Kelly, Colleagues Introduces Bill to Ensure All Purple Heart Recipients Can Transfer Benefits to Dependents

Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) joined Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) in introducing the Purple Heart Veterans Education Act—bipartisan, bicameral legislation that will close a loophole that has denied some Purple Heart recipients the ability to transfer their GI bill benefits to their dependents. Representatives Mike Levin (D-CA-47) and Greg Murphy (R-NC-3) introduced companion legislation in the House.  

In 2017, Congress passed the Forever GI Bill, which incentivized servicemembers to continue serving in the military by allowing them to transfer GI bill benefits to their dependents after they completed six years of service and agreed to serve an additional four. In 2018, the Department of Defense (DoD) expanded GI Bill transferability benefits to Purple Heart recipients, allowing them to transfer GI benefits to their dependents while on active duty regardless of years of service. While this policy honors most wounded warriors, it left behind a small group of those who received their Purple Hearts after being discharged from the military. The Purple Heart Veterans Education Act would close this loophole by allowing veterans who received their Purple Heart after their service to transfer their benefits to their dependents.  

Co-sponsors in the Senate include Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Angus King (I-VT), John Boozman (R-AR), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Steve Daines (R-MT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), John Cornyn (R-TX),  Kevin Cramer (R-DN), and Michael Bennet (D-CO). 

“As a former Navy pilot, I know the risks our servicemembers take every day, and Purple Heart recipients deserve their full benefits after their enormous sacrifices in defense of our country,” said Kelly. “Closing this unfair loophole to make sure Purple Heart veterans can transfer their GI Bill benefits to their dependents is long overdue.” 

“Purple Heart veterans have made tremendous sacrifices to defend our freedoms, and we as a nation should do everything we can to support them and their families when they return—that includes ensuring all Purple Heart veterans have the full benefits they have earned,” said Murray. “When one of my constituents brought a loophole in the current law to my attention—a disparity that meant he couldn’t transfer his GI Bill benefits to his daughter simply because he received his award after discharge—it was just commonsense to me that we should write a law to fix it. As the daughter of a Purple Heart Veteran, this is personal to me—and I’m grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for joining me in this effort.” 

“Purple Heart recipients are heroes who honorably served our country at great costs, and this oversight that prevents servicemembers who received this distinguished award after their service from transferring their GI bill benefits to their dependents needs to be corrected immediately,” said Tillis. “I am proud to co-introduce this commonsense legislation with Senator Murray to close this loophole and ensure every Purple Heart recipient and dependents are able to further their education.” 

“It’s a sad truth that not all of our brothers and sisters who served on the behalf of the United States of America received the recognition they deserve while they’re still in uniform. The Purple Heart Veterans Education Act, championed by Senators Murray and Tillis, does just that,” said IAVA CEO and Iraq War Veteran Allison Jaslow. “This bill empowers those who served and made great sacrifices in defense of our country to take full advantage of the educational benefits promised to them for their loved ones. IAVA applauds this renewed, bipartisan effort on behalf of Purple Heart veterans and their families by Congress.” 

“DAV is proud to support the Purple Heart Veterans Education Act, a common sense solution that aims to close a loophole that prevents some Purple Heart recipients from transferring their unused education benefits. We thank Sen. Mark Kelly, Sen. Patty Murray and Sen. Thom Tillis for their leadership and re-introducing this important legislation that will allow Purple Heart veterans the ability to invest in the education of their family members,” said DAV National Legislative Director Joy Ilem. 

Specifically, the Purple Heart Veterans Education Act would: 

• Permit an individual awarded the Purple Heart for service in the Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001, to transfer their educational benefits to one or more of their dependents. 
• Allow flexibility by permitting the veteran to allocate different amounts, totaling 36 months of benefits to each of their dependents. For example, one dependent may be designated 20 months and the other 16 months.  
• Protect the veteran’s right to their benefits by prohibiting the use of their educational benefits to be treated as marital property or the asset of a marital estate.  
• Honor the veteran’s legacy by allowing their dependents to continue using the unused benefits after their death.  

The legislation is endorsed by Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). 

The full text of the bill can be found here.