Inhofe: Legislation Allows Transfer of G.I. Benefits to Military Spouses and Children

Press Release

INHOFE: LEGISLATION ALLOWS TRANSFER OF G.I. BENEFITS TO MILITARY SPOUSES AND CHILDREN

U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) announced that he is a co-sponsor of the Montgomery G.I. Bill Educational Assistance Transferability Act of 2008 (S.2575), legislation filed today by Sen. Hutchinson (R-TX) expanding the eligibility of military members to transfer earned G.I. Bill educational assistance funds to their spouses and children.

"Military spouses and children share in the significant sacrifice and commitment of our troops," Senator Inhofe said. "This legislation will remove current legal restrictions that prevent military members from transferring their earned educational funds to immediate family members, allowing our troops to take full advantage of this educational assistance program. We have asked much of these families, and our country owes them a debt of gratitude and support."

Current legal restrictions only allow G.I. Bill benefits to be transferred if a service member has a ‘critical skill,' and even then only 18 of the 36 possible months of earned benefits can be transferred. The designation of ‘critical skill' varies by service and is subject to change, often preventing service members from being able to fully use their educational benefits.

Additional co-sponsors include: Sens. Johnson (D-SD), Cornyn (R-TX), Mikulski (D-MD), Domenici (R-NM), Coleman (R-MN), Sununu (R-NH), Bayh (D-IN), Lincoln (D-AR) and Roberts (R-KS).

For more information, please visit http://www.gibill.va.gov/.

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