H.R. 1725 — Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2025

This section sets forth congressional findings on (1) the service of more than 1.2 million African Americans in World War II, including approximately 1.9% of all Armed Forces officers by 1945; (2) the benefits provided by the GI Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944) to 16 million veterans, including education assistance, housing loan guarantees, unemployment allowances, and workforce reentry aid; and (3) the discriminatory administration of those benefits against African American veterans through denial of higher education access (resulting in a 6% college degree rate vs. 19% for white veterans) and exclusion from housing guarantees via redlining.

This section establishes, for purposes of VA housing loan guarantees under chapter 37 of title 38, U.S. Code, new definitions of "veteran" to include (1) Black individuals who served on active duty during World War II and certify denial of a specific benefit under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (original GI Bill, which provided housing loan guarantees) due to race, and (2) their surviving spouses, children, grandchildren, or other direct descendants who are living on enactment of the Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2025 and certify such denial. It provides basic entitlement to such guarantees for eligible individuals who apply within the five-year period beginning on enactment. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must implement the amendments within 90 days of enactment, prescribe regulations to carry them out, and the GAO must report to Congress within one year after that deadline on the number of individuals who received benefits and the total value of benefits provided.

This section expands eligibility for educational assistance under the Post-9/11 GI Bill (38 U.S.C. ch. 33)—which provides tuition payments, a monthly housing allowance, and a stipend for books and supplies to eligible post-9/11 era service members, veterans, and certain family members—by adding a new category of covered individuals to 38 U.S.C. §3311(b)(12): survivors and certain direct descendants of Black veterans of World War II (as described in 38 U.S.C. §3701(b)(9)) who apply during the five-year period beginning on the date of enactment. It further (1) directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to implement the amendment not later than 90 days after enactment and prescribe regulations to carry it out; and (2) requires the Government Accountability Office to submit to Congress, not later than one year after the implementation deadline, a report on the number of individuals who received such assistance and the total amount paid.

This section establishes a Blue Ribbon panel of independent experts on inequities in VA benefits distribution and military service by female and minority members of the Armed Forces, to be appointed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs not later than 30 days after enactment pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The panel must develop recommendations for additional benefits and assistance for female and minority veterans and related legislation, and submit a report containing those recommendations to Congress and the President not later than one year after enactment.