The Virginia Senate will return to special session on Tuesday — 10 days earlier than previously announced — to consider a new legislative proposal that would exempt some military families from pending changes in eligibility for educational benefits at public colleges and universities under a state program that waives tuition for survivors and dependents of military veterans either killed or almost fully disabled on active duty.
The surprise announcement by the Senate Democratic Caucus on Thursday sets up a potential confrontation with Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other members of the General Assembly, including some Democrats, by not proposing to repeal changes that the legislature and governor made to eligibility for the fast-growing Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program in the two-year state budget that will take effect on July 1.
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Youngkin, whose administration originally proposed the eligibility changes in legislation that the assembly shelved during its regular session, wants to repeal the budget provisions that would limit access to the program benefits — which waive tuition at public colleges and universities for eligible students — while directing a task force to study options for reducing the program’s rising costs and protecting other tuition-paying students and their families. The task force held its first meeting last week.
The governor did not respond to the Senate initially on Thursday, but said in a statement on X: “We’ve heard from Virginia military families and heroes, now it’s time to come together and for the General Assembly to send me a clean bill that solely and fully repeals and reverses the eligibility changes made to” the state program.
A bipartisan group of 18 legislators in the General Assembly Military and Veterans Caucus issued a statement with Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears on Wednesday that called on the legislature to fully restore eligibility for the program “before engaging in a rigorous, transparent process to determine potential future action to solidify the program’s future.” The statement is signed by 12 Republicans and six Democrats, as well as the Republican lieutenant governor.
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A bipartisan group of 18 legislators in the General Assembly Military and Veterans Caucus on Wednesday issued a statement with Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, seen here on Jan. 11, 2023, that called on the legislature to fully restore eligibility for VMSDEP “before engaging in a rigorous, transparent process to determine potential future action to solidify the program’s future.”
“Take the politics out, bring the temperature down,” said Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Orange, co-chair of the caucus, in a telephone interview from Israel on Thursday morning. “Let’s get together and fix this.”
Reeves introduced legislation on behalf of Youngkin to restrict eligibility for the program, but he revised the proposal to create a work group to study the issue after he realized the magnitude of the proposed changes and their effect on military families. The House Appropriations Committee shelved the bill for the assembly to reconsider next year, but then both chambers included most of the proposed changes in the budgets they adopted in February.
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“Take the politics out, bring the temperature down. Let’s get together and fix this,” said Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Orange, co-chair of the Military and Veterans Caucus, in a telephone interview from Israel on Thursday morning.
After an outcry by military families and their advocates, Youngkin sought to amend the budget to study the issue instead of changing eligibility standards, but the assembly rejected all of his proposed budget amendments in April as part of a larger political standoff over tax policy. However, the changes were included in the two-year budget that the assembly adopted and the governor signed on May 13.
The timing of the Senate’s decision poses a challenge because the House of Delegates is not returning to session at the same time and the reconvened session will occur on the same day as Republican and Democratic congressional primaries that include seven sitting legislators who are running for federal office. The House plans to return to session on June 28, as previously announced, and will consider legislation proposed by House Appropriations Chairman Luke Torian, D-Prince William, to repeal the pending budget changes to allow time to study the issue and recommend changes to program eligibility.
“I have always been a steadfast supporter of our military servicemen and women, veterans, and their families, ensuring they receive the support they deserve,” Torian said in a statement on Thursday. “I am sponsoring this legislation to restore the program to its previous form until Governor Youngkin’s task force provides a comprehensive report and recommendations on how best to sustain this program long-term for veterans and their families.”
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Unlike the Senate, the House of Delegates plans to return to session on June 28, as previously announced, and will consider legislation proposed by House Appropriations Chairman Luke Torian, D-Prince William, seen here on Feb. 3, 2022, to repeal the pending budget changes to allow time to study the issue and recommend changes to VMSDEP eligibility.
Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, is advocating a different approach, which she said would protect students enrolled in the program this year, while exempting members of Gold Star Families of those killed in active duty, as well as families entitled to line-of-duty benefits for public safety employees and people wounded as a result of military combat.
