U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., who sits on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, is championing a proposal to expand Fry Scholarships to survivors of National Guard and Reserve members who served in recent operations and died of service-related causes while not on active duty.
“The Fry Scholarship provides Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to the children and surviving spouses of servicemembers who died in the line of duty while on active duty after September 10, 2001,” Bilirakis’ office noted.
Bilirakis, currently the ranking Republican on the U.S. House Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, paired up with U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., the subcommittee chairman, to showcase the proposal. U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., the top Republican on the committee, is backing the proposal. Over in the U.S. Senate, the bill is being championed by U.S. Sen. James Lanford, R-Ok., and U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.
“We must do everything in our power to support the families of fallen service members," said Bilirakis on Friday. "This bipartisan bill closes a loophole in statute that prevented the spouses and children of reservists who die from a service-connected condition but were not on active duty at the time of their death. These brave men and women have paid the ultimate price in defense of our nation, and this is the least we can do to honor their sacrifice.”
"We must do everything we can to support the families of servicemembers who died while serving their country, and expanding eligibility for GI Bill benefits is a commonsense step we can take to help fulfill that responsibility," said Levin. "I look forward to working with my colleagues across the aisle on this bipartisan legislation in the coming weeks and months."
“The women and men serving in our nation’s National Guard and Reserve continue to support our country, in return, our nation should strongly support their families,” said Lankford. “The bipartisan bill to expand the Fry Scholarship to include the surviving families of members of the National Guard and Reserve who have died as a result to their selfless service to this nation is one that should pass this Congress without hesitation. I’m grateful for our colleagues in the House for their leadership on this bill, and I encourage the Senate to pass this bill in the days ahead.”
“Since 1944, the G.I. Bill has transformed our country and the lives of millions of veterans, including me," said Carper. "Today, it continues to give millions of veterans and their family members the chance to learn a skill, go to college and gain access to economic opportunities that never before had been possible. But right now, there is a technicality under the law that is leaving behind many families of those service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. My bill with Senator Lankford aims to fix that by providing the Fry Scholarship to spouses and children of members of the National Guard and Reserves who died of service connected causes but whose deaths did not occur under active duty. We owe it to these surviving families to ensure they receive the full benefits of the G.I. Bill – one of the greatest pieces of legislation we have ever passed in this country.”
A host of veterans groups are backing the proposal.
"Creating parity for Guard and Reserve surviving families has long been a priority for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)," said Ashlynne Haycock, the deputy director of policy and legislation for TAPS. "TAPS was founded in response to an Army National Guard loss in 1994, so this issue holds particular significance for our organization. We are incredibly grateful to Rep. Bilirakis and Rep. Levin for introducing the Fry Scholarship Improvement Act of 2019, which will benefit approximately 1,500 Guard and Reserve surviving spouses and children by giving them access to the same education benefits available to survivors of active duty service members."
