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Sent in by Veterans News and Information Services
Nadia Caprice Garnett
VFW Action Corps
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 15, 1999 -- A bill, introduced today in Congress expanding educational benefits of the current GI Bill, won high praise from the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
VFW Commander-in-Chief Thomas A. Pouliot of Helena, Mont., praised Illinois Rep. Lane Evans, the Ranking Democratic on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and Michigan Rep. John Dingell for jointly sponsoring the Montgomery GI Bill Expansion Act of 1999 (H.R. 1071).
Representatives Bob Filner of Calif. and Corrine Brown from Florida also supported the measure.
Pouliot said the VFW has called for a new GI Bill that will provide new opportunities for men and women in the armed forces with the same advantages as World War II veterans.
"It is imperative that we, as a nation, invest in our military system and those who serve in it by ensuring that every serviceman and woman will have the opportunity to pursue a college education and have a secure and productive future," Pouliot noted.
Similar to the VFW's GI Bill of the 21st Century, this new GI Bill legislation would provide benefits for two tiers of service members: those who enlist or reenlist for a minimum of four years and those who enlist for less than four years. In addition, the bill would increase the stipend level under tier one and increase the basic benefit under tier two to reflect the increase in the cost of education since the Montgomery GI Bill's enactment.
For servicemembers who enlist or reenlist for a minimum of 4 years, the bill would include: Pay the full costs of tuition, fees, books and supplies Provide a subsistence allowance of $800/month for 36 months Eliminate the $1,200 basic pay reduction
For servicemembers who enlist for less than four years receive: Increase existing GI Bill to $900/month Eliminate the $1,200 basic pay reduction Trainees would be eligible for lump-sum benefits
The Montgomery GI Bill Expansion Act will cost nearly $881 million for Fiscal Year 2000. Pouliot stressed that this kind of cost is an investment in America. "As a result of the WWII GI Bill, America's middle class expanded with an influx of doctors, engineers and businessmen. The GI Bill paved the way for unparalleled economic growth and reaffirmed the importance of service in our nation's armed forces.
"The GI Bill changed the future of America in the 20th Century," Pouliot said. "Now we are looking today at the men and women in our armed forces to transform America in the 21st Century. To give them the opportunity to do this, we will go to Congress and emphasize the need for a new and revitalized GI Bill and urge the enactment into law of HR 1071.
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