Va. lawmakers restore military tuition program that caused political stir

The Virginia General Assembly voted to restore the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Program, which offers free tuition to families of veterans injured or killed in the line of duty. The program had been cut in the state budget passed earlier this year, sparking protests from military families and their advocates. The House of Delegates and state Senate agreed unanimously to fully restore the program, with $45 million a year over the next two years to help colleges and universities deal with the expense. The program had grown in cost from $12 million in 2019 to more than $65 million last year, with colleges and universities having to pick up the tab without extra funding from the state. All sides agreed that the issue needs a long-term fix to preserve the program in a sustainable way. The legislature's in-house audit arm, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, is also studying how to preserve VMSDP in a sustainable way. Lawmakers said they would take the issue up again in the General Assembly regular session in January.