Following Debacle at VA to Process Delayed G.I. Bill Benefits, Senator Murray Demands Answers and Urgent Action from Trump Administration to Help Veterans Seeking Relief

In two new letters today to VA Secretary Wilkie and VA Inspector General Missal, Senator Murray demands internal investigation into VA’s withholding Post 9/11 G.I. Bill benefits and clarification on VA’s next steps to reimburse veterans’ missed payments  

Hundreds of thousands of veterans receiving G.I. Bill benefits are believed to have been impacted by VA’s processing delays

Actions follow Senator Murray’s previous request for VA to immediately address it’s severe backlog of living stipend and tuition payments for veterans receiving Forever G.I. Bill benefits

Senator Murray: “I will not ease up until every last veteran has the correct G.I. Bill payment that they earned in their service to our country”

ICYMI—from November 14^th: As Veterans Seek Relief from Mounting Housing and Education Expenses, Senator Murray Calls For Increased Transparency and Action at VA to Process Delayed G.I. Bill Benefits – MORE HERE

WA’s Kitsap Sun: “Olympic College students feeling the pinch from delayed G.I. Bill benefit payments” – LINK

(Washington, D.C.)  – As a follow-up to her previous demands for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to immediately process delayed G.I. Bill benefits for veterans, today U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Senate education committee and a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, took new action to address the Trump administration’s lack of urgency and transparency to resolve this crisis and hold officials accountable for processing veterans’ delayed payments and implementing the bill according to Congress’ intentions. Senator Murray’s latest actions come after her efforts earlier this month urging VA to take immediate action to address the severe backlog of living stipend and tuition payments for veterans receiving Forever G.I. Bill benefits.

“The VA needs to fix this problem, and fast. It’s absolutely unacceptable to put the burden of delayed benefits onto the backs of the very men and women who served our country, so I’m demanding information from the VA’s watchdog and raising this issue again to the Secretary. I will not ease up until every last veteran has the correct G.I. Bill payment that they earned in their service to our country,” said Senator Murray.

In a new letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, Senator Murray decried VA’s failure to make accurate payments to veterans receiving G.I. Bill benefits, and called on the agency to articulate a credible plan to correct the Department’s failures implementing the policy. In the letter Senator Murray also highlighted VA’s obligation to ensure payments are consistent with the law’s statuary deadlines, and reiterated her request for VA to provide information immediately regarding VA’s progress toward processing all delayed payments. Senator Murray also sent a letter to VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal requesting additional information and an internal investigation of VA’s implementation of the law and allegations that the Department will withhold retroactive payments for missed or underpaid benefits.  

It is believed hundreds of thousands of veterans receiving G.I. Bill benefits have been impacted by VA’s processing delays; in a November 13 letter to Secretary Wilkie, Senator Murray requested that VA provide Congress periodic updates on its efforts to resolve this problem, which to date VA has failed to provide.

Read Senator Murray’s letter to VA Secretary Wilkie HERE.

Read Senator Murray’s letter to VA Inspector General Missal HERE.