On April 16, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued an order that favored veterans seeking entitlement to GI benefits, such as education benefits that would help prepare them for careers in the energy industry. Justice Jackson authored the opinion of the Court, with Justices Kavanaugh and Barrett concurring, and only Justices Thomas and Alito in dissent.
Recall that in August 2024, APGA joined other energy trade associations in submitting an amici curiae (“friends of the court”) brief to SCOTUS, explaining that properly trained veterans are critical to the energy industry.
The brief opposed a lower court’s decision, which would have deprived veterans of certain education benefits that could be used to prepare them for careers in the energy sector after leaving military service. Without these benefits, not only would veterans be denied a valuable benefit promised to them, but the energy industry and U.S. economy more broadly could be harmed due to lack of skilled workforce. The Edison Electric Institute, Center for Energy Workforce Development, Veterans in Energy, Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia, and Nuclear Energy Institute also joined the brief.
APGA felt it was important to join this case, as one challenge all public gas systems face is the recruitment of skilled individuals into technical roles at their system. In fact, APGA is a member of one of the brief’s co-signatories – the Center for Energy Workforce Development – and offers a number of workforce development resources for our members.
A copy of the opinion is available here.
For questions on this article, please contact Renée Lani of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-0836 or by email at rlani@apga.org.