Veterans Are Receiving Concurrent Monthly Housing Allowance Payments while Participating in Certain VA Educational Programs

During a review related to VA’s Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses (VET TEC) pilot program, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) discovered VA is paying concurrent monthly housing allowance benefits to veterans who are simultaneously enrolled in Post 9/11 GI Bill and VET TEC educational programs. There is no statutory authority prohibiting concurrent payment to a veteran for Post-9/11 GI Bill and VET TEC educational benefits. However, the legislation that established VET TEC created an inconsistency compared to other VA educational benefits programs that prohibit concurrent payments of educational benefits. Congress introduced bills to continue VET TEC as a VA educational program in 2023. This memorandum is meant to convey the information necessary for the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and Congress to determine if additional actions are warranted to address this inconsistency before the continuation of the program. The OIG team selected a sample of 30 unique veterans who simultaneously attended Post 9/11 GI Bill and VET TEC courses and found that all received concurrent monthly housing allowance payments. Those veterans received a total of about $164,500 in concurrent payments. Based on this sample, the team estimated about 208 veterans received concurrent payments from April 1, 2019, to February 28, 2023, for a total of $1.1 million. With the VET TEC pilot program ending in April 2024 and legislation pending to continue it as a VA educational program, VBA and Congress have an opportunity to consider whether new iterations of the VET TEC program should continue to allow veterans to receive concurrent monthly housing allowance payments while simultaneously attending Post 9/11 GI Bill and VET TEC programs.