Yavapai News

This week, Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) introduced the Transcript Assurance for Heroes Act to cut red tape and streamline the unnecessarily complex process often experienced by GI Bill beneficiaries trying to access their official academic transcripts.

Veterans receiving an education under the GI Bill often face obstacles in accessing their transcripts -- primarily through inaccurate billing practices and disputed debts.

Institutions can exploit the lack of counseling for student veterans, misrepresenting the extent of financial coverage under the GI Bill. As a result, balances are left unpaid on student accounts, leading to the withholding of transcripts for these veterans.

This is wholly unacceptable and urgently needs remedied.

This bill would require educational institutions to provide eligible veterans with readily available digital copies of their transcripts, ensuring unimpeded access.

Withholding academic transcripts can result in serious issues for our veterans, impacting their lives and education prospects for a lifetime. By withholding these academic records, it hinders the pursuit of further education, preventing them from transferring or pursuing advanced degrees.

Gatekeeping access can also lead to adverse credit scores, leading to difficulty securing employment, obtaining housing, and receiving financial aid – all of which incentivize the pursuit of unauthorized loans, offered via predatory practices.

Further, when academic institutions shut down, veterans need access to their records to transfer schools. Veterans who are leaving a closing school, should be afforded a much easier time acquiring the documents they need to advance their lives.

The bill is cosponsored by Reps. Nancy Mace (R-NC) and Mary Miller (R-IL). The full text of the bill will be made available here.

“These are heroes who sacrificed for our freedoms and way of life. The last thing they should have to worry about is jumping over needless hurdles to get ahold of their own records. I’m proud to introduce this legislation that will reduce the complexities of pursuing an education under the GI Bill framework and counter some of the vulnerabilities in the system,” said Rep. Crane. 

Original source can be found here.