The Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-48), commonly known as the "Forever GI Bill", eliminated the 15-year use-it-or-lose-it constraint associated with the Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefit. The updated bill was created with the intent of improving previous versions of the bill and the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) which is now defunct. The bill, called the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2017, flew through both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the span of three weeks, passing both by unanimous votes. After the Senate's vote, the bill was signed into law by President Donald Trump.[1]
The official name of the bill is for Harry W. Colmery who is credited with being the author of the original GI Bill (Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944).[2]
The Forever GI Bill includes 34 provisions, 15 of which have the most substantial impact on the greatest number of servicemen, veterans, their dependents, and their beneficiaries. Some of the changes were positive, although some changes reduced coverage and/or eligibility. The most impactful 15 include:
There are several lesser known changes that include:
| Change[3] | Summary of Change |
| Assistance for students affected by school closures and program disapprovals | If the school closed while the student was attending, the student may seek back entitlements. |
| Elimination of 15-year time limit to use post-9/11 GI Bill | For service members discharged after January 1, 2013, the 15-year time limit to use benefits was removed. This also applies to children of deceased service members and spouses using Fry Scholarships. |
| Independent study at technical schools and non-institutions of higher learning | Beneficiaries can now use educational assistance at non institutions of higher education, which are accredited in career and technical education at the postsecondary level. |
| Priority enrollment | The VA will better share with the beneficiary information regarding institutions which allow priority (early) enrollment to student veterans. |
| REAP eligibility credited toward post-9/11 GI BIll program | Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) service members can apply their service credit toward the post-9/11 GI Bill. |
| Work-study expansion | The expiration date for work-study qualification was removed. |
| GI Bill monthly housing allowance | Service members using the post-9/11 GI Bill after January 1, 2018 will receive a monthly housing allowance. |
| Changes to licensing and certification charges | The charges under these concepts will be prorated based on the fee charge for the test. |
| Changes to survivors’ and dependents’ educational assistance | New enrollments under the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA) after 08/01/2018 will decrease from 45 months to 36 month, however, enrollments before this date will maintain 45 months of benefits. The monthly allowance after 10/01/2018 increase to $1,224 for full-time coursework, $967 three quarter of time and $710 half-time. |
| Changes to transfer of benefits (TBE) | Dependents’ entitlement can be transferred from a deceased dependent to another. If a veteran dies following the transfer of their entitlement, the dependent who had received their entitlement may transfer the entitlement to another. |
| Informing schools about beneficiary entitlement | After 08/01/2018 the amount for educational assistance entitled to each beneficiary must be informed by the State to educational institutions. The veterans may opt to not share this information. |
| Monthly housing allowance during active duty service | The effective day for receiving housing allowance will be the day the beneficiary is discharged from duty, before this bill the effective day corresponded to the first day of the next full month. |
| Monthly housing based on campus where student attends most classes | Monthly houses allowance consider the zipcode where the beneficiary attends the majority of their classes rather than the school zip code. |
| Pilot programs for technology courses | The state will give the opportunity to beneficiaries to enroll in high technology education programs based on the skills demanded by employers and industry. |
| Purple Heart recipients | Recipients of the Purple Heart on or after September 11, 2001 are entitled to Post-9/11 GI Benefits (100% up to 36 months). |
| Reserve component benefits | National Guard and Reserve members who perform service under 10 U.S.C. 12304a or 12304b are entitled to benefits. |
| Reserve duty that counts toward post-9/11 eligibility | If a Reservist entered active duty for medical reasons, this is counted towards active duty time necessary for Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility. |
| Yellow Ribbon extension to Fry and Purple Heart recipients | Under the Yellow Ribbon Program, universities choose to provide matching funding to cover tuition and fees that exceed those covered under the GI Bill. The Forever GI Bill allows Fry Scholarship and Purple Heart recipients to use this program. |
| More benefits for STEM programs | Up to nine months of additional benefits are provided for those enrolled in STEM degree fields. |
| Consolidation of benefit levels | The 40% benefit level has been eliminated and folded into the 60% benefit level. |
| Yellow Ribbon extension to active duty servicemembers | Under the Yellow Ribbon Program, universities choose to provide matching funding to cover tuition and fees that exceed those covered under the GI Bill. The Forever GI Bill allows active duty service members to use this program. |
A 2021 study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) indicates that the GI Bill has had limited value, and in some cases may be less valuable for veterans than working after leaving military service. According to the authors "All veterans who were already enrolled in college at the time of bill passage increase their months of schooling, but only for those in public institutions did this translate into increases in bachelor’s degree attainment and longer-run earnings. For specific groups of students, large subsidies can modestly help degree completion but harm long run earnings due to lost labor market experience."[4][5]
