Detrimental Delays: Reviewing Payment Failures in VA’s Education Programs

1[House Hearing, 119 Congress]2[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]34                          DETRIMENTAL DELAYS:5                       REVIEWING PAYMENT FAILURES6                       IN VA'S EDUCATION PROGRAMS78=======================================================================910                                HEARING1112                               before the1314                      SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC15                            OPPORTUNITY1617                                 of the1819                     COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS2021                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES2223                    ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS2425                             FIRST SESSION2627                               __________2829                       TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 20253031                               __________3233                           Serial No. 119-413435                               __________3637       Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs3839                 [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]4041                    Available via http://govinfo.gov4243                               ______4445                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE464762-635                    WASHINGTON : 20264849                     COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS5051                     MIKE BOST, Illinois, Chairman5253AUMUA AMATA COLEMAN RADEWAGEN,       MARK TAKANO, California, Ranking54    American Samoa, Vice-Chairwoman      Member55JACK BERGMAN, Michigan               JULIA BROWNLEY, California56NANCY MACE, South Carolina           CHRIS PAPPAS, New Hampshire57MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS, Iowa       SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK,58GREGORY F. MURPHY, North Carolina        Florida59DERRICK VAN ORDEN, Wisconsin         MORGAN MCGARVEY, Kentucky60MORGAN LUTTRELL, Texas               DELIA RAMIREZ, Illinois61JUAN CISCOMANI, Arizona              NIKKI BUDZINSKI, Illinois62KEITH SELF, Texas                    TIMOTHY M. KENNEDY, New York63JEN KIGGANS, Virginia                MAXINE DEXTER, Oregon64ABE HAMADEH, Arizona                 HERB CONAWAY, New Jersey65KIMBERLYN KING-HINDS, Northern       KELLY MORRISON, Minnesota66    Mariana Islands67TOM BARRETT, Michigan6869                       Jon Clark, Staff Director70                  Matt Reel, Democratic Staff Director7172                  SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY7374                 DERRICK VAN ORDEN, Wisconsin, Chairman7576JUAN CISCOMANI, Arizona              CHRIS PAPPAS, New Hampshire,77ABE HAMADEH, Arizona                     Ranking Member78KIMBERLYN KING-HINDS, Northern       MORGAN MCGARVEY, Kentucky79    Mariana Islands                  DELIA RAMIREZ, Illinois80TOM BARRETT, Michigan                TIMOTHY M. KENNEDY, New York8182Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public83hearing records of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs are also84published in electronic form. The printed hearing record remains the85official version. Because electronic submissions are used to prepare86both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process87of converting between various electronic formats may introduce88unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the89current publication process and should diminish as the process is90further refined.9192                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S9394                              ----------9596                       TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 20259798                                                                   Page99100                           OPENING STATEMENTS101102The Honorable Tom Barrett, Acting Chairman.......................     1103The Honorable Chris Pappas, Ranking Member.......................     2104105                               WITNESSES106                                Panel I107108Ms. Margarita Devlin, Acting Principal Deputy Undersecretary for109  Benefits, Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of110  Veterans Affairs...............................................     5111112        Accompanied by:113114    Mr. Kenneth Smith, Executive Director at Education Service,115        Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of116        Veterans Affairs117118Mr. Justin Parke, Managing Director, Digital GI Bill Program119  Manger, Accenture Federal Services.............................     6120121                                Panel II122123Ms. Ashlynne Haycock-Lohmann, Director, Government & Legislative124  Affairs, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors..............    20125126                                APPENDIX127                    Prepared Statements Of Witnesses128129Ms. Margarita Devlin Prepared Statement..........................    31130Mr. Justin Parke Prepared Statement..............................    33131Ms. Ashlynne Haycock-Lohmann Prepared Statement..................    35132133                       Statements For The Record134135Veterans Education Success Prepared Statement....................    41136Student Veterans of America Prepared Statement...................    44137Document for the Record Submitted by The Honorable Chris Pappas,138  U.S. House of Representatives, (NH-01).........................    47139Questions for the Record Submitted by The Honorable Abe Hamadeh,140  U.S. House of Representatives, (AZ-08).........................    68141U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Response to Questions for the142  Record.........................................................    70143144                          DETRIMENTAL DELAYS:145                       REVIEWING PAYMENT FAILURES146                       IN VA'S EDUCATION PROGRAMS147148                              ----------149150                       TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2025151152      Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity,153                    Committee on Veterans' Affairs,154                             U.S. House of Representatives,155                                                    Washington, DC.156    The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:07 a.m., in157room 360, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Derrick Van Orden158(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.159    Present: Representatives Van Orden, Hamadeh, Barrett,160Pappas, McGarvey, Ramirez, and Kennedy.161    Also present: Representative Budzinski.162163       OPENING STATEMENT OF TOM BARRETT, ACTING CHAIRMAN164165    Mr. Barrett. All right, good morning. The subcommittee will166come to order. Starting out, I want to make sure that we167stipulate that the chair may declare recess at any time, which168we already know we will need to utilize.169    I want to welcome the witnesses here today to discuss the170Chapter 35 issues that have plagued the U.S. Department of171Veterans Affairs (VA) education benefits for the last several172months. While I am not the chairman of this specific173subcommittee, I am the chairman of the Subcommittee on174Technology Modernization, as well as a member of this175subcommittee, and a top priority of mine is ensuring VA's176technology works for veterans. There is significant overlap177with what we are talking about today.178    The VA, of course, was created to provide world-class179services to the veterans that they serve and that our country180owes a debt of gratitude to. Unfortunately, VA has fallen short181of providing these services and that promise to veterans and182their families through delays in processing a subset of183education benefits. This hearing today will review how payment184failures in the Department of Veterans Affairs Digital GI Bill185(DGIB) program originated.186    Since August, estimates are up to 75,000, children or187spouses of a veteran who has died, is missing, or have a188permanent and total service-connected disability paid through189the Dependents' Education Assistance Program had a delay in190payments. This is not money that goes to the institution, like191the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Instead, the benefit goes directly to192the student, who then uses it to pay the institution and cover193their expenses. Because of the payment delays, this194subcommittee has heard horror stories about students not being195able to make ends meet because of VA's mistake, and jeopardized196their enrollment in their college education.197    While I recognize that the situation was made worse by the198government shutdown, the VA has failed students by not paying199them on time and refusing to communicate with the stakeholders200along the way. This hearing today is not about politics or201partisan differences in games. It is about getting to the202bottom of how this decision was made, who made the decision,203who is at fault, and how we can move forward appropriately so204that we can have proper authentication for Chapter 35 benefit205cases.206    Ms. Devlin, while you have only been at the VA a few207months, and you and Mr. Smith have overseen this data208reconciliation, thousands of claims that were not processed on209time. Because of that, I expect the days of the status quo to210end, and the VA is holding those responsible for this failure211accountable because the subcommittee plans to exercise that212responsibility.213    Today, we will also examine how many students utilizing VA214education programs were impacted. These delays have a real215world impact for Dependents' Education Assistance and Post-9/11216GI Bill participants. Military-connected students should not be217put in financial hardship due to VA's technology and processes218falling short on delivering for our veterans.219    While I am new to Congress, I understand that this is at220least the fourth time since the Post-9/11 GI Bill was221implemented that significant payment delays because of222Information Technology (IT) issues have impacted checks going223out to veterans and other beneficiaries. If you are a student224that is in my district or anywhere else in this country and you225are facing delays in education payments from VA, please contact226my office or this subcommittee to help work through your227issues. My door is always open to help fellow veterans, and we228have to make sure we are working through this backlog.229    I expect this to be a productive hearing today. Hope to230understand who is at fault for this crisis and who at VA will231be taking accountability so that we can ensure this does not232happen again. I will yield to the Ranking Member for his233opening remarks as well.234235       OPENING STATEMENT OF CHRIS PAPPAS, RANKING MEMBER236237    Mr. Pappas. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and238thanks for pinch-hitting with this subcommittee today, and239thank you to our witnesses for joining.240    This is a critically overdue hearing today, and in all my241years on this subcommittee, I have never felt as frustrated as242I do at this moment. One of the points of frustration is the243request that I have made directly to expect a Senate-confirmed244appointee to testify today, someone who can provide answers but245also take responsibility for the failure to pay out Chapter 35246benefits on time. We do not have that.247    While I recognize that Veterans Benefits Administration248(VBA) does not have a confirmed undersecretary, it is249abundantly clear from VA stonewalling to multiple congressional250inquiries and its written testimony that this administration251has no intention of taking responsibility and instead is trying252to shift our attention and the blame onto the previous253administration. Our veterans and VA beneficiaries deserve a lot254better. Forget about pointing fingers. VA's responsibility is255to serve veterans when mistakes or unexpected developments256occur. VA also has a responsibility to communicate with those257same veterans, and veterans expect VA to work with Congress to258solve the problem.259    As I have always said on the subcommittee, congressional260oversight is important regardless of who is in the White House,261which is why, Mr. Chairman, we and our veterans have come to262expect public and involved supervision of what VA is doing or263not doing, no matter which administration is in charge. We have264not had that. In fact, in all my years on this committee, I265have never experienced this level of stonewalling before.266    The Trump administration and its VA have deliberately267failed to communicate with Congress and, more importantly, the268affected beneficiaries as they try to hide the mess that is269been months in the making. VA has issued little to no public270acknowledgment for months about the 75,000 beneficiaries whose271benefits have been delayed. There have been minimal272communications for months to schools and beneficiaries273themselves, and there has been zero communication with Congress274unless you can count the letter that we received back that did275not answer our questions at 5:45 yesterday. Three letters that276were sent from members of this committee that went unanswered277for a month and a half.278    In fact, VA officials refused to formally acknowledge this279problem until a briefing on December 5th. That is December 5th.280VA knew in September that it had a problem because they sent281requirements to Accenture to try to address the backlog. It282took 4 months between this problem being identified and283Congress being updated. 4 months during which tens of thousands284of beneficiaries were left without any information. There is285just no excuse for an egregious lack of communication around an286issue that affects so many veterans. Any reasonable person287would conclude that a deliberate political decision was made to288cutoff communications with Congress and veterans to avoid289accountability and to hide the problem.290    VA continues to refer to the problem simply as a tech issue291or a glitch, yet contradicts itself in written testimony. Now,292I am glad that the Ranking Member of the Technology293Modernization subcommittee, Ms. Budzinski, could join us today,294along with Mr. Barrett, to explore that issue. A glitch implies295a malfunction. There was no glitch. The software worked as296expected. VA's planning factors and assumptions were wrong. VA297failed to validate the assumptions and failed to react when298things did not go as planned.299    Now, the real glitch, the real malfunction here, is VA's300unprecedented failure to communicate with beneficiaries, the301public, and Congress. This administration and its VA can try to302misdirect our attention by blaming the previous administration.303Let us do a quick review. The decision to conduct data304reconciliation by hand in 2024 was due to VA cultural distrust305of automation and the accuracy of the information in the data306bases. This has not changed between administrations.307    Now, regardless of how we got here, Secretary Collins VA308was in charge in August when things began to spiral. Throughout309the last few months of ignoring veteran and congressional310inquiries, for example, the decision to shift to automate some311of the claims reconciliation and processing only occurred once312VA was late on 75,000 claims and was looking for any possible313help. Regardless of what the previous administration set forth,314VA could and should have tested the data reconciliation process315to validate the assumptions on the time that it would take.316June or July would have been great for that to occur. The Trump317VA can point to planning that took place in December 2024, but318they came in and continued that plan. The absence of decision-319making or oversight for 9 months is just as damning as the320original planning.321    VA failed to follow guidance from the White House on who to322furlough during the government shutdown. Government employees323working on funded programs, like these mandatory VA education324benefits, were directed to work. Yet the information technology325staff needed to test and field the automation updates were326furloughed and not brought back until the day before the327shutdown ended. Worst of all, this administration made the328decision not to communicate with veterans, families, and329survivors impacted for 4 months. People in our districts were330in the dark about what was going on and why their benefits were331not getting paid.332    One of my constituents from Manchester contacted our office333and said, ``Due to an error with the VA benefits system, I have334not received my education benefits so far this semester. The335call-in line that I and the University of New Hampshire336Veterans Center staff use to resolve such issues has been337deactivated for the duration of the shutdown, leaving me dead338in the water. My wife's salary has so far covered our rent and339food, but we are at risk of losing childcare for my son due to340non-payment, as well as having to miss car payments.'' The341financial stress put on him and his family is evident. It is342also unacceptable. We have been elected to advocate on behalf343of our constituents, yet VA refuses to do its most basic job344and ignores our inquiries for months.345    I think we all agree that veterans and their families and346their survivors deserve so much better, and we deserve347bipartisan advocacy on their behalf when government fails to348uphold its promise and deliver the benefits they have earned.349The only question is, will we in Congress hold the350administration, like any other administration, responsible for351fulfilling that promise?352    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.353    Mr. Barrett. Thank you, Ranking Member Pappas. In354accordance with committee rules, I ask unanimous consent that355Representative Budzinski from Illinois be permitted to356participate in today's subcommittee hearing. Without objection,357it is so ordered.358    With that, we are going to move on to our witnesses.359    Our first witness is Ms. Margarita Devlin, Acting Principal360Deputy Undersecretary for Benefits, Veteran Benefits361Administration at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Did I get362that all correct? It is a lot to put on a business card.363    Accompanying Ms. Devlin is Mr. Kenneth Smith, Executive364Director at Education Service, Veteran Benefits Administration365at the Department of Veterans Affairs.366    Our third witness is Mr. Justin Parke, Managing Director,367Digital GI Bill Program Manager for Accenture Federal Services.368    Thank you all for being here.369    I ask the witnesses and our first panel to please stand and370raise your right hand.371    [Witnesses sworn.]372    Mr. Barrett. