Lawmakers propose digital delivery option for GI Bill documents
U.S. Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) walks into the Defense Subcommittee closed hearing at the U.S. Capitol on June 17, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Banks and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) introduced legislation in the Senate Wednesday to digitize communications on GI Bill benefits. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Bipartisan legislation seeks to provide veterans and their beneficiaries with the ability to receive electronic correspondence about their GI Bill education benefits.
Congressional lawmakers are looking to streamline veterans’ access to their educational assistance benefits by allowing eligible participants to opt out of receiving paper-based documents in favor of electronic correspondence.
The bipartisan measure was introduced on Wednesday by Sens Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., who chairs the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, is leading the legislative measure in the House.
Through the GI Bill, veterans, their spouses and their children are eligible to access a range of benefits, including financial assistance to attend school and cover related fees. In a press release, the bill’s backers said that over 600,000 veterans and 275,000 dependents use GI Bill education benefits, although they noted that “most communications are still sent on paper.”
According to the legislation, VA would be required to “provide a mechanism by which an eligible veteran or eligible person may electronically send and receive correspondence” with VA related to their use of educational assistance benefits.
Eligible veterans and their immediate families enrolled in covered educational programs would also have to be notified of the opportunity to opt into receiving correspondence electronically.
“This is a simple, long overdue way to give veterans the option to go digital,” Banks said. “It speeds up communication, cuts down on paperwork, and brings the VA into the modern age.”
Hirono also said in a statement that the bill will “help streamline the process for veterans to receive information about their educational benefits online, eradicating unnecessary complications and helping to ensure that educational benefits through the GI Bill are delivered efficiently.”
VA is working to consolidate GI Bill benefits into a single digital platform, although the project has been hobbled by serious setbacks. VA’s Office of Inspector General warned in an August 2024 report that “insufficient planning” had resulted in approximately $479 million in additional costs for the initiative.
VA officials told lawmakers during a House hearing last September they had “very high confidence” they could complete the Digital GI Bill initiative by mid-2026 without needing to spend additional money on the project. VA initially expected the platform to be operational by April 2024.