Virginia Attorney General Alleges VA Non-Compliance with Supreme Court Order
Is the Department of Veterans Affairs ignoring a Supreme Court Order? That’s what the Virginia Attorney General alleges in a lawsuit against the VA.
Virginia’s Attorney General, Jason Miyares, is suing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to force the agency to comply with a Supreme Court decision allowing qualifying vets to use education benefits from both the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
According to a press release from the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, “Veterans who qualify for benefits should receive their full benefits — full stop,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares.
He adds, “The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that veterans who are eligible for the Montgomery and Post-9/11 G.I. Bills are entitled to their full benefits. Not partial, but full. We believe we are correct on the merits and look forward to an amicable resolution on behalf of those who have served.”
Not all veterans qualify for consideration under the Supreme Court’s decision, but some with breaks in military service or other circumstances may.
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The Supreme Court Precedent
The lawsuit is in response to alleged VA non-compliance with a 2024 Supreme Court case involving Army veteran James Rudisill, who earned benefits under two separate GI Bill programs but was denied the ability to use them consecutively for a total of 48 months.
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in his favor, establishing that qualifying veterans are entitled to the full 48 months of educational aid. But has the Department of Veterans Affairs complied? Or is the VA simply ignoring a Supreme Court order?
Alleged Non-Compliance at the Department of Veterans Affairs
The lawsuit claims that in spite of the high court’s ruling, the VA has continued to deny full GI Bill benefits to many eligible veterans, including Rudisill. The suit argues that the VA’s internal rules, which have been used for years to deny these combined benefits, are unlawful and should be nullified.
How the Suit May Affect Virginia Veterans
The Virginia Attorney General Miyares says the VA’s failure to obey the Supreme Court has unfairly increased the financial burden on Virginia to care for its veterans. The lawsuit provides specific examples:
- An Army veteran with over two decades of service was unable to transfer his full benefits to his daughter for law school.
- A retired Air Force colonel has been forced to pay significant out-of-pocket costs for his son’s education because his full benefits were unlawfully denied.
Several veterans’ advocacy groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), have joined Miyares and Rudisill as co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
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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.
