Congress Approves GI Bill for the 21st Century

Press Release

CONGRESS APPROVES GI BILL FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Legislation Gives Our Service Men and Women Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan the Same Educational Benefits We Gave Our World War II Veterans

This July 4, Americans will celebrate Independence Day. As many of us take time over the holiday to honor the U.S. service men and women who defend our freedoms as well as our veterans, I am pleased to note that Congress has approved, and the President will soon sign into law, the bipartisan GI Bill for the 21st Century. The measure was authored by my colleague Senator Jim Webb, and I was pleased to be an original cosponsor of the legislation when it was introduced in the House.

This measure will cover the costs of a four-year college education for the men and women returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in a similar manner to the educational benefits available after World War II. The educational benefits afforded in the GI Bill for the 21st Century will give our returning troops the tools to succeed after military service, strengthen our economy in the face of increasing global competition, and make military service more attractive to young men and women considering service. We owe our veterans a future that is equal to the first-class service they have given our country.

The original GI bill sparked economic growth and expansion for an entire generation of Americans. It made a free college education available to more than 15 million war veterans after World War II. The original GI bill paid the full cost of tuition at any public or private college or university, and by 1956, about 8 million World War II veterans had taken advantage of the education and training benefit, including some of our nation's greatest leaders. According to a congressional study, the original GI bill returned $7 to the economy for every $1 spent.

The GI Bill for the 21st Century will make America's veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan part of a new American economic recovery, with its significant investment in higher education and job training. In recent decades, educational benefits for our veterans have not been as expansive as the original GI bill and no longer fully cover the costs of a four-year college education.

Currently, veterans educational benefits are administered under the Montgomery GI Bill, a program designed primarily for peacetime service. Indeed, current educational benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill pay only about 60 percent of a public college education and 30 percent of a private college education. Furthermore, Reservists and National Guardsmen, who have made an unprecedented commitment with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, are eligible for only a fraction of that amount.

The GI Bill for the 21st Century increases education benefits for all those who have served at least three months on active duty since 9/11. Under the measure, those who have served for three years or more would qualify for the full educational benefit-the costs of a four year education up to the level of the most expensive in-state public college. Those who have served between three months and three years of active duty would qualify for a proportion of that benefit.

Also, for those service members with six years of service, coupled with an additional service agreement of at least four years, the new GI bill allows them to transfer unused educational benefits to their wives and children.

Last year, this Congress made the largest increase in veterans' health care funding in American history. The GI Bill for the 21st Century represents an even larger commitment to our nation's veterans, providing a quality education to those to whom we owe so much, and I am pleased that Congress has approved the measure with my strong support.

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