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you373are about to provide is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing374but the truth?375    Thank you, and let the record reflect that the witnesses376have answered in the affirmative.377    Ms. Devlin, you are now recognized for 5 minutes to deliver378your testimony on behalf of the Department of Veteran Affairs.379380                 STATEMENT OF MARGARITA DEVLIN381382    Ms. Devlin. Thank you, Chairman Barrett, Ranking Member383Pappas, and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the384opportunity to appear before you today. I am joined by Mr.385Kenneth Smith, Executive Director for Education Service. I386appreciate the chance to speak candidly about the challenges we387face with the implementation of Release 8 of the Digital GI388Bill platform, particularly its impact on Chapter 35 education389benefits.390    In August 2025, VA completed a major milestone. The final391transition from our 50-year-old Legacy Benefits Delivery392Network, or BDN, to the modern digital GI Bill system. This393release migrated beneficiaries and payments for Chapters 35,39430, and 1606. The core migration was technically successful.395However, there were design challenges. Specifically, a 2024396decision required manual reconciliation of claims for397beneficiaries converted from BDN. This was intended to reduce398improper payments, but in practice, it dramatically increased399processing time.400    Unfortunately, the timing of the release, driven by the401need to decommission BDN before the end of the fiscal year,402meant we could not delay implementation to address the issue.403    Chapter 35 students were most severely impacted. While they404represent about 24 percent of GI Bill beneficiaries, they made405up the majority of pending claims. VA could not delay DGIB406release date because of the need to decommission BDN by the end407of the fiscal year. This enabled automation and saved408approximately $25 million.409    Delays in system readiness, specifically, the inability to410support Chapter 35 until the end of March based on previous411decisions to change the DGIB program schedule, resulted in a412compressed testing period for Chapter 35 and required VA to413process claims in BDN that then required conversion in August.414The timeframe limited the ability to mitigate issues in advance415and reduce the volume of claims requiring manual416reconciliation.417    Several factors compounded those delays. First, the manual418reconciliation requirement was a business decision, not a419technical failure, but it more than doubled the time needed to420process many claims. Second, testing was compressed due to421delays in partner system readiness and the looming BDN422shutdown. Third, a lack of enterprise governance in 2024 meant423critical decisions were not elevated for broader risk424assessment. Finally, we saw a 19 percent surge in Chapter 35425claims likely linked to increased disability decisions426following the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our427Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act.428    When the system went live in August, we quickly identified429missing functionality in the Verify My Enrollment tool for430Chapter 35 students. We waived the attendance verification431requirement to ensure students could still receive payments and432communicated this broadly to students, schools, and Congress.433    We also faced challenges during the lapse in434appropriations. Under our contingency plan, Education Call435Center staff were furloughed because they do not establish436protected dates for claims of entitlement and payment. While437this was consistent with our criteria for protecting life and438property that has been in place since 2013, we recognize the439impact this had on students and schools trying to get440information. We are conducting an after-action review to assess441which positions should be considered essential in future442contingency planning.443    To mitigate the impact of the delays, we took several444steps. We validated automation rules to speed up processing445where reconciliation was not needed. We directed claims446processors to trust prior entitlement calculations to reduce447manual work. We developed and tested an automation solution to448handle reconciliations. Although the lapse in appropriations449delayed its deployment, we launched it on November 15th. It450resolved issues for over 5,000 students and enabled more than4511,100 payments. Finally, we recalled furloughed staff452streamlining policies to reduce the burden on frontline453processors and reimplemented over time once the appropriations454bill was signed into law.455    Today, our automation rules can now process enrollments for456returning Chapter 35 students on the same day. We continue to457waive the verification requirement and are working on a change458management strategy to ensure students update their contact459information for the most convenient verification experience.460Looking ahead, we have taken several key steps to prevent such461reoccurrence. We have strengthened executive governance with462clear accountability at all levels.463    We have reaffirmed an automation-first strategy, reserving464manual work for exceptions only. We are enhancing change465management, ensuring better field engagement and end-to-end466planning.467    I will close by saying that while the transition to DGIB is468a major step forward, the challenges of Release 8 have469underscored the need for strong governance, strategic470alignment, and proactive risk management. We are committed to471learning from this experience and ensuring our systems better472serve veterans and their families.473    Thank you for your oversight and support. I welcome your474questions.475476    [The Prepared Statement Of Margarita Devlin Appears In The477Appendix]478479    Mr. Barrett. Thank you, Ms. Devlin. The written statement480of Ms. Devlin will be entered into the hearing record.481    Mr. Parke, you are now recognized for 5 minutes to deliver482your testimony on behalf of Accenture Federal Services.483484                   STATEMENT OF JUSTIN PARKE485486    Mr. Parke. Chairman Barrett, Ranking Member Pappas, members487of the subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, thank you for488inviting me to testify at today's hearing. I am Justin Parke,489Managing Director of Accenture Federal Services and a member of490the Accenture Federal Leadership Team. I am the Program Manager491of the Digital GI Bill engagement, leading the implementation492and operations of Accenture Federal DGIB systems. I am honored493to be here today and to serve veterans and their families in my494role on the DGIB program.495    Since 2021, through the work on DGIB, Accenture has496supported VA's efforts to make it faster and easier for497veterans to access and reliably receive education benefits.498These education benefits enable veterans to take better care of499themselves and their families, and to pursue life-changing500post-service goals and aspirations. The education benefits501provided by VA have real impact. Compared with a high school502diploma holder, a veteran with a college degree can earn an503average of 84 percent more, that is $1.2 million more, over504their lifetime.505    Since we met last year, we have delivered on our commitment506to successfully replace VA's nearly 50-year-old BDN mainframe507with our state-of-the-art cloud-based claims processing508platform. This technology improves VA's operational resilience,509and for the first time in GI Bill's 80-year history, has510enabled fully automated processing of Chapter 33 eligibility511and Chapter 35 claims.512    Through our DGIB automation efforts with VA, more than 55513percent of all education claims, that is all Chapters, all514claim types, are processed same day, the vast majority of these515in seconds. To date, DGIB has processed over 16 million claims,516delivering more than $43 billion in veteran benefits to 2.3517million unique beneficiaries.518    We understand and share the committee's concerns about the519Chapter 35 claim backlog. Delayed payments are unacceptable. We520recognize the significant impact on veterans and their521families, and we have been working tirelessly with the VA to522help reduce the backlog and quickly get payments into the hands523of eligible beneficiaries. There have been inaccurate reports524of a system glitch causing the Chapter 35 backlog. These525reports are not true. The system is working as required.526    That said, there are many contributing factors to the527backlog, but there are two key drivers. First, the number of528unique Chapter 35 students increased by 19 percent year on529year, increasing veteran claim examiner, or VCE, workload.530Second, per requirement, a requirement that VA decided in 2024,531DGIB was designed to require a one-time manual validation or532reconciliation of BDN Mainframe data for all claimants533migrated, and this takes VCE time.534    Since December 2024, and before the manual data535reconciliation was required, DGIB successfully processed tens536of thousands of non-Chapter 33 claims for new beneficiaries and537millions of claims overall. Throughout this time, DGIB538continued to work as required. When it was identified that VCEs539were unable to keep up with the claim workload, we worked540closely with VA to identify solutions that automate a portion541of the manual data validation and reconciliation to decrease542the backlog.543    To give you additional details, on September 23d, VA544completed and approved new requirements for this automation,545and we developed the system enhancements shortly after. VA546completed the user acceptance testing, approved the547enhancements, and we deployed the new automation to production548with on November 15th. Since that deployment, we have549automatically reconciled data for approximately 88,000 claims,550greatly reducing the backlog.551    We remain focused on delivering on the promise made to552veterans. With the mainframe retired, we have completed all553required major technical modernization. VA finally has the554technology platform in DGIB that allows it to take full555advantage of these automations.556    Since the inception of DGIB in 2021, we have improved557access to education benefits, and utilization has increased558with 42 percent more requests for eligibility, generating559billions of dollars in economic activity and creating new jobs.560We continue to work with VA to increase automation and deliver561education benefits faster, easier, and more reliably, which is562what our veterans have earned and deserve.563    Thank you, I look forward to your questions.564565    [The Prepared Statement Of Justin Parke Appears In The566Appendix]567568    Mr. Barrett. Thank you, Mr. Parke. The written statement of569Mr. Parke will be entered into the hearing record.570    We will now move on to questions from committee members,571and we will each have 5 minutes in which to ask our questions.572I will start by recognizing myself for 5 minutes.573    I want to get kind of an idea, basically, the timeline574under which this takes place. The first step, as I understand575it, is the certificate of eligibility. Is that correct? I576guess, any of you on the panel, I guess, from the technical577side, Mr. Parke would be more familiar. From the process side,578perhaps the VA is.579    Ms. Devlin. That is correct. A certificate of eligibility580establishes the eligibility to the program benefit.581    Mr. Barrett. That is the very first step in this process?582    Ms. Devlin. It is.583    Mr. Barrett. Where was the manual step? Was it on the584certificate of eligibility or was it later in that process that585it was determined to be a manual verification?586    Ms. Devlin. It was later in that process. It was converting587claims that were previously processed in BDN over to the new588system.589    Mr. Barrett. Okay. Would this be students who were590previously enrolled? Not a brand new--not a brand new591enrollment?592    Ms. Devlin. That is correct.593    Mr. Barrett. A brand new enrollment would be automated594through the new system from the beginning, but those that were595continuation, you know, following on another semester, or just596adding or reducing your class load, would be done manually in597that first tranche?598    Ms. Devlin. That is correct.599    Mr. Barrett. Who at VA, I understand this took place in6002024, that it was the decision made to do that manually. Is601that correct?602    Ms. Devlin. That is correct.603    Mr. Barrett. Who at VA made that decision?604    Ms. Devlin. I was not at VA at the time, so I cannot say at605which level the decision was made.606    Mr. Barrett. Okay. Mr. Parke, were you in your position607working this at that point?608    Mr. Parke. I was in the position as the program manager. I609was not in the rooms where the decision was made, but I am610aware of the decision, yes.611    Mr. Barrett. Did Accenture offer advice or candor to VA as612to the potential risk of making that a manual process and the613delays that would likely follow?614    Mr. Parke. Our position in general, as you heard from my615testimony, is that we believe automation is the right answer616whenever possible.617    Mr. Barrett. Right.618    Mr. Parke. As you heard from VA, there is an automation-619first approach that is being taken going forward. At the time,620as I understand from those discussions, there was a balance621that VA was making between risks of mainframe data and the622veteran claim examiner effort that would be needed. As I623understand, at the time, in those rooms, the statement was made624that the VCEs could handle that workload.625    Mr. Barrett. Okay. That was the VA's position----626    Mr. Parke. Correct.627    Mr. Barrett [continuing]. that the VCE, the veteran claim628examiners, would have the capacity to be able to do that?629    Mr. Parke. That is correct.630    Mr. Barrett. Did Accenture offer, you know, basically try631and encourage the VA against that, or was it more they are the632client, and they get to make that decision?633    Mr. Parke. There are healthy debates. You know, there is634no----635    Mr. Barrett. It is very diplomatic.636    Mr. Parke. Yes. No right answer. You know, in this case,637obviously, we do not run the mainframe, so we could not speak638to the risk specifically. As you have heard, this new639leadership team understands the importance of automation. I640think if we were to go back and have that discussion, there641would have been a different answer.642    Mr. Barrett. Okay. Then coming into 2025, VA has the643existing protocol for the manual process that is set in place.644At what point did it become apparent to VA that this was going645to present a problem, and the VCEs were not in a position to be646able to swiftly move through them as they had hoped when they647made the decision?648    Ms. Devlin. I will ask Mr. Smith to speak to the timeline.649    Mr. Smith. Thank you for the question. The conversion650happened on August 4th. Initially, our focus----651    Mr. Barrett. Of 2025, correct?652    Mr. Smith. Of 2025. Initially, our focus was on the lack of653that verification of enrollment, and that was the problem that654we solved. By September, we were seeing or hearing anecdotal655stories from claims processors that this reconciliation process656was not taking minutes as originally anticipated, but rather657hours. We immediately started putting procedures in place to658streamline and essentially trust the data that is coming out of659our 50-year-old system that has been used to pay countless660numbers of Chapter 35 students. Then we began to build an661automation solution to try to get these claim or662reconciliations completed as quickly as possible.663    Mr. Barrett. It was really around the time that students664were re-enrolling in college? Now these are all students who665had previously been enrolled, and they were just continuing666their education. It was at that moment that they were enrolling667into the fall semester, and we get the surge of enrollment668requests that all took place?669    Mr. Smith. That is correct. It was very much real-time.670    Mr. Barrett. Okay. VA did not anticipate or do a dry run of671how long it would take to process these manually to get an672assessment of what that would look like and why that would be673problematic?674    Mr. Smith. I do not recall any sort of dry run on the claim675or process.676    Mr. Barrett. Okay.677    Mr. Smith. We may have done some user acceptance testing on678it, but I----679    Mr. Barrett. My time has expired anyway. I will yield to680the Ranking Member, and we can maybe pick it up on the next681round. Thank you.682    Mr. Pappas. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I ask unanimous683consent to be able to submit to the hearing record three684letters that were sent by Ranking Members Takano, Blumenthal,685Budzinski, and myself over the course of October, November, and686December.687    Mr. Barrett. Without objection.688    Mr. Pappas. Thank you. Ms. Devlin, the VA has received689these letters. Mr. Smith testified at our last hearing on690December 2d that education services passed up responses to691these letters, at least to the first two. Last night at 5:45,692we received a letter in response that frankly did not answer693many of the core questions that were asked in these letters. I694also know that the Secretary is well aware of the issue because695Ranking Member Takano has spoken to him directly on a couple of696occasions in October and November. It would have been great to697have the information that we requested in full before this698hearing. I find it hard to accept that anything other than the699administration is deliberately ignoring our outreach and trying700to either hide or avoid addressing this issue. The Secretary701missed multiple deadlines to get us that information, and VA702has also failed to communicate directly to beneficiaries and to703the general public.704    Ms. Devlin, why is that? Were you or Mr. Smith directed not705to talk to Congress and not to respond in writing to our706requests?707    Ms. Devlin. No, sir. Thank you for the question. We were708not directed, so.709    Mr. Pappas. Well, so what is responsible for the delay710then?711    Ms. Devlin. We apologize for the delay. We did work on712getting those responses, and I understand that they were713delinquent and apologize for the delay.714    Mr. Pappas. So----715    Ms. Devlin. I cannot speak to the process delays that716resulted in it taking so long, and I can only just share my717apology for that.718    Mr. Pappas. Do you appreciate what we heard from Mr. Smith,719that responses were being formal--formulated and passed up?720    Ms. Devlin. Yes.721    Mr. Pappas. Is there a reason why this information was not722communicated to Congress?723    Ms. Devlin. The process of developing a response involves724detailed reviews of data because there was--there were a lot of725questions with those, and we needed to make sure the data was726accurate. There were concurrence processes that went into place727before the letter could be--could be submitted.728    Mr. Pappas. I hope you can see the problem here.729    Ms. Devlin. I do.730    Mr. Pappas. Where we are totally in the dark on this,731trying to find breadcrumbs, whether it is through Veterans732Service Organizations (VSO) or through veterans themselves that733we represent, that are reaching out to our offices. We are just734trying to get answers and get information, and I think we are735owed that on behalf of the American people.736    Who is the approval authority to send out information to737beneficiaries and to Congress, and why have they limited it so738drastically in this instance?739    Ms. Devlin. It was not our intent to limit communication to740veterans, other beneficiaries, or to Congress. We did provide741some briefings to the four corners of the Hill, and we did send742out some communications to students. Unfortunately, we did not743realize the magnitude of the problem and how significant it744would be before the shutdown happened and during the lapse in745appropriations.746    Mr. Pappas. Who makes the call on that, though?747    Ms. Devlin. We determine the content of the communications748that need to go out to beneficiaries and to stakeholders. Then749there is a departmental process for review and concurrence of750those and issuing those communications.751    Mr. Pappas. You cannot give us a name or put a finer point752on that, on who we should be talking to with respect to the753lack of communication over 4 months?754    Ms. Devlin. I would say it is a joint effort between VBA. I755am the highest executive at VBA, so I would be the last person756who sees anything before it goes out. Then again at the757department, there is a review and approval processes.758    Mr. Pappas. I appreciate the position you are in, but759someone has got to take responsibility for this, which is why760we were asking for a Senate-confirmed appointee to be here at761this hearing today.762    Now, you referenced the briefing. There was one that was763scheduled for October 1st. It was canceled. During the764government shutdown, Congress received only form responses when765trying to contact VA for information or to conduct casework for766constituents suffering from some of the financial hardship that767I referenced in my opening statement. Were you VA education768services or VA's congressional liaisons directed not to769communicate with Congress?770    Ms. Devlin. We were bound by requirements of what we can771and cannot do during a lapse in appropriations. I will say we772took inquiries directly from beneficiaries from VSOs and from773schools. I got emails directly, so did Mr. Smith. When there774was a financial concern, also through Ask VA, we were775monitoring those. If there was a financial emergency, we were776handling that situation immediately and communicating with777those beneficiaries.778    Mr. Pappas. I have limited time here. In terms of the plan779of furloughing staff, who approved the plan, and why was it out780of line with the guidance that the White House had actually781issued?782    Ms. Devlin. The contingency plan the VA had was in783alignment with prior contingency plans for which organization,784which types of work could be considered accepted, and which785types of work had to be furloughed.786    Mr. Pappas. Who had the signature authority required to787bring back the User Acceptance Testing Group from furlough,788which was a key issue with respect to the digital GI benefit789update?790    Ms. Devlin. We worked on that as something new that we had791not dealt with before in VA, and worked with our attorneys to792get clearance on that process.793    Mr. Pappas. Well, I have got a number of additional794questions. Again, incredibly frustrated with the way that795Congress has been stonewalled here. We and the American people,796and the veteran community deserve answers. I yield back.797    Mr. Barrett. Thank you, Ranking Member Pappas.798    I recognize Representative Hamadeh for 5 minutes.799    Mr. Hamadeh. