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Protecting Veteran Education Rights

As an organization committed to helping veterans successfully transition to civilian life, CMA has been actively engaged in the Department of Education’s higher education rulemaking process. Veteran’s ability to choose the sort of education that works for them is a critical component of a successful transition, and so we regularly track policy developments that impact the GI bill, veteran’s education rights, accessibility, and programming. Recently, CMA submitted new comments responding to the latest proposed changes to the 90/10 rule since it restricts education choice for veterans.  The Education Department has heard this from us before.  This time, our comments also took issue with the very process of the rulemaking because veterans, as a key stakeholder group, were underrepresented by the rulemaking committee and certain committee members have been called into question by many members of the broader VSO community.  We can do better for our veterans.

As we noted in our comment:

I have called for “Veterans’ choice” to be protected during the public comment periods and delivered testimony on behalf of a considerably large veteran constituent population. However, as a key stakeholder group, veterans seem to be underrepresented on the rulemaking committee, their designated times to speak have been either moved or delayed by days, and representative VSO’s have endured unwarranted criticism from members of the rulemaking committee – whose primary tasking is to listen, equitably consider, and equally weigh the perspectives shared by all respective stakeholders.

I have expressed my concerns as folding these benefits into a 90/10 formula will undermine the intent of the GI Bill and will render the benefits subject to 90/10 Rule enrollment restrictions. I would accept the final outcome if I had faith in an honest, fair and open process. Any trust I had has been eroded by a mismanaged process that has chosen a leading critic of career and other non-traditional schools to represent the interests of the veteran community. There is growing concern among the VSO community that a top official with the VSO Veterans Education Success (VES) was selected to represent veterans while at the same time VES was the subject of a Veterans Administration IG report that found a series of ethics violations. Veterans’ interest should be better served. If unresolved, this potentially threatens any credible, objective examination of the issue and sends a negative message to a considerably large population of veterans seeking to pursue their education and/or training goals.