Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship Opportunity Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship Opportunity Act changes VA education benefits for veterans pursuing STEM programs. It amends title 38 section 3320 by removing an existing paragraph, redesignating later paragraphs, and lowering the completed-credit threshold for STEM scholarship eligibility from 60 semester hours to 45 semester hours and from 90 quarter hours to 67.5 quarter hours. It changes prioritization so VA gives priority to individuals who have used the most months of chapter 33 educational assistance and to individuals using chapter 33 entitlement for postsecondary education who have declared a qualifying STEM major. It also provides that a person receiving the STEM scholarship may use it only after using all ordinary chapter 33 educational assistance to which the person is entitled. Separately, section 3 extends certain title 38 pension-payment limits from November 30, 2031, to March 31, 2033.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans pursuing STEM degrees, veterans with at least 45 semester credits, veterans with at least 67.5 quarter credits, student veterans who have used most of their Post-9/11 GI Bill months, veterans with declared STEM majors, university STEM programs serving veterans, VA Education Service administrators, campus veterans offices, and employers seeking STEM-trained veterans benefit from earlier eligibility, more targeted scholarship priority, and a clearer sequence between regular chapter 33 benefits and the Rogers STEM Scholarship.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Veterans who have not exhausted ordinary chapter 33 education benefits, VA Education Service staff, school certifying officials, campus veterans offices, benefit counselors, VA pension administrators, and veterans receiving affected pension payments must manage revised eligibility thresholds, new priority rules, benefit sequencing, scholarship timing, and the pension-payment-limit extension.
Key Provisions
- Modifies the Rogers STEM Scholarship completed-credit threshold from 60 to 45 semester hours.
- Modifies the quarter-hour threshold from 90 to 67.5 quarter hours.
- Adds priority for veterans who have used the most months of chapter 33 educational assistance.
- Adds priority for veterans using chapter 33 benefits for postsecondary education who have declared qualifying STEM majors.
- Requires ordinary chapter 33 entitlement exhaustion before using the STEM scholarship.
- Extends certain pension-payment limits to March 31, 2033.
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
Expands Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship eligibility by lowering completed-credit thresholds from 60 semester or 90 quarter hours to 45 semester or 67.5 quarter hours, revises award prioritization toward veterans with the most used chapter 33 entitlement and declared STEM majors, requires ordinary chapter 33 entitlement exhaustion before scholarship use, and extends certain pension-payment limits to March 31, 2033.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans, Education, STEM
Primary Purpose
Expands Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship eligibility by lowering completed-credit thresholds from 60 semester or 90 quarter hours to 45 semester or 67.5 quarter hours, revises award prioritization toward veterans with the most used chapter 33 entitlement and declared STEM majors, requires ordinary chapter 33 entitlement exhaustion before scholarship use, and extends certain pension-payment limits to March 31, 2033.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Veterans pursuing STEM degrees
- Veterans with at least 45 semester credits
- Student veterans who have used most Post-9/11 GI Bill months
- Veterans with declared STEM majors
- University STEM programs serving veterans
- VA Education Service administrators
- Campus veterans offices
Identified Costs
- Veterans who have not exhausted ordinary chapter 33 education benefits
- VA Education Service staff
- School certifying officials
- Campus veterans offices
- Benefit counselors
- VA pension administrators
- Veterans receiving affected pension payments
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to …
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4293)
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, …
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules …
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate …
Mr. Bost moved to suspend the rules and pass the …
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 212.
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Student veterans who used most Post-9/11 GI Bill months, Veterans pursuing STEM degrees, Veterans who have not exhausted ordinary chapter 33 benefits
Positive-direction: Student veterans who used most Post-9/11 GI Bill months, Veterans pursuing STEM degrees, Veterans with at least 45 semester credits
Negative-direction: Veterans who have not exhausted ordinary chapter 33 benefits
VA Education Service staff, VA pension administrators
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
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