Ranking Member Roe, Chairman Takano Introduce Legislation to Minimize COVID-19 Impact on Student Veterans
Washington,
March 23, 2020
|
Samantha Gonzalez
(202-225-3527)
Tags:
Economic Opportunity
Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Ranking Member Dr. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) introduced the bipartisan Student Veteran Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 -- key legislation to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student veterans as schools and universities have taken proactive measures to mitigate the spread of the virus.
“Over the last two weeks, we have worked hard to assure student veterans that the support they count on from the GI Bill to cover tuition and housing costs won’t be taken away during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ranking Member Roe. “I am proud to introduce this bill with Chairman Takano today to give them further confidence that the benefits they earned will be waiting for them on the other side of this crisis. Our bill would preserve work study, vocational rehabilitation and employment, and GI Bill benefits for students during emergency situations like the one we are currently experiencing. Critically, it would also ensure that students whose schools close but cannot transition to an online curriculum can maintain their eligibility next semester.”
“As we respond to the coronavirus pandemic, we cannot forget about our student veterans. This bill package will make key fixes so veterans can continue their studies without interruption, loss of income, or unexpected bills,” said Chairman Takano. “Under this bipartisan legislation, we can ensure no students have their housing cut off, lose their work study payment, exhaust their disaster housing stipend continuation payments, or lose their benefits due to a school closure from COVID-19.”
Here’s how this new legislation works for student veterans:
Background: The Student Veteran Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 builds on recent legislation, passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by the President, to ensure student veterans will not see a reduction in their monthly housing allowance as a result of their schools moving to online instruction due to COVID-19. This legislation has been endorsed by Veterans Education Success and National Association of Veterans’ Program Administrators, cosponsored by 25 Members of Congress, and will be included in the COVID-19 emergency response package later this week. Full text of the bill can be found here.
Since this crisis began, the Committee has continued its oversight of VA’s response to COVID-19 and the Fourth Mission, worked to mitigate the impact on student veterans, and been in constant contact with VA to ensure they can continue to provide high quality care for veterans. |