WASHINGTON – Last night, President Donald Trump signed the Student Veteran Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 into law. The companion version of the legislation was championed in the Senate by Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and will make certain student veterans can continue receiving education, work study and vocational training benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Very few things are certain during this pandemic, but we have a responsibility to ensure our student veterans continue to have access to the benefits they have earned,” said Sen. Moran. “This bipartisan legislative fix builds on previous legislation that was passed and signed into law to make certain our student veterans can continue to receive payments that they normally would from their education and training programs. I applaud the House and the Senate for quickly passing this legislation and President Trump for signing this bill into law.”

H.R. 6322, the Student Veteran Coronavirus Response Act of 2020:

H.R. 6322 makes certain student veterans on the GI Bill continue to receive housing and work payments as classes are disrupted. This legislation provides many benefits, including:

• Allows student veterans that are in work study programs to still receive payments during this time even if they are unable to reach their place of employment due to COVID-19.
• Makes certain veterans can receive additional housing allowance payments if their institution closes due to COVID-19.
• Allows student veterans to have their education entitlements restored or extended if campuses are closed or veterans are forced to withdraw due to COVID-19.

This is the second GI Bill legislative fix passed due to COVID-19. The Senate and House passed, and President Trump signed into law S.3503, a legislative fix introduced by Chairman Moran, Ranking Member Tester and several other members of the Senate to allow student veterans to continue online training and receiving GI Bill benefits even if they are no longer able to attend a university campus as classes are moved online to prevent the spread of the virus.

The Senate companion version of this legislation was cosponsored by Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.).

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