Post 9/11 Veterans
After World War II, attending college gave veterans time to readjust to civilian life, and prepared them for careers.
For every dollar spent on the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, seven went back into the economy in the form of increased productivity, consumer spending, and tax revenue.
According to General Wesley Clark, Robert Lopez served 8 years in our military, fighting in Iraq as a tank commander. He was told he’d get his whole education bill paid for when he got out of the service, but like so many others, Lopez has faced the bleak reality of a government that has turned its back on veterans.
Today’s GI Bill covers only part of the costs of college, because tuition costs have increased faster than inflation, and many veterans must take out student loans or forgo education altogether.
The Senate version of the bill, called the “Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act,” was introduced in the Senate by a bipartisan coalition of senators, including Jim Webb (D-Va.), Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and John Warner (R-Va.), all of whom are veterans and GI Bill beneficiaries. It would bring back the WWII-style standards of providing vets with full tuition, room and board.
Presently, 51 senators have signed on, including 9 Republicans, which has given this GI Bill bipartisan support. However, faced with filibusters, the only way to ensure Senate passage of the GI Bill is to get 60 cosponsors. John McCain insists that he supports our troops, but continues to withhold his support of the bill. McCain needs to sign on and signal other Republican leaders that we should be strongly behind our vets.
Our government owes our troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan the opportunity to receive full educational benefits. Paying for college is one of the best ways to show our gratitude as a nation.
Perhaps, McCain anticipates that if our troops were given the option of going to college, they would decide not to reenlist. In fact, the Korean War GI bill was the reason I didn’t reenlist in the Marine Corps and instead decided to be the first in my family to attend college.
For every dollar spent on the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, seven went back into the economy in the form of increased productivity, consumer spending, and tax revenue.
According to General Wesley Clark, Robert Lopez served 8 years in our military, fighting in Iraq as a tank commander. He was told he’d get his whole education bill paid for when he got out of the service, but like so many others, Lopez has faced the bleak reality of a government that has turned its back on veterans.
Today’s GI Bill covers only part of the costs of college, because tuition costs have increased faster than inflation, and many veterans must take out student loans or forgo education altogether.
The Senate version of the bill, called the “Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act,” was introduced in the Senate by a bipartisan coalition of senators, including Jim Webb (D-Va.), Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and John Warner (R-Va.), all of whom are veterans and GI Bill beneficiaries. It would bring back the WWII-style standards of providing vets with full tuition, room and board.
Presently, 51 senators have signed on, including 9 Republicans, which has given this GI Bill bipartisan support. However, faced with filibusters, the only way to ensure Senate passage of the GI Bill is to get 60 cosponsors. John McCain insists that he supports our troops, but continues to withhold his support of the bill. McCain needs to sign on and signal other Republican leaders that we should be strongly behind our vets.
Our government owes our troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan the opportunity to receive full educational benefits. Paying for college is one of the best ways to show our gratitude as a nation.
Perhaps, McCain anticipates that if our troops were given the option of going to college, they would decide not to reenlist. In fact, the Korean War GI bill was the reason I didn’t reenlist in the Marine Corps and instead decided to be the first in my family to attend college.
posted by Jim O'Leary | 12:09 AM
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