AG Kaul Joins Bipartisan Effort to Protect Veterans’ Education Benefits

MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul today joined 51 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in support of two military veterans and their families who were unlawfully denied their full G.I. Bill education benefits by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In this case, U.S. Army veteran Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yoon and U.S. Air Force veteran Colonel Toby Doran were denied crucial education benefits to which they are clearly entitled.

The brief argues that the VA has taken a restrictive interpretation of the G.I. Bills that contradicts the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Rudisill v. McDonough, which confirmed that veterans who qualify under both the Montgomery and Post-9/11 G.I. Bills are entitled to a full 48 months of education benefits. Despite the clear precedent, the VA has continued to limit benefits based on an erroneous reading of the ruling, depriving veterans and their families of critical educational opportunities.

“The VA must ensure that veterans receive the benefits they earned in full,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul. “The fact that every state has signed onto this amicus brief is a strong demonstration of the recognition across the country of the critical importance of meeting our obligations to those who bravely served our country.”

Today’s brief was joined by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Read the brief here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.