{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr4625-116/featured_protect-the-gi-bill-act-1573862643.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr4625-116/featured_large_protect-the-gi-bill-act-1573862643.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hr4625-116.png"},"introduced_on":"2019-10-08","title_override":"Should States & the Feds Have Greater Oversight of Schools With Students Using GI Bill Benefits?","summary_override":"

This bill — the Protect the GI Bill Act — would increase transparency and accountability among educational programs that receive Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) funding and give the federal government and state agencies greater authority to suspend schools from participating in the GI Bill program. It would require state educational agencies or their secretaries to determine whether educational institutions meet certain requirements regarding providing information to students before enrollment, transparency about tuition and financial aid, and more.

Subsequently, this bill would ban schools from GI Bill participation for misrepresenting themselves while marketing to, recruiting, and enrolling students. If an institution is determined to have carried out fraudulent or persistent recruiting tactics or engaged in “substantial misrepresentation” of its educational offerings, graduation rates, or graduates’ employability, it would be ineligible to enroll veterans with GI bill funding. It could also be subject to negative action by its accrediting agency, up to the loss of its accreditation.

This bill would also expand the conditions for full restoration of education benefits for students affected by schools’ closure or disapproval. It would also make schools, rather than students, responsible for repaying overpayments of tuition benefits from the VA under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

This bill would also expand veterans’ ability to use Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits by:

Allowing military service members to transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to their child wards and children ages 21-25; and
Authorizing housing allowances under the Post-9/11 GI Bill during short periods of active-duty service.

Students receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits would be required to verify their enrollment status to the VA.

If schools violate this bill’s requirements, State Approving Agencies (SAAs) would be able to flag or suspend new enrollments to them.

","official_title":"To amend title 38, United States Code, to require that educational institutions abide by certain principles as a condition of approval for purposes of the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.","short_title":"Protect the GI Bill Act","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"","summarized":true,"cost":117000000,"cost_commentary":"The CBO estimates that this bill would cost $117 million over the 2020-2024 period, and $148 million over the 2020-2029 period, to implement.","impact":"Veterans; veterans going to school with GI Bill benefits; institutions with veterans using GI Bill benefits; accreditation and other requirements for institutions with veterans using GI Bill benefits; State Approving Agencies (SAAs); VA; Post-9/11 GI Bill.","argument_for":"Veterans pursuing higher education funded by GI Bill benefits should be able to rest assured knowing that the schools they’re attending will provide high-quality education. 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Countable is live on the web, as an iPhone app in the App Store, and on Android on Amazon and Google Play.\r\n\r\nTell your Senators and Representative what you think about how they’re doing for Veterans Affairs– not every six or two years – but every day!\r\n","page_title":"Veterans Affairs Issue Desk at Countable - Vote on Legislation, Stay informed, Hold Government Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/veterans-affairs/black_veterans-affairs-1429042036.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/veterans-affairs/grey_veterans-affairs-1429042036.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/veterans-affairs/white_veterans-affairs-1429042036.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false}],"users":[{"name":"Ronald","vote_count":1466,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-flags.png","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-flags.png","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-flags.png"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/kW3J3ar9/following","followers":"/api/users/kW3J3ar9/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":3,"is_following":null,"influence_score":1510,"influence_level":30,"follower_count":47,"following_count":1,"position_count":1059,"id":"kW3J3ar9","partner_id":null},{"name":"operaman","vote_count":1709,"photos":{"large":"https://graph.facebook.com/1027148173971007/picture?width=150&height=150","small":"https://graph.facebook.com/1027148173971007/picture?width=75&height=75","tiny":"https://graph.facebook.com/1027148173971007/picture?width=20&height=20","facebook":"https://graph.facebook.com/1027148173971007/picture"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/5mbagjNZ/following","followers":"/api/users/5mbagjNZ/followers"},"about_me":"Christian-Husband(51yr)-Father-Retired Pharmacist-2A-Conservative #KAG #RedNationRising #Faith #anti-illegal immigration #Opera","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"operaman","issue_count":11,"is_following":null,"influence_score":62645,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":607,"following_count":928,"position_count":1236,"id":"5mbagjNZ","partner_id":null}],"bill_position":{"flagged":false,"id":"f610cac4-3f24-4782-ab52-37d70581dafa","argument_for":null,"argument_against":"Veterans earned this benefit. I use mine at Texas Tech. Big Brother, Federal, or State must not be allowed to deny Veterans their choice of education. My Father used his to get a private pilot license. Veterans earned their right to make this choice themselves. Keep America Free of Government enslavement.","show_argument_for":false,"show_argument_against":true,"upvote_count":1,"upvotes_for_count":null,"upvotes_against_count":1,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":1,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/positions/f610cac4-3f24-4782-ab52-37d70581dafa"},"body":"Veterans earned this benefit. I use mine at Texas Tech. Big Brother, Federal, or State must not be allowed to deny Veterans their choice of education. My Father used his to get a private pilot license. Veterans earned their right to make this choice themselves. 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Should States & the Feds Have Greater Oversight of Schools With Students Using GI Bill Benefits?