H.R. 1391 — Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 2025

This section establishes the short title as the “Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 2025.”

This section establishes a new 38 U.S.C. § 3699C requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to restore a covered individual’s education entitlement when the individual used covered educational assistance at an educational institution during certain periods beginning on the date of enactment of the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 2025. As background, VA-administered education benefits include programs under chapters 30, 31, 32, 33, and 35 of title 38 and chapters 1606 and 1607 of title 10. The restored assistance would not count against the individual’s remaining entitlement or the aggregate 48-month limit on VA education benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 3695. The covered periods include any period in which the institution was not approved by a State approving agency or VA acting as a State approving agency, including when approval was revoked; any period in which VA made a final determination that the institution or its owner violated an applicable provision of 38 U.S.C. § 3696; any period in which a court found the institution guilty of, or liable for, fraud; any period in which the Department of Justice closed the institution on the basis of fraud or another violation of Federal or State law; and any period in which the institution engaged in fraud and later closed. The section also requires an institution, as a condition of approval, to repay VA the amount of covered educational assistance received for a student if VA restores that student’s entitlement for the affected period. In cases where a court has found the institution guilty of, or liable for, fraud and ordered it to pay financial relief to the Federal Government, VA may file a claim with the Department of the Treasury to recoup all educational assistance amounts obtained through the fraud. The section directs VA to establish a separate appeals process for institutions or owners subject to repayment findings under this new provision. It also adds a conforming clerical amendment to the table of sections in chapter 36 of title 38.