SW Iowa Times

The new legislation proposed by Iowa's U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne modernizes work-study programs for student veterans, according to a release from her office.

“My Student Veteran Work Study Modernization Act would give student veterans more flexibility when getting the aid they need to succeed,” Axne said in a Twitter post Jan. 25.

The bill was introduced Jan. 12. The Student Veteran Work Study Modernization Act is endorsed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Military Veterans Advocacy, Disabled Veterans of American, Paralyzed Veterans of American, Veterans Education Success, the Association of Community College Trustees, and the Council for Opportunity in Education, the release said. 

“Expanding the eligibility of (Veterans Affairs’s) work study program to include those who are attending school part time would be a great benefit to our members and to other veterans, and we thank Rep. Axne for taking action to address this gap,” Jim Marszalek, national service director of Disabled Veterans of America, said in the release.

The bill is to amend an existing rule for VA work-study programs. 

“Student veterans are not your typical student — they might have a family and children, they might have a mortgage, they may have physical or mental health needs," Axne said. "But despite all these demands on them, we aren’t giving our veterans the flexibility they need.”

The amendment would allow part-time students to also take part in the work-study programs, currently only offered to full-time students. 

“Our veterans earned their benefits during their service," Axne said. "We don’t need to put limits on their education; instead we need to focus on removing barriers and making sure that our veterans get the education that works best for them. I’m proud to introduce a bill that expands these benefits they’ve earned and allows our veterans to attend school part time.”