campus. On Aug. 1, that was supposed to change to the location of the campus where a student takes the most classes, so some students could be under or overpaid on their first check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VA will correct underpayments as soon as possible, and veterans who are overpaid because of this issue will not be required to pay that money back to the VA, said retired Gen. Robert Worley, head of VA\u2019s education service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doing everything we can to make this a smooth and seamless rollout,\u201d he said, assuring members of Congress that staff members are working overtime and that there is \u201cprogress being made daily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the VA pays about 500,000 GI Bill beneficiaries each fall and is on schedule to meet the Aug. 1 deadline on several other provisions, including one that provides the full 36 months of GI Bill benefits at the 100 percent level to Purple Heart recipients, regardless of how long they served in the military, and another calculating reservists\u2019 time on active duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of that \u2014 it hasn\u2019t been easy, but it\u2019s gone very well,\u201d Worley said. \u201cWe have the data in place that we need for (Aug. 1) and we\u2019re ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t