Blumenthal Introduces Bill to Bolster GI Bill Benefits for Veterans & Their Families

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) recently introduced the Post-9/11 GI Bill Transferability Entitlement Act-legislation to ensure servicemembers who have completed ten years of service can transfer their benefits to dependents at any time, both while serving on active duty and as a veteran. This would include veterans who separated or retired from active duty and did not transfer any entitlement or gained a dependent after retirement.

"Veterans and servicemembers who served our nation for a decade deserve to be able to use their GI Bill benefits in a way that makes sense for their families. Yet far too many face challenges when transferring these educational benefits to their dependents. Our legislation is a commonsense fix to ensure veterans and their families can effectively transfer and utilize these benefits," said Ranking Member Blumenthal.

Currently, many servicemembers are unable to transfer their benefits due to a lack of education and notice of the requirements or bureaucratic red tape that leads to delays or miscommunication about the transfer. In addition, many veterans do not qualify to transfer these benefits, such as those did not have dependents until after separation or retirement. The Post-9/11 GI Bill Transferability Entitlement Act would fix these issues by making sure Post-9/11 veterans are able to transfer these benefits to their dependents both during active duty and as a veteran.

"For too long, deserving service members have been unfairly excluded from transferring their earned education benefits-not because they failed to serve honorably, but because of gaps in outreach, demands of military service, or rigid eligibility rules that don't account for life's realities," said Coleman Nee, DAV National Commander. "The Post-9/11 GI Bill Transferability Entitlement Act corrects those shortcomings by ensuring that any service member who has given a decade of their life to this nation has the flexibility to transfer their hard-earned education benefits to their loved ones when it makes the most sense for their family. It's a fair and practical fix that honors their service and sacrifice. DAV thanks Sen. Blumenthal for his leadership on this issue and urges Congress to pass this important legislation without delay."

The Post 9/11 GI Bill was enacted in 2009 and provides recipients with 36 months of entitlement that may be used for post-secondary education and training programs, to include vocational and technical training and non-degree granting programs. Currently servicemembers who have served at least six years on active-duty service must proactively transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to their dependents, incurring an additional four years of service obligation.

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