Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU)

Dr. Rodriguez [Lena, Senior Vice Pres., HACU], thanks for that kind introduction, and for inviting me to spend some time with so many here today who are devoted to the success of America’s students.

Dr. Flores [Pres., HACU] and distinguished members of the Governing Board—good morning, and thanks for your partnership with VA. I want to especially thank you, Dr. Flores, for keeping the lines of communication open with VA’s Executive Director of Education Services, Joseph Garcia—a Vietnam-era Vet, GI Bill beneficiary, and graduate of Hispanic-Serving Institution the University of Arizona.

And to all the Vets here this morning, thank you for serving … thank you for sacrificing for this country when we’ve needed you most.

Before I dive in, let me touch on a change coming for Vets getting GI Bill payments. Starting April 20^th, just a few days from now, we’ll no longer send Vets’ or family members’ benefit payments to more than one bank account. It’s a change to help protect them from fraud and ensure we pay them on time, every time, without error. So, Vets and beneficiaries receiving GI bill payments and other benefit payments across multiple banking accounts have to select one account, by April 20th.

This shift impacts nearly 50,000 GI Bill beneficiaries, so we’ve been aggressively reaching out to them through text message, phone, and email on a weekly basis. And we’ve been reaching to all your School Certifying Officials. We’re down to 15,000 Vets left. For Vets who don’t consolidate accounts by April 20th, VA will consolidate accounts on their behalf—electing their non-education benefit pay account as their primary bank account. The easiest way for these Vets to make the change is to just log on to VA.Gov/Change-Direct-Deposit.  

Importantly, not a single Veteran will miss a benefits payment or lose their education benefits as a result of these changes—even if they don’t switch their accounts by the deadline. So, help us spread the word to your student Vets on this transition.

I want to really focus this morning on just one thing, and that’s keeping our nation’s promise to student Veterans on your campuses. Here’s what I mean. When someone signs up to serve our country in the military—like your student Vets—we make them a promise. If you fight for us, we will fight for you. If you serve us, we will serve you. If you take care of us, we will take care of you when you come home. Our country as a whole makes that promise. But when it comes to our student Vets, we have a shared duty to keep that promise.

You know, it was 80 years ago this summer, June 6th, D-Day, that our World War II Vets assaulted the beaches of Normandy. Dr. Rodriguez’s grandfather, Private First Class Jesus “Rod” Rodriguez, was one of the first soldiers to fight on UTAH Beach. And it was only two weeks after D-Day that President Roosevelt signed the first GI Bill into law. The GI Bill, Roosevelt said, was emphatic notice to Veterans] that the American people would not let them down when they came home.

They fought for us. This country kept that promise. And with the GI Bill, that Greatest Generation transformed this country into the economic powerhouse, the world leader we are today.

Now, a lot has changed since then. But one thing that hasn’t changed—that promise, to today’s Vets, the Latest Generation. Last year, nearly 863,000 servicemembers, Vets, and dependents brought about $11 billion to campus communities across the country $1.8 billion [$1.79B] for Hispanic-Serving Institutions, alone, on behalf of 144,000 servicemembers, Vets, and dependents. And for the more than 13,000 Vets under the Veteran Readiness and Employment program at 425 HSIs last year, taxpayers invested an additional $848,000. 

Here’s what else hasn’t changed. Like generations before, them, Veterans still make the very best students. I’m thinking of Vets like Chris Velazquez from Camden, New Jersey, who joined the Air Force because of his sense of duty, and to prepare himself for the future. After Active Duty, Chris reached out to Vet services at the University of Central Florida and used his GI Bill benefits to earn his degree in Mechanical Engineering. Today, Chris works on some our country’s most advanced defense systems at Lockheed Martin in Orlando.

Vets like Ruben Ramos, a first-generation American who knew the GI Bill was a path to college. After enlisting, Ruben deployed to the thick of the brutal fight in Iraq to retake Mosul from ISIS. When he came home, Ruben went to Vet services at Southwestern Community College in Chula Vista, and he was on his way—Associates Degree in Administration of Justice, BS in Criminal Justice, and a minor in Sociology. Today, Ruben’s again serving our country, as an Immigration Services Officer in San Diego.

Or first-generation American Vet Elizabeth Rocha, who joined the Marine Corps to find her own path, to find a sense of belonging and purpose. After leaving the Marines, Elizabeth used her GI Bill at Santa Ana Community College for her Associates in Business Management. Today, she’s at Cal State Fullerton earning her BA in Business Management, with her eyes on law school.

And all of them—Chris, Ruben, and Elizabeth—tell you how important the Vet services teams were to their success. Those teams were proactive in their support. They reached out to Vets and guided them, helping them find their way to the right future for them. They provided spaces devoted to Vets on campus, places where Vets could meet other Vets, could share their experiences—in the military and in school—could support and guide one another, coach and mentor their fellow Vets. In fact, older Vets Ruben met on campus showed him how to focus on school, how to stay positive, and how to succeed.

Vets helping Vets—there’s nothing better.

Here’s my point. As important as it is, it’s not about the money that thousands of student Vets bring to your schools year after year. It’s about keeping that promise to them, about doing everything we can to serve them as well as they have served all of us.

And that’s why I’m here, to ask you and your teams to fight like hell to give student Vets the opportunity to do much more than just survive. Let’s give Vets the resources, the support, the spaces, and the opportunities to thrive. It’s not just good for them. It’s the right thing to do. It’s keeping that promise. And it’s about the enduring strength of this nation.

So, if you don’t already have them, get Vet mentors on staff—Vets, who really understand student Vets, their unique strengths and challenges. If you don’t already have it, let’s give Vets a space for them, places where they can congregate and support one another. Let’s make sure student Vets are enrolled in VA health care and know about all the benefits services VA has available to them. Reach out to local Vet Centers and Veterans Service Organizations. Invite them to meet Vets on campus.

Because listen, student Vets’ mission doesn’t end when they show up to your schools … when they toss their hats at graduation. Long after their final formations, Vets will continue to strengthen our democracy in towns and cities across the country … just like PFC Rod Rodriguez. You see, after being grievously wounded in the bloody fighting of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, PFC Rodriguez—a GI Bill beneficiary—came home to Tolleson, Arizona. There, he built his family, and he helped build and strengthen his community as a public servant—city councilman, vice-mayor, mayor.

Dr. Rodriguez, my deep thanks to your grandfather for his courageous service to the nation in World War II, and back here at home in the years after. May we all serve Vets like PFC Rodriguez, Joe Garcia, Chris, Ruben, and Elizabeth as well as they have served us.

Thank you. Have a great conference.