House Committee on Veterans' Affairs

VA Presents Detailed Project Timeline for Implementing Education Benefits to Veterans in the Post-9/11 Era   
Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, November 18, 2008, Chairwoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) held an Economic Opportunity Subcommittee hearing to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to detail the most recent implementation plans for the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008.  Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin has held a series of oversight hearings to monitor the progress of implementation since the bill was signed into law on June 30, 2008, and is required to go into effect on August 1, 2009. 

“While the 110th Congress comes to a close, I would like to assure our nation’s veterans that we will continue to monitor the progress of this critical education program,” Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin said. “We need to do everything we can to ensure that our this program is implemented in timely way that best meets the needs of our nation’s veterans once they return home from service.”

Keith Wilson, Director of the Office of Education Service, presented a two-part strategy for implementation of this comprehensive overhaul of the G.I. Bill.  Under the new law, Reserve and National Guard benefits are tied to length of service which better reflects the sacrifice of these soldiers.  The updated program also provides a stipend for housing, books and necessary supplies.  Tuition payments will be directed to the educational institution, rather than directly to the student.  VA estimates that 520,000 veterans will apply for benefits under the legislation. 

Wilson detailed an interim plan to meet the requirements of benefits delivery in the short-term.  VA has begun improving the current information technology (IT) program internally in order to meet the August 2009 deadline and expects to keep this system in place until November 2010.  This plan relies on increased automation of the current benefits system and an expected increase in staffing of nearly 400 employees.  According to the detailed timeline presented at the hearing, VA will begin to hire temporary employees in January and expects to be fully staffed by March 2009.  Timeline available here: Post-9/11 G.I. Bill Implementation Timeline.  

Wilson also provided details for the long-term solution which is expected to go into effect near the end of 2010.  VA will rely on support from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) to develop a permanent rules-based automated system.   
VA’s initial plan intended to contract out the new IT requirements necessary to implement the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill.  Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, raised concerns about the plan to outsource, specifically because VA employees are better equipped to handle the delivery of education benefits delivery as a result of their familiarity with Department of Defense documents and databases.  On October 23, 2008, VA announced a new plan to no longer use a private contractor for the immediate implementation of new IT systems, but rather use VA resources to create a temporary solution. 

Chairman Filner commented, “I am pleased that the VA has plans to implement these new education benefits internally, although I understand that the task is complicated and difficult.  Our veterans will reap the rewards of the hard work that goes into this demanding project.  I applaud the dedication of Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin on this issue.  The Committee will continue its vigilant oversight over the implementation of this most important new benefit for our troops and veterans.”     

Witness List:

Panel 1

• Keith M. Wilson, Director of Office of Education Service, Veterans Benefit Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  
  Accompanied by
  
• Stephen W. Warren, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Information and Technology, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Jan Frye, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Acquisitions & Materiel Management
• Captain Mark Krause, Chief Staff Officer, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, Atlantic, Department of the Navy. 

Prepared testimony for the hearing and an audio recording of the hearing is available on the internet at this link: http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?newsid=316.   

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