Rep. Calvert’s Veterans Education Bill Passed by the House

Today, the House passed H.R. 6416, which contained legislation introduced by Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) to streamline veteran education benefits at community colleges.

"Our veterans should be able to receive their education benefits without any unnecessary delays," said Rep. Calvert. "Community colleges provide incredible educational opportunities for our veterans, so I am pleased Congress is taking action to make it easier for veterans to use their education benefits at these institutions."

H.R. 6416 contained the legislative text of H.R. 182, introduced by Rep. Calvert on January 7, 2015, which streamlines the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) processes for community colleges that have multiple campuses. Currently, the VA requires community colleges to certify that their veteran students are enrolled for a specific number of classes before the VA will disperse student benefits. These rules must be updated to account for multi-college Community College Districts, such as Riverside Community College District (RCCD). Without such an update, veterans that take classes at a multi-college District see their benefits delayed while colleges and the VA complete and shuffle unnecessary paperwork. H.R. 182 would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to permit the centralized reporting of veteran enrollment by certain groups, districts, and consortiums of educational institutions.

###