The Veterans Administration’s ‘Inventing New Reasons’ To Deny GI Bill Benefits, Lawsuit Claims

The lawsuit claims that the VA has blocked eligible veterans from receiving benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill for undergraduate and graduate degrees.

A lawsuit filed by veterans, advocacy groups, and the State of Virginia says the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is “inventing new reasons” to deny former service members access to education benefits they qualify for. The lawsuit claims that the VA has blocked eligible veterans from receiving benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill for undergraduate and graduate degrees.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, or the GI Bill, in 1944 to help returning World War II veterans transition back into civilian life. The Post-9/11 GI Bill covers full in-state tuition and fees at public schools, a monthly housing allowance, and up to $1,000 for books, supplies, and money for tutoring and testing.

The Montgomery GI Bill covers military service between 1985 and 2030 and provides veterans $2,518 month in direct payments. The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act covers veterans who joined after Sept. 11, 2001. Benefits can be applied to cover full tuition and monthly rent.

According to Task and Purpose, veterans accuse the VA of requiring a formal “break in service” at some point in their careers to be eligible for both the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill, despite a Supreme Court ruling that such a break is not required.

“The VA imposed rules that, among other things, create a break-in-service requirement for veterans to obtain benefits under both GI Bills,” the lawsuit says. “That is, the VA’s position is that a veteran needs a distinct ‘period of service’ — separated by a break — to establish eligibility under each benefit program. This contrived requirement has no basis in the U.S. Code, [the Supreme Court ruling for] Rudisill, or common sense.”

According to the VA’s own data that is included in the lawsuit, the agency has denied more than 1,039,000 claims. Veterans are hoping that the U.S. Court of Appeals will strike down the VA’s rule, which they say “illogically denies full benefits to many of the Nation’s longest-serving veterans simply because they chose to serve continuously.”

In a statement to Task and Purpose, a spokesperson for the VA said it “can’t comment on pending litigation.”