WASHINGTON – This week, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to extend a rule originally introduced by U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) – ranking member and chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee – to protect GI Bill benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension ensures this rule stays in effect until summer of 2022.

The rule, originally signed into law in March 2020, ensures that veterans, their dependents, and servicemembers, who are using their GI Bill benefits, will be able to continue receiving their full tuition and monthly housing payments as universities and other approved programs are continuing to have classes online to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Originally passed in March of 2020, this rule would have expired at the end of this year.

“Last year, Congress acted quickly to make certain student veterans and their families could keep their benefits as classes moved online to stop the spread of COVID-19,” said Sen. Moran. “Extending this rule as universities work to continue to mitigate the spread of the virus is a commonsense solution that will help us keep our communities and universities healthy.”

"TAPS is grateful to the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs committees for extending protections to students impacted by COVID-19,” said Bonnie Carroll, President and Founder of TAPS. “This much needed legislation will ensure that over 55,000 GI Bill recipients, including hundreds of surviving families, will not have their benefits impacted this spring."

“The REMOTE Act will bring much needed stability for the tens of thousands of students using VA education benefits and trying to persist through the constant changes COVID throws at them,” said Emily DeVito, Associate Director, National Legislative Service, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. “The VFW is very grateful for our supporters in the Senate and their work to pass this bipartisan bicameral legislation before the previous protections expire.”

“The passage of this legislation is welcome and important end-of-the-year news,” said Ted Mitchell, President of the American Council on Education. “It will provide much needed flexibility and relief for many veterans and their families and ensure that they have the ability to fully use the education benefits they earned with their service to our country.”

 “The American Legion is pleased to see Senate passage of the REMOTE Act ensuring that full housing benefits are given to student veterans as some schools continue to conduct virtual classes in the new year,” said Paul E. Dillard, National Commander of The American Legion. “We commend Senators Tester and Moran for their work giving student veterans peace of mind before the end of the year. We look forward to it being signed into law in the coming days.”

“With the expiration of temporary COVID-19 protections nearing, tens of thousands of student veterans across the country faced the possibility of harmful impacts to their VA education benefits and many student veterans were also threatened by both the recent weakening of the Rounding Out Rule at VA and other unintended consequences stemming from veterans' legislation passed earlier this year,” said Jared Lyon, National President and CEO of Student Veterans of America. “We thank Senators Tester and Moran, Congressmen Takano and Bost, and their incredibly hard-working staff for their leadership correcting all of these issues by passing the REMOTE Act, giving student veterans the assurances they need to pursue their educational journeys with confidence.”

“NASAA applauds the Senate for passing yesterday HR 5545, the Remote Act so that our veterans and their families can, where needed, continued their education and training online during the pandemic,” said Michelle Nash, President, of National Association of State Approving Agencies. “We are grateful for Congress coming together to protect and provide a path to success for our veterans in these uncertain times.”

“The passage of this legislation is welcome and important end-of-the-year news,” said Ted Mitchell, President of the American Council on Education. “It will provide much needed flexibility and relief for many veterans and their families and ensure that they have the ability to fully use the education benefits they earned with their service to our country.”

Previously, the law provided certain approval requirements before a school or training program could receive GI Bill payments, and these requirements often differed between online programs and brick and mortar programs. Last year, Congress was alerted by the Department of Veterans Affairs that as colleges and universities closed campuses and moved to online programs, to prevent the spread of the COVID-19, veterans and other beneficiaries, using the GI Bill, faced the possibility of having their benefits negatively impacted. Not only would this have resulted in VA no longer paying for the program of education, but it would have also resulted in a reduction or complete halt in a veteran’s monthly housing allowance that they rely on to pay their rent or mortgage.

This law allows student veterans to continue receiving their full benefits even if the universities and programs they are attending move classes online due to COVID-19.

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