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Now, we are here800today because the VA has failed, plain and simple. The title of801this hearing is ``Detrimental Delays,'' but let us call it for802what it really is: a breach of contract with the men and women803who serve this country and the families who supported them.804    Now, I sit here as a veteran who knows firsthand how805important these benefits are. Now, the GI Bill is not a806handout. It is earned. For the survivors and dependents relying807on Chapter 35, the families of our fallen and disabled. These808delays are not just an inconvenience; they are a crisis. We are809talking about students unable to register for classes, families810missing rent payments, and veterans being left in the dark.811Why? The Department of Veterans Affairs decided to process812claims using old dusty spreadsheets and fax machines.813    Now, we have spent nearly $1 billion on a contract with814Accenture for the Digital GI Bill. We spent another $25 million815to keep a 1970's legacy system on life support. Yet somehow the816solution was to have case managers key files into ancient817spreadsheets one claim at a time. Now, that is just not818incompetent and wasteful. It is an insult to every veteran in819my district. We hear a lot of excuses about complex processing820and lapses in appropriations, but the reality is that the VA821kept a failed policy in place.822    My first question is for you, Mr. Parke. The goal of this823subcommittee is to ensure VA programs like the Digital GI Bill824tangibly improve the lives of veterans and their families. How825much has Accenture been paid to date, and what have veterans826and beneficiaries received for this?827    Mr. Parke. Thank you for the question. We have been paid to828date $686 million. For that, we now have the majority of all829veterans able to access their benefits to get this certificate830of eligibility in seconds, as opposed to weeks and in some831cases months. That is a major change to the ability to get your832benefits. That has driven an increase in utilization, as you833heard in my oral testimony. This result is that we now have,834you know, 16 million claims that have been processed and 43835billion in benefits that have been sent out. That is for 2.3836million unique beneficiaries. You can, I am sure, appreciate837what that does for veterans and their families.838    We did all this while addressing decades of legacy debt,839not the least of which was this BDN mainframe, which, if it had840failed, as you heard from the VA, due to various issues, such841as the fact it is past end of life, the fact that it could not842be reasonably updated to comply with legislative and judicial843mandates, and the fact that it could not be staffed any longer,844given how old the technology was, it would have created impact845to veterans and disconnected them from--from their benefits.846    We did all of those things while processing all of these847claims that you have heard. There are plenty more that has been848done for that amount of $686 million.849    Mr. Hamadeh. How long was the system not being used for?850    Mr. Parke. How long was the DGIB system?851    Mr. Hamadeh. Yes.852    Mr. Parke. Throughout the entire execution of this853contract, the DGIB system has been up and running. It is up85499.99 percent of the time. There has been no interruption of855service for the system itself.856    Mr. Hamadeh. When did Accenture get paid?857    Mr. Parke. We get paid on a monthly basis based on delivery858on specific milestones, and that occurs monthly.859    Mr. Hamadeh. You were getting paid when we were not even860using the system?861    Mr. Parke. The system has been used every single day since862we started in 2021.863    Mr. Hamadeh. Yet there is this backlog of over 100,000?864    Mr. Parke. That is correct. As you heard, that is driven by865two main factors. You know, the increase in the Chapter 35 year866on year of 19 percent, and also the decision to have VCs867manually process claims. When they process things manually, it868is important to understand they are doing it inside the DGIB869system. What changed on September 23d is that we then had870approved requirements to automate a portion of that processing871so that the VCs would not need to do any manual processing.872    Mr. Hamadeh. Right. It took a long time for it to actually873get implemented, right? From 2024 all the way to August 2025.874    Mr. Parke. Yes, I guess to help shed light, you know, the--875the DGIB itself had the capability of processing Chapter 35 in876December 2024 as a risk mitigation approach. That production877capability was used for all new beneficiaries, but not, as you878heard from other folks, the beneficiaries that were already in879the mainframe. What occurred in July and then August was the880migration of those older claim sets of data into DGIB, and then881this reconciliation or validation of data.882    Mr. Hamadeh. I am out of time. I yield back.883    Mr. Barrett. Okay, thank you. Mr. Hamadeh yields back.884    Ms. Ramirez is recognized for 5 minutes.885    Ms. Ramirez. Thank you, Chairman and Ranking Member, for886holding today's hearing, and our witnesses for joining us887today.888    As we think about the work that we do here in this889committee, we know that education is one of those benefits890that, as someone just mentioned, our veterans not just deserve,891they have really earned it. I have remained clear since my892first day in Congress almost 3 years ago that delivering these893benefits that veterans deserve has to be a top priority for all894of us. I got to be honest with you, it is deeply alarming that895we are here today to talk about the failures of the Digital GI896Bill.897    Let me tell you why. Let us look at the facts. Despite898millions of dollars in ample opportunities for the Digital GI899Bill to be implemented smoothly and efficiently, a backlog900remains, and rollout continues to be a problem. We know that901many veterans rely on their GI Bill benefits to remain housed902and to access basic necessities. Any delay in receiving these903funds could be really dire for them. That is why it is deeply904alarming that when Republicans shut the government down, 75,000905Chapter 35 claims were backlogged. As of December 5th, it906concerns me that the VA still has approximately 4,400 Chapter90735 claims to process from the fall 2025 semester. To me, that908is unacceptable, and I want to ask a couple of questions as909follow up.910    Ms. Devlin, survivors and dependents rely on education911benefits for access to basic needs. When education benefits are912not paid on time, veterans have these tough decisions they have913to face, right, about where the money will come from. Will it914be out of their rent money? Will it be out of their car915payments? Will it be the grocery funds? By September, VA knew916reconciliation was taking four to six times longer than917planned. Why has Congress not immediately been notified when918VA's new payments would be delayed for survivors and dependents919relying on this income to stay enrolled? Did the VA understand920the financial harm the payment delays would cause?921    Ms. Devlin. Thank you for the question. We also were very922concerned about the delays in payments. We did not understand923the magnitude of what these delays would cause before the924shutdown. I will say we are caught up on the backlog, and we925only have 28, as of yesterday, Chapter 35 claims that were926received before December 12th. We have 400 that were received927for the fall term in the last 7 days. We are caught up with the928fall term backlog. I will say that in October, from October to929November, we processed 56 percent more payments than the930previous year, disbursing $238 million.931    Ms. Ramirez. Well, Ms. Devlin, let me follow up on that. We932were not notified, and I think that is alarming. This is a body933of oversight, and we should have. I appreciate you hearing--934hearing you say that you are addressing this. It is not going935to happen again. Do you believe it is acceptable, though, that936during the government shutdown, affected beneficiaries had no937call center, they had no answers, and no response to938congressional casework, while still being told that they still939had to pay their rent, they still had to cover tuition, they940still had to cover childcare without their earned benefits?941That is a really easy yes or no. Do you think it is acceptable?942    Ms. Devlin. We were following the VA's contingency plan. We943followed the rule of law on that.944    Ms. Ramirez. In that rule, there was no call center and no945answers, and no response to congressional casework. That is946unacceptable.947    Mr. Smith, families were told their payments would not be948delayed, and then they were. Mr. Smith, you stated that you do949not expect similar problems in the spring semester. What950specifically has changed, and why should survivors trust that951assurance now?952    Mr. Smith. Thank you for the question. Working with953Accenture Partners, we have talked a little bit about the954automation of the reconciliation process. We have already pre-955reconciled more than 86,000 beneficiaries who may be returning956in the spring but were not enrolled in the fall. Add to that957all the folks that will continue from fall into spring, all of958those people are now automation eligible.959    Just yesterday, VA automated 3,500 of the 6,600 Chapter 35960claims that were completed. That is an automation rate of 54961percent. That is 54 percent on top of what our normal claims962processors are doing. We are completing more claims at an963unprecedented rate and delivering those benefits in a day now.964    Ms. Ramirez. Thank you, Mr. Smith. I think that that is the965goal and priority every single day. Look, January 20th will966come before we know it. I do not want to see us go back to some967Republican government shutdown where veterans are impacted. It968is why this hearing is so important, ensuring that our veterans969and their families are getting the acts they need. I look970forward to following up with you in the new year. Thank you.971    Mr. Barrett. Thank you, Ms. Ramirez.972    Next is Mr. Kennedy for 5 minutes.973    Mr. Kennedy. Thank you, Chairman, and thanks to you, you974and the Ranking Member, for hosting this today. Thank you all975for being here.976    I represent the Buffalo Niagara region, which is home to977Western New York's VA Healthcare system and one of only two978Post-9/11 GI bill processing centers. For years, workforce979shortages at both the Veterans Benefit Administration Regional980Office and the Buffalo VA Medical Center have been severe and981persistent, particularly in primary care, mental health,982urology, gastroenterology, and endocrinology. I have seen how983understaffing at the VA affects veterans and their families. It984means longer wait times, delayed care, and real consequences985for those who rely on these services.986    In August 2024, dozens of nurses gathered outside the987Buffalo VA to protest pay disparities, excessive work hours,988and the VA's hiring freeze. They warned that these severe989staffing shortages jeopardize patient safety and undermine the990VA's commitment to providing high-quality care for our Nation's991bravest. Those warnings were echoed weeks later when the VA's992Office of Inspector General (OIG) September 2024 report titled993Community Care Consult Delays Despite Staff Advocacy Efforts at994the VA Western New York Health Care System in Buffalo. The995report found that staffing shortages in both administrative and996clinical settings led to delayed consult and appointments,997leaving our heroes without the care they needed, including ones998who were hospitalized and others who were tragically passed as999a result. Despite those known challenges, conditions have1000continued to deteriorate at the hands of this administration.1001    At the end of 2024, the VA reported 40,000 vacancies1002nationwide. Rather than filling those positions, including1003critical vacancies at the Buffalo VA, the Trump administration1004imposed a hiring freeze, dismissing approximately 2,4001005employees between February 13th and in February 20-24th of this1006year. On March 4th, a leaked internal memo revealed plans to1007lay off more than 80,000 of the VA's 470,000 employees,1008returning staffing to pre-PACT Act levels. Although the VA1009later claimed a reverse course on July 7th of this year, that1010commitment has now been abandoned.1011    This past Saturday, the VA announced plans to eliminate up1012to 35,000 health care jobs, including doctors, nurses, and1013critical support staff. 23,000 more than what the agency said1014just months ago. Instead of addressing the deficiencies, this1015administration is exacerbating them. Cutting 35,000 additional1016health care positions will only deepen the VA's workforce1017crisis, worsening access to care for veterans in my district1018and across the country.1019    For an administration that claims to be pro-service member1020and pro-veteran, reality is telling a very different story. You1021cannot claim to support veterans while cutting the dedicated1022staff who care for them. You cannot claim to support veterans1023while delaying their benefits. You cannot claim to support1024veterans while ignoring the concerns raised by members of this1025committee.1026    I want to be clear about the human cost. As an occupational1027therapist myself, I know the consequences of understaffing.1028Quality of patient care declines, burnout rises, and providers1029leave not because they do not care, but because the system1030becomes unsustainable. When that breakdown occurs at the VA, it1031is our veterans who are paying the price with their lives.1032    As members of this committee, we are entrusted to upholding1033this Nation's promise to our veterans, not weakening it. These1034cuts that the Trump administration is making betray that1035promise. They are shortsighted, they are un-American, and they1036are deeply disrespectful to both the veterans who served, and1037the professionals dedicated to caring for them.1038    I yield back.1039    Mr. Barrett. Mr. Kennedy yields back.1040    I now recognize Ms. Budzinski for 5 minutes.1041    Ms. Budzinski. Thank you, Chairman Barrett, and Ranking1042Member Pappas, for allowing me to join this hearing today. I1043really appreciate it. Our two subcommittees have performed1044oversight on the Digital GI Bill program together for several1045years.1046    It is unfortunate that the program's relative success has1047been impaired by recent missed payments and a lack of1048communication by the department, which has been obviously1049discussed at the committee already today. Even more unfortunate1050is that IT hiccups and tech glitches have become the scapegoats1051when it appears that policy decisions and a lack of planning1052were actually to blame. Issues that plague too many of VA's1053modernization efforts. It appears your next policy effort is to1054accelerate the automation approach, despite the initial choice1055to not automate due to integrity concerns with the data coming1056from BDN. I now hear that you are choosing to move to an1057automation-first strategy.1058    Ms. Devlin, what work has your team done to ensure that1059this move is not an overcorrection and will not result in1060erroneous payments?1061    Ms. Devlin. Thank you for the question. Our accuracy is1062very high with automation. Excuse me. If automation-first had1063been the strategy last year, we would not be having this1064conversation today. The accuracy of automation is currently at106596 percent for originals and 93 percent for supplementals.1066Errors do not necessarily mean an error in payment. A lot of1067times, they are just technical errors that do not result in1068reduced or overpayment.1069    Ms. Budzinski. Okay. I find it very alarming that the VA1070did not notify Congress, as has been said, about these delays1071for over 3 months. As far as I can tell, VA never officially1072notified beneficiaries or the VSOs. That lack of communication1073caused confusion, frustration, and further delays in benefits.1074    I just want to add my voice to what has been already1075expressed in this committee today, that sheer frustration over1076that lack of communication. This absolutely cannot be the norm1077when errors at the VA occur. I am also concerned that the1078issues that led to these payment delays will not be fully1079resolved before veterans and their beneficiaries start classes1080in January. I urge our VA witnesses here today and the1081Secretary himself to get ahead of this and communicate with1082beneficiaries.1083    Ms. Devlin, it is clear that VA's communication strategy1084failed veterans during this gap in benefits payment. How has VA1085assessed the impacts of these errors for the spring semester?1086How has VA communicated to beneficiaries for potential delays?1087    Ms. Devlin. Thank you for that question as well. It is our1088practice and our philosophy to communicate early when we know1089there is going to be a problem. I mentioned earlier that we did1090not understand the magnitude of this problem and how it would1091affect our beneficiaries. For your question about the spring1092term, we automated 50 percent of those--of those claims that we1093have received so far already in December. We have 997 pending1094for the spring, but of those, 875 were just received in the1095last 7 days. I tell you with confidence, we are processing the1096spring term claims in a timely manner.1097    Ms. Budzinski. Mr. Park mentioned that back in 2024, that1098was when the decision was made to manually reconcile, and it1099was done with the understanding that VCEs had the capacity to1100take on this load. Ms. Devlin, how did the Deferred Resignation1101Program or the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority impact VCEs1102capacity to manually reconcile these claims?1103    Ms. Devlin. Thank you. That is a great question. VBA had1104excluded claims processors from both the deferred resignation1105program and from early retirement. We did not have any1106individuals from that business line, or any claims processors1107take those options.1108    Ms. Budzinski. Okay. Okay, great. I yield back. Thank you1109very much, Mr. Chairman.1110    Mr. Barrett. Thank you. Ms. Budzinski yields back.1111    Mr. McGarvey, for 5 or less minutes so we can get out of1112here on time.1113    Mr. McGarvey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Appreciate it.1114    You know, too many times up here we use government speak1115and sterile language like payment delays, when back home at1116Louisville, you have got veterans, survivors, dependents, who1117rely on these benefits that they have earned. They rely on them1118to pay tuition on time. They rely on them to have a roof over1119their head. The families, when these payments do not show up,1120they are not inconvenienced by a payment delay. They are1121completely blindsided because they have done everything right.1122This is not just a technical glitch or a policy issue. It is a1123complete breakdown of trust.1124    These survivors, these dependents, they applied on time.1125They checked their status. They waited. They did everything1126they were supposed to do, and the VA did not tell them the1127truth about what was happening. These families were left in the1128dark. We were left in the dark. If we cannot trust the VA to be1129up front when things go wrong, then how can we trust the VA to1130fix the problem? Survivors in Louisville and across the country1131should never, ever have to wonder when they have done1132everything right, when they or their loved one has put