Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
February 14, 2008 By Dale Eisman, The Virginian-Pilot
WASHINGTON -- A coalition of 54 veterans and medical groups threw its weight Wednesday behind a revised plan to have the federal government pay the college costs of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sponsors, including Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., promised an all-out effort to get the legislation passed this year.
The proposal for a new G.I. Bill has attracted considerable attention in the past year and has 32 Senate co-sponsors.
But the bill, S22 in the Senate and HR2702 in the House, has been stalled by the Bush administration and the Pentagon, which cite cost concerns and worry that a new educational benefit would encourage sorely needed troops to end their service and enroll in school.
The legislation would pay tuition and fees, plus a monthly stipend of $1,000, for those who have served on active duty for at least two years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Reservists, who Webb said will be added to the legislation in the next few weeks, would qualify for the benefit based on their time on active duty.
Webb estimates that the enhanced benefit would cost about $2 billion per year. A Department of Veterans Affairs official last year put the cost at about $7.5 billion.
Webb said the current G.I. Bill provides an average annual benefit of just over $5,800. In contrast, the average cost of a year in college is about $17,000.
February 14, 2008 By Dale Eisman, The Virginian-Pilot
WASHINGTON -- A coalition of 54 veterans and medical groups threw its weight Wednesday behind a revised plan to have the federal government pay the college costs of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sponsors, including Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., promised an all-out effort to get the legislation passed this year.
The proposal for a new G.I. Bill has attracted considerable attention in the past year and has 32 Senate co-sponsors.
But the bill, S22 in the Senate and HR2702 in the House, has been stalled by the Bush administration and the Pentagon, which cite cost concerns and worry that a new educational benefit would encourage sorely needed troops to end their service and enroll in school.
The legislation would pay tuition and fees, plus a monthly stipend of $1,000, for those who have served on active duty for at least two years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Reservists, who Webb said will be added to the legislation in the next few weeks, would qualify for the benefit based on their time on active duty.
Webb estimates that the enhanced benefit would cost about $2 billion per year. A Department of Veterans Affairs official last year put the cost at about $7.5 billion.
Webb said the current G.I. Bill provides an average annual benefit of just over $5,800. In contrast, the average cost of a year in college is about $17,000.