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

The Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2025 would expand eligibility for Post-9/11 GI Bill educational benefits and Department of Veterans Affairs home loan programs. The bill would explicitly include Black veterans who served on active duty during World War II and were denied specific benefits because of their race, as well as their living surviving spouses, children, grandchildren, and other direct descendants who can certify the veteran experienced such discrimination. These newly eligible individuals would have a five-year window from the bill's enactment to apply for educational or home loan benefits.

If enacted, the bill would require the Government Accountability Office to report on how many individuals received VA educational or housing loan benefits under these new provisions and the total value of those benefits. Additionally, the Department of Veterans Affairs would be required to appoint a panel of independent experts to develop recommendations for additional benefits and assistance programs for female and minority members of the Armed Forces. The bill is currently under consideration in the House Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity and has not yet been voted on by the full chamber.