on the1133uniform and served us, they should never have to wonder if1134their benefits they have earned will arrive. They have already1135sacrificed enough. That is what this hearing is about.1136    Ms. Devlin, you said this was not a glitch, but a business1137decision. Why did not the VA tell Congress and students, and1138the people receiving these benefits up front that the claims1139would take longer? Why were they left in the dark until1140thousands had already missed payments?1141    Ms. Devlin. Thank you for the question. When we know we1142have something that is going to impact beneficiaries, we do1143notify Congress. The challenge was with that business decision1144that was made in 2024, is that the estimates were that it would1145take seconds to manually reconcile these claims. It did not, in1146fact, take seconds. It took, in some cases, hours. As soon as1147we heard that, we immediately jumped into action to correct the1148matter. We did not know the magnitude of the delays that would1149happen, otherwise, we would have notified. We did, we did do a1150briefing, a Four Corners briefing. Again, at that time, we did1151not understand the magnitude of the effect on beneficiaries,1152which we also regret deeply because we understand the impact on1153these people's lives.1154    Mr. McGarvey. Why did not you understand the magnitude of1155it?1156    Ms. Devlin. Because when the decision was made last year,1157the estimates of time would be seconds, and we believed that we1158would be able to manage that. We also implemented an IT1159solution to automate the reconciliation. Unfortunately, there1160was a delay in implementing that, that automated solution,1161which we believed would correct the problem.1162    Mr. McGarvey. Who was held accountable for this incredible1163error and mistake?1164    Ms. Devlin. I cannot speak to who made those decisions last1165year. I was not there.1166    Mr. McGarvey. We would love to know. Looking ahead, I mean,1167look, we are obviously, we are upset the families are impacted1168again, blindsided, devastated by these decisions. We have to1169look ahead, too. What is the VA's plan to make sure the spring1170semester does not repeat this fall backlog? Will you commit to1171clear, timely communication with us, with the schools, and with1172the families if these problems come up again?1173    Ms. Devlin. Thank you. Yes, I make that commitment to you1174to continue to do a better job of communicating more1175transparently with you, all of you on the subcommittee, and1176also with our beneficiaries.1177    For the spring term, we automated 50 percent of the spring1178term enrollments that we have gotten already. Of the ones that1179we have received just in the last 7 days, well, we only have1180997 pending, and of those, 875 were received just in the last 71181days. We are timely on the spring already.1182    Mr. McGarvey. I am glad you brought up automation because1183you have said automation is helping now, but until that number,1184I had that only about 13 percent of claims are processed that1185way. If you are saying it is 50 percent, great. When will these1186reconciliations be fully automated, and when will they have1187proper human checks in place to make sure that the automation1188is doing what it needs to do?1189    Ms. Devlin. Many of the reconciliations are already1190automated at this point in time. We have corrected that, and1191our accuracy right now is 96 percent for originals and 931192percent for supplementals. We are--we are processing the claims1193correctly, we are trusting the BDN data that is coming over,1194and we are finding it to--to be accurate.1195    Mr. McGarvey. Part of the problem here, and I know I have1196got short time for lots of reasons, part of the problem here is1197when you did this right, it happened at the beginning of the1198semester when families are hit the hardest by this. What is1199your plan for scheduling future updates so families are not1200blindsided in this way? Have you thought about the actual time1201in which you can do this?1202    Ms. Devlin. Absolutely. We generally would not time a1203release this big around that timeframe. Unfortunately, the1204contract for the BDN was ending the end of the fiscal year. To1205be honest, if we had to keep that system alive for another1206year, not only would it cost 25 million additional dollars, but1207the risk to students was even greater. We would be having a1208much different kind of. It would be catastrophic if the BDN1209shut down.1210    Mr. McGarvey. Thank you. I have a lot more questions, but I1211am out of time. Mr. Chairman. Thank you.1212    Mr. Barrett. Yes, thank you. Due to circumstances beyond1213the control of this committee, we are going to need to take a1214brief recess for this panel, these witnesses. Thank you. You1215are excused. We will reconvene with our second panel.1216    We have to take leave for a recess for a classified1217briefing scheduled for all members of the House. Therefore, the1218subcommittee will stand in recess subject to the call of the1219chair. I expect to reconvene at 12:25 or as soon as possible.1220Thank you.1221    [Recess.]1222    Mr. Barrett. All right. Committee will come back to order.1223Our second panel, we will hear from the following witness. Ms.1224Ashlynne Haycock-Lohmann, Director, Government of Legislative1225Affairs at Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, also known1226as TAPS. I would like to welcome the witness on our second1227panel to the witness table.1228    I ask you, please stand and raise your right hand.1229    [Witness sworn.]1230    Mr. Barrett. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you1231are about to provide is the truth, the whole truth and nothing1232but the truth?1233    Let the record--thank you and let the record reflect that1234the witness of witness has answered in the affirmative. Ma'am,1235you are now recognized for 5 minutes to deliver your testimony.12361237             STATEMENT OF ASHLYNNE HAYCOCK-LOHMANN12381239    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. Chairman Barrett, Ranking Member1240Pappas, and distinguished committee members, the Tragedy1241Assistance Program for Survivors is grateful for the1242opportunity to continue to testify today on behalf of the1243120,000 surviving families TAPS is honored to serve and the1244168,000 Chapter 35----1245    Mr. Barrett. Can you move the microphone a little closer?1246    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. Yes. The 168,000 Chapter 351247beneficiaries who received delayed payments for the fall1248semester. The recent delays and incomplete payments in the VA's1249Chapter 35 Survivors and Dependents Education Assistance1250Program are not just a technical failure. For surviving1251families, they represent a deeply personal setback at a time1252when they are already rebuilding their lives after a profound1253loss.1254    As a surviving child who previously utilized these1255benefits, I can say with certainty that when payments do not1256arrive on time, it creates unnecessary stress and anxiety. When1257payments were delayed, for me, that often meant hours on the1258phone and having to choose between attending classes or picking1259up extra shifts at the restaurant I waited tables at to make1260sure I could cover rent, food, and bills. This is not a choice1261any VA beneficiary should have to make, especially when the1262student did everything they were supposed to do.1263    Chapter 35 is an education benefit created nearly 70 years1264ago under the War Orphans Education Assistance Act of 1956.1265Despite small improvements, the benefit is still only $15.741266per month. That is less than half of the Montgomery GI Bill and1267far below the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Fry Scholarship. For1268students today, it barely makes a dent in the cost of tuition,1269let alone living expenses. Students using Chapter 35 are the1270dependents of 100 percent disabled veterans, those who died at1271service, connected causes, and the families of those who died1272before 9/11. Populations that already received fewer benefits1273than their Post-9/11 counterparts.1274    While the VA has made progress automating Chapter 33 claims1275through the Digital GI Bill, Chapter 35 was still being1276processed on Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL), a1277system from 1959, until recently. When the VA finally moved1278toward automation in August 2025, the update triggered major1279technical failures. In September, the VA told Congress that1280around 900 students were affected. By mid-October, over 75,0001281Chapter 35 beneficiaries still had not received a single1282payment. In total, 168,000 fall semester beneficiary payments1283were delayed.1284    TAPS only learned of the issue because families and schools1285contacted us, not because VA alerted stakeholders. While we1286understand that payments often arrive late, the volume of1287October inquiries this year was unlike anything we had seen1288since 2018. To date, the VA has not provided any briefings to1289the VSO community on what happened or how they plan to fix it.1290For surviving families, these benefits are not supplemental1291income. They are a lifeline, a bridge to stability, healing,1292and opportunity. When payments did not arrive, students missed1293tuition deadlines, schools could not get information, and1294families borrowed money or went into debt. Some students1295dropped courses or delayed enrollment. This hardship is1296unacceptable for anyone, but especially for survivors who have1297already endured so much.1298    This is also not the first time VA Education Services has1299struggled with major IT changes. In 2018, failures implementing1300the Forever GI Bill caused a backlog of more than 200,0001301claims. Congress acted then to prevent students from being1302penalized by their schools, a law that helped many of the1303168,000 Chapter 35 beneficiaries this year. That law does not1304protect against eviction notices, repossession, or late fees.1305Being made whole eventually is not enough. The situation was1306made worse by the government shutdown. While the IT failure1307occurred in August, unrelated to the shutdown, the shutdown1308eliminated the very resources students needed to seek help. The1309GI Bill hotline was closed, communication staffs were1310furloughed, yet press releases continued even as 75,0001311students were left completely in the dark.1312    TAPS tried to submit hardship cases through established VA1313inboxes, but received only automated shutdown messages.1314Ultimately, we relied on the staff of this committee to help1315surviving families during a critical time, and we thank them1316sincerely.1317    TAPS is committed to working with VA to ensure our1318surviving families receive their education benefits on time and1319ensure this never happens again, which is why we recommend VA1320implement the following. One, make the GI Bill hotline an1321essential service during any future government shutdown. Two,1322designate all education claims processors as essential, just as1323other VBA processors are. Three is to resume the monthly1324stakeholder calls so that updates, issues, and upcoming IT1325changes are communicated clearly and consistently. Four, to1326create an IT rollout plan that avoids the start of academic1327terms. Last, publicly share rigorous IT testing and rollout1328plans with the community.1329    Our surviving families did everything right. They applied1330early, checked their status, and waited. The system failed1331them. We must ensure it does not happen again.1332    On behalf of our surviving families, TAPS appreciates the1333opportunity to testify today, and I look forward to your1334questions. Thank you.13351336    [The Prepared Statement Of Ashlynne Haycock-Lohmann Appears1337In The Appendix]13381339    Mr. Barrett. Thank you. The written statement of Ms.1340Haycock-Lohmann will be entered into the record. Appreciate1341your testimony.1342    Now, we will move on to questions, and I will recognize1343myself for 5 minutes.1344    Deeply appreciate your willingness to come and testify in1345front of the committee and share some of these examples and1346stories with us. I know you have quite a few folks that you1347have spoken to that have been deeply affected by this. You1348know, from our position on this committee, to the extent that,1349you know, we offer an apology for that. I want it to be, you1350know, heartfelt and sincere, that, you know, we want to make1351sure that this does not happen again, and we want to work with1352you on that. I am committed to working with the VA to re-engage1353that periodic, you know, outreach to our VSOs so that there is1354a flow of information back and forth where they can hear from1355you and you can hear from them and vice versa.1356    Also, you know, I began to think about potential policy1357changes that might be effective in helping to ease this, one of1358which was the certificate of eligibility. Instead of waiting1359until a student is about to enroll in college, which might be136010 or more years after they would become eligible due to the1361death of a parent or family member, why not furnish the1362certificate of eligibility upon the time that they are1363eligible? That way, it is one less step in the process later1364on, and trying to accumulate military records from 10 or 15 or1365more years prior to that, for example. That is something that1366we are going to look at.1367    I know that there was concerns of students that may have1368been dismissed from school because enough time had gone on. I1369think there is a 90-day window that they cannot take action1370against a student. Some of that may have, you know,1371unfortunately, gone beyond that threshold. Do you know of any1372institution that, you know, that removed from enrollment a1373student that fell into this circumstance of not having payment1374authorized?1375    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. We heard of quite a few schools that1376threatened to do so. Our casework team is phenomenal and1377reached out directly to the schools, provided them with the1378law, and provided them with all of the publicly available1379information, which is very little from VA. Tried to work with1380them as well as we work with a lot of private scholarship1381organizations to try and make sure that there was enough of a1382payment made for those students if the school was truly1383threatening that to make sure that they were not going to be1384dropped.1385    Mr. Barrett. Okay.1386    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. The stress and anxiety of that was1387something that was----1388    Mr. Barrett. Oh, sure.1389    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann [continuing]. very difficult for them.1390    Mr. Barrett. No schools that we know of and that you have1391heard of disenrolled or unenrolled a student during this? Not1392that that defends the delay, but we want to make sure that1393there are not any--any schools that actually followed through1394on that, to the best of your knowledge?1395    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. Not that we know of, because we made1396sure those working with other organizations to make sure those1397payments were at least made to prevent that from happening.1398    Mr. Barrett. Okay, thank you. Then do you know how many of1399the--of the students within the TAPS program were affected by1400this specific delay?1401    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. We heard from several dozen cases that1402were true hardship, which we worked directly with your staff to1403establish. We heard from even larger numbers, more in the1404hundreds, potentially thousands, that were delayed but did not1405consider themselves true hardships, especially if they had1406other scholarships and things that were helping supplement at1407least the tuition piece.1408    Mr. Barrett. Okay. Then we have heard that the Chapter 351409backlog has essentially been extinguished. Have you heard from1410any of your members that does not substantiate that claim?1411    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. Not at this time. Every case that we1412sent forward was paid fairly quickly, and we are hearing--we1413have not heard from anyone that they still have outstanding1414payments.1415    Mr. Barrett. As of the last few weeks or so?1416    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. Correct.1417    Mr. Barrett. Okay. What, I guess, you may have mentioned1418this in your testimony in an earlier question, but do you have1419any regular contact with the VA through your organization, or1420is that really just sort of halted?1421    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. Normally, we do. We actually have a1422memorandum of understanding with the VA, and we have worked1423closely with education services in the past. The stakeholder1424meeting that I mentioned was held monthly for many years, but1425the last VA stakeholder meeting occurred in December 2024. We1426were told in January that they were moving them to quarterly.1427Then the first two quarterly ones were canceled, and then1428everything has been removed from the calendar since.1429    Mr. Barrett. Okay. Okay. Then, have you heard for the1430upcoming semester, the January enrollment, obviously, there are1431going to be individuals applying for either continuation of1432benefits or for new benefits that they would be enrolling in.1433Have you heard of any lengthy delays beyond, you know, maybe a1434couple of weeks or so for these claims to get processed?1435    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. Not that we are aware of, but we also1436have not been briefed, and to my knowledge, schools have not1437been briefed on any possible delays or things that schools can1438be doing to better support students if there is a delay.1439    Mr. Barrett. Okay. You have not had from either--or have1440not heard from either schools or beneficiaries that you are1441affiliated with that have had lengthy delays for the January1442semester?1443    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. We generally would not know until a1444payment does not arrive.1445    Mr. Barrett. Okay. So----1446    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. Because the way VA pays, we would not1447even generally know until February, because the VA pays in the1448arrears.1449    Mr. Barrett. Okay.1450    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. January payments would not arrive1451until February 1st.1452    Mr. Barrett. Okay, thank you.1453    I will now recognize Ranking Member Pappas for 5 minutes.1454    Mr. Pappas. