December 23, 2021 - Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jon Tester (D- Mont.) have released the following statements after their legislation to protect VA benefits for student veterans was signed into law. The Responsible Education Mitigating Option and Technical Extensions (REMOTE) Act will ensure that eligible student veterans can access their full VA housing allowances while pursuing education remotely during the pandemic.

“Nevada’s student veterans who are learning remotely deserve their full VA housing benefits, and this legislation will make sure they are not unfairly penalized for pursuing their education online during the pandemic,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Today, President Biden signed my bill into law, allowing veterans in Nevada and across the country to celebrate the holidays without worrying about how they will pay rent during their upcoming semester.”   

“Student veterans in Montana and across the country can breathe easier knowing they’ll continue receiving the support they need during the pandemic and beyond under this new law,” said Senator Tester, Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “Veterans deserve certainty when it comes to obtaining their hard-earned benefits, and I’m proud to have worked with Senator Cortez Masto to ensure the men and women who bravely served our nation get this critical support in the new year.”

The REMOTE Act will also extend remote learning waivers, simplify the VA verification process for tuition reimbursement to minimize unnecessary paperwork for student veterans, and fix a technical error in current law to ensure U.S. universities, including Nevada’s colleges, can continue to recruit foreign students without losing G.I. bill funding for their students. These changes will help hundreds of Nevada students and student veterans. The REMOTE Act is cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), and Krysten Sinema (D-Ariz.).

Senator Cortez Masto is a champion in the Senate advocating for our veterans and their families. She recently introduced bipartisan legislation to make it easier for veterans who have a service-related medical condition to get the benefits they are entitled to and has held listening sessions with military spouses about the challenges they face. She has passed legislation through the annual National Defense Reauthorization Acts to help veterans exposed to Agent Orange get the treatment they need and improve the management of privatized military housing to prioritize the needs of families. As part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2021, Senator Cortez Masto secured measures to improve mental health services for members of the National Guard and Reserves, support Navy members in getting the retirement benefits owed to them, and increase the transparency and efficiency of the Department of Defense’s TRICARE medical billing practices.
Source: Senator Catherine Cortez Masto