To amend title 38, United States Code, to render an individual, who transfers certain educational assistance, to which the individual is entitled because of an agreement by such individual to serve in the Armed Forces, to a dependent of that individual, and who fails to complete such agreement, solely liable for the overpayment of such educational assistance.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 290) to amend title 38, United States Code, to render an individual, who transfers certain educational assistance, to which the individual is entitled because of an agreement by such individual to serve in the Armed Forces, to a dependent of that individual, and who fails to complete such agreement, solely liable for the overpayment of such educational assistance, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 290, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, the eligibility for veterans to transfer their earned educational benefits is limited based on service time and commitments to additional service time. Recently, there have been a number of cases where DOD erroneously calculated servicemembers' time in service, allowing the servicemember to transfer a benefit when they should not have, as in the case of Russell Dotson.

In Mr. Dotson's case, he was told by the Navy that he was able to transfer his benefit to his daughter. Unfortunately, the Navy was 6 days off in its calculation. That led to his daughter's GI Bill-covered tuition at DePaul University being cut off. Now, she and her father, a veteran who served 22 years and was honored for saving two lives in Afghanistan, are left having to repay more than $20,000.

As a result of these errors, the veteran and their dependent are saddled with a huge bill, that is overpayment, for the cost of erroneously billed educational costs. The debt levied on the dependent is costly and can ruin their credit before they enter the labor force, which could impact their housing and job opportunities.

H.R. 290, as amended, limits liabilities to ensure that there aren't surprise debts created by errors in paperwork. This legislation has been supported by VSOs such as the VFW, American Legion, and the Student Veterans of America.

Madam Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Bost for his work on this issue. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 290, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 290, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 290, as amended, to create a sole liability for GI Bill payments during transfer in certain cases. This bill would hold a servicemember liable should they transfer the GI Bill entitlement but fail to complete their service obligation.

The GI Bill is a fantastic benefit. The GI Bill has helped tens of thousands of veterans and their families obtain a higher education. Some servicemembers are eligible to transfer their GI Bill entitlement to a dependent. They can do this once they have completed 6 years of active service and agree to serve an additional 4 years.

Under my bill, if the servicemember begins to transfer the entitlement at the 6-year mark but fails to complete the additional 4 years of the required service, their dependent would not be held liable for overpayments. This would help dependents avoid unexpected VA debt for actions outside of their control. Some overpayments can total hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is only right that we ensure that they are assigned to the right person.

Madam Speaker, I thank our VSO partners, especially those at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors for bringing this issue to my attention.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I just want to encourage all of my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.