Great Lakes Wire

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a coalition of 51 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The coalition aims to ensure that military veterans and their families receive full G.I. Bill education benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

"Our veterans and their families sacrifice so much to protect our freedoms," Nessel stated. "We must ensure they receive the support and benefits they have rightfully earned. I am honored to be a part of this broad, bipartisan coalition committed to supporting those who have served and sacrificed for our country."

The case, Yoon v. Collins, involves Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yoon, a decorated Army veteran from Virginia with nearly 24 years of service, including deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo. Despite a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Rudisill v. McDonough, which held that veterans eligible under both the Montgomery and Post-9/11 G.I. bills are entitled to 48 months of combined education benefits based on their total length of service, the VA has denied LTC Yoon full G.I. Bill education benefits and blocked him from transferring those benefits to his daughter.

The VA's refusal to apply this ruling in LTC Yoon's case is seen as contradicting the Supreme Court's decision and undermining federal commitments to veterans.

Joining Attorney General Nessel are attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawai‘i, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming.