The implementation of a 2017 law that reauthorized and expanded Education Assistance programs for u. S. Military veterans. Live coverage here on cspan 3. I want to thank you for joining us. We will begin our first oversight hearing on the implementation of hr3218 the veterans assistance education act of 2017. This bill was designed, rather signed into law by president trump. Its a great example of what congress can do when we put the american people, and in this case, our Veterans First and foremost. In addition to the efforts of chairman roe, the bill was a result of many of our bsos, two of whom are joined with us today on the panel. This was the first major improvement to the gi bill since 2011. It encompassed measures brought to the committee. We can be proud of this achievement to pass the forever gi bill. The subcommittees work has just begun. Its critical that we work in tandem with the va, with veterans groups and other stakeholders as the department begins the implementation of this revised bill so we can insure its ruled out seamlessly. Many of you can remember the significant delays that beneficiaries experienced back in 2009. I actually wasnt here then. Im told there were delays then and we dont want that in this round of implementations. And this happened after the passage of the post 9 11 gi bill. Im sure, again, we can agree that such delays cant happen again. Its our job to identify any problems and solve them and have a smooth implementation, Cost Effective for all stakeholders. I would be remiss if i didnt acknowledge efforts to schedule regular calls with the Committee Staff on both sides of the hill to update them on the implementation, however, i think its important that we have these hearings so that we can discuss as Committee Members. We as Committee Members can lend our support and help to you and others in the department as you work to implement this reform package. I do have concerns about the focus this process is getting from the va Senior Leadership. We have found Education Programs are often overlooked as a whole. I understand the team has many priorities but i hope they understand it will be no small feat to execute such a large Reform Initiative such as this bill which will result in over 3 billion worth of changes to the gi bill. Our investments and the taxpayers investments and the impact that the forever gi bill will have on our future success of student veterans is, im sure you will agree an extremely important endeavor and weve got to get it right. So i urge the secretary in this administration, do whatever they have to do to give folks the resources, especially the i. T. Resources in this case. That they need to roll this package out effectively without major hiccups. Again, like we experienced in 2009. Before i yield to Ranking Member rourke, i want to focus in on the i. T. Measures i just listed. I have questions about this. Since joining this committee, its always been clear that vas i. T. Systems are often so convoluted that when Congress Makes changes to the gi bill, or reform needs to be updated the patchwork system of upgrades is not able to keep up which can cause significant delays for student veterans. The subcommittee has been told during multiple hearings in the past that the plans for these systems would insure agility so that the va could quickly address changes that were made in the law as we have seen, however, that just hasnt been the case. Directing i. T. Systems to Education Programs is not often a focus of the department. I hope this practice does not continue, especially for something as important as the forever gi bill. I look forward to working with the committee to insure these resorts ar resources get to where theyre needed. Theres not too much i can add to your excellent opening comments, but to thank you and the majority staff and the minority staff for insuring we have a successful hearing today for those about to testify for our colleagues and their questions. I think all of us want to make sure the forever gi bill is implemented successfully and that we anticipate any concerns ahead of time and work constructively together to see how we can insure that those are resolved. Like the chairman, i see the biggest challenge being one with i. T. So appreciate the fact that general worley is he and he has brought someone to answer those questions and suggest how we Work Together to insure that this goes smoothly and seamlessly for transitioning Service Members and for veterans. I want to thank the Veterans Service oerrganizations that ar here today. I look forward to hearing what they have to say. I yield back. I want to thank the Ranking Member. I invite our first and only panel to the table. With us today, we have general robert worley, who is accompanied by mrs. Chairman bode. Mr. Lloyd thrower, acting Information Technology account manager for the benefits portfolio within vas office of information and technology. Mr. William hubbard, Vice President of Government Affairs and mrs. Kathleen mokeler. So thank you guys for being here today. Before we begin with your testimonies, i ask that the witnesses, if you would please stand and raise your right hand. Do you swear under penalty of perjury the testimony youre about to provide is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth . Thank you, please be seated. Let the record reflect all witnesses answered in the affirmative. Your written statements will be made part of the record. All of you will be recognized for five minutes for your oral statements. General worley, youre recognized for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, im pleased to be here today to discuss vas work on the veterans Educational Assistance act of 2017. Also referred to as the forever gi