The 21st Century GI Bill Legislation

Last week I mentioned that Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Patrick Murphy (of Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district) had introduced legislation to expand the G. I. Bill. (See details later in this post.)

Here is the website for current benefits. It looks confusing to me and some are only eligible to people who served for a short time.

Murphy’s bill, HB 2385, is now available in Thomas for you to read; Clinton’s S 1409 should be added shortly. I looked at the House version and did not see anything that contradicted what was sent out in the press release last week. One note, if I read correctly, graduate school is exempt. Those who graduate with a commission from the service academies are ineligible. There is also language to spell out who else is and isn’t eligible and to prevent people from receiving the same benefit under two different programs. I found it acceptable but read for yourself if you have questions. The microloans program for entrepreneurs is very intriguing and I think it would have the potential to spur at least a few real economic powerhouses.

Murphy notes that this program sets up public/private partnerships, with a price tag of 4 or 5 billion.

As full disclosure let me state that two of my siblings bought their first houses with VA loans. Let me also add that one sibling went into the army at 18 as a high school graduate, took time out for college, and retired twenty some years later as an officer with a graduate degree. So it could be said that I would be biased in favor of educational and housing benefits for veterans and active duty service members.

This weekend I talked with one of Mr. J’s sisters. Her middle child served in Bosnia and Iraq. He is currently going to school on the existing veterans’ benefits but having to work two jobs to keep up with tuition and bills. Mr. J’s sister is active in a group that prepares and sends care packages to the troops overseas. She told me (with permission to mention it here) that she started doing this in February, 2003 and never dreamed she would still be doing it in May, 2007. She thought the war would be long over by now.

The least we can do for people we put in harm’s way is give them proper medical care, educational benefits, and loan assistance for housing and business opportunities when they get back. The transition from military to civilian life, even for those who have jobs waiting for them, can be difficult, to say the least. If you doubt this, ask someone who has done it. The social payoff for the first GI Bill was enormous. Edward Hume, in Over Here: How the G.I. Bill Transformed the American Dream, notes:

Educations would be made possible for fourteen future Nobel Prize winners, three Supreme Court justices, three presidents, a dozen senators, two dozen Pulitzer Prize winners, 238,000 teachers, 91,000 scientists, 67,000 doctors, 450,000 engineers, 240,000 accountants, 17,000 journalists, 22,000 dentists ¬ along with a million lawyers, nurses, businessmen, artists, actors, writers, pilots and others. (h/t Dan Fraley, Bucks County Director of Veterans Affairs)

Details on HB 2385

Eligibility: The 21st Century GI Bill of Rights Act of 2007 will guarantee eligibility to all servicemembers -- Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserves -- who have served since September 11, 2001 and deployed overseas in support of a combat operation. Eligibility will also be extended to Active Duty personnel who have served a minimum of two years on Active Duty since September 11, 2001, and National Guard and Reserve personnel who have served a minimum aggregate of two years on Active Duty since September 11, 2001.

The Clinton-Murphy bill will:

Increase Education Opportunities. The act will fund undergraduate education for servicemembers - eight college semesters of tuition, fees, books, room and board, and other educational costs (commensurate with costs paid by non-veterans). The education grant also can be used for specialized trade or technical training, and certification and licensing programs for both veterans and disabled veterans. Participants will not be required to pay into the program to receive grants.

Increase Veterans Housing Opportunities. The act will exempt Veterans from paying loan fees and expand opportunities for veterans to purchase, build, repair or improve a home by increasing access to low interest loans through the Veterans Affairs Home Loan Guaranty Loan Program for homes valued up to $625,000. The current program requires loan fees and is capped at the conforming loan rate of $417,000.

Increase Veterans Entrepreneurial Opportunities. The Clinton-Murphy bill would establish a Veterans Microloan Program, administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Small Business Administration. The program would provide Veterans microloans for entrepreneurial ventures up to $100,000 with interest rates capped at 2.5 percent and without requiring collateral. The program would also direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide Veterans counseling, technical assistance, and community outreach assistance.

Endorsements: The 21st Century GI Bill of Rights Act is endorsed by veterans service organizations, including: The Reserve Officers Association, The Veterans of Foreign Wars, AmVets, Military Officers Association of America, and the Non-Commissioned Officers Association. The act is also endorsed by family and wounded servicemembers organizations, including: The National Military Families Association, Wounded Warrior Project, and Salute America 's Heroes of Ossining, New York. The bill is supported by education organizations, including: American Association of State Colleges and Universities; State University of New York College at Cortland, Cortland, New York; Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York; Adelphi University, Garden City, New York; Canisius College, Buffalo, New York; Mercy College of New York, Dobbs Ferry, New York; and National Center for Women & Information Technology. The bill is also endorsed by housing leader the National Association of Realtors and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, a leading national advocate for microloan programs.

It should be noted that Sen. Jim Webb introduced a bill that concerns solely educational benefits in Feb.; it was cosponsored by 13 other senators, including Sen. Clinton and Pennsylvania’s Sen. Casey. If you search Thomas for gi bill you will find about 14 other bills introduced that expand or amend the gi bill in some way. They seem to all concern educational benefits and most some very specific part of it. All appear to be languishing in committee somewhere. This is the only one I see that also touches on housing and business assistance. Almost all of them have a pitiful number of cosponsors. Come on, here, folks, let’s pull together and get something done on this.