Safeguarding Department of Veterans Affairs Dependent Education Benefits Act of 2025

The Safeguarding Department of Veterans Affairs Dependent Education Benefits Act of 2025 would create a pathway to reinstate Post-9/11 educational assistance payments that were previously transferred to a spouse or dependent child when the service member was discharged due to a dependent-abuse offense and the resulting discharge characterization did not meet the standard in 38 U.S.C. 3311(c). The reinstatement would be possible only if the proximate cause of the termination was the dependent-abuse offense, and only up to the unused portion of the transferred benefits at the time of discharge. The bill would require interagency coordination among the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish regulations, a trauma-informed application process, and a formal review mechanism for denials. It would also set limits to prevent duplication of benefits and define key terms such as “covered individual,” “dependent-abuse offense,” “spouse,” and “dependent child.” A new Sec. 3319A would be inserted into Chapter 33 of title 38 to govern these provisions.