Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) announced the introduction of the GI Bill Transferability Act and SCHEDULES Act, two bills that seek to provide aid to U.S. servicemen and women by broadening access to education benefits and enhancing accountability within the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) for members.
According to a press release from the Senator’s Office, the GI Bill Transferability Act would enhance flexibility for both servicemembers and veterans “to transfer their post-9/11 GI Bill benefits after they’ve completed six years of service, ensuring families can better plan for their educational futures.”
“Our veterans and servicemembers deserve the freedom to use their education benefits in ways that work for their families and the assurance that they won’t face unnecessary delays in their healthcare,” Sen. Scott shared.
The media release also shares that the Scheduling for Community Health and Easy Data to Understand for Legislators to Evaluate Services (SCHEDULES) Act would establish a comprehensive standard for how quickly veterans receive care after a referral.
The act will also require the VA to provide a quarterly report to Congress on “the number of referrals that meet the standard the VA sets,” and to rank VA medical centers from best to worst based on their ability to meet the standards.
“My GI Bill Transferability Act gives military families more flexibility, while the SCHEDULES Act ensures the VA provides timely, accountable care,” Sen. Scott added. “These two bills will help veterans plan for the future and hold the VA accountable, because our heroes deserve a government and a VA that are ready to support them at every stage of their life – our nation’s heroes deserve nothing less.”
The GI Bill Transferability Act will also end the current four-year added service requirement for those who choose to transfer their benefits, and it will update existing law to allow for the transfer of those benefits at any time after the six-year requirement is met, “even after the servicemember is no longer on active duty.”
