As Congress prepares to consider legislation to improve education benefits for veterans, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) called on his colleagues to strengthen the GI Bill and give veterans more time to use their earned education benefits before they expire. Today Larsen expressed his support for a proposal to extend the time limit for veterans who served in active duty from 10 to 15 years, giving them more time to use education benefits earned under the GI Bill. Legislation including this provision could by considered by the House as early as Thursday.
“Helping more veterans go to college and vocational school makes sense for veterans, military families and our 21st century economy,” said Larsen. “I am pleased that the House could consider legislation this week to give active-duty veterans five more years to get the education and training they need when they need it. This would be a great step forward, and I will keep working to remove the arbitrary time limit entirely so veterans can access their GI Bill benefits for life.”
Under current law, veterans who served in active duty must use all of their GI Bill education benefits within 10 years of being discharged. Those serving in the Selected Reserve have 14 years of eligibility to use their GI Bill benefits. While approximately 80% of service members contribute to the GI Bill program, only 59% take advantage of their education benefits before they expire, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Larsen has introduced legislation to remove the arbitrary ten-and-fourteen-year time limits entirely so veterans can access educational and vocational training when the time is right for them. Larsen’s GI Bill for Life Act (H.R. 2247), which has been introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), got a hearing for the first time in the U.S. House of Representatives in January.
“The debt we owe our nation’s veterans doesn’t come with an expiration date, and neither should their GI Bill benefits,” Larsen concluded.
