DETRIMENTAL DELAYS: REVIEWING PAYMENT FAILURES IN VA’S EDUCATION PROGRAMS - Serial No. 119-41 - Review hearing

Oct 15, 2026

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Hearing record of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity held Tuesday, December 16, 2025, examining detrimental delays and payment failures within the Department of Veterans Affairs Digital GI Bill (DGIB) education benefits. The proceedings include opening statements, witness panels, and prepared statements, with focus on how payment failures originated and how they affected veterans receiving Chapter 35-related education benefits. It also contains statements for the record and official submissions, including VA responses to questions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages75

Reading Time3 h 9 min

AccessFree to download

Opening Statements

Witnesses

Panel I

Panel II

Appendix

Prepared Statements of Witnesses

Statements for the Record

DETRIMENTAL DELAYS: REVIEWING PAYMENT FAILURESIN VA’S EDUCATION PROGRAMS HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY OF THE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2025 Serial No. 119–41 Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs ( Available via [http://govinfo.gov](http://govinfo.gov) U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 62–635 WASHINGTON : 2026 COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS MIKE BOST, Illinois, Chairman AUMUA AMATA COLEMAN RADEWAGEN, American Samoa, Vice-Chairwoman JACK BERGMAN, Michigan NANCY MACE, South Carolina MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS, Iowa GREGORY F. MURPHY, North Carolina DERRICK VAN ORDEN, Wisconsin MORGAN LUTTRELL, Texas JUAN CISCOMANI, Arizona KEITH SELF, Texas JEN KIGGANS, Virginia ABE HAMADEH, Arizona KIMBERLYN KING-HINDS, Northern Mariana Islands TOM BARRETT, Michigan MARK TAKANO, California, Ranking Member JULIA BROWNLEY, California CHRIS PAPPAS, New Hampshire SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Florida MORGAN MCGARVEY, Kentucky DELIA RAMIREZ, Illinois NIKKI BUDZINSKI, Illinois TIMOTHY M. KENNEDY, New York MAXINE DEXTER, Oregon HERB CONAWAY, New Jersey KELLY MORRISON, Minnesota JON CLARK, Staff Director MATT REEL, Democratic Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY DERRICK VAN ORDEN, Wisconsin, Chairman JUAN CISCOMANI, Arizona ABE HAMADEH, Arizona KIMBERLYN KING-HINDS, Northern Mariana Islands TOM BARRETT, Michigan CHRIS PAPPAS, New Hampshire, Ranking Member MORGAN MCGARVEY, Kentucky DELIA RAMIREZ, Illinois TIMOTHY M. KENNEDY, New York Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public hearing records of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs are also published in electronic form. The printed hearing record remains the official version. Because electronic submissions are used to prepare both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process of converting between various electronic formats may introduce unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the current publication process and should diminish as the process is further refined. (II) C O N T E N T S TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2025 Page OPENING STATEMENTS The Honorable Tom Barrett, Acting Chairman .................................................... 1 The Honorable Chris Pappas, Ranking Member .................................................. 2 WITNESSES PANEL I Ms. Margarita Devlin, Acting Principal Deputy Undersecretary for Benefits, Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ...... 5 Accompanied by: Mr. Kenneth Smith, Executive Director at Education Service, Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Mr. Justin Parke, Managing Director, Digital GI Bill Program Manger, Accenture Federal Services ................................................................................. 6 PANEL II Ms. Ashlynne Haycock-Lohmann, Director, Government & Legislative Affairs, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors ........................................................ 20 APPENDIX PREPARED STATEMENTS OF WITNESSES Ms. Margarita Devlin Prepared Statement ........................................................... 31 Mr. Justin Parke Prepared Statement .................................................................. 33 Ms. Ashlynne Haycock-Lohmann Prepared Statement ........................................ 35 STATEMENTS FOR THE RECORD Veterans Education Success Prepared Statement ................................................ 41 Student Veterans of America Prepared Statement ............................................... 44 Document for the Record Submitted by The Honorable Chris Pappas, U.S. House of Representatives,(NH-01) ..................................................................... 47 Questions for the Record Submit

FAQs

What is the purpose of the hearing on December 16, 2025?

The hearing reviews how payment failures in the VA’s Digital GI Bill (DGIB) program originated, focusing on detrimental delays affecting veterans’ education benefits.

Which VA education benefits and program areas are discussed?

The record centers on education benefits including Chapter 35 issues that have plagued the VA for several months and DGIB payment failures.

Who provides testimony in the witness panels?

Testimony includes officials from the Veterans Benefits Administration and related organizations, as well as representatives involved with the Digital GI Bill program and support services.

Oct 15, 2026

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