Attorney General Miyares Leads Bipartisan Effort to Protect Veterans’ Education Benefits

RICHMOND, VA — Attorney General Jason Miyares today led a bipartisan coalition of 52 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in support of two military veterans and their families who were unlawfully denied their full G.I. Bill education benefits by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

“For generations, our service members have defended the freedoms we hold dear, and in return, our nation made them a promise—education benefits to help them and their families build a successful civilian life. The VA’s refusal to honor that promise defies the law and dishonors their service,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares. “Virginia is home to hundreds of thousands of veterans, and I will always stand up to ensure they receive the benefits they earned.”

In August 2023, Attorney General Miyares led a bipartisan coalition of 41 other attorneys general urging the U.S. Supreme Court to protect veterans’ rights by ruling in favor of Virginia citizen James Rudisill’s claim for benefits. In April 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Mr. Rudisill in Rudisill v. McDonough, confirming that veterans who qualify under both the Montgomery and Post-9/11 G.I. Bills are entitled to a full 48 months of education benefits.

Since then, however, the VA has taken a restrictive interpretation of the G.I. Bills that contradicts the Supreme Court’s ruling in Rudisill. Despite the clear precedent set last year, the VA has continued to limit benefits based on an erroneous reading of the ruling, depriving veterans and their families of critical educational opportunities. In this case, U.S. Army veteran (and Virginia citizen) Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yoon and U.S. Air Force veteran Colonel Toby Doran were denied crucial education benefits to which they are clearly entitled.

Attorney General Miyares remains committed to fighting for those who fought for us, ensuring that all veterans in the Commonwealth and across the nation receive the full scope of benefits they deserve.

Virginia’s brief was joined by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Read the brief here.

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