Tell Congress To Guarantee Education Support For Those Who Served

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Sponsor: The Veterans Site

Thousands of veterans and surviving families are going without rent and tuition support as benefits stall—your voice can help force action now to restore the GI Bill and protect every servicemember’s future.

Tell Congress To Guarantee Education Support For Those Who Served

Every semester, tens of thousands of veterans, servicemembers, and surviving family members depend on GI Bill and Chapter 35 benefits to afford school and housing. These programs aren’t charity — they’re a promise made to those who served and sacrificed for our nation. That promise has been broken.

After the most recent government shutdown, GI Bill payments to thousands of students never arrived. Families of fallen servicemembers, dependents of disabled veterans, and student veterans found themselves unable to pay tuition or rent. Many were left in limbo with no answers because the VA hotline — the only way to report problems — had been shut down as “non-essential.”1

Benefits Delayed Mean Lives Disrupted

Reports show that nearly 37,000 VA employees were furloughed or working without pay, halting vital services nationwide.2 Dozens of VA benefits offices were closed. Even the dependents’ hotline for education verification was offline, meaning some students couldn’t even confirm their eligibility.3 For families already managing the stress of loss or transition, that silence was devastating. Rent came due, tuition deadlines passed, and communication from the VA stopped completely.

Veterans Education Success, a national nonprofit advocating for student veterans, called the situation “real money and real stress for veterans and their families — not a simple bureaucratic hiccup.”4 Their call for action is simple: classify GI Bill and Chapter 35 processing as essential services so veterans never again face missed payments because of a political stalemate or technical failure.

Congress Must Act — and the VA Must Fix This

Lawmakers on the Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs Committees have already demanded answers from the VA, citing past shutdowns where payments continued without interruption.5 They have pressed for a timeline to restore funds and for a permanent plan to ensure education benefits are never disrupted again. But without public pressure, this crisis risks fading from view before it’s fixed.

These are not abstract policy debates. Each delayed payment means a veteran who served this country can’t pay for food, rent, or the education they earned through years of service. Chapter 35 beneficiaries — often children or spouses of those who died in service — deserve stability, not silence. Their education is part of how our nation keeps its promise to care for those who bear the cost of war.

Sign Now to Demand Restoration of Full Benefits

Our veterans should never be forced to choose between education and survival because of government inaction. Sign this petition calling on the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to restore full GI Bill and Chapter 35 benefits immediately — and guarantee they can never again be suspended or delayed. Together, we can keep faith with those who served and build a future worthy of their sacrifice.

More on this issue:

  1. Hope Hodge Seck, Military Times (3 November 2025), "VA tech glitch halts GI Bill payments to thousands, advocates say."
  2. CNN Newsource Staff, WRDW (1 November 2025), "VA announces furloughs for more employees as shutdown continues."
  3. The American Legion (17 October 2025), "Government shutdown, computer issues impacting student veterans, GI Bill users."
  4. Veterans Education Success (October 2025), "Our Press Release: GI Bill Payment Delays During Government Shutdown."
  5. Veterans Education Success (9 October 2025), "Letter from Congress to VA regarding missing GI Bill payments during government shutdown

The Petition

To the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs,

Every man and woman who has served this nation has made a promise—to protect our freedoms, often at great personal cost. In return, our country made a promise to them: that their education, stability, and future would be supported through programs like the GI Bill and Chapter 35 Dependents’ Educational Assistance. That promise must never be conditional.

Today, thousands of student veterans, military survivors, and dependents have been left in financial distress. Interrupted tuition payments, delayed housing stipends, and closed communication channels have placed them in untenable situations. Many cannot pay rent, afford basic needs, or stay enrolled in their programs because of administrative breakdowns and furloughs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Survivors using Chapter 35 benefits—spouses and children of those who gave everything for this nation—are among the hardest hit.

These delays are not just numbers on a ledger. They represent veterans trying to rebuild their lives through education, families mourning a loss but striving for a future, and servicemembers preparing for civilian success. Every missed payment chips away at their trust in a system meant to protect them.

We call on the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to immediately restore full operations for all GI Bill and Chapter 35 benefit programs, including reclassifying the GI Bill hotline and benefit processing teams as essential services that cannot be suspended during government shutdowns. The VA must allocate emergency resources to address current backlogs and guarantee timely payments for education and housing assistance.

We also urge the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to conduct oversight hearings on this failure, introduce legislation that codifies the uninterrupted continuation of veterans’ education benefits during funding lapses, and ensure the VA’s digital infrastructure is robust enough to prevent future delays.

Our servicemembers and their families should never become casualties of political gridlock or technical failure. Education benefits are not privileges—they are earned commitments that sustain the long-term strength and readiness of our nation.

By restoring these essential supports fully and without interruption, we reaffirm our country’s obligation to those who serve. These actions will not only protect veterans today but build a stronger, more resilient future for all Americans.

Sincerely,

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