1. Veterans' Educational Assistance Programs and Benefits: A Primer. CRS Report R42785, Version 19. Updated
- Author
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Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service (CRS) and Cassandria Dortch
- Abstract
Veterans' educational assistance programs provide benefits or services to eligible service members and veterans and their family members, as applicable, to help such individuals pursue education or training. The GI Bills provide financial assistance while recipients are enrolled in approved education or training programs. Eligibility is based on a qualifying individual's service in the uniformed services. This report provides brief descriptions of the various veterans' educational assistance programs, including the GI Bills, that are currently available to veterans and other eligible individuals through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The first sections of this report describe the active GI Bills and other veterans' educational assistance programs, in descending order based on the number of current beneficiaries. The subsequent section highlights eligibility interactions between the veterans' educational assistance programs and other relevant benefit programs. The final section provides information on benefit recipients and expenditures for the educational assistance programs. A summary of selected characteristics of the various active GI Bills is presented in Appendix A. A description of the GI Bills that are no longer paying benefits and some lessons learned when they were in operation is provided in the subsequent appendices.
- Published
- 2024