‘Pay File’ Glitch Leaves Student Veterans Without Their GI Bill Housing Stipend
Hundreds of students who are veterans of the United States Armed Forces (and their dependents) are unhappy because their monthly housing stipend from Uncle Sam didn’t show up in their bank accounts when due on March 31.
As the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) explained late on March 30, those who receive the allowance electronically will have the money deposited into their accounts on April 3, with paper checks also sent out that day.
The VA did not say how many were affected by the delay, which resulted from an electronic processing “pay file” glitch and failure.
Many student veterans live on tight budgets, paycheck to paycheck, and the housing allowance—a benefit of the Post-9/11 GI Bill —showing up on time is what allows them to pay rent on time.
And those tenants who owe rent on April 1 may have to have one of those conversations with their landlord they prefer not to have.
Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Mike Bost (R-Ill.), a Marine Corps veteran, and Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity and a retired Navy SEAL whose service record includes five combat deployments, issued a press release on March 31 voicing their displeasure with the delinquency and taking the VA to task.
“We were disappointed to find out late last night that hundreds of student veterans are waking up this morning without their monthly housing allowance in their account.
‘Absolutely No Excuse’
“Congress has invested tens of millions of dollars in updating this system, which leaves no excuse for delays in payments to occur. Particularly when we have seen this happen before,” said Bost and Van Orden.
“There is also absolutely no excuse for the unreasonable delay in informing affected student veterans of this situation.
“The recipients of these education benefits are adults who have served our country and at the very least deserve adequate time to make arrangements to deal with the slew of problems that can arise from not having the money to pay your bills on time.
“Veterans come first and foremost, and the Biden administration owes them transparency they can trust.”
Depending on many factors, including the location of the campus of the school a student attends, the monthly housing allowance can range from a few hundred dollars to close to $3,000; although the average is $1,833 a month.
In a statement, the VA said: “We are mindful of the stress this may create for our student veterans and their families.
“VA is preparing electronic communications to inform veterans and provide them with a letter, which they can share with their creditors in the event this delay impacts [on] their ability to meet personal financial obligations.”
