; Whereas such Act expressed the duty, responsibility, and desire of a grateful United States to see to it that those who served on active duty in the Armed Forces are afforded every opportunity to become disciplined forces for prosperity and progress in the United States through economic opportunity and investment; Whereas Congress enacted subsequent Acts to provide educational assistance to new generations of veterans, including the Veterans’ Readjustment Benefits Act of 1966 ( Public Law 89–358 ), the Post-Vietnam Era Veterans’ Educational Assistance Act of 1977 ( Public Law 94–502 ), the Veterans’ Educational Assistance Act of 1984 ( Public Law 98–525 ), the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 ( Public Law 110–252 ), and the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 ( Public Law 115–247 ); Whereas since the signing of such Act, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has paid about $400 billion in educational benefits to 25 million veterans and their loved ones who continue to excel academically in post-secondary education; Whereas such Act created the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Home Loan Guarantee program, which, since 1944, has provided a pathway for 24 million veterans to purchase a home guaranteed by the Department, the majority of which are purchased with no down payment; Whereas such Act improved health care opportunities for veterans by transferring medical facilities from the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy and providing funding for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals; Whereas this combination of opportunities changed the social and economic fabric of the United States for the better, with a 1988 report from the Subcommittee on Education and Health of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress concluding that for every $1 the United States invested in such Act, $6.90 was returned in growth to the economy of the United States