Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill creates congressional findings establishing that the 1944 GI Bill, while race-neutral in text, was discriminatorily administered against Black veterans, denying them access to educational benefits, housing loans, expands the definition of "veteran" under VA housing loan programs to include Black WWII veterans who certify they were denied GI Bill benefits based on race, and their surviving spouses, children, grandchildren, and creates extends Post-9/11 GI Bill educational assistance to descendants of Black WWII veterans who were denied benefits based on race. It relies on reporting requirements, loan guarantees, definition changes, and grants. The main policy areas are Veterans Affairs, Education, and Finance.
Who Benefits and How
Surviving spouses of Black WWII veterans could gain revenue opportunities, Descendants of Black WWII veterans (children, grandchildren) could gain revenue opportunities, and Children and grandchildren of Black WWII veterans could gain revenue opportunities.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Department of Veterans Affairs would take on compliance duties and Comptroller General (GAO) would take on compliance duties.
Key Provisions
- Creates congressional findings establishing that the 1944 GI Bill, while race-neutral in text, was discriminatorily administered against Black veterans, denying them access to educational benefits, housing loans...
- Expands the definition of "veteran" under VA housing loan programs to include Black WWII veterans who certify they were denied GI Bill benefits based on race, and their surviving spouses, children, grandchildren...
- Creates extends Post-9/11 GI Bill educational assistance to descendants of Black WWII veterans who were denied benefits based on race.
- Establishes a Blue Ribbon panel of independent experts to study inequities in VA benefits distribution and develop recommendations for additional benefits for female and minority veterans. Panel must report to Congress...
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill creates congressional findings establishing that the 1944 GI Bill, while race-neutral in text, was discriminatorily administered against Black veterans, denying them access to educational benefits, housing loans, expands the definition of "veteran" under VA housing loan programs to include Black WWII veterans who certify they were denied GI Bill benefits based on race, and their surviving spouses, children, grandchildren, and creates extends Post-9/11 GI Bill educational assistance to descendants of Black WWII veterans who were denied benefits based on race.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans Affairs, Education, Finance
Primary Purpose
The bill creates congressional findings establishing that the 1944 GI Bill, while race-neutral in text, was discriminatorily administered against Black veterans, denying them access to educational benefits, housing loans, expands the definition of "veteran" under VA housing loan programs to include Black WWII veterans who certify they were denied GI Bill benefits based on race, and their surviving spouses, children, grandchildren, and creates extends Post-9/11 GI Bill educational assistance to descendants of Black WWII veterans who were denied benefits based on race.
Policy Domains
Entire Bill - GI Bill Restoration
Identified Gains
- Surviving spouses of Black WWII veterans
- Descendants of Black WWII veterans (children, grandchildren)
- Children and grandchildren of Black WWII veterans
- Black WWII veterans denied original GI Bill housing benefits
- Higher education institutions
Identified Costs
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Comptroller General (GAO)
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.
Mr. Moulton (for himself and Mr. Clyburn) introduced the following …
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Black WWII veterans denied original GI Bill housing benefits, Black veterans of World War II, Children and grandchildren of Black WWII veterans
Comptroller General, Department of Veterans Affairs
Higher education institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Mortgage lenders participating in VA loan programs
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "the_comptroller_general"
- → Comptroller General of the United States
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Includes an individual who is Black, served on active duty during WWII, and certifies denial of a specific benefit under the 1944 GI Bill based on race
Includes surviving spouse, child, grandchild, or other direct descendant of a veteran described in paragraph (8) who certifies denial and is living at enactment
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology