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CoverStory:
Veterans Benefits 
GI
Bill Version 2.0: Washington Reaches Unity On A Big Upgrade in Educational Coverage
By
Roy Asfar,
Special to Veterans Advantage
One of the best-known
Veterans benefits and one that defined the World
War II generation – the
64-year old GI Bill – has been reborn to become bigger and better than ever after a perfect storm
of controversy for the War on Terror Generation,
engulfing the Bush White House, both sides of the
aisle in the Senate and House, the Pentagon and
the 2008 presidential campaign.
Ultimately a compromise was achieved, to the benefit of millions of brave Americans and their families.
In a landmark show of support for those who served, Republicans
in the U.S. Senate late last month joined the majority
of Democrats to pass a bill offering a full-paid
college education for Iraq and Afghan War veterans. Soonafter, the House of Representatives, likewise, passed funding for the new GI Bill, while also allowing for the benefits to be transferred to family members. And now, with President Bush's approval, the stage is set for a new GI Bill that essentially guarantees a full scholarship at any in-state public university, along with a monthly housing stipend, for people who serve in the military for at least three years. It is aimed at replicating the benefits awarded veterans of World War II and more than doubles the value of the benefit — from $40,000 today to $90,000.
The
measure was initiated by Senator Jim
Webb
(D-Va.) who has been championing the cause
for a new and improved GI Bill for months. |
The
measure was initiated by Senator Jim Webb from
Virginia, a Vietnam veteran, who has been championing the cause
for a new and improved GI Bill for months.
“This was a reasonable enlistment incentive for peacetime service, but
it is an insufficient reward for wartime service today. It is hardly enough
to allow a veteran to attend many community colleges,” said
Webb and fellow veteran Republican Chuck Hagel of Nebraska in
a NY Times Op Ed piece late last year about the coverage that lawmakers want to replace with the new GI BIll.
The senators also estimated
the current GI Bill covers only about 13 percent
of the cost of attending Columbia University, 42
percent at the University of Hawaii, 14 percent
at Washington and Lee, 26 percent at U.C.L.A. and
11 percent at Harvard Law School.
The passage delighted Webb, who made it a calling ever since his election into the Senate in 2006,
and has also earned himself Vice Presidential buzz as a Barack Obama running
mate. "It has now been nearly seven years since 9/11 -- seven years since those who have been serving in our military began earning the right for a proper wartime GI Bill."
The Webb measure represents a
$52 billion commitment over 10 years, and the transferability inclusion represents another $10 billion over 10 years.
It represents an historic legislative accomplishment, considering the span of Republican support it generated. The fact that Mr. Webb's
bill was co-sponsored by Republicans such as
Sens. John W. Warner (Va.), the ranking member
on the Armed Services Committee, and Chuck Hagel
(Neb.), a former deputy administrator of the
Veterans Administration, added to its credibility.
It also overrode initial pushback from Republican Presidential candidate John McCain (Sen.- Arizona). As Mr. McCain pointed out, "It would
be easier, much easier, politically for me to have
joined Sen. Webb in offering his legislation." – The
McCain campaign noted in a press release, as he chose to sponsor an alternative to increase GI Bill benefits with length of service. The Pentagon, also sided with McCain, mostly out of concern
that providing such a benefit after only three
years of service would encourage people to leave
the military after only one enlistment even as
the U.S. fights two wars and is trying to increase
the size of the Army and Marine Corps. McCain said
he worries it would reduce the number of noncommissioned
officers.
Meanwhile, The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
of America -- which rallied its members and supporters around a special
Web site to sign a petition
for the bill's passage -- was extremely satisfied by the results.
"IAVA is grateful to Congress and the President for putting partisan differences aside for the sake of our troops. We are arriving at a truly historic moment and we call on Congress and the White House to continue moving the GI Bill forward. We are poised to make history once again and create the next ‘Greatest Generation.' IAVA would like to thank its tens of thousands of supporters nationwide for their tireless efforts in the fight for a new GI Bill," said Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans of America.
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