Online Students Qualified For Extended GI Bill Benefits with REMOTE Act
Editor’s note: this article has been updated in several places.
REMOTE Act Allowed Veterans to Study Online, Receive Full GI Bill Benefits
Due to the ongoing pandemic, Congress extended the GI Bill protections for student veterans that were still required to take remote classes due to COVID-19 restrictions. This move was designed to help veterans attending college, and who had no choice but to take remote classes due to the pandemic.
Before COVID, veterans taking classes remotely received half of the Post 9-11 GI Bill housing benefit. In 2020, they allowed veteran students who had to go to school remotely to receive the full amount. This helped fill in the financial gap when students who were normally in school traditionally needed to start schooling online. This was set to expire on December 21st.
On December 8th, The U.S. House of Representatives passed Rep. Mike Levin’s (D-CA) Responsible Education Mitigating Options and Technical Extensions (REMOTE) act. This was introduced in October with Rep. David Trone (D-MD) and Veterans Affairs Committee Chairmen Mark Takano (D-CA). On December 15th, the act was passed by the Senate and is now awaiting the signature by the President.
**UPDATE: VA.gov reports, “On December 21, 2021, President Biden signed the “Responsible Education Mitigating Options and Technical Extensions Act” or the “REMOTE Act” into law.”
The move extended these benefits from expiring from December 21st to June of 2022.
“At a time when we are trying to keep veterans housed and encouraging them to pursue higher education, the last thing we can afford is to let these protections expire and risk derailing their studies or, even worse, forcing them out of their homes. I’m encouraged to see our bill pass the House today to protect student veterans’ benefits and I’m optimistic we can get it to President Biden’s desk soon.” – Rep. Levin.
The American Legion, Disabled Veterans of America (DAV), National Association of Veterans Program Administrators (NAVPA), Veterans Education Success (VES), as well as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) endorsed this legislation.
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About the author
Julie Provost is a freelance writer, and blogger. She lives in Tennessee with her National Guard husband and three boys.