II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3257 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend to Black veterans of 

World War II, and surviving spouses and certain direct descendants 

of such veterans, eligibility for certain housing loans and educational 

assistance administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 8, 2023 

Mr. WARNOCK (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. MURRAY, 

Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend to Black 

veterans of World War II, and surviving spouses and 

certain direct descendants of such veterans, eligibility 

for certain housing loans and educational assistance administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sgt. Isaac Woodard, 

3 Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act 

4 of 2023’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) African Americans played a pivotal role in 

8 the war effort during World War II, with more than 

9 1,200,000 African Americans serving in the Armed 

10 Forces, and, by 1945, approximately 1.9 percent of 

11 all officers in the Armed Forces were African Ameri12 cans. 

13 (2) Following World War II, the Servicemen’s 

14 Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284, commonly 

15 known as the ‘‘GI Bill’’) offered substantial material 

16 benefits to approximately 16,000,000 veterans to as17 sist them in reintegrating into civil society. 

18 (3) The GI Bill offered a range of economic and 

19 educational benefits administered by the Federal 

20 Government through the Secretary of the Veterans 

21 Administration, including monetary assistance to ac22 cess higher education, government guarantees for 

23 housing loans, unemployment allowances, and civil24 ian workforce reentry assistance. 

25 (4) Though the legislative text of the GI Bill 

26 was race neutral, the administration of benefits 


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1 through national, State, and local offices of the Vet2 erans Administration resulted in a pattern of dis3 crimination against racial minorities, especially Afri4 can Americans. 

5 (5) Veterans Administration benefits counselors 

6 denied African Americans access to educational ben7 efits at certain universities and funneled applicants 

8 into industrial and vocational schools rather than 

9 higher education opportunities, with just 6 percent 

10 of African-American veterans of World War II earn11 ing a college degree, compared to 19 percent of 

12 White veterans of World War II. 

13 (6) In administering its housing guaranty pro14 gram, the Veterans Administration adopted the ra15 cial exclusion programs of the Federal Housing Ad16 ministration, also known as redlining, which ex17 cluded a significant number of African Americans 

18 from taking full advantage of the housing guaranty 

19 program. 

20 (7) The GI Bill created substantial economic 

21 growth and wealth accumulation for those who could 

22 benefit, but discriminatory administration of the 

23 program prevented many African-American veterans 

24 of World War II from enjoying the full economic 

25 prosperity of the post-war period. 


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1 SEC. 3. HOUSING LOANS GUARANTEED BY THE SECRETARY 

2 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR BLACK VET3 ERANS OF WORLD WAR II AND SURVIVORS 

4 AND CERTAIN DIRECT DESCENDANTS OF 

5 SUCH VETERANS. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

7 (1) DEFINITION.—Section 3701(b) of title 38, 

8 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following new paragraphs: 

10 ‘‘(8) The term ‘veteran’ also includes an indi11 vidual who— 

12 ‘‘(A) is Black; 

13 ‘‘(B) served on active duty as a member of 

14 the Armed Forces during World War II; and 

15 ‘‘(C) certifies to the Secretary that such 

16 individual was denied a specific benefit under 

17 the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 

18 Stat. 284) on the basis of race. 

19 ‘‘(9) The term ‘veteran’ also includes an indi20 vidual who— 

21 ‘‘(A) is the surviving spouse, child, grand22 child, or other direct descendant of a veteran 

23 described in paragraph (8); 

24 ‘‘(B) certifies to the Secretary that such 

25 veteran described in paragraph (8) was denied 

26 a specific benefit under the Servicemen’s ReadVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 13, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3257.IS S3257

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1 justment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284) on the 

2 basis of race; and 

3 ‘‘(C) is living on the date of the enactment 

4 of the Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph 

5 H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2023.’’. 

6 (2) BASIC ENTITLEMENT.—Section 

7 3702(a)(2)(E) of such title is amended by adding at 

8 the end the following new subparagraph: 

9 ‘‘(H) Each individual— 

10 ‘‘(i) described in paragraph (8) or (9) of 

11 section 3701(b) of this title; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) who applies for a housing loan during 

13 the five-year period beginning on the date of 

14 the enactment of the Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. 

15 and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration 

16 Act of 2023.’’. 

17 (b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

18 shall carry out the amendments made by this section not 

19 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act. 

21 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Veterans Af22 fairs shall prescribe regulations to carry out the amend23 ments made by this section. 

24 (d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 

25 deadline under subsection (b), the Comptroller General of 


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1 the United States shall submit to Congress a report re2 garding— 

3 (1) the number of individuals who received 

4 housing loan benefits pursuant to the amendments 

5 made by this section; and 

6 (2) the total value of housing loan benefits ad7 ministered by the Secretary pursuant to the amend8 ments made by this section. 

9 SEC. 4. EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR SURVIVORS AND 

10 CERTAIN DIRECT DESCENDANTS OF BLACK 

11 VETERANS OF WORLD WAR II. 

12 (a) ENTITLEMENT.—Subsection (b) of section 3311 

13 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

14 the end the following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(12) An individual— 

16 ‘‘(A) described in section 3701(b)(9) of 

17 this title; and 

18 ‘‘(B) who applies for educational assistance 

19 under this chapter during the five-year period 

20 beginning on the date of the enactment of the 

21 Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. 

22 Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2023.’’. 

23 (b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

24 shall carry out the amendment made by this section not 


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1 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act. 

3 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Veterans Af4 fairs shall prescribe regulations to carry out the amend5 ment made by this section. 

6 (d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 

7 deadline under subsection (b), the Comptroller General of 

8 the United States shall submit to Congress a report re9 garding— 

10 (1) the number of individuals who received edu11 cational assistance pursuant to the amendment 

12 made by this section; and 

13 (2) the total amount of educational assistance 

14 paid by the Secretary pursuant to the amendment 

15 made by this section. 

16 SEC. 5. BLUE RIBBON PANEL ON BENEFITS AND ASSIST17 ANCE FOR FEMALE AND MINORITY VET18 ERANS. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

21 Veterans Affairs shall, pursuant to chapter 10 of title 5, 

22 United States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Federal 

23 Advisory Committee Act’’), appoint a panel of independent 

24 experts on— 


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1 (1) inequities in the distribution of benefits and 

2 assistance administered by the Secretary; and 

3 (2) military service by female and minority 

4 members of the Armed Forces. 

5 (b) DUTIES.—The panel required to be appointed 

6 under subsection (a) shall develop recommendations re7 garding additional benefits and assistance for individuals 

8 described in paragraph (2) of such subsection, and related 

9 legislation. 

10 (c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act, the panel required to be ap12 pointed under subsection (a) shall submit to Congress and 

13 the President a report containing the recommendations 

14 developed under this section. 

Æ 


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