Background
After retiring from the Air Force, Charles Glen Loomis sought a pilot certification required for a sensor-operator position. He applied for Department of Veterans Affairs educational assistance to pay for a course at MidCoast Aviation Services, an FAA-authorized provisional pilot school.
The VA denied the application because MidCoast was not an institution of higher learning and Loomis was not taking the course for credit toward a college degree. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals and a divided Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims affirmed. Loomis argued that 38 U.S.C. § 3672(b)(2)(A)(ii), which deems certain FAA-approved courses approved, created an exception to § 3680A(b)’s college-related requirements.
The Court’s Holding
The Federal Circuit affirmed. It held that § 3672(b)(2)(A)(ii) addresses course approval but does not independently authorize benefits. Because that provision is expressly “subject to” § 3680A, an FAA-approved course at a certified pilot school must still satisfy § 3680A(b), which generally requires flight training to be given by an institution of higher learning for credit toward a standard college degree the veteran is seeking.
The court concluded that § 3672 does not “specifically provide” an exception to the institution-of-higher-learning requirement. It contrasted § 3672 with § 3034(d), which expressly permits certain noncollege flight training for veterans who already hold private pilot certificates. Because Loomis’s course did not satisfy § 3680A(b), he was statutorily ineligible for benefits.
The court also declined to decide Loomis’s challenges to related VA regulations. Even if the regulations were invalid, any defect caused him no injury because the statutes themselves barred his claim, so he was entitled to no relief.
Key Takeaways
- FAA approval and a valid pilot-school certificate establish course approval under § 3672, but do not by themselves establish eligibility for veterans’ educational benefits.
- Unless a specific statutory exception applies, covered flight training must be given by an institution of higher learning and count toward the veteran’s standard college degree.
- A claimant statutorily ineligible for benefits cannot obtain relief by challenging regulations that did not cause the denial.
Why It Matters
The decision distinguishes approval of an educational course from approval of a veteran’s enrollment using federal benefits. Veterans seeking assistance for flight training must satisfy both the FAA-related approval provision and the separate statutory restrictions governing flight-training enrollment.
The ruling also illustrates that language making one statute “subject to” another generally preserves the latter statute’s additional restrictions rather than creating an implied exception.