Some veterans enrolled in a Department of Veterans Affairs technology training program received double housing allowance payments from 2019 to 2023, the result of a loophole that allowed them to collect their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits at the same time.
The 208 veterans, enrolled in the Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses program, or VET TEC, received an average of $3,100 more per month per person, for a total of roughly $1.1 million in payments, according to the VA Inspector General.
The additional payments were not made in error — they specifically weren’t prohibited by federal law. The VA previously attempted to institute a policy to stop them but was dissuaded by its Office of General Counsel for fear of drawing a lawsuit and the VA being perceived as not being “veteran friendly,” according to the report, published last month.
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As a result, the loophole still stands. Although the VET TEC pilot is expected to end in April, Congress and the VA are deliberating the program’s future, and the situation could set a precedent, the IG warned.
“With the VET TEC pilot program ending in April 2024 and legislation pending to continue it as a VA educational program, the [Veterans Benefits Administration] and Congress have an opportunity to consider whether new iterations of the VET TEC program should continue…
