EARNED The EARNED Act
The EARNED Act would recognize an honorable four-year military enlistment with an accredited bachelor's degree, a Bachelor of Arts in Defense of Freedom, with a concentration in the service member's specialty. The GI Bill stays fully intact, and veterans who have already served could claim the degree with their service records. It is a nonpartisan citizen proposal that started in Surprise, Arizona.
Four years served. One nation defended. One degree earned.
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Key facts
- The gap: military training is already evaluated for college credit by the American Council on Education and recorded on each veteran's Joint Services Transcript, but that credit helps only veterans who go back to school.
- Already in place: the Community College of the Air Force has recognized enlisted airmen's training with accredited associate degrees since 1977. Enlisted Marines, soldiers and sailors have no degree-granting college of their own; the Navy's new U.S. Naval Community College is working toward its own degrees, but today its students earn them through partner schools.
- Parity: service academy cadets spend four years in uniform and graduate with a bachelor's degree. The EARNED Act extends that recognition to enlisted members.
- The trend: the Chance to Compete Act (Public Law 118-188, 2024) and later federal actions moved federal hiring toward skills. Veterans applying to cities, hospitals and manufacturers are still screened out by degree requirements.
- The path: cities first, starting with Surprise, counting military service in place of a degree for city jobs; then an Arizona bill for state jobs in the session that opens January 2027; then a federal bill in the new Congress and an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2028 National Defense Authorization Act. The goal: every honorable four-year enlistment recognized with an accredited bachelor's degree, signed into federal law.
- Nonpartisan: skills-based hiring has drawn support from both parties. The campaign welcomes support from anyone who wants veterans' service to count.
Images and documents
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About the campaign
The EARNED Act is a nonpartisan volunteer citizen campaign, not affiliated with the Department of Defense, any branch of service, any candidate or any political party. EARNED stands for Education Achieved for Real-World National Service, Excellence and Duty.