WASHINGTON, D.C. [08/16/17]—U.S. Sen. Al Franken’s (D-Minn.) bipartisan measure to bring education benefits to Minnesota National Guard and Reserve members who served on active duty—and, in some cases, put themselves in harm’s way—was signed into law by the President today as part of a broad veterans legislative package.

Sen. Franken’s provision, which closes a loophole that left Minnesota Guard Members and Reservists without education benefits once they returned home, was included within the bipartisan Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017. The Colmery Act, in a broader sense, makes major improvements to several veteran’s programs. In addition to Sen. Franken’s provision, the bill allows veterans to use their GI Bill education benefits for their entire lives, instead of the current 15-year limit, and it extends full GI Bill eligibility to all veterans who, post-9/11, were wounded in action.

“We need to do everything we can to support the men and women who serve our country, and who put their lives on the line to defend our freedom, when they come back home,” said Sen. Franken. “That’s why I helped write and introduce a bipartisan package of veterans legislation. My provision gives Minnesota National Guard and Reservists—including many who put themselves in harm’s way when they served our country—the education benefits they’ve rightfully earned. I’m pleased that President Trump signed the bipartisan bill into law this afternoon, and I’m glad I could help secure this win for many Minnesotans.”

Sen. Franken is a champion for servicemembers, veterans, and military families. The provision he wrote into the bill is based on standalone bipartisan legislation he previously introduced—cosponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)—to extend the GI Bill to National Guard and

Reserve members who were denied education benefits after being called to active duty, including a group of Minnesotans who were put in harm’s way in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. That provision would apply both retroactively and for similar instances in the future. He also pushed for a provision in the bill that provides stronger protections to prevent National Guard and Reservists who are deployed from being fired from their civilian jobs.

Additionally, the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017:

• Provides G.I. Bill eligibility for reservists mobilized under selected reserve orders for preplanned missions in support of the combatant commands or in response to a major disaster or emergency;
• Provides G.I. Bill eligibility for reservists undergoing medical care;
• Provides full G.I. Bill benefits for Purple Heart recipients regardless of length of service;
  
• Extends Yellow Ribbon Program benefits to Fry scholarship recipients; and
• Increases G.I. Bill payments by $2,300 per year for veterans with less than 12 months of active service.
  

A one-page summary of the legislation can be found here.

The legislation is named in honor of Harry Walter Colmery, an Army Air Service veteran and former national commander of the American Legion who drafted the original G.I. Bill in 1944 to improve the transition for World War II veterans back to civilian life.

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