Below are a couple of recently introduced bills concerning Veterans’ education and benefits that we have been keeping our eye on:
HR 2749 – The VET Act
Sponsor: Congressman Rick Larsen (D-WA)
Introduced: 7/19/2013
Current Status: Referred to House Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
Summary: The legislation would give colleges the ability to see each student-veteran’s amount of GI Bill or other educational benefits through eBenefits; Facilitate college planning, so veterans’ counselors or academic counselors could help veterans register for classes to complete their degree in the time covered by their allocated educational benefit; Allow veterans to opt out of sharing their educational benefit information with their college; Enact strict privacy protections for veterans so that their educational benefit information could only be used for education counseling purposes by the educational institution where the veteran is enrolled.
S 1042 – Veterans Legal Support Act of 2013
Sponsor: Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Introduced: 5/23/2013
Current Status: Hearings held within the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs
Summary: The legislation intends to decrease Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) backlog by increasing cooperation between the Department of Veterans Affairs and veterans legal clinics, and will maximize the effectiveness of the law school programs and encourage their continued development.