WASHINGTON – When Pat, a Purple Heart recipient, approached U.S. Senator Patty Murray in November to tell her he could not transfer his GI Bill benefits to his children, he did not expect Congress to resolve the issue.
He simply wanted to inform the Democrats in Washington state, he told States Newsroom in an exclusive interview.
Pat, whose child will soon be attending college, declined to give his last name. The Army had recently informed him that he could not transfer his training achievements because he received the Purple Heart after his medical discharge. That rule does not apply to those who receive the medal while still in the service.
Murray and Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, introduced a bipartisan bill on Thursday to close this loophole.
The law entitled Law to train veterans with the Purple Heartwould allow retroactive awardees who served on or after September 11, 2001, to transfer their educational achievements to one or more dependents. It was introduced just before Memorial Day, when the nation honors its deceased soldiers.
“As the daughter of a Purple Heart recipient, I have seen firsthand the tremendous sacrifices Purple Heart veterans make to defend our freedoms, and I firmly believe that we should do absolutely everything we can to help all veterans and their families succeed,” Murray said in a statement Thursday.
“It makes no sense that military members who are awarded a Purple Heart after their service cannot transfer their GI benefits to their dependents, while those who receive them while serving can – and I am grateful to Pat, my constituent in Washington state, for bringing this loophole to my attention,” continued Murray, a ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
“Our bill will close this loophole and provide more children of Purple Heart veterans with a post-secondary education. I want to thank Senator Tillis for supporting me on this bill, and I will work hard to turn it into law.”
Educational services breakdown
Pat was medically discharged from the U.S. Army and subsequently received a Purple Heart for his actions during Iran’s retaliatory missile attack on an Iraqi air base in January 2020 after Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was killed by a U.S. drone strike.
The Army later awarded 39 Purple Hearts to soldiers who survived the attack. after according to a December 2021 Army Times report.
When his teenager plans to attend Central Washington University next year, Pat learned that the law required his financial aid to be transferred only if he had received it while still in the military.
“I thought to myself, ‘I doubt the legislators did this on purpose.’ I just thought, you know, people probably just haven’t thought about how this happens – that some people get Purple Hearts retroactively or that there are delays in the evaluation for some reason. So it’s nothing unusual,” Pat said in a phone interview.
“I didn’t think much would happen, but I wanted to write to Senator Murray, my local senator, and let her know about the problem. They replied, ‘This is an oversight on our part and we want to make it right.'”
Pat said he was “grateful to Senator Murray” and hoped his action could lend a hand other Purple Heart veterans. Right now, his family is moving forward with the college application process for his child, he said.
Services and relatives
Among the provisions of Murray and Tillis’ bill are those that would allow veterans to split 36 months’ worth of benefits between each of their dependents. For example, they could transfer 20 months to one and 16 months to the other.
The bill, if passed, would also prohibit the benefits from being treated as marital property or marital estate.
And the bill would allow dependents to access unclaimed benefits when a veteran in their family has died.
“Purple Heart recipients are heroes who have honorably served our country at great sacrifice, and this oversight that prevents military members who have received this prestigious award after their service from transferring their GI Bill benefits to their dependents must be corrected immediately,” Tillis said in a statement Thursday.
“I am proud to join Senator Murray in introducing this common-sense bill to close this loophole and ensure that every Purple Heart recipient and their dependents can continue their education,” continued Tillis, who also sits on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
The number of veterans who received the Purple Heart retroactively following their post-9/11 service is unclear. The law is estimated to cost $500,000 in mandatory spending over 10 years, according to an informal analysis provided to Murray’s office by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The bill was praised by veterans groups, including the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
“Unfortunately, every veteran’s service and sacrifice to the United States of America is not fully appreciated while they are still in uniform,” Allison Jaslow, CEO of IAVA and Iraq War veteran, said in a statement Thursday.
“The Purple Heart Veterans Education Act ensures that veterans who have suffered physical harm in the name of our country but received recognition only after completing their service can convert that recognition into an investment in the education of their loved ones.”
Other recipients of the Purple Heart
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have “greatly increased” the number of Purple Heart recipients, as the Department of Defense added some traumatic brain injuries as an accepted condition for the award. after to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
Only when a Law of 2017 that after 9/11, Purple Heart recipients could receive full GI Bill benefits regardless of their length of service. Previously, recipients had to have completed 36 months of vigorous duty.
According to the CRS, the Department of Defense does not keep records of the number of recipients, but is required by law to maintain a publicly available list with the permission of the veteran or his or her next of kin.
Military historians and the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor treasure Since 1932, approximately 1.8 million Purple Hearts have been awarded. The Army Historical Foundation estimated As of 2016, 30,000 Purple Hearts have been awarded since 2001. The CRS quoted this statistic.
