No Soldier Left Behind?

When Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) took office in 2007, the first thing he did was introduce and help pass the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The new bill will nearly double the amount of money veterans can receive for higher education and start keeping pace with the rising tuition costs that the current, but dated, GI Bill struggles to keep up with. Unfortunately, the bill will not go into effect until August 2009--eight years after 9/11 and when many Iraq and Afghanistan veterans will already be out of school or have already accumulated a large amount of debt.

About 410,000 veterans of the two wars are using or have used the current GI Bill that provides around $15,000 in funding per school year. The new bill will nearly double that amount and provide stipends for living expenses and books. Some veterans have opted to go to community college and wait while the bill gets through bureaucratic red tape, while others decided they couldn't wait and went ahead and enrolled in more expensive four-year colleges.

"At least they're doing something proactive for veterans. It's really inconvenient for me and many others who feel not let down, but more like, 'What about me?' " said Iraq veteran Tim Kaufmann, who studies Arabic at George Washington University and is $30,000 in debt. "It sounds selfish, but if it was a year earlier, it would have made my life a lot easier." (The Washington Post)

Comments

[Adrienne RU]

Many people consider education a right...not a privilege; however, at what cost does this "right" exist? The Post-9/11 GI Bill would grant veterans an increase in the amount of money for tuition, living expenses and books. My father, a Vietnam veteran, was able to take advantage of the GI Bill put into place by President Franklin Roosevelt. This "magic carpet to the middle class" provides veterans with a chance to pick up their lives after serving their country. Is there anything nobler and life altering than serving your country?
My father was able to work while attaining his Masters degree and provide for his family. Shouldn’t all veterans be given this opportunity? Unfortunately, a great deal of lip service is paid to our veterans in the form of promises and hope. As a matter of fact, the Post-9/11 GI Bill won’t even take effect until August 1, 2009—eight years after the tragedy. It is a travesty that these benefits will not be set as retroactive, especially in a time when tuition costs are on the rise. The Post-9/11 GI Bill is set to double the amount of money veterans would receive in a school year—what a difference that would make to a soldier’s life. It’s time to put these men and women first, think of the positive change this could have in their lives, and push to make this new benefit a reality for these brave souls.