MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul joined a bipartisan coalition of 51 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, standing with military veterans and their families to ensure they receive full G.I. Bill education benefits by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
“Veterans must not be prevented from obtaining all of their benefits,” said AG Kaul. “The court should hold that the benefits being sought in this case must be provided.”
The case, Yoon v. Collins, centers on Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yoon, a decorated Army veteran who served nearly 24 years, including deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo. Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Rudisill v. McDonough, the VA continues to deny LTC Yoon full G.I. Bill education benefits and has blocked him from transferring those benefits to his daughter.
In Rudisill, the Supreme Court held that veterans who qualify under both the Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bills are entitled to 48 months of combined education benefits based on their total length of service. The VA’s refusal to apply that ruling to LTC Yoon’s case directly contradicts the Supreme Court’s decision and undermines the federal government’s commitment to those who have served.
The brief was joined by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Read the brief here.
View this press release on the DOJ website here.
