Press Releases
07/31/2023
Attorney General Tong Joins Bipartisan Coalition Urging Congress to Pass GI Bill Restoration Act, Grant Benefits to Black World War II Veterans and Their Families
(Hartford, CT) -- Attorney General William Tong has joined
a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general nationwide calling on Congress to
support legislation which would extend benefits to Black World War II veterans
their families.
The Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI
Bill Restoration Act of 2023 would extend eligibility for housing loans and
educational assistance administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to
Black World War II veterans, their surviving spouses, and certain direct
descendants if the veteran was previously denied benefits on the basis of race.
In the letter submitted to Congress, coalition of 24 attorneys general asserts
the legislation would help rectify past wrongs and fuel continued economic
growth in communities across the country.
“As we mark the 75th anniversary of President Truman’s order
mandating the desegregation of the U.S. military, it is time for Congress to
right a wrong which never should have occurred. Black veterans risked their
lives to protect our country during one of the darkest periods in human history,
yet they and their families were egregiously denied many of the benefits they
rightfully earned. This legislation attempts to correct those shameful
inequities and reaffirms our commitment to these Black heroes, their families
and descendants,” said Attorney General Tong.
Although the G.I. Bill was race neutral, the administration
of benefits was discriminatory, and Black World War II veterans were often
denied opportunities. Institutions adopted the Federal Housing Administration’s
racial exclusion programs which excluded Black veterans from accessing the
housing loan guaranty program. Black veterans were also denied access to
educational benefits at certain universities on the basis of their race and
were instead directed to vocational schools and chronically under-resourced
historically Black colleges and universities.
The Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI
Bill Restoration Act of 2023 would:
- Extend
access to the VA Loan Guaranty Program to the surviving spouse and certain
direct descendants of Black World War II veterans who are alive at the
time of the bill’s enactment, if they can certify that the veteran was
denied a specific benefit on the basis of race;
- Extend
access to the Post-911 GI Bill educational assistance benefits to the
surviving spouse and certain direct descendants of Black World War II
veterans alive at the time of the bill’s enactment, if they can certify
that the veteran was denied a specific benefit on the basis of
race;
- Require
a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report outlining the number of
individuals who received the educational and housing benefits as a result
of this bill; and
- Establish
a Blue-Ribbon Panel of independent experts to study inequities in the
distribution of benefits and assistance administered to female and
minority members of the Armed Forces and provide recommendations to
Congress and the President on additional assistance to repair those
inequities.
The bill is named in honor of two Black World War II
veterans. Sgt. Woodard was beaten and blinded in uniform by South Carolina
police who dragged him from a bus in 1946. Sgt. Maddox was accepted by Harvard
University but was denied financial assistance from his local Veterans Affairs
office because the agency wanted to “avoid setting a precedent.”
The letter was co-led by Massachusetts Attorney General
Andrea Joy Campbell, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella and Illinois
Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and also joined by the attorneys general of
Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine,
Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Click here to read the coalition's letter.
- Twitter: @AGWilliamTong
- Facebook: CT Attorney General
Media Contact:
Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov
Consumer Inquiries:
860-808-5318
attorney.general@ct.gov