To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the requirements of the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Additional sponsor: Mr. Van Orden
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Ms. Budzinski (for herself and Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship Opportunity Act modifies an existing VA scholarship program that helps veterans pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The bill makes it easier to qualify for the scholarship by lowering the credit hour requirement from 60 to 45 semester credits, but requires veterans to use all their regular GI Bill benefits first before accessing this additional scholarship money. It also extends a deadline related to pension payment limits by about 16 months.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans who have already used most of their GI Bill benefits and are pursuing STEM degrees are the primary beneficiaries. They can now qualify for the scholarship with fewer credits completed (45 instead of 60), making it accessible earlier in their education. Veterans who have already declared a STEM major get priority consideration for awards. Universities and colleges with STEM programs serving veterans also benefit from increased enrollment as more veterans become eligible for financial assistance to complete their degrees.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Veterans who haven't yet exhausted their regular educational benefits face a new restriction - they must use all their standard GI Bill benefits before they can access the STEM scholarship, which may force them to delay access to this additional funding. The Department of Veterans Affairs Education Service faces increased administrative burden as they must implement new prioritization criteria and track whether veterans have exhausted all other benefits before awarding STEM scholarships. There's also a minor administrative change for the VA Benefits Administration related to the pension payment extension.
Key Provisions
- Lowers the credit hour requirement for STEM scholarship eligibility from 60 to 45 semester credits (or from 90 to 67.5 quarter credits)
- Removes one previous eligibility requirement (the specific paragraph isn't detailed in the bill text)
- Requires veterans to completely exhaust all regular GI Bill benefits before using the STEM scholarship
- Prioritizes scholarship awards first to veterans who have used the most months of educational benefits, and second to those who have already declared STEM majors
- Extends the implementation deadline for certain veteran pension payment limits from November 30, 2031 to March 31, 2033
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Modifies the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship program to change eligibility requirements, award prioritization, and usage timing for veterans pursuing STEM degrees
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Expand access to STEM scholarships for veterans by changing eligibility criteria and prioritization to favor those who have used more benefits and declared STEM majors earlier in their education"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Veterans who have used more months of their GI Bill benefits and are pursuing STEM degrees
- Veterans who have already declared STEM majors in post-secondary programs
Likely Burden Bearers
- Department of Veterans Affairs (administrative changes to scholarship award process)
- Veterans who have not yet exhausted their regular educational benefits (must use all other benefits before accessing STEM scholarship)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Educational assistance program under title 38 USC chapter 33 for veterans pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics
Programs of education leading to degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics as referenced in the existing statute
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