Sponsors (3)
The bill favors administrative continuity and targeted scholarship support for certain veterans (those with more prior benefit use and in listed STEM majors) and preserves current pension limits, but does so by sequencing and narrowing eligibility and delaying potential payment increases—benefiting some recipients while delaying or excluding others.
Veterans with greater prior GI Bill usage and veterans enrolled in the statute's listed STEM majors are prioritized for the Rogers STEM Scholarship, increasing their access to funding and support for completing STEM postsecondary programs.
The bill preserves administrative continuity and clarifies statutory language so the Department of Veterans Affairs can keep existing authorities and avoid immediate rule changes, reducing disruption and likely speeding VA processing for benefits and scholarships.
Veterans who rely on pension protections keep current payment limits through March 31, 2033, providing continued predictability in benefit payments for recipients during that period.
Veterans who have not exhausted other educational entitlements cannot use the Rogers STEM Scholarship until after using all other chapter benefits, delaying access to scholarship support for those who may need immediate assistance.
Requiring exhaustion of other entitlements increases administrative burdens for veterans, VA staff, and schools (tracking benefit order), creating risk of processing delays and beneficiary confusion.
Prioritizing applicants based on months of prior benefit use disadvantages veterans with less prior use (for example, later enrollees or those with interrupted service), reducing fairness in scholarship awarding.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Revises priority and a usage rule for the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship and extends a pension-related statutory date from Nov 30, 2031 to Mar 31, 2033.
Amends the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship rules to change priority order for applicants, add a requirement that the STEM scholarship can only be used after a veteran exhausts other educational assistance entitlement, and makes minor technical edits to existing text. Separately extends a statutory date that governs pension payment limits from November 30, 2031 to March 31, 2033.
Introduced March 11, 2025 by Nikki Budzinski · Last progress September 16, 2025