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Ms. Haycock-1455Lohmann, for joining us here at this hearing. We really1456appreciate your testimony.1457    Now, VA had been calling this problem for months a1458technical glitch, but it really was not technical at all. It1459was a result of poor planning and management. I am just1460wondering if you can tell us more about the level of1461communication that you may have or have not had with VA to1462understand this challenge. Did you receive direct communication1463from VA about this issue, or how did you learn about it?1464    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. We learned from students in schools.1465We started getting large numbers of outreach, and other VSOs1466were hearing similar things when we actually do have biweekly1467education calls within the VSO community to communicate the1468things we are hearing. We all started hearing a lot of the same1469things. We were able to work through some back channels and1470start hearing, especially from committee staff, that they were1471hearing consistently that there was a bigger issue. To date, we1472have not received any briefing or messaging from VA on the1473pathway forward.1474    Mr. Pappas. Okay. As you said, no stakeholder meeting, no1475quarterly meeting. Those have not been happening. No direct1476communication. You are piecing this together with your1477colleagues from other organizations and based on what you are1478hearing directly from your members?1479    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. Yes. As well as committee staff who1480were hearing the same thing and were getting more communication1481at least than we were.1482    Mr. Pappas. Like you, I have been hearing from people on1483this issue, from constituents who have been impacted by the1484failure to pay benefits on time, and I spoke to one of those1485stories in my opening statement. Here I ask unanimous consent1486that the October 2025 report from the National Association of1487Veterans Program Administrators on the impact of missed1488payments and the government shutdown into the record, as it has1489direct quotes from beneficiaries and hardship and emotional1490stress that has been put on our veterans and beneficiaries. Mr.1491Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to put this report into the1492hearing record.1493    Mr. Barrett. Without objection, so ordered.1494    Mr. Pappas. Thanks. Ms. Haycock-Lohmann, what impact, you1495talked about your own personal experience with delayed1496benefits, what impact does 4 months of missed benefits have on1497someone?1498    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. Most Chapter 35 recipients are1499children. They are, you know, between the ages of 18 and 26.1500They are young adults. They do not have savings. They generally1501do not have other income or benefits coming in. Four months of1502no payments means 4 months of missed rent, 4 months of not1503making car payments, you know, scrambling to pay for food,1504things like that that these young adults should not be having1505to deal with. This is a pretty young community. They do not1506have that savings, and they generally do not have credit. It1507also opens them up to predatory actors, things like looking for1508payday lenders, title loans, you know, emergency situations1509when you are that desperate to make sure you do not get1510evicted.1511    Mr. Pappas. You made an important point. There are a lot of1512folks that are just not moving money between accounts to be1513able to deal with the lack of benefits being paid on time. You1514mentioned that people are not necessarily whole even if their1515benefits have been paid?1516    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. Correct.1517    Mr. Pappas. Well, I appreciate that. You know, can you talk1518about other ways that you think VA should be acting to address1519this? You gave us a list of things that you would hope VA1520could--could take under consideration including--including1521making the hotline permanent, ensuring that that is always open1522for GI Bill beneficiaries, and making sure that, that those1523stakeholders' calls get back online. You know, what can we work1524with you on to ensure that VA is, you know, taking steps that1525are going to help either prevent this from happening again, but1526also, you know, making sure ultimately that people who have1527these tough cases and are not getting their answers have some1528way of getting through the system?1529    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. A big piece of that is transparency1530and working with the VSO community. We are oftentimes talking1531to survivors and veterans more closely and daily than the VA1532generally is. We are hearing these stories, but we are also1533messaging to them. We put out newsletters. We have social media1534with large followings. We have ability to make sure this1535information is getting to the community that it needs to when1536VA is sending out--they have not sent out really anything1537specific on this to date. You know, large, we have newsletters1538and things that are hitting the population that are actually1539read more closely than large things, you know, from VA that are1540in legalese that they might not understand what exactly that VA1541email says. The way we are able to word it, because we are not1542tied to those legal rules, makes it a little easier for1543survivors to understand. If we do not know what is going on, we1544cannot message that to our community.1545    Mr. Pappas. Sure, certainly. I think you probably heard the1546exchange that we had with VA officials on the first panel.1547Congress was kept in the dark on this. VSOs were kept in the1548dark. Beneficiaries were kept in the dark. That level of1549transparency, you think that would have helped individuals,1550even if they know their benefits were going to be late, just1551knowing what was going on and being able to plan would have1552been of some value to folks?1553    Ms. Haycock-Lohmann. Absolutely, because they could have,1554you know, we could have messaged this out to survivors. We1555could have worked more closely ahead of time with some of our1556partner scholarship organizations and the other programs out1557there that support survivors to make sure that, you know,1558instead of this very scrambling of trying to make payments,1559that we were working with them and getting them into some of1560these other programs to help offset the immediate costs earlier1561instead of, you know, waiting until it was too late because we1562did not know what was happening.1563    Mr. Pappas. Well, I thank you for your testimony today and1564answering those questions and for being patient with us, too.1565This is an important issue, and we want to continue to engage1566with you. You--you often help us understand how veterans are1567receiving information, how beneficiaries are encountering1568challenges with programs. Your feedback is so critical. Thanks1569for being here. I yield back.1570    Mr. Barrett. Very good. I want to thank our witness on the1571second panel and our witnesses earlier today for being here to1572discuss the ways that VA can resolve the issue of delayed1573payments and ensure that this problem does not happen again.1574While Chairman Van Orden could not be here today, he takes1575these issues very seriously. He conveyed that to me and to all1576of us on this committee. This will not be our final hearing on1577the digital GI Bill this Congress. With that, I am going to1578yield to. Well, I want to dismiss our panel now and then yield1579to Ranking Member Pappas for any concluding remarks.1580    Very good. I want to thank our witness on the second panel1581and our witnesses earlier today for being here to discuss the1582ways that VA can resolve the issue of delayed payments and1583ensure that this problem does not happen again. While Chairman1584Van Orden could not be here today, he takes these issues very1585seriously. He conveyed that to me and to all of us on this1586committee. This will not be our final hearing on the Digital GI1587Bill this Congress.1588    With that, I am going to yield to--well, I want to dismiss1589our panel now. Then yield to Ranking Member Pappas for any1590concluding remarks.1591    Mr. Pappas. Well, thanks, Mr. Chairman, and I think this1592was an important hearing today.1593    What is clear is that the problem is not fully solved. We1594need to continue to dedicate more time to it, examining it,1595especially as we enter the spring 2026 school semester. People1596that we hear from the most, veterans, families, survivors1597themselves, need to have a larger voice. I would like to1598receive testimony from more VSOs on how their members have been1599impacted.1600    I also want to note that we were only discussing Chapter 351601benefits today. Our committee has received reports of delayed1602benefits in Chapter 31, Veterans Readiness and Employment1603(VR&E), and Chapter 33, the Post-9/11 GI Bill, during the fall16042025 school semester. We must conduct rigorous bipartisan1605oversight to identify and address benefits payments issues in1606those programs as well.1607    Finally, Mr. Chairman, I would like to have a follow-up1608hearing on these Chapter 35 delays when we get back from the1609holiday recess, where we have appointees of the President1610testifying. We as Congress must assert our Article 1 powers to1611conduct oversight and demand answers from those attempting to1612sweep failure under the rug. Those in charge must be held to1613account.1614    With that, I would like to thank our witnesses for their1615flexibility, and I yield back, Mr. Chairman.1616    Mr. Barrett. Thank you, Ranking Member Pappas. Again, thank1617you to all of our witnesses who are here today. This will not1618be the last time we examine this issue, and we are going to1619really extract expectations from the VA around what is the1620appropriate amount of time under which an approval will take1621place, what is the target time that we are going to have, how1622are we going to hold to that standard and what is the1623methodology that we are going to follow to get there.1624    As I said on the subcommittee in which I serve as chairman,1625on the Technology and Modernization Subcommittee, there is1626quite a bit of overlap with this area of jurisdiction as well.1627Look forward to working with the members of this subcommittee1628in that effort in that pursuit, as well as our folks at the VA,1629that we will be working with as well.1630    Thank you again to all of our witnesses. Thank you to the1631Ranking Member. I ask unanimous consent that all members have 51632legislative days to revise and extend the remarks and include1633extraneous material. Without objection, so ordered. With that,1634this hearing is adjourned.1635    [Whereupon, at 12:45 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]16361637=======================================================================16381639                         A  P  P  E  N  D  I  X16401641=======================================================================16421643                    Prepared Statements of Witnesses16441645                              ----------16461647                 Prepared Statement of Margarita Devlin16481649    Chairman Tom Barrett, Ranking Member Pappas, and Members of the1650Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today1651to discuss the recent challenges associated with the implementation of1652Release 8 of the Digital GI Bill (DGIB) platform and its impact on the1653processing of Chapter 35 education benefits. I am accompanied today by1654Mr. Kenneth Smith, the Executive Director for the Education Service.16551656Background16571658    In August 2025, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) completed1659the final phase of its transition from the legacy Benefits Delivery1660Network (BDN) to the modern DGIB platform. This transition was a1661critical milestone in our multi-year effort to modernize education1662benefits delivery, improve services for Veterans and their families,1663and eliminate approximately $25 million in annual Information1664Technology maintenance costs through the decommissioning of BDN.1665    This specific release was designed to migrate beneficiaries and1666payments from the BDN system to the DGIB system for Chapters 35, 30,1667and 1606. The migration was successful, resulting in a 99.3 percent1668success rate. A decision in 2024 which required a complex manual1669reconciliation for all first-time claims converted beneficiaries, in1670addition to an August 2025 software release severely impacted our1671Chapter 35 program. By September, the majority of all pending claims1672were for Chapter 35 students, which consists of approximately 241673percent of GI Bill beneficiaries.16741675Root Causes of the Fall 2025 Delays16761677    The delays in Chapter 35 processing during the Fall 2025 enrollment1678period were the result of several interrelated factors:16791680        1. Manual Reconciliation Requirement:1681        In February 2024, during the prior administration, VA1682        implemented a policy in the DGIB design requiring manual review1683        and reconciliation of all claims converted from BDN to DGIB.1684        This decision, made at the recommendation of staff to mitigate1685        the risk of improper payments, significantly increased the1686        processing time for each converted claim. This ``glitch'' was1687        not a technical failure but a business decision that could have1688        been avoided through analytics and risk-based decisions. It was1689        expected to add seconds to minutes to the claims process, but1690        by some reports, this reconciliation requirement more than1691        doubled the time to process these claims.16921693        2. Compressed Testing Timeline:1694        VA was unable to delay DGIB Release 8 beyond August 4, 2025,1695        due to the requirement to decommission BDN by the end of the1696        Fiscal Year due to loss of contract support and financial close1697        out of BDN on September 30. Extension of the contract, if1698        possible, would have cost approximately $25 million and1699        required BDN to stay online for the full Fiscal Year 2026 to1700        support final Fiscal Year accounting and reconciliation. Delays1701        in partner system readiness--specifically, the payment system's1702        inability to support Chapter 35 until March 22, 2025, due to1703        the previous administrations decision to pause and review the1704        DGIB Program--forced DGIB to compress the testing period for1705        Chapter 35 and required VA to process claims in BDN that would1706        need to be converted in August. This limited the ability to1707        mitigate issues in advance and reduced the volume of claims1708        requiring manual reconciliation.17091710        3. Lack of Enterprise Governance in 2024:1711        The Office of Inspector General cited the absence of a robust1712        executive governance structure in 2024 as a contributing factor1713        for past DGIB challenges. Without strong oversight, critical1714        decisions about conversion timelines and system integration1715        were not elevated for broader risk assessment, and resulting1716        delays were absorbed into the DGIB schedule. Fundamental1717        decisions about manual requirements post conversion were not1718        evaluated for mitigation or avoidance, they were accepted and1719        baked into the requirements for the build. Release 8 efforts1720        for BDN decommissioning began as soon as the prior release was1721        put into production.17221723        4. Unanticipated Surge in Claims Volume:1724        VA experienced a 19 percent increase in Chapter 35 claimants1725        during the July-October 2025 enrollment period compared to the1726        previous year. Preliminary analysis suggests this may be linked1727        to an increase in permanent and total disability decisions1728        following the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our1729        Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, though1730        further analysis is ongoing.17311732Call Center17331734    VBA's Contingency Plan for 2025 placed all Education Call Center1735(ECC) personnel on furlough during the lapse in appropriation, because1736they do not routinely receive calls from Veterans requesting to1737establish a date of claim for entitlement and potential payment1738purposes. The establishment of a protective date for payment was1739considered the criteria for protection of life and property. As ECC1740does not do this, they were furloughed. VA is conducting an after1741action to reassess excepted positions for future contingency planning1742purposes.17431744Mitigation Efforts17451746    VA took immediate action to address issues as they arose. Following1747the August 4, 2025, release, VA identified that Chapter 35 students1748could not verify their attendance on an external system known as Verify1749Your Enrollment (VYE). While students could still verify via text or1750email if enrolled, the lack of the VYE feature for chapter 35 posed an1751unacceptable degradation in the user experience. VA communicated with1752students, schools, Congress and others about its mitigation strategy,1753which included the waiver of attendance verification requirements. The1754impact was initially a small number of students whose claims had been1755processed but could not be paid due to the verification process. As the1756impact of the reconciliation process became the larger issue causing1757significant degradation in speed to process, this waiver was left in1758place to allow payment processing immediately for students who had been1759waiting too long for their education benefits. The Verify Your1760Enrollment tool was enabled for Chapter 35 students on December 13, and1761planning for the re-implementation of attendance verification is1762underway, and the schedule and communications products will be1763communicated to Congress and stakeholders.1764    VA quickly reviewed and validated automation rules to speed up1765processing for Chapter 35 claims where reconciliation was not required.1766In Fiscal Year 2026 through November 17, 2025, approximately 13 percent1767of completed Chapter 35 claims were completed through automation. VA1768continues to assess additional automation capability to speed up1769delivery of benefits for students.1770    VA then began to develop solutions to alleviate the high level of1771effort expended by claims processors on each claim requiring1772reconciliation. First, in an attempt to relieve the manual processing1773time, VA provided formal direction to claims processors to allow them1774to trust entitlement calculations from BDN rather than recomputing and1775reducing remaining entitlement due solely from the change from BDN to1776DGIB. Second, VA developed technical requirements to automate the1777reconciliation process. This automation capability was developed and1778ready for testing starting on October 6, with a planned release on1779October 18. At that time, an expected 40,000 reconciliations were1780expected to be completed, approximately 25 percent of the total pending1781inventory of supplemental claims. However, the team required to test1782and deploy the software was furloughed due to the lapse in1783appropriation.1784    VA has long relied on claims processor overtime to deliver timely1785benefits, particularly education benefits, where seasonal fluctuations1786are common and predictable. Through summer 2025, overtime was directed1787toward reduction of Chapter 35 inventories in an attempt to work claims1788down prior to Release 8. Due to the amount of data converted, the1789release required a full week where no Chapter 35 claims could be1790processed, and overtime resumed immediately following the release. VA1791provided an additional $1.6 million in overtime to Education Service in1792August 2025, and this was immediately made available to the field for1793use, specifically to work Chapter 35 claims. VA typically uses overtime1794in October and November to address surging inventory during fall1795enrollment. Overtime for Education Service claims processors resumed in1796mid-November, following passage of the appropriation bill.1797    Without technology improvements or overtime, VA worked to mitigate1798impact through other means, recalling quality and training personnel--1799more than 50 people who were initially furloughed--to perform claims1800processing actions, as well as policy positions to lighten the load and1801streamline processing for front-line personnel.1802    VA began testing the software solution and deployed it on November180315, 2025, which resolved the reconciliation requirement for1804approximately 5,400 students, resulting in more than 1,100 payments to1805students. To prevent recurrence in the spring term, VA performed1806similar reconciliation processing for approximately 67,000 students who1807have attended in the past year but are not currently enrolled. VA's1808automation rules can now process enrollments from these students,1809resulting in a same-day completion.1810    VA continues to waive the verification of attendance requirement1811and is currently working on a change management strategy to ensure that1812students update their contact information with their cell number or1813email address for simplest and most convenient enrollment verification.1814For any student who has changed their enrollments, this system will1815trigger a request to the school to confirm the change, which can also1816be automated. The verification requirement and change notices are1817anticipated to reduce the most common causes of overpayments--a simple1818change to enrolled hours.18191820Lessons Learned and Path Forward18211822    Identifying the root cause for problems and mitigating them as1823quickly as possible are always important and urgent steps, but1824developing lessons learned and communicating a new vision for Education1825Service is necessary to prevent recurrence.1826        1. Strengthened Executive Governance:1827        In 2025, VA implemented a governance structure with clear1828        executive sponsorship to ensure accountability across programs.1829        There are now three clear levels of leadership accountability,1830        under the sponsorship of the VA Deputy Secretary, who