{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://labrador.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=49&itemid=1119", "President Trump Signs Labrador Bill Honoring Idaho Veteran's Daughter, Aiding Military Families", "2017-08-16", "2017", "2017-08", "Republican", "House", "ID", "Ra\u00fal Labrador", "L000573", "labrador.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0FOR MORE INFORMATION:\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\tWednesday | August 16, 2017\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Todd Winer \u2013 202.495.8546\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Dan Popkey \u2013 208.800.1565\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\r\n\t  \r\n\tPRESIDENT TRUMP SIGNS LABRADOR BILL HONORING IDAHO VETERAN\u2019S DAUGHTER, AIDING MILITARY FAMILIES\r\n\r\n\tProvision closes loophole in veterans\u2019 education benefits\r\n\r\n\tBEDMINSTER, N.J.\u00a0\u2013 President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Education Assistance Act, H.R. 3218. The new law includes a provision authored by Rep. Ra\u00fal Labrador that fills a gap in veterans\u2019 education programs by permitting reassignment of education benefits in cases where the designated beneficiary dies.\r\n\r\n\tLabrador\u2019s bill was prompted by the death of a constituent, 16-year-old Shauna Hill of Eagle. Hill\u2019s father, a retired Navy pilot with 28 years of service, learned the law prohibited transferring his benefits under the GI Bill to his surviving daughter.\r\n\r\n\tLabrador, R-Idaho, introduced the Shauna Hill Post 9/11 Education Benefits Transferability Act in February. The House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee included the Labrador bill in the larger Colmery Act. In its report to the House, the Committee said it was a matter of fairness to extend benefits to survivors. H.R. 3218, the most significant expansion of the GI bill in a decade, passed both the House and Senate unanimously.\r\n\r\n\t\u201cShauna had a strong sense of justice and would be gratified to know her story helped veterans and their families,\u201d said Shauna\u2019s parents, Capt. Edward and Heidi Hill. \u201cShe had great affection for veterans, including her grandfathers who served in World War II and Korea. Being associated with a law named for Harry Colmery, the architect of the first GI Bill, would have made her very, very proud.\r\n\r\n\t\u201cShauna cheerfully accepted the lifestyle of a Navy brat, attending seven different schools and considered herself her dad\u2019s partner in the effort to protect and defend America,\u201d the Hills continued. \u201cAt military events she always made an effort to visit with servicemembers. As her parents, we take comfort in knowing her untimely passing has helped bring relief to veteran families.\u201d\r\n\r\n\tSaid Labrador: \u201cWorking with the Hills has been a profound honor. Through unspeakable loss, they told a compelling story that has changed the law of the United States to help veteran families in times of greatest need. Now, Shauna Hill\u2019s legacy includes providing solace to countless veterans in the future.\u201d\r\n\r\n\tThe Hills\u2019 surviving daughter, Haley, has undergraduate and master\u2019s degrees, but may one day seek a doctorate. Should she do so, she would be eligible under the new law to obtain the education benefits assigned to her sister.\r\n\r\n\tShauna Hill was a junior at Eagle High School in 2012 when she died as a result of injuries suffered in an automobile accident.\r\n\r\n\tLabrador met the Hills in 2013, when he helped present the family with a Congressional Bronze Medal awarded to Shauna for public service, personal development and physical fitness.\r\n\r\n\tCapt. Hill later sought Labrador\u2019s help in working with the Navy in hopes of obtaining a waiver to reassign the education benefit to his surviving daughter. Unable to negotiate an administrative fix, Labrador sought a legislative remedy to ensure that in the future no veteran would find themselves in a similarly tragic situation.\r\n\r\n\tShauna Hill was a competitive figure skater and ice dancer. She played the violin in the Eagle High School Orchestra, including a performance at New York\u2019s Carnegie Hall. The accident occurred when she was on her way home from orchestra practice.\r\n\r\n\tAttached is a photo of Shauna Hill, courtesy of the Hill family.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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": ["http://labrador.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=49&itemid=1119"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0040272027254105, "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"}