RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The political blame game is intensifying after the Virginia Senate failed to reach a consensus on how to repeal recently made changes to the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP).
“We are living a political nightmare. Groundhog Day right now,” Kayla Owen, founder of the advocacy group Friends of VMSDEP told 8News.
Reaction: Changes to Virginia’s Military Tuition Program
Senate Democrats said they had a solution that could have been voted on Monday if Republicans were willing to play along. However, Republicans said because that solution wasn’t a full repeal, they couldn’t support it.
“If you ask the folks in the gallery if we are at war right now, I’m sure they would tell you, yes we are,” Sen. Bryce Reeves, (R-Orange), said on the Senate Floor.
In May, lawmakers made the program, which waives college tuition for the kids and spouses of qualified disabled military veterans, harder for families to access.
On Monday, Senate Democrats put forward a plan to repeal the changes, while still requiring students to show satisfactory academic progress. However, the bill hit a snag on the Senate Floor after Republicans decided against waiving Senate rules to allow the bill to proceed to final passage.