ensures1831        integration at the VA level to enforce schedules and1832        commitments across the VA's systems and articulates priorities.1833        The Education Service Executive Director ensures planning and1834        execution at the program level, so that work leads to1835        completion of prioritized requirements across multiple planning1836        cycles. The Program Director ensures the requirements for each1837        build are clear, the contractors can execute them on schedule,1838        and the goals for each release are accomplished.18391840        2. Automation-First Strategy:1841        We have reaffirmed our strategic objective to automate all1842        possible claims processing, reserving manual intervention for1843        exceptions only. Clearly articulating this strategy will ensure1844        alignment and accountability for accomplishing automation1845        instead of re-building the BDN capability, which was primarily1846        manual.18471848        3. Enhanced Change Management:1849        We are expanding our change management team and improving field1850        engagement to better anticipate and respond to operational1851        impacts. Going forward, the entire process, from planning,1852        analysis and design will prioritize end-to-end automation, with1853        manual processing capabilities for exceptional cases.18541855Conclusion18561857    While the transition to DGIB represents a significant step forward1858in modernizing VA's education benefits systems, the challenges we faced1859during Release 8 underscore the importance of strong governance,1860strategic alignment, and proactive risk management. We are committed to1861learning from these experiences and ensuring that our systems and1862processes better serve Veterans and their families.1863    Thank you for your continued oversight and support. I welcome your1864questions.18651866                   Prepared Statement of Justin Parke18671868    Congressman Barrett, Ranking Member Pappas, members of the1869Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, thank you for inviting me to1870testify at today's hearing. I am Justin Parke, a Managing Director at1871Accenture Federal Services and a member of Accenture Federal1872Leadership. I am also the Program Manager of our Digital GI Bill1873engagement, leading the implementation and operations of Accenture1874Federal DGIB systems. I am honored to be here today and to serve1875Veterans and their families in my role on the DGIB program.1876    Since 2021, through our work on DGIB, Accenture has supported VA's1877efforts to make it faster and easier for Veterans to access and1878reliably receive education benefits. These education benefits enable1879Veterans to take better care of themselves and their families, and to1880pursue life-changing post-service goals and aspirations. The education1881benefits provided by VA have real impact. Compared with a high school1882diploma holder, a Veteran with a college degree can earn an average 841883percent more ($1.2M) over their lifetime.1884    Since we met last year, we have delivered on our commitment to1885successfully replace VA's nearly 50-year-old BDN mainframe with our1886state-of-the-art cloud-based claims processing platform. This1887technology improves VA's operational resilience, and, for the first1888time in the GI Bill's 80-year history, has enabled fully automated1889processing of Chapter 33 eligibility and Chapter 35 claims.1890    We completed this milestone ahead of schedule after VA experienced1891multiple failed attempts to replace BDN over several decades. Retiring1892BDN and replacing it with modern technology as soon as possible was1893imperative and is now complete. As we have heard from VA this effort1894was necessary because of the serious operational risks that BDN created1895for VA, including but not limited to:18961897          BDN was past end-of-life, and VA was unable to1898        reasonably update BDN to comply with legislative and judicial1899        mandates such as Dole and Rudisill, meaning that any1900        legislation changes or judicial rulings providing new or1901        updated benefits to Veterans could not be accommodated, and1902        those claims would need to be processed completely by hand;19031904          BDN was at risk of catastrophic failure, such as1905        overheating and completely shutting down. Due to the age of the1906        system and its component parts, there would be no way to1907        reasonably bring BDN back online, meaning all non-33 claims1908        processing would be stopped in the case of such failure; and19091910          Of VA staff supporting BDN, more than 80 percent are1911        eligible to retire, with the most knowledgeable and senior1912        technical staff having retired in the past 6 months. Due to the1913        age of this technology, these skillsets are not readily1914        available in the job market,and this talent cannot be replaced,1915        which presents a large risk to keeping the system online and1916        operational for claims processing.19171918    Through our DGIB automation efforts with VA, more than 55 percent1919of all education claims - all chapters, all claim types - are processed1920same-day, the vast majority of these in seconds. To date, DGIB has1921processed over 16 million claims, delivering more than 43 billion1922dollars in Veteran benefits to 2.3 million unique beneficiaries.1923    In partnership with VA, we have retired the major legacy systems1924envisioned, exceeded original Chapter 33 automation aspirations, and1925are on track to do the same for Non-Chapter 33 automation. We have made1926it easier for Veterans to access their education benefits and are1927processing claims for one tenth of the estimated pre-DGIB cost. We have1928achieved all of this while also accommodating additional requirements1929and changes to scope, including legacy data migration, data mart, and1930implementation of legislative and judicial mandates like VET TEC, Dole,1931and Rudisill that expand eligibility for GI Bill students.1932    We understand and share the Committee's concerns about the Chapter193335 claim backlog. Delayed payments are unacceptable. We recognize the1934significant impact that this has had on Veterans and their families. We1935have been working tirelessly with VA to help reduce the backlog and1936quickly get payments into the hands of eligible beneficiaries.1937    There have been inaccurate reports of a system glitch causing the1938Chapter 35 backlog. These reports are not true. The system is working1939as required.1940    There are many contributing factors to the backlog, but there are1941two key drivers:19421943          First, the number of unique Chapter 35 students1944        increased by 19 percent year over year, increasing Veteran1945        Claim Examiner, or VCE, workload, and19461947          Second, per requirements that VA decided in 2024,1948        DGIB was designed to require a one-time manual validation, or1949        reconciliation, of BDN data for all claimants migrated from the1950        mainframe. And this takes VCE time.19511952    Since December 2024, and before manual data validation was1953required, DGIB successfully processed tens of thousands of non-Chapter195433 claims for new beneficiaries and millions of claims overall.1955Throughout this time, DGIB continued to work as required. When it was1956identified that VCEs were unable to keep up with claim workload, we1957worked in close collaboration with VA to identify solutions that1958automate a portion of the manual data validation and decrease the1959backlog.1960    To give you additional details:19611962    On September 23d, VA completed and approved new requirements for1963this automation, and we developed the system enhancements shortly1964after. VA completed the required user acceptance testing, approved the1965enhancements, and we deployed the new automation to production on1966November 15th. Since that deployment, we have automatically reconciled1967data for approximately 88 thousand claimants, greatly reducing the1968backlog. We remain focused on delivering on the promise made to1969Veterans. With the mainframe retired, we have completed all required1970major technical modernization. VA finally has a technology platform in1971DGIB that allows it to take full advantage of automations.1972    Since the inception of DGIB in 2021, we have improved access to1973education benefits and utilization has increased, with 42 percent more1974requests for eligibility, generating billions of dollars of economic1975activity and creating new jobs. We continue to work with VA to increase1976automation and deliver education benefits faster, easier, and more1977reliably, which is what our Veterans have earned and deserve. Thank1978you, I look forward to your questions.19791980             Prepared Statement of Ashlynne Haycock-Lohmann19811982    The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) is the national1983provider of comfort, care, and resources to all those grieving the1984death of a military or veteran loved one. TAPS was founded in 1994 as a1985501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to provide 24/7 care to all military1986survivors, regardless of a service member's duty status at the time of1987death, a survivor's relationship to the deceased service member, or the1988circumstances or geography of a service member's death.1989    TAPS provides comprehensive support through services and programs1990that include peer-based emotional support, casework, assistance with1991education benefits, and community-based grief and trauma resources, all1992delivered at no cost to military survivors. TAPS offers additional1993programs, including, but not limited to, the following: the 24/71994National Military Survivor Helpline; national, regional, and community1995programs to facilitate a healthy grief journey for survivors of all1996ages; and information and resources provided through the TAPS Institute1997for Hope and Healing. TAPS extends a significant service to military1998survivors by facilitating meaningful connections to peer survivors with1999shared loss experiences.2000    In 1994, Bonnie Carroll founded TAPS after the death of her2001husband, Brigadier General Tom Carroll, who was killed along with seven2002other soldiers in 1992 when their Army National Guard plane crashed in2003the mountains of Alaska. Since its founding, TAPS has provided care and2004support to more than 120,000 bereaved military survivors.2005    In 2024 alone, 8,911 newly bereaved military and veteran survivors2006connected to TAPS for care and services, the most in our over 30-year2007history. This is an average of 24 new survivors coming to TAPS each and2008every day. Of the survivors seeking our care in 2024, 37 percent were2009grieving the death of a military loved one to illness, including as a2010result of exposure to toxins; 29 percent were grieving the death of a2011military loved one to suicide; and only 3 percent were grieving the2012death of a military loved one to hostile action.2013    As the leading nonprofit organization offering military grief2014support, TAPS builds a community of survivors helping survivors heal.2015TAPS provides connections to a network of peer-based emotional support2016and critical casework assistance, empowering survivors to grow with2017their grief. Engaging with TAPS programs and services has inspired many2018survivors to care for other, more newly bereaved, survivors by working2019and volunteering for TAPS.2020    Chairman Van Orden, Ranking Member Pappas, and distinguished2021members of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, the Tragedy2022Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) is grateful for the opportunity2023to provide a statement for the record on issues of importance to the2024120,000-plus surviving family members of all ages, representing all2025services, and with losses from all causes who we have been honored to2026serve.2027    The mission of TAPS is to provide comfort, care, and resources for2028all those grieving the death of a military loved one, regardless of the2029manner or location of death, the duty status at the time of death, the2030survivor's relationship to the deceased, or the survivor's phase in2031their grief journey. Part of that commitment includes advocating for2032improvements in programs and services provided by the U.S. Federal2033Government--the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Veterans2034Affairs (VA), Department of Education (DoED), Department of Labor2035(DOL), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)--and State and2036local governments.2037    TAPS and the VA have mutually benefited from a long-standing,2038collaborative working relationship. In 2014, TAPS and the VA entered2039into a Memorandum of Agreement that formalized their partnership with2040the goal of providing earlier and expedited access to crucial survivor2041services. In 2023, TAPS and the VA renewed and expanded their formal2042partnership to better serve our survivor community. TAPS works with2043military and veteran survivors to identify, refer, and apply for2044resources available within the VA, including education, burial,2045benefits and entitlements, grief counseling, and survivor assistance.2046    TAPS also works collaboratively with the VA and DOD Survivors2047Forum, which serves as a clearinghouse for information on government2048and private-sector programs and policies affecting surviving families.2049Through its quarterly meetings, TAPS shares information on its programs2050and services as well as fulfills any referrals to support all those2051grieving the death of a military or veteran loved one.2052    TAPS President and Founder Bonnie Carroll previously served on the2053Department of Veterans Affairs Federal Advisory Committee on Veterans'2054Families, Caregivers, and Survivors, where she chaired the Subcommittee2055on Survivors. The committee advises the Secretary of the VA on matters2056related to veterans' families, caregivers, and survivors across all2057generations, relationships, and veteran statuses. Ms. Carroll is also a2058distinguished recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the2059Nation's highest civilian honor.20602061CHAPTER 35 PAYMENT DELAYS20622063    The recent delays and incomplete payments in the Department of2064Veterans Affairs (VA) Chapter 35 Survivors' and Dependents' Education2065Assistance (DEA) Program represent not just a technical failure, but a2066deeply personal hardship for those who have already endured the2067greatest loss imaginable. TAPS is grateful for the Committee's2068attention to this urgent issue.2069    Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance, or Chapter 35,2070is an outdated education benefit created by the War Orphans'2071Educational Assistance Act of 1956 (P.L. 634, 84th Congress), and it2072has not had many improvements since then. The Forever GI Bill increased2073education benefits by $200 per month; however, that remains nearly half2074of the amount paid by the Montgomery GI Bill, and far less than the2075Post-9/11 GI Bill and Fry Scholarship. With the current rate of only2076$1,574 per month, Chapter 35 benefits barely make a dent in the cost of2077an education in today's economy.2078    Those using DEA are dependents of a 100 percent disabled veteran,2079those who died of a service-connected death, and those who died before20809/11, all of which are populations that traditionally receive fewer2081benefits than their active-duty, Post-9/11 counterparts.2082    While the VA has made major improvements with the Digital GI Bill2083toward automation for Chapter 33 benefits, they only recently switched2084from utilizing COBOL to process most Chapter 35 claims. COBOL is a2085program from 1959 and is not widely utilized anymore. While we2086appreciate VA moving toward automation of Chapter 35 claims, the fact2087is that a total of 168,000 payments were significantly delayed for the2088fall 2025 semester.2089    In August 2025, the conversion from COBOL to the new processing2090system triggered a technical glitch. The VA did not inform any external2091stakeholders of this glitch until September 2025, when they informed2092Congress that it would only impact approximately 900 students. It was2093not until Oct.1, 2025, when over 75,000 Chapter 35 recipients did not2094get paid, that the glitch became public knowledge. TAPS was made aware2095of this issue solely after students and institutions notified us of2096missed payments, rather than through any direct notification from the2097VA.2098    At TAPS, we do not consider it unusual for educational benefits to2099be delayed until after October 5th for the fall semester or March 5th2100for the spring semester. We understand that the VA pays benefits in2101arrears and that earlier payments are often partial because students2102attend only a few days of classes in August and January. Until those2103dates, unless a student is experiencing hardship, we generally advise2104them to wait.2105    However, we were surprised by the significant increase in inquiries2106this October. The VA announced that all education benefits would2107continue during the shutdown; they did not mention the technical glitch2108affecting Chapter 35 in that messaging.2109    For the surviving families we serve, education benefits are more2110than financial support--they are a pathway to healing, stability, and2111renewed purpose after tragedy. Survivors should not have to relive2112crisis moments simply because a system update failed. When those2113benefits fail to arrive, the consequences are real, immediate, and2114deeply felt.2115    Many of these students live month to month. Education benefits are2116not a supplement; they are a primary lifeline. When payments were2117delayed:21182119      Tuition deadlines were missed.21202121      Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs) were left without2122information.21232124      Families were forced to borrow money or take on debt.21252126      Some students were forced to drop courses or delay2127enrollment.21282129    For a survivor or dependent already navigating life after loss or2130injury, this added burden is unacceptable.2131    This is not the first time VA's Education Services has failed to2132properly implement an Information Technology (IT) update. In 2018, the2133VA experienced major delays and errors in housing and education2134payments due to problems implementing the Forever GI Bill. The Forever2135GI Bill required the VA to calculate the Monthly Housing Allowance2136(MHA) based on the location of the student's campus, not the location2137of the school's main campus. To do this, the VA needed a significant IT2138upgrade. That upgrade failed repeatedly, and the system could not2139process claims correctly. At its peak, the backlog reached over 200,0002140claims before the VA eventually acknowledged it could not meet the2141legal requirements set forward by Congress.2142    What happened this fall is especially concerning, given the events2143of 2018--one of the most significant breakdowns in VA Education2144Services' history. What we learned in 2018 was the true human impact of2145how delayed payments translated to students being unable to afford2146tuition, fees, rent, and insurance. This committee even changed the law2147in 2018 (P.L.115-407) to ensure GI Bill beneficiaries cannot be2148penalized by schools--through dropping of classes or late fees--due to2149delayed VA benefit payments. That law has helped thousands of students2150during times when VA payments were delayed and heavily assisted the2151168,000 Chapter 35 beneficiaries whose payments were late this2152semester.2153    While preventing students from being dropped from classes is2154critical, the law does not do anything when students can't pay their2155rent, car payments, or insurance. It doesn't prevent them from being2156evicted or having their car repossessed. Being made whole2157``eventually'' does not prevent students from racking up late fees or2158fearing homelessness.2159    As the primary organization supporting families of the fallen, TAPS2160heard from families across the country who were blindsided by the2161delays. They did what they were told to do: They applied early; they2162checked their status; they waited for payments--and the system failed2163them.21642165IMPACT OF GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN21662167    Initially, the VA attributed the technology failure to the2168shutdown, but it is important to note that the government