Description:
As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on September 12, 2012
S. 2241 would provide additional education benefits to the spouses of servicemembers who died while serving on active duty. The bill also would ensure that veterans, servicemembers, and their dependents receive specific information about educational institutions and other education-related information when using their education benefits and make changes to how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) administer their education benefit programs.
If enacted, CBO estimates that this legislation would increase direct spending by $79 million over the 2013-2017 period and by $200 million over the 2013-2022 period. Because the bill would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting S. 2241 would not affect revenues.
In addition, CBO estimates that implementing S. 2241 would have a discretionary cost of $186 million over the 2013-2017 period, assuming appropriation of the estimated amounts.
S. 2441 contains an intergovernmental and private-sector mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) because it would limit the ability of public and private entities to use the term “GI Bill.” However, CBO estimates that any costs incurred by those entities to use the term would not exceed the thresholds established in UMRA for intergovernmental or private-sector mandates ($73 million and $146 million, adjusted annually for inflation, respectively).
