{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://stanton.house.gov/2023/9/ciscomani-leads-bipartisan-push-to-increase-benefits-for-online-student-veterans", "Stanton, Ciscomani Lead Bipartisan Push to Increase Benefits for Online Student Veterans", "2023-09-26", "2023", "2023-09", "Democrat", "House", "AZ", "Greg Stanton", "S001211", "stanton.house.gov", "stanton", "https://stanton.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Representatives Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06), Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-03) and Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-01) this week introduced a new effort to increase housing stipends for student veterans attending classes online.\n\nThe bill, titled the Expanding Access for Online Veteran Students Act, would increase the monthly housing allowance (MHA) for veterans taking online classes during the summer semester. In-person students currently receive the full MHA whereas their counterparts taking classes virtually only receive half. Full bill text is available here.\n\n\u201cStudent veterans should be able to earn their degree on their own time\u2014without worrying about making rent,\u201d said Rep. Stanton. \u201cOur bipartisan legislation brings some much-needed parity and financial stability to students who take online college classes using the VA education benefits they\u2019ve earned.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs our service members transition to civilian life and pursue educational opportunities, they should have full access to all the benefits they have rightfully earned,\u201d said Rep. Ciscomani, a member of the House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee. \u201cIn response to the growing prevalence of virtual classes, this legislation seeks to eliminate the disparity in benefits between in-person and online student veterans.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe should be making it easier \u2013 not harder for student veterans to use the educational benefits they earned,\u201d said Rep. Van Orden, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL. \u201cI am proud to work with Rep. Ciscomani to ensure ample opportunities for our veterans as they transition to civilian life.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m thrilled to introduce this bipartisan bill to expand access for our veterans to further educational opportunities online,\u201d said Rep. Stansbury. \u201cThis bill will help close the gap and help our veterans pursue higher education on their own timeline.\u201d\n\nThe legislation is supported by several Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Student Veterans of America, and AMVETS.\n\n\u201cVeterans taking online courses receive 50 percent less housing allowance than those taking in-person courses,\u201d said Don Shepperd, a retired Major General in the U.S. Air Force and chair of Ciscomani\u2019s Veterans Advisory Council. \u201cBoth are receiving the same education and have the same personal expenses. This makes no sense, is patently unfair and should be corrected. I am happy that Rep. Ciscomani is seeking to correct this injustice.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:37:48Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://stanton.house.gov/2023/9/ciscomani-leads-bipartisan-push-to-increase-benefits-for-online-student-veterans"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1222499888390303, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}