Letter to The Honorable Robert Wilkie, Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Address Student Veteran GI Bill Benefit Delays

Letter

Dear Secretary Wilkie:

We write to you with great urgency regarding student veterans that attend colleges and universities in the communities we represent. Due to significant challenges within the VA's Office of Information and Technology (OIT), these student veterans are experiencing significant delays in receiving their monthly housing allowance (MHA) and other benefits they are entitled to under federal law.

As you are aware, the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, more commonly known as the Forever GI Bill, incorporated several changes to MHA benefits that required simultaneous changes in IT systems. These IT system upgrades were scheduled for completion on August 1, 2018, in time for the new academic year. However, nearly two and a half months after the deadline passed, and more than a month into the new academic year, these IT upgrades remain incomplete. This has resulted in serious delays causing undue hardship for many student veterans that we represent. These students already face multiple hurdles in continuing their higher education, and receiving the benefits they have rightly earned for their service should be the very least of their worries.

We call on you to address these issues immediately by using whatever means possible to efficiently and accurately process claims, and ensure benefits quickly make their way to the student veterans they serve. We urge the VA to provide better communication with student veterans and their families, as well as schools and universities, to keep them informed of the progress or delays made in processing their claims. The VA must also work to prevent any student veterans from incurring any late fees or any other fines due to a delay in receiving their benefits. While we understand the VA continues to face many significant challenges, no student veteran should bear any financial burden at the hands of the VA.

Thank you for your immediate and full attention to this issue. Our student veterans deserve better, and we remain committed to ensuring they receive the very best education possible in exchange for the sacrifices they and their families have made protecting our country.

Sincerely,