WASHINGTON– U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, applauded the Senate passage of legislation to enhance the post-9/11 GI Bill.
“I am proud to have helped craft this legislation that invests in our veterans and provides them with expanded tools and resources to prepare them for civilian life,” Boozman said. “This is an important step to ensuring our commitment to our veterans and their families.”
The Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 makes much-needed updates for reservists, Purple Heart recipients, veterans who face school closures while enrolled and surviving family members. The legislation also provides increased resources and authority for educational assistance to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs, computer programming and career technical training. The legislation includes two provisions Boozman authored to improve education benefits for veterans that will:
- Expand and strengthen a successful Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pilot program covering the costs for non-traditional technology education programs. This will allow veterans to learn valuable 21st century workforce skills such as computer coding and programming as a VA educational benefit. This is a proven program that covers costs of IT training that typically aren’t covered by the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
- Ensure wounded members of the National Guard and Reserve are eligible for the same GI Bill benefits as active duty military members.
Boozman is an original cosponsor of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017. The committee passed the legislation on Thursday, July 20. The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed an identical version of the Senate bill on Wednesday, July 26. The legislation now heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
