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People & committees
Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3] · D–IL
Legislative record
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Committee Hearings Held
Committee Hearings Held
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 21, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-14 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 2025 would restore education benefit allowances for veterans and other eligible students when their schools meet specified conditions involving approval problems, violations, fraud, or closure. Schools would have to agree to repay affected funds as a condition of course approval, and could seek review of repayment findings.
This Act may be cited as the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 2025.
The Secretary shall determine that any payment of covered educational assistance for the pursuit by a covered individual of a course or program of education at an educational institution occurring during a period set forth under subsection (b) is not— (1) charged against any entitlement of the covered individual to the covered educational assistance; or (2) counted against the aggregate period for which section 3695 of this title limits the receipt of educational assistance by the covered individual.
As a condition of the approval of a course or program of education under this chapter, the educational institution offering the course or program shall agree that if the educational institution receives payment of covered educational assistance for a covered individual to pursue a course or program of education at the educational institution and the Secretary, pursuant to subsection (a), restores to such covered individual some portion of the entitlement of the covered individual to such covered educational assistance, the educational institution shall repay to the Secretary the amount of that portion of the covered educational assistance that the educational institution received for that individual.
The Secretary shall establish a process by which an educational institution or the owner of an educational institution that is subject to a finding by the Secretary that the educational institution is required to repay an amount under subsection (c) may request a review of such finding.
Coverage would include veterans and other individuals using assistance under the listed education benefit programs to pursue an approved course or program. The bill lists chapters 30, 31, 32, 33, and 35 of title 38 and chapters 1606 and 1607 of title 10.
(1) The term covered educational assistance means educational assistance under chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, or 35 of this title, or chapter 1606 or 1607 of title 10. (2) The term covered individual means a veteran or other individual using covered educational assistance to pursue a course or program of education that has been approved under this chapter.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs would have to exclude qualifying payments from both the student's education benefit allowance and the overall time limit on receiving education assistance under section 3695. This would restore benefit eligibility rather than direct a cash refund to the student.
The Secretary shall determine that any payment of covered educational assistance for the pursuit by a covered individual of a course or program of education at an educational institution occurring during a period set forth under subsection (b) is not— (1) charged against any entitlement of the covered individual to the covered educational assistance; or (2) counted against the aggregate period for which section 3695 of this title limits the receipt of educational assistance by the covered individual.
One qualifying condition would be a period on or after enactment when the school lacked approval from a State approving agency or the Secretary acting in that role. This would include periods when approval had been revoked.
(1) Any period, occurring on or after the date of enactment of the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 2025, in which the educational institution was not approved by a State approving agency or the Secretary acting as a State approving agency, including periods in which an educational institution is not approved because an approval is revoked.
Another qualifying condition would be a period on or after enactment for which the Secretary made a final determination that the school or its owner violated an applicable provision of section 3696. The bill does not reproduce that section's requirements.
(2) Any period, occurring on or after the date of enactment of the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 2025, with regards to which the Secretary has made a final determination that the educational institution, or the owner of the educational institution, was in violation during such period of an applicable provision of section 3696 of this title.
A period on or after enactment during which a court with authority over the case found the school guilty of, or liable for, fraud would also qualify.
(3) Any period, occurring on or after the date of enactment of the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 2025, during which a court of competent jurisdiction found the educational institution guilty of, or liable for, fraud.
A further qualifying condition would be a period on or after enactment during which the Department of Justice closed the school because of fraud or a violation of federal or state law.
(4) Any period, occurring on or after the date of enactment of the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 2025, during which the educational institution was closed by the Department of Justice on the basis of fraud or a violation of a provision of Federal or State law.
A period of school fraud on or after enactment would also qualify if the school later closed. For this proposal, “fraud” would include other false, misleading, or deceptive acts or omissions—meaning failures to disclose or act as well as affirmative conduct.
(5) Any period occurring on or after the date of enactment of the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 2025— (A) during which the educational institution engaged in fraud; and (B) after which the educational institution closes.
(3) The term fraud means fraud or another false, misleading, or deceptive act or omission.
To obtain approval for a course or program, a school would have to agree to repay the Secretary when a student's benefits were restored under this provision. The repayment would cover the corresponding portion of assistance that the school received for that student.
As a condition of the approval of a course or program of education under this chapter, the educational institution offering the course or program shall agree that if the educational institution receives payment of covered educational assistance for a covered individual to pursue a course or program of education at the educational institution and the Secretary, pursuant to subsection (a), restores to such covered individual some portion of the entitlement of the covered individual to such covered educational assistance, the educational institution shall repay to the Secretary the amount of that portion of the covered educational assistance that the educational institution received for that individual.
If a court found a school guilty of, or liable for, fraud and ordered it to pay financial relief to the federal government, the Secretary could file a Treasury claim to recover all VA education assistance the Secretary determined the school obtained through that fraud. Filing this claim would be permitted, not required.
In the case of an educational institution that has been found guilty of, or liable for, fraud by a court of competent jurisdiction and is ordered to pay financial relief to the Federal Government, the Secretary may file a claim with the Department of the Treasury for recoupment of all amounts of educational assistance received by such educational institution pursuant to the educational assistance programs administered by the Secretary that the Secretary determines were obtained through such fraud.
The Secretary would have to establish a process allowing a school or its owner to request review of a repayment finding. That process would have to be separate from the process under section 3696(i).
(d) Appeals (1) The Secretary shall establish a process by which an educational institution or the owner of an educational institution that is subject to a finding by the Secretary that the educational institution is required to repay an amount under subsection (c) may request a review of such finding. (2) The process established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be distinct and separate from the process established under section 3696(i) of this title.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated August 21, 2026, records introduction and referral to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs on February 14, 2025, followed by committee hearings on March 18 and May 20, 2026. These are the actions reported in that dated snapshot.
Source snapshot updated 2026-08-21T08:05:56Z. 2026-05-20: Committee Hearings Held 2026-03-18: Committee Hearings Held 2025-02-14: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. 2025-02-14: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-14. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish what appears in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; formal earmark disclosures and accompanying materials are not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential carve-out was identified beyond the proposal's intended beneficiaries and ordinary review rights in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not extend to other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Aug 21, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI