Veterans-Related Education Legislation Enacted in the 117th Congress. CRS Report R47301, Version 4. Updated

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers several veterans' educational assistance programs for servicemembers and veterans and their family members. The GI Bills are the most well-known and popular veterans' educational assistance programs. The VA estimated that it provided $10.2 billion in benefits to over 800,000 participants in FY2022. The largest program, the Post-9/11 GI Bill, is estimated to account for approximately 82% of benefits and 69% of participants. In recent years, Congress has held several oversight and legislative hearings on a variety of subjects relating to the veterans' education programs, including (but not limited to), improving access and eligibility to benefits, automating claims processing to reduce payment delays, educating eligible individuals about their benefits and choices, and trying to ensure benefits are not wasted on poor quality programs of education. This report discusses measures enacted in the 117th Congress that made changes to the veterans' educational assistance programs. Some of the laws that enacted veterans' educational assistance measures address only veterans' education, while others address a broader set of policies. The report presents a thematic discussion of the primary changes adopted by offering contextual information on prior provisions and issues being addressed by amendments and by describing the amendments.