Her proposal would also require the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia — representing public colleges and universities — to issue “official guidance” for the program by Aug. 1 and direct the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to review the program and make recommendations for the General Assembly to consider when it convenes in January for a 45-day session. JLARC is the nonpartisan legislative “watchdog” that the assembly uses to review complex government programs.
“This budget was a product of bipartisan collaboration between the General Assembly and the governor,” Lucas said in a statement issued by the Senate Democratic Caucus. “We are committed to taking this necessary step to rectify unintended consequences as we continue to work together to conduct an independent review to find a long-term solution” for the program.
Lucas’ plan came under immediate attack by Kayla Owen, leader of the Friends of VMSDEP, a coalition of military families that has rebuked both Youngkin and the Democratic-controlled General Assembly for approving changes to the program without a full hearing that includes families who would be affected.
“The idea that Senator Lucas thinks it is acceptable to go rogue on this issue makes it clear she does not value veterans,” Owen said in a text message. “She is excluding an entire population whose lives have been severely impacted to the point the (Veterans Administration) has determined them to be 90-100% totally and permanently disabled.”
“People excluded include: victims of military sexual trauma, any training accidents or deaths, first responders, women and people suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” she said.
Senate Democratic leaders also emphasized their support of military veterans and their families, who make up a significant part of the population in a state with a heavy military presence and reliance on federal defense spending.
“Senate Democrats are proud to support Virginia’s commitment to becoming the most veteran-friendly state in America,” said Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, whose Northern Virginia district is home to many active-duty military members, veterans and retirees.
Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, who formally called the Senate back into session as chair of the Senate Rules Committee, emphasized that the pending budget includes the first appropriation of state funds to support the program — an additional $20 million a year to help pay for the rising cost of the program to colleges and universities, including Virginia Commonwealth University.
“As the Education Subcommittee Chair for the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, I am committed to ensuring higher education is affordable for all students,” Locke said in a statement.
The General Assembly expanded eligibility for the 94-year-old program in 2019 to include survivors and dependents of military veterans who became 90% disabled in active duty. Since then, the number of students in the program has quadrupled and its costs have risen from $12 million to $65.3 million a year, according to a recent report by the appropriations committee staff.
However, military families question the cost estimates and whether they increased tuition for students not covered by the program. They have also publicly condemned the legislative process that slipped far-reaching changes to program eligibility into the budget that the assembly passed and Youngkin signed last month.
“We recognize that current and prospective VMSDEP enrollees have been rightfully angered and confused by the lack of transparency surrounding the new program requirements and the grandfather clause in the budgetary language,” the assembly’s military and veterans caucus said in its statement. “Any potential changes should have had their fiscal and community impacts clearly articulated to the public before being finalized.”
Veterans are honored at ceremony in Richmond
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Major General James Ring speaks at the Virginia War Memorial during a Veterans Day ceremony on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
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Marines stand “at ease” at the Virginia War Memorial during a Veterans Day ceremony on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
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A service member walks down the stairs at the Virginia War Memorial during a Veterans Day ceremony on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
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Lt. Gov Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at the Virginia War Memorial during a Veterans Day ceremony on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
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Daniel Gade speaks at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond on Nov. 10 during a ceremony to celebrate Veterans Day. Gade is leaving his state post as commissioner of veterans services.
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Clay Mountcastle, director of the Virginia War Memorial, speaks to a crowd during a Veterans Day ceremony on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
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Military veterans stand at the Virginia War Memorial during a Veterans Day ceremony on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
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Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears speaks Friday during a Veterans Day ceremony at the Virginia War Memorial on Belvidere Street in Richmond. A new exhibition, “Dreams of Flight,” also opened in the memorial’s Veterans Art Gallery on Friday. It features the artwork of Chesapeake resident Thomas Paulk, a retired Navy aviator. On Saturday, during Mile 16 of the Richmond Marathon, runners will go past the memorial, where there will be a water stop and a junk food station.
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Lt. Gov Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at the Virginia War Memorial during a Veterans Day ceremony on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.