New York, NY (November 30, 2018) — On the final day of Veterans Month 2018, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the leading Post-9/11 veterans advocacy and support organization, continues to monitor the disappointing and infuriating news out of the Department of Veterans Affairs. For months, we’ve been hearing from veterans across the nation about delayed and inaccurate GI Bill payments. And still, as the holidays approach, veterans are experiencing problems with their GI Bill payments from the VA.

This entire mess only underscores why IAVA made #DefendTheGIBill one of our Big 6 Advocacy Priorities for 2018.

We’ve been sounding the alarm for months on this critical issue. And we’ve recently submitted testimony for House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Economic Subcommittee oversight hearing on a “Continued review of the GI Bill,” calling for swift action by the VA, Congress, and the President. But this issue hasn’t been fixed yet.

Paul Rieckhoff, IAVA’s Founder and CEO, recapped the latest on this outrageous failure during last night’s NBC Nightly News:

As always, we’re also filling in the gaps on the ground nationwide to help any vets or family members in need. Any veteran experiencing financial hardship can reach out for free support now from our Rapid Response Referral Program. We will do all we can to connect student veterans with non-profit resources in their area: iava.org/rrrp. Our bandwidth is limited, but we’ll try to help as many as we can.

And we’ll be focused on ensuring that it remains a priority during our Winter Storm the Hill, a quarterly advocacy week in Washington, D.C. where we focus the nation’s capital on the issues impacting the post-9/11 generation. IAVA veteran leaders from around the country will be in Washington, D.C. on December 11th through the 14th to speak directly to Members of Congress and Administration officials to ensure that the post-9/11 generation is heard. Learn more about Storm the Hill here.

About The Big 6
The Big 6 contains the challenges and opportunities that IAVA members care about most – and see as areas where we can uniquely make an impact. IAVA members are poised to educate the public, design solutions for positive impact, and lead the way to the future. That starts with our 2018 Big Six. Each Big 6 Priority will drive toward outcomes in 4 key areas: 1) Public Awareness 2) Executive Action 3) Legislative Change 4) Local Support. IAVA’s broader and comprehensive Policy Agenda covers issues ranging from homelessness to employment to a national memorial for post-9/11 veterans and can be found online here.

About #DefendTheGIBill
In 2008, the Post-9/11 GI Bill was created and supported with IAVA leadership and has now sent more than one million veterans to school, and remains one of the military’s best retention and recruiting tools. Last year, IAVA worked with VSO partners to pass the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, which included numerous expansions for the GI Bill, including elimination of the 15-year time limit to use the benefit. But the GI Bill is constantly under threat of cuts by Congress, which is why IAVA continues to #DefendTheGIBill. And we must continue to hold the line in defending these essential, earned benefits that are a cost of war.