Montgomery Gi Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2025
Floor Speech
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Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 983) to Amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disapprove courses of education offered by a public institution of higher learning that does not charge the in-State tuition rate to a veteran using certain educational assistance under title 10 of such Code, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 983
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2025''. SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS DISAPPROVAL OF COURSES OFFERED BY PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING THAT DO NOT CHARGE VETERANS IN-STATE TUITION RATE FOR PURPOSES OF SELECTED RESERVE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Subsection (c) of section 3679 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, or chapter 1606 of title 10,'' after ``chapter 30, 31, 33, or 35 of this title'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(E) An individual who is entitled to assistance under section 16131 of title 10.''; and
(3) in paragraph (6), by inserting ``, or chapter 1606 of title 10'' before the period at the end.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Subsection (e) of such section is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``, or chapter 1606 of title 10,'' after ``chapter 31, 33, or 35 of this title''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``chapter 31 33, or 35 of this title'' and inserting ``chapter 31, 33, or 35 of this title, or chapter 1606 of title 10''; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``chapter 31 33, or 35 of this title'' and inserting ``chapter 31, 33, or 35 of this title, or chapter 1606 of title 10''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply with respect to an academic period that begins on or after August 1, 2026.
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Mr. BOST. 983.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 983, offered by my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden).
This bill would reduce tuition costs for Montgomery GI Bill Selected reservists by making them eligible for the same in-State tuition waivers.
When a veteran uses other education benefits offered by VA, they are able to receive an in-State tuition. It is time to include MGIB Selected Reserves as another benefit that uses in-State tuition.
Last Congress, under the Republican majority, the House passed legislation that would streamline benefits and protect taxpayers. This bill would continue that mission in the 119th Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 983, and I reserve the balance of my time. April 1, 2025. Hon. Mike Bost, Chairman, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Bost: H.R. 983, the ``Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2025'', was referred primarily to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, with an additional referral to the Committee on Armed Services.
H.R. 983 contains provisions within the Committee on Armed Services' Rule X jurisdiction. As a result of your having consulted with the Committee and to expedite this bill for floor consideration, the Committee on Armed Services will forego action on the bill. This is being done based on our mutual understanding that doing so will in no way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed Services with respect to the appointment of conferees, or to any future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters contained in the bill or similar bills.
I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming this understanding, and would request that you include a copy of this letter and your response in the committee report or in the Congressional Record during floor consideration of this bill. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Sincerely, Mike Rogers, Chairman. ______ April 7, 2025. Hon. Mike Rogers, Chairman, Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Rogers: Thank you for your letter regarding H.R. 983, the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2025. I acknowledge that provisions of the bill fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed Services. I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed Services over the subject matters contained in this bill or similar legislation in the future. In addition, I would support your request to have the Committee on Armed Services appropriately consulted on any issues in this bill or similar legislation that fall under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed Services.
I am grateful for your willingness to work with us in a collegial manner to move this legislation forward. I will place copies of this exchange in the Congressional Record during consideration of this legislation on the House floor. Sincerely, Mike Bost, Chairman.
Mr. VAN ORDEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my legislation, H.R. 983, the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2025.
This bill holds particular significance for me because the issue was first brought to my attention by one of my constituents, Mr. Greg Tremelling, a fellow veteran, during our Veterans Day listening session hosted last Congress.
His voice, joined by countless other reservists and veterans, highlighted the urgent need for policy change, and this is precisely what this government should be doing: listening to our constituents and acting on their needs.
I am honored to represent the brave men and women serving at Fort McCoy and Volk Field, whose daily sacrifices safeguard our Nation and its values. My legislation will help veterans utilizing the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves by including them in the in-State tuition waiver that all other beneficiaries currently receive.
These reservists face the same dangers and make identical sacrifices as our Active-Duty counterparts when deployed. Their courage and dedication deserve equal recognition.
Mr. Speaker, of the last eight servicemembers killed in the line of duty, six of them were reservists, the two remaining being my fellow Navy SEALs, who were lost in the Red Sea. Their loss underscores the serious consequences of the decisions made by the previous administration.
Mr. Speaker, I would remind everyone that the enemy does not care if you are a National Guardsman or -woman. They don't care if you are a selected reservist or Active Duty. They are simply aiming at the American flag on your shoulder.
By passing this bill, we are going to ensure parity between the reservists and Active-Duty servicemembers. It is long due for a change, and I extend my personal gratitude to Mr. Tremelling for bringing this critical matter to my attention, and I thank Chairman Bost for his steadfast leadership and support.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 983.
Mr. Speaker, once again, we are seeing fear-mongering from the other side of the aisle.
VA's decision to phase out the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program, or VASP program, is an important step by the Trump administration.
Last Congress, the Biden-Harris administration, during an election year, created VASP instead of implementing a partial-claim program. This decision added billions of dollars to the VA budget without any assurance to the taxpayer that this was a good decision.
The average amount that a veteran had to pay back in their mortgage was less than $25,000. Instead of solving the problem, VA chose to purchase the entire loan, which, on average, was about $321,000. In no way does this make sense to solve a $25,000 problem with a $320,000 solution. Therein lies the problem with our colleagues across the aisle.
Rather than being wise and trying to fix it for the veterans and for the veterans in the future, Democrats instead do a political thing during an election year that ends up costing the taxpayers. I will say it again that veterans are taxpayers.
This is why, under my leadership, House Republicans have a solution, the alarm on the Biden administration program and the risk it could bring to VA home loans.
This is also why House Republicans have a solution in this problem, H.R. 1815, introduced by my friend, Representative Van Orden.
Mr. Speaker, if the ranking member is so concerned about the veterans, I ask him and his side of the aisle why my Democratic colleagues haven't introduced a solution to aid veterans and still make sure that it actually deals with the veterans' problems, not just all of a sudden spends not only more money than they have to fix their problem, but creating a problem for other veterans because Democrats are going to drain this system.
Now, I welcome the ranking member and other colleagues on the other side of the aisle to cosponsor Mr. Van Orden's legislation and get it out of the House to the Senate. Instead of complaining, the ranking member should join us in this legislation. I, once again, encourage people to get back to the issue at hand and support the bill that we were debating before.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of our colleagues to vote for that bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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