WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate approved Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s bipartisan Emergency GI Fix For Coronavirus School Closures Act—legislation introduced by Republican Senator Jerry Moran (KS) that ensures the VA continues providing GI Bill benefits, including housing allowances, to Arizona veterans enrolled in schools who have to hold online classes due to the coronavirus.
“In the face of a public health crisis, Arizona veterans should trust the educational benefits they earned will always be protected,” said Sinema.
To slow the spread of coronavirus, many colleges and universities are starting distance learning, and are moving on-site classes to online. Currently, the GI Bill benefits treat distance learning differently than on-site learning, not covering some smaller, vocational schools and providing veterans who are enrolled in distance learning lower housing allowances. Sinema’s bill allows the Secretary of the VA to continue providing full GI Bill benefits when an education program is converted from on-site to distance learning due to an emergency or health-related situation, like the coronavirus.
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