McCuskey
CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey has joined a bipartisan coalition of 51 other attorneys general to stand with military veterans and their families to ensure they receive the full G.I. Bill education benefits by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Virginia-led amicus brief was filed June 13 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
“When our brave men and women answer the call to defend our country, we must fulfill our promise to take care of them when they return home, it’s the least we can do,” McCuskey said in a press release. “To deny those benefits is an injustice, and I’m proud to be part of such a strong bipartisan coalition united on this issue.”
The case, which is styled Yoon v. Collins, was filed by Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yoon, a decorated Virginia Army veteran who served nearly 24 years, including deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo. He says the VA has denied Yoon full G.I. Bill education benefits and has blocked him from transferring those benefits to his daughter.
Yoon says the VA has taken this approach despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Rudisill v. McDonough in which the court held that veterans who qualify 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. Yoon claims the VA’s refusal to apply that ruling to his case directly contradicts the Supreme Court’s decision and undermines the federal government’s commitment to those who have served.
In addition to McCuskey, Virginia’s brief was joined by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, 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, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit case number 25-1839
