S-5582-119
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Sponsored by Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
What it does
This bill would rewrite Part T of title VIII of the Higher Education Act to say the Education Secretary shall award grants, subject to appropriations, to colleges or groups of colleges to establish, maintain, improve, and operate Student Veteran Centers. Each grant would last 4 years and could not exceed $500,000. Applicants would need a significant number or percentage of student veterans or service members and a plan to keep the center running after the grant ends. The Secretary would give priority to applicants meeting listed criteria and would have to report to Congress within 3 years of the first grant and build a best-practices website. The bill would authorize such sums as necessary for fiscal years 2027 through 2034.
Who benefits
Student veterans, active-duty service members, and reservists enrolled at colleges that win grants, who would gain dedicated space, benefits counseling, and tutoring. Spouses, partners, and children of student veterans, who may receive services such as mental health counseling at some centers. Colleges with large veteran enrollments but tight budgets. Veteran work-study students and veteran staff who may be hired at the centers, and local veteran service organizations that partner with them.
Who is hurt
Federal taxpayers, who would bear the open-ended cost of authorized funding for eight fiscal years. Colleges that lack the grant-writing capacity to compete, or that enroll fewer veterans than comparable schools, and so may not qualify. Colleges that win grants and must sustain centers after the 4-year period without federal money. Other higher education programs that could compete for limited appropriations. The Department of Education, which would take on added administrative and reporting work.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that nearly 1,000,000 veterans enroll in college each year and face distinct challenges, including age gaps, family duties, and service-related disabilities. They contend that centers, which Student Veterans of America recognizes as a best practice and the Department of Education's "8 Keys to Veterans' Success" endorses, give campus-wide coordination to schools that cannot afford it. They also point to the sustainability requirement, the $500,000 cap, and the mandated outcome reporting as safeguards that tie federal money to results.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that the bill authorizes "such sums as may be necessary" for eight years with no dollar ceiling on the total, which leaves the long-term cost open. They contend that veterans already receive GI Bill and VA benefits and that campus services are a college responsibility, so grants may duplicate existing support. They also argue that the sustainability requirement could leave colleges with unfunded costs after four years and that outcome data would arrive only after three years.
Constitutional context
Congress acts under its Article I, Section 8 spending power to fund grants to colleges, and the conditions here are voluntary and tied to the program's purpose, which fits the South Dakota v. Dole (1987) test. The bill raises no other significant constitutional question.
Checks and balances
Congress authorizes and funds the program, and the Education Secretary gains discretion over awards and timing. Checks include annual appropriations, the required report to Congress, and congressional oversight.
Historical precedent
Congress created this grant program in 2008 as the Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success under part T of title VIII of the Higher Education Act, and has funded it in later years.