Repayment of Members of the Armed Forces for Contributions Toward Post- Educational Assistance
Floor Speech
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Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 502) to amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs repays members of the Armed Forces for certain contributions made by such members towards Post-9/11 Educational Assistance, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 502
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. REPAYMENT OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--Section 3327(f)(3) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ``together'' and all that follows through ``(as applicable),''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on August 1, 2023. SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF CERTAIN HOUSING LOAN FEES.
The loan fee table in section 3729(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ``November 14, 2031'' each place it appears and inserting ``November 28, 2031''.
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Mr. BOST. 502, as amended.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Representative Banks' bill, H.R. 502, as amended. I am pleased to support Representative Banks' bill to ensure that all servicemembers who have paid into the GI Bill are properly repaid. This bill would close the financial loophole that prevents at least 25,000 Active-Duty servicemembers from receiving the repayments they are due.
Under current law, a servicemember who switches from Montgomery to the Post-9/11 GI Bill would lose $1,200 that they paid into the program if they exhausted their benefits while still on Active Duty. Veterans who exhaust their benefits already receive the $1,200 back.
Representative Banks' bill would fix this policy to ensure that servicemembers and veterans who are pursuing a higher education degree are treated equally.
Servicemembers have earned this benefit by protecting our country. They should not be short changed just because they are getting an education while still on Active Duty.
This bill would include a short-term extension of VA home loan funding fees to fully offset the cost of this bill.
I thank The American Legion for bringing this problem to our attention. I also thank Congressman Banks for reintroducing this important bill that will make a big difference for thousands of Active- Duty servicemen and -women.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 502, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. BOST.
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Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support this legislation. I also want to join with the ranking member in telling the Senate that this is a really good bill and that they should take it up right away. We want to encourage them to do that.
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