RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia House of Delegates acted quickly on legislation Friday to repeal controversial changes to a program that waived tuition at public universities and colleges for spouses and children of severely disabled veterans or those killed in service.
"This is a good start," Katrina Frye, a 100% disabled Army veteran, said after the vote. "We are focused on this goal, we are focused on getting this repealed and the benefit that we have earned kept in place."
Changes to the Virginia Military Survivors & Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP) were included in the state budget agreed to last month by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.
Lawmakers put in language that limited who could benefit from the program and added extra steps because they could access it, citing concerns from universities about ballooning costs tied to an expansion of eligibility in 2019.
Frye would have been among those who could no longer access the program under those changes.
"100% disability rating for PTSD from military sexual trauma," said Frye.
But after public outcry, including the creation of a group called Friends of VMSDEP, Youngkin created a task force to look at the program and recommend potential changes for next year. He also called for a special session to fully repeal the changes.
The House did just that in a session that lasted less than two hours on Friday, with a few speeches from lawmakers praising how the two parties came together.
"I'm so grateful we were able to come together in a bipartisan way to fix this," Del. Mike Cherry (R-Colonial Heights) said.
"When the Governor put in place his task force, we simply felt it was a good opportunity to do a reset," Del. Luke Torian (D-Prince William), Chair of the House Appropriations Committee and sponsor of the legislation added.
The quick action was in contrast to last week's Senate session, which started over an hour late and ended without any action.
WATCH: Virginia Senate fails to act on changes to military education benefits program: 'It's ridiculous'
Finance Chair Senator Louise Lucas had a bill that only partially repealed the changes, but eventually said it would not be debated and she did not allow a full repeal bill to be heard, despite support from lawmakers from both parties.
Thursday, Lucas put forward another option: delaying implementation for a year and adding more funding to cover costs.
The Senate will meet on Monday, July 1 to take up both Lucas' new bill and the one passed by the House.
Lucas was non-committal last week when asked what she'd do with the House bill -- but advocates are pushing for support.
"To those in the Senate, I would say, it's time to do the right thing. This is not a political thing," said Cherry.
"I think that if they have common sense they would do the right thing here and they would full repeal. Because we're not making any other deal. It's a full repeal or no deal," Melissa Robey, founder of the group We Back Blue, said. Access to the program for first responders' families was also put at risk with the budget changes.
Youngkin put out a statement thanking lawmakers after the vote.
“Our veterans, first responders, and their families have spoken, and we have heard them. Now it is time for the Senate to pass the bill on Monday, so I can sign it immediately. We must ensure that any potential changes to the program occur transparently in a regular legislative session with input from our valued veterans and their families," Youngkin said in the statement. "On February 12, 2024, the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to study VMSDEP before making any changes to it, and on February 13, 2024, the full Senate voted unanimously to pass that bill. Sending HB 6003 to my desk will have the same effect. Between the Preserving VMSDEP Task Force, which includes veterans, military families, senior legislators, administration officials, and higher education leaders, and the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee Working Group, we have all the right people at the table to continue our work to keep this program sustainable for the future. If the Senate Democrat Leadership does not support a repeal of the language, they are holding our veterans, first responders, and their families, hostage. It is time to do the right thing.”
When asked for a response to the House vote, a spokesperson for Senate Democrats referred to their comments on Thursday advocating for the one-year delay.
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