(TribuneNews Service) — Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, claiming the Trump administration is failing to provide veterans with education benefits they have earned.
“Veterans who qualify for benefits should receive their full benefits — full stop,” Miyares said in a statement.
Virginia is joined in the lawsuit by veterans’ organizations and individual veterans who argue the Department of Veterans Affairs is applying an overly narrow interpretation of the GI Bills, denying funding for education earned through military service.
“The plain language of the GI Bills has always compelled the VA to honor the full 48 months of education benefits that veterans were promised,” the lawsuit states. “But for years VA rules have denied benefits to veterans who are entitled to them. Those rules are unlawful and should be set aside.”
The Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bills entitle veterans to 36 months of education benefits. Veterans who qualify under both are entitled to a total of 48 months of coverage. According to Miyares and the plaintiffs, the VA is not honoring this combined total.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision last year affirmed that veterans eligible under both bills are entitled to a combined 48 months of benefits. The court ruled that the “statute is clear” and that “(v)eterans who separately accrue benefits under both the Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bills are entitled to both benefits.”
James Rudisill, an Army veteran living in Virginia and the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court case, is also named in the lawsuit filed Thursday. After serving eight years in the military, Rudisill qualified for education benefits under both GI Bills but was denied full funding
According to Thursday’s lawsuit, the VA’s 2024 Educational Directives continue to deny Rudisill and several others their education benefits by applying a “cramped reading” of the Supreme Court’s decision. For instance, veterans who served long enough to qualify for both GI Bills, but did not have a break in service, may still be denied benefits under the current VA guidance.
The complaint also warns that the VA’s position could strain state programs such as the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program, which covers tuition for some veterans’ families. Miyares argues that GI Bill benefits should reduce reliance on state aid, but denials at the federal level may push more dependents to seek state support, “stretch(ing) the Commonwealth’s resources for the program.”
“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that veterans who are eligible for the Montgomery and Post-9/11 G.I. Bills are entitled to their full benefits. Not partial, but full,” Miyares said. “We believe we are correct on the merits and look forward to an amicable resolution on behalf of those who have served.”
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The Veterans Affairs Building in Washington, D.C. is shown in this undated file photo. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)
