This act may be cited as the “Gold Star Siblings Educational Benefits Act
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Brownley introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill extends Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) educational benefits to siblings of deceased or disabled veterans. Currently, these benefits are only available to spouses and children of qualifying veterans. The bill expands three existing VA education programs to include siblings as eligible beneficiaries.
Who Benefits and How
- Siblings of deceased veterans gain access to VA Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance program benefits they were previously ineligible for
- Siblings of certain qualifying veterans become eligible for the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship, which covers full tuition and fees
- Siblings of veterans can now receive transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits with benefits available until age 26 (or later if serving as primary caregiver)
- Gold Star families receive broader support recognizing the sacrifice of all family members, not just spouses and children
Who Bears the Burden and How
- VA and taxpayers will bear increased costs from expanding the eligible beneficiary pool for these education programs
- No individuals or groups face new regulatory burdens - this is purely a benefits expansion
Key Provisions
- Adds "sibling" to eligible recipients under VA Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance (38 U.S.C. 3501)
- Extends Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship eligibility to siblings (38 U.S.C. 3311)
- Allows Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to be transferred to siblings with use until age 26 (38 U.S.C. 3319)
- Defines "sibling" as brother or sister by blood, adoption, or recognized guardianship/family relationship
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
Expands VA educational benefits eligibility to include siblings of deceased or disabled veterans, allowing them to receive survivors' and dependents' educational assistance
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Incremental expansion of existing veterans benefits programs to recognize broader family sacrifice"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A brother or sister, whether by blood, adoption, or through a recognized guardianship or family relationship
A brother or sister, whether by blood, adoption, or through a recognized guardianship or family relationship
A brother or sister, whether by blood, adoption, or through a recognized guardianship or family relationship
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