shutdown was2169not a factor in August when the IT update failed. However, the shutdown2170did exacerbate the situation. Because of the shutdown, all of the2171resources students would normally rely on were unavailable. With the GI2172Bill Hotline closed, students had no avenue to seek assistance for2173hardships.2174    The VA informed us that they had developed a ``communications2175plan'' to inform beneficiaries and IHLs about the IT failure, but the2176communications staff responsible for executing that plan in early2177October 2025 had been furloughed. However, not all communications2178personnel were furloughed, as the VA continued issuing press releases2179during the shutdown--yet they were still unable to communicate critical2180information to the 75,000 dependents who were not being paid and were2181left completely in the dark.2182    TAPS submitted hardship cases to the same VA Education Services2183inboxes we have used for years, only to receive auto-generated2184responses stating: ``As a result of a lapse in appropriation, VBA non-2185furloughed personnel are limited to performing duties and2186responsibilities excepted by law. Requests for assistance may be2187delayed if they are not considered an excepted activity by law. I2188apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.''2189    Ultimately, the only way we were able to assist certain hardship2190cases was by sending them directly to staff at the House Committee on2191Veterans' Affairs and having them submit the cases on our behalf. TAPS2192thanks the professional staff, especially Chase Bergerson, Allyson2193Horn, and Halle Sarkisian, for assisting our surviving families during2194this very difficult time.21952196IMPACT STORIES21972198 Jonathan Mackey, Surviving Son of SSGT Matthew Mackey, Iowa National2199                                 Guard22002201    ``I am currently a senior at Southeastern Louisiana University and2202have been using Chapter 35 education benefits for the past year. I2203appreciate the opportunity to share my experience regarding the use of2204these benefits this fall.2205    ``My school certified my enrollment in July. I recognize that I'm2206among the students this semester who have received any Chapter 352207payments, and I'm grateful. However, my issue has been underpayment.2208When my certification was first submitted, one of my classes was still2209waitlisted, so the VA initially recorded me as less than full-time. My2210school submitted a correction, but I was told that the VA was2211significantly backlogged in processing Chapter 35 amendments.2212    ``Two weeks later, I received a random amount that still did not2213add up to the missing funding. My September payment was issued as the2214government shutdown began, again reflecting an incorrect amount. My2215school filed another amendment, but I was informed that due to the2216shutdown, no corrections would be processed for the foreseeable future.2217I was also told it could take months before the issue is resolved. The2218payments received this fall are completely random amounts that vary2219from less than half-time to less than three-quarters' time, even though2220I am a full-time student with 15 hours this semester.2221    ``Meanwhile, my expenses continue. My November payment was for2222$839; this covers my rent, with $13 left to pay my bills and eat. I am2223one of five children, and four of us rely on VA education benefits we2224earned through my father's service and sacrifice. My mother, who2225forfeited her own earned benefits when she remarried, now works full-2226time to cover our health insurance while we finish our degrees because2227TRICARE Young Adult is not affordable for any of us. She also had to2228step in financially last year to help my siblings due to VA education2229issues. Now, she has to step in again due to my VA education issues to2230help meet essential expenses, creating significant hardship for her.2231    ``What makes this even more difficult is the lack of communication2232and accountability. Calls to the VA education line go unanswered, and2233students were not informed of these processing delays prior to or2234during the shutdown. Now, we are told by our schools that we'll receive2235back pay, eventually, but delayed payments don't keep students housed2236or fed in the meantime.2237    ``I did everything correctly, submitted my certification,2238maintained full-time status, and followed up with my school. Yet, I'm2239still facing months of uncertainty. This situation not only creates2240financial stress but also affects my ability to focus on my education.2241    ``I hope my experience shows how these administrative delays impact2242real families--families of those who have already sacrificed so much.2243We're simply asking for timely processing, communication, and2244accountability, so that those of us using Chapter 35 benefits can stay2245focused on our education instead of survival.''22462247  Kaanan Mackey Fugler, Surviving Spouse of SSGT Matthew Mackey, Iowa2248                             National Guard22492250    ``I wish I could say this is the first time we've had issues with2251my children receiving their education benefits, but it isn't. This is2252the second year and the third consecutive semester that I've had to2253step in and cover my adult children's housing and living expenses for2254months, just so they wouldn't face eviction, repossession, or loss of2255credit, all because of delays and underpayments from the VA.2256    ``When my husband died, I had 5 little ones at home. I put my2257career on hold to support his service, and then spent the next 15 years2258raising our family. The gaps in my education and work history have2259permanently affected my earning potential. Although I used my education2260benefits, my survivor benefits were meant to help offset not only the2261loss of Matt's income but also the years I couldn't work because of our2262military life.2263    ``Today, even with a master's degree, I work full-time and earn2264around $20 an hour. Out of that, I pay health insurance for two of my2265children because it's cheaper than TRICARE Young Adult, which is2266totally unaffordable. What's left of my paycheck often goes toward2267covering the shortfall when their benefits don't arrive. It's a2268financial hardship for all of us.2269    ``When students use Chapter 35, they have to pay tuition up front.2270They're told they'll receive $1,574 per month as full-time students,2271and they budget accordingly. When payments don't arrive, or arrive in2272random, reduced amounts, these students and their families are left2273scrambling.2274    ``We keep hearing, `You'll get back pay.' But back pay doesn't help2275when students are sitting in their classes and apartments, wondering2276how to pay for food or rent today. Even if we were able to reach2277someone at VA Education Services, Jon wouldn't meet the definition of2278`hardship' because I stepped in to prevent an eviction or utility2279shutoff.''22802281 Julie Wargo, Surviving Former Spouse of SPC Michael Wargo, U.S. Army2282                                Veteran22832284    ``The delay in the receipt of Chapter 35 benefits that my daughter2285receives caused an extreme amount of stress this fall. Every year, we2286sit down with spreadsheets, countlessly going over scholarship2287opportunities and funding to be able to pay for her nursing program at2288a State college. Her Chapter 35 benefits are a vital component of2289paying for her tuition.2290    ``This October, when the benefits were not received on time, we2291scrambled to find any funding we could come up with to make sure we2292paid the tuition. Without complete payment, she would not have been2293able to register for the spring semester, and she could have2294potentially lost her spot in a rigorous program. She reached out to her2295State senator, but got no response from his office. She spent countless2296hours on the phone with the VA, trying to understand what was going on,2297and was given the runaround.2298    ``We were left in the dark until the end of October, when the first2299payment was made just 2 weeks prior to the tuition deadline that2300enabled her to register for spring classes. This just served as another2301reminder of the loss our family faced 12 years ago.''23022303    Emma Deghand, Surviving Daughter of MSG Bernard Deghand, Kansas2304                             National Guard23052306    Emma, a student at Highland Community College, contacted TAPS on2307November 4, 2025, after not receiving a single payment for Chapter 352308benefits for the fall 2025 semester, which began on August 18, 2025.2309She stated she was unable to make ends meet and was worried about being2310evicted from her apartment. When we contacted VA Education Services on2311her behalf, requesting hardship assistance, we received the following2312response:2313    ``Thank you for contacting us. As a result of a lapse in2314appropriation, we are unable to continue performing duties and2315responsibilities at the Department of Veterans Affairs. We apologize2316for any inconvenience this may cause. You may leave a message and we2317will respond when appropriations are in place, and we are able return2318to a duty status. If this is an urgent matter, there are many VA2319services that remain operational and may be able to assist you. To2320access VA's Human Capital Contingency Plan, please go to VA Contingency2321Plan for a full list of functions that are continuing and those that2322are suspended during this time.``2323    On November 7, 2025, TAPS forwarded Emma's information to the House2324Committee on Veterans' Affairs majority staff, who were able to help2325expedite her hardship claim. As a result of the Committee's assistance,2326Emma was paid on November 10, 2025--nearly two and a half months later2327than she should have been.23282329RECOMMENDATIONS23302331        1. Make the GI Bill Hotline an Essential Service During2332        Government Shutdowns: During the shutdown, impacted students2333        had no way to file hardship cases because the GI Bill Hotline2334        was closed. Designating the hotline as an essential service2335        will ensure that, in the event of future shutdowns, students2336        retain access to support and do not go without benefits.23372338        2. Designate All Education Claims Processors as Essential: It2339        took several weeks for the VA to bring claims processors back2340        during the shutdown, leaving 75,000 dependents without a single2341        payment. Treating education claims processors as essential--2342        consistent with how other Veterans Benefits Administration2343        (VBA) claims processors are treated--will help ensure that2344        already-funded programs continue to operate as intended.23452346        3. Resume Monthly Stakeholder Calls: VA Education Services2347        previously held monthly stakeholder meetings to provide updates2348        on the Digital GI Bill, backlogs, and upcoming program or IT2349        changes. These meetings have not occurred since December 2024.2350        Reinstating them would keep stakeholders informed, allow for2351        regular dialog, and strengthen accountability.23522353        4. Create an IT Rollout Plan that Avoids the Start of Academic2354        Terms: This is the third time in 7 years (fall 2018, spring2355        2025, fall 2025) that a VA IT update rollout failed and caused2356        delays in student payments. The VA must develop a plan that2357        ensures systems are fully functional before implementation and2358        avoid releasing major updates at the beginning of semesters,2359        when failures have the greatest impact on students.23602361    5. Publicly Share Testing Protocols for New IT Rollouts: The VA2362does not currently disclose its testing procedures for new IT systems2363prior to launch. These protocols should be made public and reviewed by2364the Committee to reduce the likelihood of future failures.23652366CONCLUSION23672368    TAPS thanks the leadership of the House Committee on Veterans'2369Affairs, their distinguished members, and professional staff for2370holding this hearing. TAPS is honored to testify on behalf of the2371thousands of surviving families we serve.23722373                       Statements for the Record23742375                              ----------23762377            Prepared Statement of Veterans Education Success23782379    Chairman Van Orden, Ranking Member Pappas, and Members of the2380Subcommittee:23812382    We thank you for the opportunity to present this statement for2383consideration at this hearing, which includes a review of recent2384critical failures in the delivery of higher education and veterans'2385education benefits. Veterans Education Success is a nonprofit2386organization with the mission of advancing higher education success for2387veterans, service members, and military families, and protecting the2388integrity and promise of the GI Bill and other Federal education2389programs.2390    In this statement, we address this timely and important hearing2391topic, ``Detrimental Delays: Reviewing Payment Failures in VA's2392Education Programs.''2393    Unfortunately, payment delays are nothing new when it comes to2394education benefits at the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). At2395the beginning of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the U.S. Department of Veterans2396Affairs (VA) was forced to issue emergency payments of up to $3,000 to2397more than 25,000 veterans who were left without their funds.\1\ The2398following year, delayed payments persisted, and nearly 50,000 veterans2399continued to experience difficulties with VA's failures.\2\,2400\3\2401---------------------------------------------------------------------------2402    \1\ Philpott, Tom. ``VA, lawmakers share blame for GI Bill delay,''2403Stars and Stripes, (Oct. 17, 2009), https://www.stripes.com/news/2009-240410-17/military-update-va-lawmakers-share-blame-for-gi-bill-delay-24051991955.html.2406    \2\ Daniel, Lisa. ``VA Seeks to Eliminate Claims Processing2407Backlog, Official Says,'' Army.mil, (Dec. 18, 2010), https://2408www.army.mil/article/49646/2409va_seeks_to_eliminate_claims_processing_backlog_official_says.2410    \3\ Scholarships.com. ``GI Bill Backlog Continues into Spring,''2411Scholarships.com Blog, (Jan. 8, 2010), https://www.scholarships.com/2412blog/gi-bill-backlog-continues-into-spring.2413---------------------------------------------------------------------------2414    More recently, while implementing the Forever GI Bill, VA2415experienced major IT failures in the fall of 2018.\4\ Housing payments2416for as many as 180,000 student veterans were delayed due to computer2417system updates and processing issues.\5\ A separate--but all too2418familiar--breakdown occurred in 2023 under the Biden Administration:2419VA's rollout of the digital enrollment system reportedly triggered an2420unexpected gap in housing payments.\6\ We testified that ``VBA publicly2421announced a technical flaw that resulted in more than 280,000 student2422veterans' being delayed on their monthly housing allowance (MHA) GI2423Bill payments. For nearly 4,000 of these veterans, VBA had to work with2424the U.S. Department of the Treasury (USDT) to mail hard-copy checks to2425the individuals to ensure continuity of on-time payments.'' \7\2426---------------------------------------------------------------------------2427    \4\ Veterans of Foreign Wars. ``Delayed Housing Payments Impacting2428180,000 Student Veterans,'' VFW Archives, (Oct. 2018), https://2429www.vfw.org/media-and-events/latest-releases/archives/2018/10/delayed-2430housing-payments-impacting-180000-student-veterans.2431    \5\ Id.2432    \6\ Garcia, Joseph. ``Update on Post 9/11 GI Bill MHA Delayed2433Payment for March 2023,'' Veterans Benefits Administration, (Apr. 19,24342023), https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USVAVBA/bulletins/2435355e1e1.2436    \7\ Veterans Education Success. ``Statement for the Record2437Submitted to the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs 118th Congress,2438First Session,'' (Apr. 26, 2023), https://vetsedsuccess.org/wp-content/2439uploads/2023/04/Veterans-Education-Success-Statement-For-the-Record-2440SVAC-4-26-2023.pdf.24412442      Problem: VA's education benefit systems continue to2443experience recurring payment failures that destabilize GI Bill2444---------------------------------------------------------------------------2445students' lives.24462447      Solution: Congress should require VA to implement2448reliable technical safeguards, transparent timelines, and actionable2449contingency plans for any failure to administer education benefits as2450otherwise anticipated.24512452    The recurring theme of ``technical glitches'' that inevitably2453leaves thousands of GI Bill students missing their education benefits2454is simply unacceptable. While VA always has an excuse for the error,2455the impact of these debacles falls on veterans and their families, who2456are forced to shoulder the burden of VA's repeated failures.24572458      Problem: VA's repeated characterization of major payment2459disruptions as isolated ``technical challenges'' hides systemic2460weaknesses in planning and delivery of benefits.24612462      Solution: VA must adopt more rigorous testing of2463technology solutions and independent verification of efficacy. VA2464should also implement staged technology rollouts that prevent failures2465from reaching students in the first place.24662467    Continuing the trend of IT failures and poor communication, VA once2468again left students scrambling this fall. Students who depend on2469Chapter 35 Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA)2470experienced a sudden interruption in their payments. These benefits are2471fundamental to whether a student can remain enrolled, maintain housing2472stability, and cover the daily costs of attendance. When those funds2473disappear, the consequences are immediate and personal, as we saw over2474the course of this fall semester.2475    In Florida, the Hayward family found themselves caught in this2476payment breakdown.\8\ Wayne Hayward is a Marine Corps veteran who is2477permanently and totally disabled from his service. His daughter,2478Rachel, had prepared to begin training as a commercial diver and2479underwater welder in Texas, organizing her move and relying on Chapter248035 payments to make it possible. When her benefit did not arrive, and2481the GI Bill hotline was shut down, there was no clear way for the2482family to understand what had gone wrong or how long the disruption2483might last. Months of planning suddenly hinged on whether an IT2484malfunction at VA could be resolved in time for her to start school.2485---------------------------------------------------------------------------2486    \8\ Hersey, Linda F. ``Computer `Glitch' Delays Higher-Ed Payments2487for Veterans' Dependents and Survivors,'' Stars and Stripes, (Oct. 16,24882025), https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2025-10-16/veterans-gi-bill-2489payments-shutdown-19448904.html.2490---------------------------------------------------------------------------2491    Jonathan Mackey, a senior at Southeastern Louisiana University,2492publicly described how his benefit amount dropped without warning.\9\2493He received $839 for the month, which barely covered his rent, leaving2494him with roughly $13 for groceries and other expenses. He explained2495that he was trying to focus on completing his degree while hoping2496someone at VA would eventually answer the phone and explain why his2497housing support had been reduced.2498---------------------------------------------------------------------------2499    \9\ Dille, Grace. ``VA Tech Issue Delays GI Bill Payments for2500Thousands of Students,'' MeriTalk, (Nov. 10, 2025), https://2501meritalk.com/articles/va-tech-issue-delays-gi-bi, leaving him with2502roughly $13 forll-payments-for-thousands-of-students/.2503---------------------------------------------------------------------------2504    Another student wrote to us to describe the difficult position she2505faced as a result of the delays: ``I have not received one of my2506payments and it's almost 90 days. I had my vehicle repossessed last2507week and I am facing eviction with late fees that are mounting[.] I am2508attending out of State school and I have no family near me. I am in2509dire need of assistance please help me. I can't get any answers from2510the emails I sent and the phone calls that go unanswered. I checked the2511VA benefits website and it shows that my benefits are eligible, but2512they have not issued any payments. This goes back to August. This is2513affecting my life tremendously.''2514    What made this situation more damaging was not simply the payment2515disruption, but the utter lack of communication. VA was aware in August2516about the risk of payment delays.