bill. Accompanying me today is mr. Lloyd thrower, office of Information Technology and ms. Bode, deputy director. On august 16, 2017, the president signed into law an act which makes sweeping changes, which corrects inequities, expands benefits and changes the way we view the gi bill for the future. Its the most comprehensive set of changes to education benefits since the enactment of the post 9 11 gi bill in 2009. The act has become known as the forever gi bill because of its most recognized feature, a removal of a 15 year time limit feature. To use their post 9 11 gi bill benefits. Other important futures of the law are that it restores benefits to veterans who are impacted by School Closures since 2015. Expands opportunities for s. T. E. M. And i. T. Training. Provides increases for funding for state approved agencies. The importance and complexity of the act led va to establish a cross functional Program Executive office within existing resources. Responsible for leading and coordinating all forever gi bill implementation activities. Also in record time, va awarded a 12 month contract that provides further support through the addition of expertise in i. T. , training and communications. The law requires a significant i. T. Effort with 22 of the 34 provisions requiring modifications at an estimate of 70 million. I. T. Has committed to providing a solution to the most pressing of the provisions which change the way va pays monthly housing benefits. Va will assure continued timely processing of additional claims related to the act and will stand up new initiatives such as the edith norris rodgers s. T. E. M. Scholarship by using experienced teams and hiring 202 additional temporary employees in the field. Va has taken significant steps since the laws signing, first focusing on the 15 provisions that were effective on date of enactment and executing a multifaceted Communications Campaign to highlight the improvement to affected beneficiaries and other stakeholders. Va has promoted the act through a new web page, social media, variety of outreach activities. Traditional media as well as frequently asked questions. Va has been posting multiple updates on its facebook page, and in november va held a forever gi bill twitter townhall reaching over 170,000 users. And participated in a Satellite Media tour, conducting interviews with 23 radio and television stations reaching 4 million listeners. We have sent out three mass emails to 1. 2 million stakeholders and have conducted multiple briefings to School Certifying official and veterans organizations. Many provisions target beneficiaries. Va is targeting notification. We have identified and notified nearly 8,000 education beneficiaries that may be eligible for restoration of entitlement under the School Closure provision. In just under one month, va has already received over 400 applications and has restored 1,800 months of entitlement to over 200 beneficiaries. In just under four months, va has moved out quickly and is working hard on successfully implementing all of the provisions of the act on time. There is great deal of work remaining, with 13 of 34 provisions effective on august first of 2018. The va has started revising regulations, developing policy, designing training, preparing communications and more as we move forward. We look forward to continuing to work with all of our partners and stakeholders on these efforts. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today, mr. Chairman, i look forward to responding to any questions the committee may have. Now, well recognize mr. Hubbard. You are recognized for five minutes. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member rourke and members of the committee, thank you for inviting student veterans of america to testify on the implementation of the forever gi bill. With nearly 1,500 chapters representing over 1. 1 million student veterans were pleased to share the perspective of those directly impacted by the subjects before this committee. Signed into law this august, hr3218 made history. As one of the most significant pieces of Higher Education legislation to occur this century, millions of service affiliated students will have greater access to education and training, thanks to the efforts of our committee and 115th congress. We would like to share brief history from our perspective on the legislation, which was a case study and partnership and discussion. We launched a special focus on the importance of sustainability in programs, driven by outcomes and fueled with data driven decision making. The forever gi bill includes dozens of solution oriented provisions, such as the work study authorization, science technology, removal of the time limit on the gi bill and many other provisions. Which increased access to education. The new law will also address inequities of the earned benefit and looked forward to the future well beyond our own generation. As leading advocates for the bill, were committed to the complete and timely implementation of this law. With that interest in mind, we thank the committee for this opportunity to highlight several key areas of success as well as some which have room for improvement. We applaud the department of Veterans Affairs for their dedicated staff for d demonstrating and implementing the gi bill. Especially their effort to make those affected aware of upcoming opportunities. Until forever gi bill, student veterans attending schools with unexpected closures were the only students in Higher Education with no reasonable recourse to recoup their benefits. The most prolific examples include the closures of i. T. T. Tech. Unfortunately, thousands of student veterans were adversely affected due to the poor performance of these schools and we applaud va for