Attorney General Dan Rayfield has 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. The brief argues the two veterans 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.
“No veteran who has served our country should be denied access to the education they’ve earned,” Rayfield said. “Joining this bipartisan effort is not just a matter of policy, it’s a moral obligation. Our commitment to these men and women is unwavering, and we will continue to advocate for their rights until they get the benefits they deserve.”
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.
In this brief, Attorney General Rayfield 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, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
