{"id":24728,"date":"2019-01-17T16:48:56","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T16:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/17\/trump-recently-signed-two-veterans-bills-into-law-heres-how-theyll-affect-you\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:38:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:38:20","slug":"trump-recently-signed-two-veterans-bills-into-law-heres-how-theyll-affect-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2019\/01\/17\/trump-recently-signed-two-veterans-bills-into-law-heres-how-theyll-affect-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump recently signed two veterans bills into law. Here\u2019s how they\u2019ll affect you."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On its way out the door, the 115th Congress passed a pair of bills aimed at improving education and other aspects of the transition from military to civilian life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that President Trump\u2019s signature has made them law, here\u2019s what the Veterans Benefits and Transition Act<\/a> and the Forever GI Bill Housing Payment Fulfillment Act<\/a> mean for veterans and military families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. No more punishing GI Bill students for the VA\u2019s mistakes<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last fall, major technology failures at the Department of Veterans Affairs led to delayed and inaccurate payments for thousands of Post-9\/11 GI Bill users, as the agency failed to implement a provision of the Forever GI Bill<\/a> law that changed the way housing stipends are calculated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, students grappling with late rent or mortgage bills as a result of the delays faced another challenge: Their schools charged late fees for tuition bills that VA didn\u2019t pay on time<\/a>, blocked access to campus facilities or did not allow them to register for the next semester of classes until their balance was covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashlynne Haycock, deputy director of policy and legislation for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, said members of her organization were even advised by schools to take out loans to cover tuition costs \u2014 even though the payments were late through no fault of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A portion of the Veterans Benefits and Transition Act, signed into law Dec. 31, requires schools to end these practices if they want to keep enrolling students using GI Bill benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are very excited to see this finally come to fruition,\u201d Haycock told Military Times as the bill was making its way through Congress. \u201cWe wish it would\u2019ve been in place when things happened with the Forever GI Bill that weren\u2019t so great, but clearly that was a sign that this needed to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. VA must fix incorrect payments<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About those late payments. The new Forever GI Bill Housing Payment Fulfillment Act holds the VA accountable for retroactively fixing payments that were inaccurate as a result of the technology problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To accomplish this, the law establishes a so-called \u201ctiger team\u201d to oversee these reimbursements. The team is required to report to Congress every 90 days on the reimbursement plan, and, by July 2020, report how many GI Bill beneficiaries were impacted, and to what extent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill also holds the department to its promise not to collect on any overpayments made to GI Bill users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor many student veterans, every dime counts. That\u2019s why the VA needs to get this right and pay student veterans the full amount of money they were promised,\u201d Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said in a statement. The senator co-sponsored the legislation, which also became law Dec. 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a Jan. 4 address to some 2,300 student veterans<\/a> attending the annual Student Veterans of America National Conference<\/a>, VA Sec. Robert Wilkie assured students that anyone who was underpaid as a result of the technology issues will be made whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe bottom line is: We owe you every penny that you\u2019ve earned,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is what the nation has promised you, and that is what you deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GI Bill users who did not receive a cost-of-living increase on their fall 2018 payments will get a check in the mail for the difference by the end of the month. The rest of the fixes won\u2019t happen until at least December, when the VA is slated to have its updated technology systems in place<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t