New Endorsement For GI Bill
June 6th, 2008 (11:08 pm) by CJ-A lot of people think that I’m a “Republican hack” or an “agent of Bush” or whatever because of my views. The fact is that I really can’t be classified. I like to think that I’m a realist, not a Republican or Democrat. I’m not registered under either party (technically, I’m a Libertarian).
I tend to look at things from a Soldier’s perspective. I joined the military to make my country stronger and protect my fellow citizens. So, naturally, I’m going to side with people whom I think are going to meet those goals. About a week ago, I attempted to compare the two G.I. Bills that are competing in Congress. From the limited information I was able to gather, I deduced that the McCain bill was better. While it is in some ways, I’ve been able to compare the two side by side and have changed my mind. Now that I have all the information, I think the Webb bill is actually better, though it has its faults. I’m not afraid to admit that I was wrong. Now, I need to convince you why. Warning: what follows is my inner nerd coming out again as I actually read through each bill and compared them to each other.
My initial reservation about the Webb/Hagel/Lautenberg/Warner bill was that Soldiers would be eligible for payment after just three months of service. After reading through the entire bill, two things stuck out that make sense to me. The first is that a Soldier that served three months would only be entitled to 40% of the educational benefit. Not only that, but my initial concern was that the aggregate time included basic training and skills training. The truth is that the 90 days does not begin until AFTER basic and skills training! This is good news. As the time served goes up, so do the educational benefits. So, 90 days to six months = 40%; six months to twelve months = 50%; 12 months to 18 months = 60%; 18 months to 24 months = 70%; 24 months to 30 months = 80%; 30 months to 36 months = 90%; 36 months or more = 100%. Additionally, the bill allows for 100% tuition for Soldiers wounded in a service-related incident and discharged from the military provided they served 30 days continuously. This means that any Soldier wounded in combat and forced out of the military would be entitled to the full educational benefit. The required $1,200 buy-in ($100 per month for 12 months) to get the benefits would be eliminated under the Webb bill.
Under the McCain bill, the educational benefit is increased from $1,200 per month to $1,500 per month for those serving less than 12 years. For those making the military a career, the benefit would increase to $2,000 by 2011. Soldiers would be required to serve at least three years to be entitled. Those serving only two years of service would be entitled to $950 per month. Under the Webb bill, the amount allowed each month would equal the full cost of tuition and fees at a public school! The $1,200 buy-in would remain. Under the Webb bill, anyone who has served after 9/11 and already bought in to the G.I. Bill would be refunded their money! Nothing of the sort in the McCain bill.
Under the Webb bill, there would be a benefit increase that is linked to the actual cost of education at the in-state level. Under the McCain bill, the benefit increase is linked to the Consumer Price Index as it is now (meaning it isn’t enough). Currently, servicemembers must pay for books and supplies out of their own pockets, but the Webb bill would provide $1,000 per year for books, while the McCain bill would provide for $500.
Currently, military members have ten years after leaving the military to use their GI Bill benefits. Under the Webb bill, servicemembers would have 15 years. The McCain bill maintains the ten year time limit before benefits are lost.
All in all, the Webb bill is much stronger. The only downside I see right now is that there are no provisions for transferring benefits to family members. That is a big point of concern for many Soldiers. The Webb bill provides a little less than $19,000 per year tuition, while the McCain bill provides $14,000. Current rates stand at just under $10,000 so both bills go a long way is raising the actual benefits to match current costs.
It is for these reasons that I wholeheartedly support the Webb/Hagel/Lautenberg/Warner bill currently working its way to the President. I was wrong when I wrote my first post and relied on faulty information I had to find in the media. A couple of days ago, I got an email from Paul Reickhoff of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) that carried a weighty endorsement of Webb’s GI Bill. I sent him back an email asking why IAVA is supporting one bill over another. He sent me this link where the two bills are compared side by side. Feeling like I had already been shafted with faulty information upon which I based my previous post, I found the ACTUAL bills (S.22 for Webb and S.2938 for McCain) in the Library of Congress and read them meticulously to double check the information. I didn’t want to mislead you again!
Now that I have actually read the bills for you, judge for yourself! Call your congressman and ask them to support Webb’s bill. Call the White House and ask the President to sign it into law!! There has been a lot of talk about President Bush vetoing this bill (probably because he got the same incorrect poop I did), but that he may be coming around. With YOUR help, he will come around and sign this new GI Bill into law immediately. You can also sign a petition at GIBill2008.org to the President.
And thank you, Paul, for the link and motivation to actually read these bills. That’s why you’re an Executive Director of a major veteran’s organization and I’m still eating at Taco Bell! I’ll keep my old post up for a few days before deleting it as my penance, but then I’m deleting it lest people run across it accidentally and think I endorse it.
June 8th, 2008 at 9:02 am
That’s what I’m talking about! Welcome to the team.