Rep. Tom Barrett, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, delivered opening remarks at an oversight hearing focused on payment failures in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Digital GI Bill (DGIB) program. The hearing, held by the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, examined how these failures led to delayed payments for more than 75,000 participants in the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA) and Post 9/11 GI Bill (PGIB) programs.
Barrett opened the session by stating, "Good morning. The Subcommittee will come to order." He welcomed witnesses and emphasized his commitment to ensuring that VA’s technology functions properly for veterans.
Barrett addressed ongoing issues with Chapter 35 benefits: "I want to welcome the witnesses here today to discuss the Chapter 35 issues that have plagued VA education benefits the last few months." He highlighted his role as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization and said a top priority is making sure technology serves veterans effectively.
He criticized VA’s performance regarding recent payment delays: "Unfortunately, VA has fallen short of providing these services and that promise to veterans and their families through delays in processing a subset of education benefits." According to Barrett, since August, up to 75,000 dependents—children or spouses of deceased or disabled veterans—have experienced payment delays through the DEA program.
Barrett explained that these payments are sent directly to students rather than institutions. As a result, he said, some students faced significant financial hardship: "Because of the payment delays, this Subcommittee has heard horror stories about students not being able to make ends meet because of VA’s mistake."
He acknowledged that a government shutdown worsened the situation but maintained that "VA has failed students by not paying them on time and refusing to communicate with stakeholders."
Barrett clarified that political considerations were not driving the hearing: "This hearing today isn’t about politics or playing partisan games. It is about getting to the bottom of how this decision was made, who made the decision, and who is at fault for failing to implement proper automation for Chapter 35 cases."
Addressing two VA officials present at the hearing, Barrett said: "Ms. Devlin, while you have only been at VA a few months, you and Mr. Smith have overseen this data reconciliation, and the thousands of claims that were not processed on time because of it."
He called for accountability within VA: "I expect the days of the status quo to end, and VA is holding those responsible for this failure accountable because the subcommittee plans to do so."
The hearing also aimed to determine how many students using VA education programs were affected by these delays. Barrett stressed their impact: "These delays have a real-world impact for Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA) and Post-9/11 GI Bill (PGIB) participants." He added that military-connected students should not face financial hardship due to shortcomings in VA’s technology or processes.
Noting recurring IT-related payment issues since implementation of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, Barrett remarked: "While I am new to Congress, I understand that this is at least the fourth time since the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill was implemented that significant payment delays because of IT issues have impacted checks going to veterans or other beneficiaries."
He invited affected students from his district experiencing delayed payments from VA to contact his office or committee staff for assistance.
Barrett concluded by expressing hope for accountability following this crisis: "I expect this to be a productive hearing today, and I hope to understand who was at fault for this crisis, and who at VA will be taking accountability so that we can ensure this doesn’t happen again."
