VFW Sues Department of Veterans Affairs
Veteran advocacy groups, including the VFW, have partnered with the Attorney General for Virginia to file a lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs in March 2026. They hope to address how the agency calculates education benefits for those who qualify for both the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
VFW Sues Department of Veterans Affairs
The Veterans of Foreign Wars, along with Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, allege the VA is illegally withholding GI Bill benefits from those who qualify for both types of GI Bill. While federal law generally allows veterans to access up to 48 months of total benefits, many veterans under the legacy system find themselves capped at 36 months.
36 or 48 Months?
Although VA education programs typically offer 36 months of coverage, U.S. code says veterans who qualify for more than one program can potentially use a total of 48 months. The lawsuit alleges the VA is selectively awarding 48 months of benefits based on whether the applicant had a “break in service” or left the military and returned.
For years, the Department of Veterans Affairs required service members to choose between the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill, limiting total VA education benefits to just 36 months.
But Supreme Court rulings, including Rudisill v. McDonough in 2024 and Perkins v. Collins in 2025, changed VA education benefits. These rulings confirmed that veterans with enough service time should have access to the extra year of benefits.
Read more: Am I Eligible for VA Education Benefits?
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The March 2026 lawsuit alleges that, despite these court wins, the agency continues to use narrow internal rules to deny the 48-month cap to many eligible people.
This legal challenge specifically focuses on veterans who served long, continuous enlistments or commissions. While the courts previously ruled that separate periods of service qualify a veteran for the 48-month limit, the agency has been slower to grant the same rights to those who served one long enlistment.
The lawsuit seeks to help career veterans who served six or more years in a single stretch. It also aims to assist exhausted users who have already used 36 months of benefits and had to pay out of pocket for further schooling. The suit also addresses transition-era service members who served during the overlap between the Montgomery and Post-9/11 programs.
Read more: Am I Eligible for VA Education Benefits?
How Much is at Stake
For most veterans, an extra year of the Post-9/11 GI Bill includes full tuition and fees paid directly to the school. It also provides a monthly housing allowance based on the E-5 with dependents rate for the school zip code.
Additionally, the program offers a books and supplies stipend of up to $1,000 per academic year. For a veteran pursuing a master’s degree or professional certification, this extension could be worth over $30,000, depending on the location and type of school.
If you believe you qualify for the 48-month limit, keep a close eye on your VA records, especially your GI Bill Certificate of Eligibility. Current students should see updates automatically if they are eligible for additional GI Bill benefits, but those who have been out of school for a while may need to submit a new application. This action triggers a manual review of your service record to ensure you receive the full entitlement.
Read more: Am I Eligible for VA Education Benefits?
About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
