What This Bill Does
This bill extends housing loans and educational assistance benefits to Black World War II veterans who were denied those benefits based on race, plus their surviving spouses and direct descendants. The bill aims to correct past discrimination in how the GI Bill (a 1944 law that helped veterans after World War II) was unfairly administered against African American veterans.
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Who It Affects
- Black World War II veterans who were denied GI Bill benefits because of race
- Surviving spouses of those veterans
- Children, grandchildren and other direct descendants of those veterans
- The Secretary of Veterans Affairs (the government official who runs veteran programs)
- Congress (will receive reports about the program)
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Key Provisions
- Black World War II veterans can access housing loans if they certify they were denied a specific benefit under the 1944 GI Bill because of their race (Sec. 3)
- Surviving spouses, children, grandchildren and other direct descendants of those veterans can access housing loans if they certify the original veteran was denied benefits because of race and are still living when this law takes effect (Sec. 3)
- Surviving spouses, children, grandchildren and other direct descendants can access educational assistance benefits if they apply within five years of this law taking effect (Sec. 4)
- The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must implement these changes within 90 days of the law taking effect (Sec. 3 and 4)
- An independent expert panel will study unfair treatment of female and minority veterans and recommend additional benefits (Sec. 5)
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What Changes
The definition of who qualifies as a "veteran" for housing loan purposes expands to include the new groups listed above. These individuals gain access to government-guaranteed housing loans and educational assistance that were previously denied to them or their relatives. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must write regulations explaining how to apply these new rules.
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Important Definitions
- **Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944**: The official name for the original GI Bill, a law that provided benefits to World War II veterans
- **Direct descendant**: Children, grandchildren and other family members in a direct line from an original veteran
- **Redlining**: A discriminatory practice where the Federal Housing Administration excluded certain areas and people from housing programs based on race
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Effective Date
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must carry out these changes within 90 days after the law is signed. The bill itself does not specify a date when it becomes law.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1255
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.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 28, 2023
Mr. MOULTON (for himself and Mr. CLYBURN) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
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 ad-
ministered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sgt. Isaac Woodard,
4
Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act
5
of 2023’’.
6
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•HR 1255 IH
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
1
Congress finds the following:
2
(1) African Americans played a pivotal role in
3
the war effort during World War II, with more than
4
1,200,000 African Americans serving in the Armed
5
Forces, and, by 1945, approximately 1.9 percent of
6
all officers in the Armed Forces were African Ameri-
7
cans.
8
(2) Following World War II, the Servicemen’s
9
Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284, commonly
10
known as the ‘‘GI Bill’’) offered substantial material
11
benefits to 16,000,000 veterans to assist them in re-
12
integrating into civil society.
13
(3) The GI Bill offered a range of economic and
14
educational benefits administered by the Federal
15
Government through the Secretary of the Veterans
16
Administration, including monetary assistance to ac-
17
cess higher education, government guarantees for
18
housing loans, unemployment allowances, and civil-
19
ian workforce reentry assistance.
20
(4) Though the legislative text of the GI Bill
21
was race neutral, the administration of benefits
22
through national, State, and local Veterans Adminis-
23
tration offices resulted in a pattern of discrimination
24
against racial minorities, especially African Ameri-
25
cans.
26
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•HR 1255 IH
(5) Veterans Administration benefits counselors
1
denied African Americans access to educational ben-
2
efits at certain universities and funneled applicants
3
into industrial and vocational schools rather than
4
higher education opportunities, with just 6 percent
5
of African-American veterans of World War II earn-
6
ing a college degree, compared to 19 percent of
7
White veterans of World War II.
8
(6) In administering its housing guaranty pro-
9
gram, the Veterans Administration adopted the Fed-
10
eral Housing Administration’s racial exclusion pro-
11
grams, also known as redlining, which excluded a
12
significant number of African Americans from tak-
13
ing full advantage of the housing guaranty program.
14
(7) The GI Bill created substantial economic
15
growth and wealth accumulation for those who could
16
benefit, but discriminatory administration of the
17
program prevented many African-American veterans
18
of World War II from enjoying the full economic
19
prosperity of the post-war period.
20
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•HR 1255 IH
SEC. 3. HOUSING LOANS GUARANTEED BY THE SECRETARY
1
OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR BLACK VET-
2
ERANS OF WORLD WAR II AND SURVIVORS
3
AND CERTAIN DIRECT DESCENDANTS OF
4
SUCH VETERANS.
