Letter to the Honorable Anthony M. Kurta, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness - Basic Allowance for Student Veteran's Housing

Letter

Dear Under Secretary Kurta,

We write to you today on behalf of the thousands of student veterans residing in the City of New York pursuing higher education through the GI Bill. As you know, the GI Bill affords a housing allocation called the Basic Allowance for Housing, or "BAH," for veterans who wish to pursue higher education at a Veterans Affairs-approved college; on-the-job training; or an apprenticeship program. BAH is awarded to a student veteran based on which Military Housing Area (MHA) the institution of higher learning is located within, and not where the service member actually lives.

In New York City, there are currently two MHA's: one for Staten Island, and one for the other four boroughs of the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. While all five boroughs jointly comprise the City of New York, it is alarming that BAH recipients who attend Staten Island schools do not receive the same allowance as BAH recipients who attend schools in the other four boroughs.

The current 2017 housing allowance is a maximum of $4,098 for students attending college in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, and a maximum of $2,685 for those attending on Staten Island. This inequality directly and significantly affects many Staten Island student veterans using the GI Bill, because by choosing a Staten Island school, they receive less money for housing. This has the unfortunate consequence of deterring student veterans from living and going to school on Staten Island.

Congressman Donovan wrote a similar letter to former Under Secretary Peter K. Levine comparing housing costs on Staten Island to the other four boroughs. The letter did not receive a response, although we understand the transition may have caused some issues to fall through the cracks. We have attached a copy of that letter.

According to the New York City Department of Veterans' Services, 10.2% of all New York City Veterans live on Staten Island. Of the 12,287 GI Bill users in all of New York City, only 1.5% attend school in Staten Island.

We urge the Department of Defense to take a serious and thoughtful look at this issue and consider raising the BAH for Staten Island to $4,098, equal to the housing allowances allocated to veterans attending school in the other four boroughs of New York City.

All of our student veterans should have the opportunity to continue to build upon the rich leadership skills instilled in them via service in our Armed Forces. They deserve the option to freely choose the best New York City institution that will allow them to achieve the next benchmark in their personal and professional careers.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we would look forward to working collaboratively with the Department of Defense to immediately address this very important issue.

Warm Regards,