VSOs urge passage of Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act to return GI Bill benefits lost to fraud

Veterans Education Success and other witnesses urged lawmakers to restore GI Bill benefits to veterans who were defrauded by training programs, describing cases where veterans lost tuition entitlement and had no statutory recourse to be made whole.

Will Hubbard, president of Veterans Education Success, told the committees that schools with poor outcomes and predatory practices continue to receive GI Bill funds and that when veterans are defrauded ‘‘that veteran will never get their GI Bill back.’’ He praised the House passage last year of the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act and urged swift Senate action to allow defrauded veterans to recover lost benefits and resume education.

Hubbard described examples presented to VA and to Congress in which programs delivered repackaged or low‑quality content, used unqualified instructors, or continued to receive GI Bill funding even after law‑enforcement action. He recommended requiring stronger vetting standards: qualified instructors, proof of financial stability, restrictions on marketing‑heavy budgets and limits on repackaged content. He also asked lawmakers to improve VA data sharing to better track outcomes.

Representative Ramirez, who led the House effort, and other members stressed bipartisan support for the restoration bill and asked VA and VSOs to work together on implementation details. Committee members said they intended to reintroduce the measure and advance it as a priority for returning veterans who lost time and entitlement to fraudulent or failing programs.

Ending: VSOs asked Congress to pass the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act and to tighten VA approval standards for training programs so veterans’ GI Bill benefits are protected from fraud and abuse.