HR 1725
Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2025
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- Passed House
- Passed Senate
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- Became Law
Bill overview
This bill, the Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2025, aims to correct past discrimination in the administration of the GI Bill. It expands eligibility for housing loans and educational assistance to Black veterans who served in World War II and their surviving spouses, children, grandchildren, and other direct descendants, provided they can certify that they were denied benefits due to race. The bill also establishes a panel to recommend additional benefits for female and minority veterans and requires a report on the impact of these changes.
Key provisions
- Expands eligibility for housing loans to Black WWII veterans and their descendants who were denied benefits due to race.
- Extends eligibility for educational assistance to Black WWII veterans and their descendants who were denied benefits due to race.
- Creates a panel of independent experts to recommend additional benefits for female and minority veterans.
- Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to appoint the panel within 30 days of the bill’s enactment.
- Mandates a report from the Comptroller General on the number of individuals receiving benefits and the total value of those benefits.
- Sets a five-year deadline for applying for benefits after the bill’s enactment.
- Amends Title 38 of the U.S. Code to include specific criteria for eligibility based on race-related denials of benefits.
- Requires the VA to prescribe regulations to implement the changes made by the bill.
Who is affected
- Black veterans of World War II
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 1725
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend to Black veterans of World War II, and surviving spouses and certain direct descendants of such veterans, eligibility for certain housing loans and educational assistance administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2025
.
Congress finds the following:
GI Bill) offered substantial material benefits to 16,000,000 veterans to assist them in reintegrating into civil society.
The GI Bill offered a range of economic and educational benefits administered by the Federal Government through the Secretary of the Veterans Administration, including monetary assistance to access higher education, government guarantees for housing loans, unemployment allowances, and civilian workforce reentry assistance.
Though the legislative text of the GI Bill was race neutral, the administration of benefits through national, State, and local Veterans Administration offices resulted in a pattern of discrimination against racial minorities, especially African Americans.
In administering its housing guaranty program, the Veterans Administration adopted the Federal Housing Administration’s racial exclusion programs, also known as redlining, which excluded a significant number of African Americans from taking full advantage of the housing guaranty program.
Section 3701(b) of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
veteranalso includes, for purposes of housing loans, an individual who—
served on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces during World War II; and
certifies to the Secretary that such individual was denied a specific benefit under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284) on the basis of race.
veteranalso includes, for purposes of housing loans, an individual who—
is the surviving spouse, child, grandchild, or other direct descendant of a veteran described in paragraph (8);
Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2025
.Section 3702(a)(2)(E) of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
described in paragraph (8) or (9) of section 3701(b) of this title; and
Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2025
.the number of individuals who received housing loan benefits pursuant to the amendments made by this section; and
described in section 3701(b)(9) of this title; and
Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2025
.Not later than one year after the deadline under subsection (b), the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report regarding—
the number of individuals who received educational assistance pursuant to the amendment made by this section; and
inequities in the distribution of benefits and assistance administered by the Secretary; and
military service by female and minority members of the Armed Forces.
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the panel shall submit to Congress and the President a report containing the recommendations developed under this section.