The Veterans Affairs Department said Monday it has trademarked “GI Bill” as a tactic to help “stop deceptive and misleading” efforts by for-profit outfits preying on veterans.
“We will continue to support our veterans by helping them obtain the best education of their choosing -- a right for which they have bravely served, and which they have truly earned,” VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said in a statement. “We all want veterans to be informed consumers in their educational pursuit.”
VA will issue terms of use for “GI Bill” within the next six months.
“We want to ensure the right balance with these new guidelines so that our stakeholders can still promote [the] GI bill and we can prohibit others from using it fraudulently,” said Curtis Coy, VA undersecretary for economic opportunity.
Kudos to VA blogger and social media grunt Alex Horton for leading the effort against commercial GI Bill rip-off artists.
Bob Brewin
Bob Brewin joined Government Executive in April 2007, bringing with him more than 20 years of experience as a journalist focusing on defense issues and technology. Bob covers the world of defense and information technology for Nextgov, and is the author of the “What’s Brewin” blog.
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