\10\ VA later described the payment2517failure as being the result of a technical malfunction of their IT2518rollout.\11\ Once students became aware of missing payments, no one2519could get answers because the GI Bill hotline was classified as non-2520essential during the Federal Government shutdown.2521---------------------------------------------------------------------------2522    \10\ Krupnick, Matt. ``'Complete nightmare': Student veterans,2523advisers say VA cuts are derailing their educations,'' The Hechinger2524Report, (Aug. 12, 2025), https://hechingerreport.org/complete-2525nightmare-student-veterans-advisers-say-va-cuts-are-derailing-their-2526educations/.2527    \11\ See note 8.25282529      Problem: Students, families, institutions, advocates, and2530Congress were left uninformed, even though VA knew about the risk of2531---------------------------------------------------------------------------2532payment delays weeks before they occurred.25332534      Solution: VA should be required to provide proactive,2535plain-language notifications to students, schools, and oversight2536entities whenever payment risks are identified.25372538    Congressional staff contacted organizations like ours to verify2539reports that GI Bill payments were not being disbursed. That outreach2540underscores the core issue: stakeholders outside VA were forced to2541determine the extent of the problem on their own because VA did not2542communicate it openly, even though it knew the risks to families. The2543absence of clear information created confusion for schools and exposed2544students to housing insecurity.2545    It is also important to view this incident in context. As discussed2546earlier, this was the third significant technology transition involving2547GI Bill payments in recent years that has caused considerable payment2548delays during implementation. Each was scheduled at the beginning of an2549academic term, when even minor interruptions can quickly lead to2550adverse outcomes for students. Modernizing systems is essential, but2551modernization that jeopardizes the delivery of core benefits is2552misguided. When the scheduling of VA's actions guarantees maximum2553disruption if anything goes wrong, the planning has already fallen2554short.25552556      Problem: VA continues to schedule major system changes at2557the start of academic terms, when even minor disruptions would create2558maximum harm.25592560      Solution: Congress should direct VA to avoid releasing2561education benefit system upgrades during critical enrollment or2562disbursement windows and require independent certification of readiness2563before launch.25642565    There are practical steps VA should adopt to ensure this is avoided2566moving forward. Education benefits delivery must be treated as an2567essential function that does not pause when other parts of government2568do. A continuity plan is needed so that if one system fails or is2569offline, another is ready to take over. Institutions should receive2570clear guidance to avoid penalizing students for late payments due to2571circumstances beyond their control. Most importantly, when VA becomes2572aware of a significant risk to on-time payments, it should proactively2573share that information with students, institutions, policymakers, and2574advocates before financial harm occurs.2575    Student veterans, survivors, and their families do not view their2576education benefits as optional. Oftentimes, they plan their lives2577around these benefits because that is what they were told they could2578count on. VA must build on the lessons learned from these failures to2579reestablish trust with GI Bill students.25802581      Problem: Without stronger accountability and basic2582execution on benefits delivery, VA will continue to erode student trust2583in the GI Bill.25842585      Solution: Congress should strengthen oversight2586requirements, mandate transparent performance metrics, and ensure that2587students are not left bearing the cost of VA's failures.25882589    Thank you for your attention to this issue and for your continued2590oversight as VA works to restore confidence in its delivery of2591education benefits. Veterans Education Success stands ready to support2592the Subcommittee in any way that helps protect the students and2593families who depend on these programs.2594    In summary, the five solutions we propose are for VA to:25952596      Implement reliable technical safeguards, transparent2597timelines, and actionable contingency plans for any failure to2598administer education benefits as otherwise anticipated;25992600      Adopt more rigorous testing of technology solutions and2601independent verification of efficacy; implement staged technology2602rollouts that prevent failures from reaching students in the first2603place;26042605      Provide proactive, plain-language notifications to2606students, schools, and oversight entities whenever payment risks are2607identified;26082609      Avoid releasing education benefit system upgrades during2610critical enrollment or disbursement windows and require independent2611certification of readiness before launch;26122613      Finally, for Congress to strengthen oversight2614requirements, mandate transparent performance metrics, and ensure that2615students are not left bearing the cost of VA's failures.26162617    Finally, as the higher education industry continues to evolve in2618these unique times, we also emphasize the importance of maintaining2619high standards of quality. Student veterans, taxpayers, and Congress2620must expect the best outcomes from the use of hard-earned GI Bill2621benefits. We look forward to discussing and reviewing these topics and2622are grateful for the continued opportunity to collaborate on them.2623    We appreciate the opportunity to share our views with the2624Subcommittee, and look forward to continued collaboration.26252626 Information Required by Rule XI2(g)(4) of the House of Representatives26272628    Pursuant to Rule XI2(g)(4) of the House of Representatives,2629Veterans Education Success has not received any Federal grants in2630Fiscal Year 2025, nor has it received any Federal grants in the two2631previous Fiscal Years.26322633           Prepared Statement of Student Veterans of America26342635    Chairman Van Orden, Ranking Member Pappas, and Members of the2636Subcommittee: Thank you for inviting Student Veterans of America (SVA)2637to submit a statement for the record on this important hearing titled2638``Detrimental Delays: Reviewing Payment Failures in VA's Education2639Programs'' today.2640    With a mission focused on empowering student veterans, SVA is2641committed to providing an educational experience that goes beyond the2642classroom. Through a dedicated and expansive network of on-campus2643chapters across the country, SVA aims to inspire yesterday's warriors2644by connecting student veterans with a community of like-minded chapter2645leaders. Every day these passionate leaders work to provide the2646necessary resources, network support, and advocacy to ensure student2647veterans, military-connected students, their families, caregivers, and2648survivors can effectively connect, expand their skills, and ultimately2649achieve their greatest potential.2650    SVA thanks the Subcommittee for considering this issue that would2651impact student veterans, military-connected students, their families,2652caregivers, and survivors in higher education.26532654Introduction26552656    Chapter 35 beneficiaries throughout the Nation started off their2657Fall 2025 semester without receiving their Monthly Housing Allowance2658(MHA) due to various technological issues. These students turned to the2659Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Education Service for help through2660their counselors or through the GI Bill Hotline. However, the Federal2661funding interruptions that began on October 1, 2025, halted these2662critical operations that student veterans rely on to stay enrolled and2663housed.2664    In 2025, the GI Bill remains one of the most powerful tools for2665veteran success, offering pathways to higher education, economic2666mobility, and long-term well-being. For many transitioning service2667members, the GI Bill serves as their first interaction with VA, making2668it a defining moment that shapes their trust in the whole of VA. A2669smooth, transparent experience encourages veterans to explore the full2670range of VA services, from mental health care to career resources,2671while bureaucratic hurdles discourage engagement. If fully optimized,2672the GI Bill can serve as the ``front door'' to VA, ensuring that2673veterans not only succeed in education but also remain engaged in the2674broader network of programs designed to support them throughout their2675lives. The past several years has seen significant advancements in the2676administration of the GI Bill, including IT infrastructure2677improvements, automation of benefit processing, and expanded student2678veteran support services.\1\ Some of these services include the GI Bill2679Hotline (GIBH) and Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRCs).2680However, on October 1, 2025, the interruptions of Federal funding2681paused these critical VA Educational Service operations that student2682veterans relied on to stay enrolled and housed.2683---------------------------------------------------------------------------2684    \1\ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (n.d.). Transforming the2685GI Bill experience. Digital VA. Retrieved February 19, 2025, from2686https://digital.va.gov/delightful-end-user-experience/transforming-the-2687gi-bill-experience/.26882689---------------------------------------------------------------------------2690GI Bill Hotline26912692    As of February 2024, nearly 840,000 students were receiving some GI2693Bill benefits, with almost 600,000 of them enrolled at campuses with an2694SVA chapter. \2\, \3\ The GIBH is the only place where a2695student can speak with a live representative about any question they2696have regarding their GI Bill education benefits. The GIBH is open2697Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET by dialing 888-2698GIBILL-1 (888-442-4551).\4\ By calling that hotline, a student can2699speak with a VA representative, knowledgeable in education benefits, to2700verify payments, fix billing errors, and get real-time benefit guidance2701when they are unable otherwise. When the interruptions of Federal2702funding forced the GIBH to close on October 1, 2025, it had potentially2703left roughly 840,000 students using VA education benefits with nowhere2704to turn when their monthly benefits were delayed - risking eviction or2705withdrawal. Students utilizing Chapter 31 Veteran Readiness &2706Employment (VR&E) were impacted even further to the hotline closing2707when all VRCs were also furloughed on October 3, 2025 \5\.2708---------------------------------------------------------------------------2709    \2\ According to the VBA Annual Benefits Report Fiscal Year 2023,2710updated February 2024, there were 843,135 recipients combined of the2711Post-9/11 GI Bill (chapter 33), MGIB-AD (chapter 30), MGIB-SR (1606),2712DEA (chapter 35), and VEAP (chapter 32).2713    \3\ The number of those receiving GI Bill benefits reported by2714campus in the VA's GI Bill Comparison Tool dataset were cross-2715referenced with campuses present in the SVA system of record as having2716an SVA chapter.2717    \4\ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefit2718Administration Education and Training Contact Us, https://2719www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/contact_us.asp.2720    \5\ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Human Capital Contingency2721Plan, last updated Oct. 3, 2025, https://department.va.gov/contingency-2722planning/human-capital-contingency-plan/#table-3-va-functions-to-be-2723suspended-by-administration-or-staff-office.27242725---------------------------------------------------------------------------2726Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRC)27272728    VR&E, Veteran Readiness and Employment, program has continually2729evolved to better serve veterans and service members with service-2730connected disabilities. This unique program is designed to help them2731prepare for, secure, and sustain meaningful and suitable employment.2732VRCs are responsible for approving academic plans, authorizing2733reimbursement stipends for educational supplies, and guiding employment2734readiness.2735    In December 2024, SVA has previously testified on the crucial role2736that VR&E plays in workforce reintegration and how its inconsistencies2737in service delivery have often left veterans in precarious financial2738and academic situations.\6\ SVA conducted a survey of its members about2739their experiences with the VR&E program.\7\ A majority of respondents2740said they would recommend the program to other service-connected2741disabled veterans seeking to prepare for, find, and maintain2742employment.\8\ However, the most significant barrier identified was2743communication, nearly one-third reported they could rarely reach their2744VRC, and only one in four had consistent access.\9\ These gaps have led2745to delayed approvals, interrupted stipends, and stalled career2746progress.\10\ What was once already a strained system had reached a2747standstill amidst the lapse in Federal funding, and was further2748exacerbated by the closing of the GIBH. This had left many student2749veterans uncertain about their ability to continue their training,2750secure meaningful employment, and provide for their families.2751---------------------------------------------------------------------------2752    \6\ Student Veterans of America, EXAMINING the EFFECTIVENESS of the2753VETERANS READINESS and EMPLOYMENT (VR&E) PROGRAM, December 11, 2025.2754https://docs.house.gov/meetings/VR/VR10/20241211/117750/HHRG-118-VR10-275520241211-SD003.pdf.2756    \7\ Student Veterans of America, 2024 VR&E Exploration Survey.2757    \8\ Id.2758    \9\ Id.2759    \10\ Id.27602761Chapter 35 Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA)2762---------------------------------------------------------------------------2763Beneficiaries27642765    GI Bill beneficiaries utilizing their Chapter 35 VA Educational2766Benefits include children and spouses of veterans or service members2767who have died, been captured or are missing, or are totally disabled2768from a service-connected disability.\11\ The payments help eligible2769students pay for school or cover expenses while training for a job.2770Full-time students enrolled in this program receive nearly $1,600 each2771month from VA. SVA, amongst our veteran and military serving2772organizations allies, have started to hear issues amongst their2773membership on VA system failures that have compounded in light of the2774shutdown causing nationwide delays in education payments for dependents2775and survivors relying on Chapter 35 benefits.\12\2776---------------------------------------------------------------------------2777    \11\ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Survivors' and2778Dependents' Educational Assistance, last updated Aug. 4, 2025, https://2779www.va.gov/family and-caregiver-benefits/education-and-careers/2780dependents-education-assistance/.2781    \12\ Linda Hersey, Computer `glitch' delays higher-ed payments for2782veterans' dependents and survivors, Oct. 15, 2025, https://2783www.stripes.com/veterans/2025-10-16/veterans-gi-bill-payments-shutdown-278419448904.html.2785---------------------------------------------------------------------------2786    SVA heard from several Chapter 35 recipients who experienced2787significant delays in receiving their fall semester payments. One2788family reached out to us about their communications via the GIBH2789throughout the month of September with the goal of resolving their2790issue before their daughter started their term in November. VA2791instructed the family to continuously check in using the GIBH2792throughout the following weeks of October. However, their calls went2793unanswered once the GIBH halted, resulting in the daughter's enrollment2794might be impacted. It is without question that these delays have2795created real financial strain and uncertainty; many are now struggling2796to cover basic living expenses such as rent, utilities, and2797transportation. Others are facing the difficult prospect of taking on2798additional debt or withdrawing from classes to avoid falling further2799behind financially.28002801Recommendations28022803    With the GIBH closed and VRCs furloughed, students had no direct2804path to resolve payment issues or confirm their benefit status. This2805has led to uncertainty, financial strain, and the risk of withdrawal of2806students across the country. Below are several recommendations from SVA2807to ensure this will not happen again.2808    First, VA needs to designate staffing for the GI Bill Hotline and2809VRCs as an ``essential service'' and protect these services from future2810funding interruptions. This would ensure that that students retain2811access to support services and do not go without benefits. Second, SVA2812urges VA to provide timely communications in a transparent and plain2813manner to students, schools, Congress, and the veteran/military serving2814organizations when the risk of payment delays are known weeks in2815advance before occurring. Last, SVA recommends VA adopt an IT rollout2816plan that avoids the start of a new academic term and add/drop class2817period. The beginning of a term poses the highest risk to students if2818that system does malfunction. The add/drop period are when school2819certifying officials can confirm a students' course enrollment for the2820term. Implementing changes at a different time would allow VA to fully2821test and stabilize its systems before they are implemented to the2822masses.2823    These recommendations will ensure that students will continue to2824get their benefits in a timely manner but also have a trusted VA2825resource to help them when they are in a significant time of need.2826Transparency and accountability must be held to the highest standard2827when the livelihood of student veterans, military-connected students,2828family members, caregivers, and survivors are at risk. We need to2829ensure that VA IT modernization efforts do not create more problems2830than they solve. When systems fail, student veterans are the ones to2831suffer the consequences. Modern technology can be used to make VA2832benefits easier, faster, and more reliable to access and process. If2833these upgrades are implemented properly, student veterans can focus on2834their education and career goals rather than spending time navigating a2835broken outdated system.2836    SVA welcomes any communication with VA to assist in disseminating2837timely information to students when an issue arises. Additionally, SVA2838would appreciate the GI Bill Stakeholder meetings to return to their2839regular cadence. These meetings have historically been a valuable and2840effective forum for veteran-and military-serving organization2841engagement and an important tool for highlighting educational benefit2842issues early.2843    The continued success of veterans in higher education in the Post-28449/11 era is no mistake or coincidence. In our Nation's history,2845educated veterans have always been the best of a generation and the key2846to solving our most complex challenges. Today's student veterans carry2847this legacy forward.2848    We thank the Chairman, Ranking Member, and the Subcommittee Members2849for your time, attention, and devotion to the cause of veterans,2850military-connected students, their families, caregivers and survivors.28512852           Document for the Record Submitted by Chris Pappas28532854[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]28552856           Questions for the Record Submitted by Abe Hamadeh28572858[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]28592860   U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Response to Questions for the2861                                 Record28622863[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]28642865                                 [all]