Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2025

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 983) to Amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disapprove courses of education offered by a public institution of higher learning that does not charge the in-State tuition rate to a veteran using certain educational assistance under title 10 of such Code, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 983, offered by my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden).

This bill would reduce tuition costs for Montgomery GI Bill Selected reservists by making them eligible for the same in-State tuition waivers.

When a veteran uses other education benefits offered by VA, they are able to receive an in-State tuition. It is time to include MGIB Selected Reserves as another benefit that uses in-State tuition.

Last Congress, under the Republican majority, the House passed legislation that would streamline benefits and protect taxpayers. This bill would continue that mission in the 119th Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 983, and I reserve the balance of my time.

April 1, 2025.

Hon. Mike Bost,

Chairman, Committee on Veterans' Affairs,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Bost: H.R. 983, the ``Montgomery GI Bill

Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2025'', was

referred primarily to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs,

with an additional referral to the Committee on Armed

Services.

H.R. 983 contains provisions within the Committee on Armed

Services' Rule X jurisdiction. As a result of your having

consulted with the Committee and to expedite this bill for

floor consideration, the Committee on Armed Services will

forego action on the bill. This is being done based on our

mutual understanding that doing so will in no way diminish or

alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed Services

with respect to the appointment of conferees, or to any

future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters

contained in the bill or similar bills.

I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming

this understanding, and would request that you include a copy

of this letter and your response in the committee report or

in the Congressional Record during floor consideration of

this bill. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Mike Rogers,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, once again, we are seeing fear-mongering from the other side of the aisle.

VA's decision to phase out the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program, or VASP program, is an important step by the Trump administration.

Last Congress, the Biden-Harris administration, during an election year, created VASP instead of implementing a partial-claim program. This decision added billions of dollars to the VA budget without any assurance to the taxpayer that this was a good decision.

The average amount that a veteran had to pay back in their mortgage was less than $25,000. Instead of solving the problem, VA chose to purchase the entire loan, which, on average, was about $321,000. In no way does this make sense to solve a $25,000 problem with a $320,000 solution. Therein lies the problem with our colleagues across the aisle.

Rather than being wise and trying to fix it for the veterans and for the veterans in the future, Democrats instead do a political thing during an election year that ends up costing the taxpayers. I will say it again that veterans are taxpayers.

This is why, under my leadership, House Republicans have a solution, the alarm on the Biden administration program and the risk it could bring to VA home loans.

This is also why House Republicans have a solution in this problem, H.R. 1815, introduced by my friend, Representative Van Orden.

Mr. Speaker, if the ranking member is so concerned about the veterans, I ask him and his side of the aisle why my Democratic colleagues haven't introduced a solution to aid veterans and still make sure that it actually deals with the veterans' problems, not just all of a sudden spends not only more money than they have to fix their problem, but creating a problem for other veterans because Democrats are going to drain this system.

Now, I welcome the ranking member and other colleagues on the other side of the aisle to cosponsor Mr. Van Orden's legislation and get it out of the House to the Senate. Instead of complaining, the ranking member should join us in this legislation. I, once again, encourage people to get back to the issue at hand and support the bill that we were debating before.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of our colleagues to vote for that bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 983, the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2025.

This bill mandates the Department of Veterans Affairs to deny courses that do not charge in-State tuition rates to veterans using certain educational assistance under title 10. The VA already has the authority to disapprove courses at higher education institutions that do not offer in-State tuition rates for other GI Bill beneficiaries.

Mandating in-State tuition rates is good policy. It ensures that only schools who prioritize quality education at a fair price participate in the programs. It preserves the GI Bill benefits for student veterans, and it makes the entire GI Bill program more solvent and sustainable so that the GI Bill stays available for veterans for generations into the future.

Mr. Speaker, it is also crucial to ensure that selected reservists receive the same benefits as their Active-Duty counterparts by ensuring that in-State tuition is granted regardless of their residency.

This bill will expand educational opportunities by providing them with more affordable education options. Their dedication to serving our country deserves nothing less.

We passed this bill last Congress, but, unfortunately, the Senate did not consider it in time. I hope we finish this work in this Congress, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, while the House debates various veterans-related legislation today, none are more urgent than the legislation I am introducing to stop thousands of veterans from losing their homes.

Last Thursday, Secretary Doug Collins and President Trump announced the abrupt termination of the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program, known as VASP.

This program was designed to prevent foreclosures for veterans with VA home loans who had exhausted every other option. With no notice, no replacement, and no plan, the Trump administration decided that these veterans are on their own.

The decision came down just hours after the new Trump tariffs sent our economy reeling, plunging the stock market, increasing job insecurity, and deepening financial strain on working families, including veterans.

It is hard to imagine a starker representation of their values. At the very moment veterans are needing stability, the administration chose to take it away. They did it while Republicans in Congress are pushing massive tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.

The Republicans are pushing for massive tax cuts for billionaires while forcing veterans into foreclosures. Veterans who served this Nation are now calling our offices, panicked and unsure if they will lose their homes. They don't know what is next, and the truth is neither does VA.

Secretary Collins has provided no answers and no alternatives to VASP. Ending this critical support without a clear plan is not just reckless, but it is cruel. That is why I am introducing the Foreclosure Assistance Immediately Reinstated, or FAIR Act, to reinstate the VASP program and make it clear that VA's job is to help veterans stay in their homes, not push them into homelessness.

The VA Home Loan Program has been a pillar of the American middle class since the original GI Bill. It helped returning World War II veterans achieve economic security through homeownership. Yet, today's veterans, facing high costs, low wages, and an unstable economy, need that same promise fulfilled.

Let me be very clear. This is not a handout. These are earned benefits. Veterans stepped up to defend our country, our Nation, and they deserve more than empty slogans and broken promises in return.

VA had the tools, and has the responsibility, to intervene when veterans faced foreclosure. VASP was working. It had already helped over 15,000 veterans keep their homes with tens of thousands more eligible.

Ending it based on the false narrative that veterans would game the system is an insult to their service and sacrifices. This decision abandons our values. It punishes the very people who kept their promise to America.

Mr. Speaker, it is our turn to keep our promise to them. I urge my colleagues to support the FAIR Act and send a clear message: We don't let veterans fall through the cracks. Not on our watch.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 983, the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 983 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.