Ky Attorney General Urges Supreme Court to Protect Veterans’ Benefits

Protect veterans who are wrongly denied federal education benefits.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (August 25, 2023) – Attorney General Daniel Cameron joined a bipartisan coalition in filing an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in support of an Army veteran who was wrongly denied federal education benefits.

“Veterans represent the very best of America. Take Captain James Rudisill, who after retiring, attempted to return to service as an Army Chaplain,” said Attorney General Cameron. “I joined this brief to ensure that those who have served us so well have access to the benefits they deserve.”

Enacted after World War II, federal G.I. Bills “were ‘designed to assist [veterans] in readjusting to civilian life and in catching up to those whose lives were not disrupted by military service.’” A key provision of these laws grants veterans with “multiple qualifying periods of service up to 48 months of education benefits.”

A decorated veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, retired Army Captain Rudisill attempted to use these benefits to become a military chaplain. But the Department of Veterans Affairs denied Captain Rudisill’s claim, refusing to pay for an entire 48 months of education. That decision has now made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In their brief, 42 attorneys general argue that “Congress [never] intended to treat reenlisting veterans of the [post-9/11] wars less generously than veterans of earlier wars.” The attorneys general also argue that the denial of benefits here “undermines the promises Congress made to veterans when they joined the Armed Forces[.]”

The coalition asks the high court to rule in favor of Rudisill and provide him, and other veterans like him, with the benefits they earned.

Attorney General Cameron was joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Northern Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming in filing the brief.

To read a copy of the brief, click here.