[BOISE] – Attorney General Raúl Labrador today joined 51 other 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). In this case, U.S. Army veteran Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yoon and U.S. Air Force veteran Colonel Toby Doran were denied crucial education benefits to which they are clearly entitled.
The brief argues that the VA has taken a restrictive interpretation of the G.I. Bills that contradicts the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Rudisill v. McDonough, which confirmed 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.
Despite the clear precedent, the VA has continued to limit benefits based on an erroneous reading of the ruling, depriving veterans and their families of critical educational opportunities.
“Our veterans have made profound sacrifices for our country,” said Attorney General Labrador. “It is the responsibility of the United States to meet every obligation and contractual agreement we as a country made in exchange for their service. Keeping our word is not optional.”
This amicus brief was also joined by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, 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, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
