New Act Grants 90-Day Window for COVID Vaccine Refusers to Transfer VA Education Benefits

This section of the Patriots Over Politics Act is pretty specific: it creates a one-time chance for service members who were separated from the military solely because they refused the COVID-19 vaccine to transfer their VA education benefits to a dependent. It’s a narrow fix for a very particular group of people.

The 90-Day Clock and Who Qualifies

If you were a service member separated between August 24, 2021, and January 10, 2023—and the only reason was vaccine refusal—the VA must now allow you to transfer your education entitlement. This special opportunity opens up for a tight 90-day window once the law is enacted. Think of it as a grace period to salvage those benefits that were likely lost when you left the service. The transfer is based on the benefits status you held the day you separated, meaning you need to have met the existing requirements for transferability under section 3319 of title 38, U.S. Code, even if you couldn't complete the necessary service time.

The Catch: When Dependents Can Use the Benefits

While the transfer window is the headline, there’s a crucial detail about when the benefits can actually be used. If you transfer the entitlement to your child, the child cannot start using that education benefit until after you, the service member, have completed at least six years of service in the Armed Forces. This is a key provision (SEC. 2) that attempts to balance the restoration of the benefit with the original requirement that service members earn the transfer option through time served. For many separated service members, this means their child won't be able to access the funds until the date they would have hit that six-year mark, had they not been separated.

Real-World Impact: What This Means for Families

For a veteran who was separated after, say, four years of service due to the mandate, this bill restores a huge piece of their compensation package—the ability to provide a college education for their kid. Before this act, those benefits were simply gone. Now, they can transfer the benefit, though the clock is still ticking on that two-year service gap before their dependent can enroll. This provision is highly targeted, aiming to specifically address the financial and educational fallout for families affected by that particular policy. However, it's important to note that if you were separated during that same period for any other reason—even if it was a complicated administrative discharge—this specific 90-day transfer option does not apply to you. The eligibility is strictly tied to the documented reason for separation being solely the COVID-19 vaccine refusal.