Two legislative proposals that would improve the Post-9/11 GI Bill and set an end date for the Montgomery GI Bill recently passed the House. The Protect the GI Bill Act (H.R.4625), sponsored by Rep. Mike Levin (Calif.), ensures that schools receiving GI Bill funding inform prospective students of the cost of attendance, how much their benefits cover, student outcomes, and more. The bill empowers State Approving Agencies (SAAs) to flag or suspend new enrollments to schools that violate these requirements. The bill also contains several other protections, including a ban on schools misrepresenting themselves while marketing, recruiting and enrolling students.
Further, the GI Bill Planning Act (H.R.4162), sponsored by Rep. Jack Bergman (Mich.), gives new enlistees six months rather than just two weeks, to decide to pay $1200 or opt-out of their Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) benefit. It also ends with new enlistee enrollments in the outdated MGIB by October 2029. Both bills were approved by voice vote and have been sent to the Senate for further consideration.