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AMVETS RALLIES SUPPORT FOR SEN. WEBB’S NEW G.I. BILL
Rally on Capitol Hill draws student veterans from around the country
WASHINGTON, April 30, 2008—Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia was joined by a bipartisan group of Congressmen and Senators, as well as a coalition of 25 veterans’ service organizations, including AMVETS and Student Veterans of America, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, April 29, to voice support for the Post 9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act. The rally for new G.I. Bill legislation, introduced by Webb, drew hundreds of student-veterans from campuses across the United States.
Webb’s bill, S.22, currently has the support of more than half of the Senate, and its companion bill before the House (H.R. 5740) has already passed subcommittee. The new bill would completely overhaul the current Montgomery G.I. Bill and restore veterans’ education benefits to reflect the actual costs of higher education, similar to the original legislation passed after WWII.
“Before we can expect our veterans to succeed, we must provide them with a G.I. Bill that will give them the financial freedom to attend college,” said AMVETS National Commander John P. “JP” Brown III during recent Congressional testimony. “[Webb’s bill] fulfills the promise of great educational benefits that we made to our enlistees. We should not look at this bill as a cost we must absorb; we must look at what the cost will be if we do not educate the women and men who have so bravely protected our rights and freedoms.”
The new G.I. Bill would cover the cost of in-state tuition for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan and offer a stipend for living expenses worth up to $500 per month. The bill would be retroactive for any veteran who served in the War on Terror after 9/11.
"We need to move expeditiously to get this vital piece of legislation passed this year for our returning Iraq and Afghanistan service members," said Webb in a prepared statement. "After six and a half years of service, our nation's men and women in uniform deserve a G.I. Bill that rewards their service and invests in their future. The educational benefits in this bill are crucial to a service member's readjustment to civilian life and as a cost of war that should receive the same priority that funding the war has received the last five years."
The Pentagon is skeptical that the bill’s provisions would encourage service members to leave the military prematurely. AMVETS views the G.I. Bill as an earned benefit from military service, not a tool for retention.
Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, voiced his support for the bill during the rally along with Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.). Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also voiced her support with Reps. Harry Mitchell (D-Ariz.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), and Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.).
Student-veterans from around the country also had the opportunity to discuss their experiences under the current G.I. Bill and actor Bob Balaban voiced his support for increased veterans’ education benefits as a concerned citizen.
For more information on S.22 visit: webb.senate.gov
For more information on H.R. 5740 visit: mitchell.house.gov
To learn about the Campaign for a New G.I. Bill visit: www.newgibill.org
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