Roll Call – February 2019

G.I. Bill Issues

The Enlisted Association of the National Guard is currently investigating misleading information from the Department of Defense that has caused many military family’s financial hardship, and loss of postsecondary opportunities for their families. We are working with soldiers who devoted decades of their lives to serve in the armed services and accrued both full Montgomery GI Bill and Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. The Department of Defense told these soldiers that they could use the Montgomery and transfer the Post-9/11 GI Bill, ignoring VA that states a maximum of 48 months of benefits can be used. We are already engaged with DoD and VA to fix this issue. If you are in a similar situation, or know someone who is, reach out and tell us your story. We can help.

Student Veterans

The Enlisted Association of the National Guard is representing Student Veterans at the Department of Education’s 2019 Negotiated Rulemaking on Accreditation and Innovation. We are honored to have been selected from among the numerous qualified stakeholders to negotiate on behalf of all Veterans in higher education. For the next two months EANGUS will engage the Department, accreditors, institutions of higher education, and state approving agencies in order to change the status quo of higher education, which systematically denies the validity of Veterans’ training and life experience when awarding college credit. Through our efforts we hope to see all Veterans in all of higher education validated and promoted through crucial degree programs in order to complete the next steps necessary for their families and careers.

TRS Expansion Update

On January 16, 2019, Representatives Kelly (R-MS) and Garamendi (D-CA) introduced H.R. 613, the TRICARE Reserve Select Improvement Act. If signed into law, H.R. 613 would expand TRS to eligible federal employees. EANGUS is working hard to coalition build and garner support on Capitol Hill. The National Office will issue a legislative call to action as soon as the co-sponsors distribute their dear colleague letter in the House of Representatives. Please be on the lookout for the call to action, follow the instructions to contact your delegation, and forward the call to action to your friends. Please note, the call to action will include a message to your Senators asking for support for H.R. 613 counterpart bill, S. 164. Senators Daines (R-MT) and Manchin (D-WV) introduced S. 164 on January 16, 2019.