Guest blogger Joe Colflesh, RMUoHP Scholarship & VA Benefits Coordinator.
On August 16, 2017, the US Congress considered and voted into law the Colmery Act. This new form of the GI Bill®, the Forever GI Bill, permanently affects and, hopefully, improves the benefits that many veterans will be offered for their educational needs.
It is fortunate that Congress had the foresight to update and improve the GI Bill. The Pew Research Center projects that by the year 2045 the veteran population will consist of 4% Vietnam era Veterans and 96% will be the Veterans who have served since the first Gulf War (Pew, 2017). These statistics are alarming in that the Veterans Administration (VA) faces an increasing population of veterans that will be interested in education benefits.
While more than one blog is required to discuss all of the changes and improvements of the Forever GI Bill (so we won’t attempt to do that), our goal is to inform you of the most relevant changes that may affect your academic and professional opportunities. The following are some changes brought about by the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistant Act:
- Removed time restrictions to use the GI Bill, enabling future eligible recipients to use their GI Bill benefits for their entire lives as opposed to the former 15-year timeline.
- Simplified the benefit for future service members by consolidating the GI Bill into a single program, which reduces the VA’s administrative costs.
- Provided significant increases in GI Bill funding for reservists and guardsmen, dependents, surviving spouses, and surviving dependents.
- Provided 100% GI Bill eligibility to post-9/11 Purple Heart recipients.
- Restored eligibility for service members whose schools close in the middle of a semester and creates a pilot program that would pay for veterans to take certain high technology courses.
For questions regarding these changes, eligibility, or scholarship opportunities, contact Joe Colflesh, RMUoHP’s Scholarship/VA Benefits Coordinator & School Certifying Official at 385.375.8354 or joseph.colflesh@rm.edu. Additionally, you may learn more by visiting RMUoHP Financial Aid at https://rm.edu/financial-aid/.
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
