The chair of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity has written ACE to affirm his commitment to ensuring military learners receive their education payments on time from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).Students relying on VA education benefits have been facing major disruptions, as detailed in a recent ACE issue brief, which tracks serious implementation and technology failures at the VA that began well before the shutdown but were made significantly worse by it.
In a letter yesterday to ACE President Ted Mitchell, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) confirmed that “there have been delayed payments for tens of thousands of students using the Chapter 35 Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance program.” He said subcommittee staff will work with VA to ensure that a needed technological update is completed so individuals receive the benefits they are due from VA, adding that the subcommittee also will review the events that led to the delayed payments.
Noting that the payments go directly to individuals, not institutions, Van Orden requested that institutions “provide a grace period for the veterans and families who have been impacted by this delay.”
To read the full letter, click here.