5
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Chapter 37 of title 38,
6
United States Code, is amended as follows:
7
(1) DEFINITION.—Section 3701(b) of such title
8
is amended by adding at the end the following new
9
paragraphs:
10
‘‘(8) The term ‘veteran’ also includes, for pur-
11
poses of housing loans, an individual who—
12
‘‘(A) is Black;
13
‘‘(B) served on active duty as a member of
14
the Armed Forces during World War II; and
15
‘‘(C) certifies to the Secretary that such
16
individual was denied a specific benefit under
17
the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (58
18
Stat. 284) on the basis of race.
19
‘‘(9) The term ‘veteran’ also includes, for pur-
20
poses of housing loans, an individual who—
21
‘‘(A) is the surviving spouse, child, grand-
22
child, or other direct descendant of a veteran
23
described in paragraph (8);
24
‘‘(B) certifies to the Secretary that such
25
veteran described in paragraph (8) was denied
26
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•HR 1255 IH
a specific benefit under the Servicemen’s Read-
1
justment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284) on the
2
basis of race; and
3
‘‘(C) is living on the date of the enactment
4
of the Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph
5
H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2023.’’.
6
(2)
BASIC
ENTITLEMENT.—Section
7
3702(a)(2)(E) of such title is amended by adding at
8
the end the following new subparagraph:
9
‘‘(H) Each individual—
10
‘‘(i) described in paragraph (8) or (9) of
11
section 3701(b) of this title; and
12
‘‘(ii) who applies for a housing loan during
13
the five-year period beginning on the date of
14
the enactment of the Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr.
15
and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration
16
Act of 2023.’’.
17
(b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall carry out the
18
amendment made by this section not later than 90 days
19
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
20
(c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Veterans Af-
21
fairs shall prescribe regulations to carry out the amend-
22
ments made by this section.
23
(d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than one year after the
24
deadline under subsection (b), the Comptroller General of
25
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•HR 1255 IH
the United States shall submit to Congress a report re-
1
garding—
2
(1) the number of individuals who received
3
housing loan benefits pursuant to the amendments
4
made by this section; and
5
(2) the total value of housing loan benefits ad-
6
ministered by the Secretary pursuant to the amend-
7
ments made by this section.
8
SEC. 4. EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR SURVIVORS AND
9
CERTAIN DIRECT DESCENDANTS OF BLACK
10
VETERANS OF WORLD WAR II.
11
(a) ENTITLEMENT.—Subsection (b) of section 3311
12
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at
13
the end the following new paragraph:
14
‘‘(12) An individual—
15
‘‘(A) described in section 3701(b)(9) of
16
this title; and
17
‘‘(B) who applies for educational assistance
18
under this chapter during the five-year period
19
beginning on the date of the enactment of the
20
Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H.
21
Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2023.’’.
22
(b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall carry out the
23
amendment made by this section not later than 90 days
24
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
25
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•HR 1255 IH
(c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Veterans Af-
1
fairs shall prescribe regulations to carry out the amend-
2
ment made by this section.
3
(d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than one year after the
4
deadline under subsection (b), the Comptroller General of
5
the United States shall submit to Congress a report re-
6
garding—
7
(1) the number of individuals who received edu-
8
cational assistance pursuant to the amendment
9
made by this section; and
10
(2) the total amount of educational assistance
11
paid by the Secretary pursuant to the amendment
12
made by this section.
13
SEC. 5. BLUE RIBBON PANEL ON BENEFITS AND ASSIST-
14
ANCE FOR FEMALE AND MINORITY VET-
15
ERANS.
16
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days after
17
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
18
Veterans Affairs shall, pursuant to the Federal Advisory
19
Committee Act (Public Law 92–463; 5 U.S.C. App.), ap-
20
point a panel of independent experts on—
21
(1) inequities in the distribution of benefits and
22
assistance administered by the Secretary; and
23
(2) military service by female and minority
24
members of the Armed Forces.
25
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•HR 1255 IH
(b) DUTIES.—The panel shall develop recommenda-
1
tions regarding additional benefits and assistance for indi-
2
viduals described in subsection (a)(2), and related legisla-
3
tion.
4
(c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date
5
of the enactment of this Act, the panel shall submit to
6
Congress and the President a report containing the rec-
7
ommendations developed under this section.
8
Æ
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