producing an application for these students to apply for restoration of their benefits. We are concerned that so few students have applied under the School Closure provision. Since the notice for va went out to these students, like our concerns with reaching eligible purple heart recipients, the integrity of individual Contact Information within the va system may not be reliable. We encourage va to partner with external organizations to reach out to the widest audience possible. Turning to the edith norris rodgers scholarship, this originated from the 113th congress, a bipartisan bill c. We were a proud partner in the advocacy of this and we were delighted to see it become law. As the forever gi bill was being developed it became clear that the implementation costs,pl wou be a significant driver of cost. We have Major Concerns on whether or not the office is implementing this law are receiving adequate resources to execute this overhaul. The bill recognizes a shift for veterans and education in general. Its more apparent today than ever. The gi bill is a successful story because it has demonstrated results. As president Thomas Jefferson in 1808 the same prudence which in private life would prohibit us paying our own money for unexplained projects. With the implementation of forever gi bill we raised the question who should be allowed to play in gi bill land . Many banks do not qualify for these loans due to the strict standards leading to outcomes impressed by the standard. Perhaps the same should be thought about for the gi bill. We thank you for inviting us to testify and look forward to any questions you may have. Thank you so very much. I recognize mrs. Mokeler for five minutes. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member rourke, and distinguished members of the subcommittee. The Tragedy Assistance Program for survivors thanks you for the opportunity to talk about issues important to the families we serve. The families of the fallen. While the mission of taps is to offer comfort and support for surviving families, we are also committed to improving support provided by the federal government for the families of the fallen. Those who fall in combat, those who fall from invisible wounds, and those who die from illness or disease. Taps appreciates the attention the committee has paid to making sure that veterans and surviving family members have benefits that give them access to quality education. Taps provides specialized support through our web education portal regarding the education benefits available for the children and spouses of americas fallen heroes. Taps Staff Members work with each individual to maximize the Financial Support they can receive to complete their education from both government and private agencies. This also allows us to hear from survivors where they encounter problems and stumbling blocks in the process. We are most grateful for the provisions included in the veterans Educational Assistance act of 2017 that supports survivors and most appreciate t ative of the opportunity to comment. We have heard from many surviving spouses concerning the implementation of the forever gi bill. They are most appreciative of the enhanced benefit, many have concerns. We have worked with the va to solve many of them. First of these is the date. The date found on a va certificate of eligibility that informs the individual of the date they are no longer eligible for education benefits. As of early december, eligible students are still receiving the letters with the 15 year delimitating date. Some students are aware of the date, they are reluctant to actualize their plan until they have the correct information on their certificate of eligibility. Taps did query the va office of Economic Opportunity about this discrepancy. The office offered that while i. T. Upgrades are in process, the system does not currently allow the letter to go out without a delimitating date. We appreciate the steps that this office has taken to develop a work around, including enhanced training to Call Center Personnel to insure recipients that there is no delimitating date. Sending letters informing spouses that there is no delimitating date. And manually changing new certificates of eligibility until they find a permanent solution. As said before, the success of the implementation is the tient dependent on changes to the i. T. System. While mandatory training for School Certifying officials is included in the bill, we are concerned about the schools being fully aware of the changes coming in august 2018. Information is being pushed out by the va. We hope there will be coordination within the schools so that the person actually talking to the students is aware of the changes. Taps biggest concerns with all the changes being implemented is there will be delayed payments. Even with the few changes that went into effect this fall, there were issues with schools demanding payment from the students because of delayed va payments. Students receiving va payments were not allowed to attend classes. Register for spring 2018 or use campus facilities because the va payment was delayed. In some cases, students were put on payment plans they could not afford or forced to take out Student Loans with egregious origination fees in order to continue the education program. Taps would recommend that students receiving va payments have the same protection as those who receive title iv funding such as pell grants and federal Student Loans who are not penalized for late payment. Taps believes the best way to do this is through a legislative change. We have been in discussion with majority staff to assist these students. The proposed legislation would give the va the ability to disapprove any course of education unless the