GI Bill bombs with new vets
by Patrice Poltzer
Apr 24, 2008
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GI Bill History WASHINGTON -- If you serve time in the military, then your education is paid for right? Well, sort of.
"I feel like I'm telling them there's no tooth fairy," said Patrick
Campbell, who served as a medic in the Iraq war and now lobbies on
behalf of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. "The GI Bill doesn't pay for a fraction of what my school is."
Campbell is part of a larger movement to get Congress to pass a new GI
Bill that would fully fund a veteran's higher education. Currently, the GI Bill only pays a maximum of $39,000 which doesn't cover the average costs of a four-year public school in the U.S., according to the College Board.
Campbell said only a small percentage of veterans get the maximum
amount. Veterans must also pay into the system first, as much as
$1,800 , before receiving any money. This rule alone makes it
difficult for some veterans to even access their GI money.
"Of the 17 guys that I served with, only two went back to school,"
said Campbell. "And the reason is because of the GI Bill."
Campbell said the guys he knew had to take a second job just to make
ends meet and pay for their school.
In the past the government sent full tuition payments directly to the college. Now
vets are allocated a monthly check, which amounts to far less
than the cost of tuition, forcing many veterans to take out loans or second jobs.
"I will graduate with the average $19,000 or $20,000 worth of debt,"
said Alex Cornell du Houx, who served in Iraq for the U.S Marine
Reserves. And he considers himself one of the luckier ones.
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., introduced a new 21st Century GI Bill that would change the structure of the benefits to resemble the original 1944 version. That GI Bill is credited with fostering growth of the middle class and creating a legacy of future leaders including three presidents and 14 Nobel Prize winners. Webb and co-sponsor Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. are pushing hard to get this bill
passed before the end of the year.
"These men and women didn't ask to go to war, said Hagel. "They are
doing what their country is asking them to do."
Hagel said the current GI Bill is not sufficient. A Vietnam vet himself, Hagel used the GI Bill to get his education funded and feels today's new generation of veterans should have the same opportunities.
"Why should we penalize these young men and women for spending years
of service to their country," Hagel said. "We didn't do that to the
Korean vets or the World War II vets."
Currently the bill has strong bipartisan support and Hagel is
confident that the bill can be passed this year.
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There is a great news video at the web site please go watch it thank you
Thursday, April 24, 2008
GI Bill bombs with new vets
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2 comments:
I need teeth, I served in Nam, I am broke, please help me fix what little teeth i have left, I was dis -charged with an honorable dis- charge
You need to see if you can get help thru the VA dental clinic, but unless you are service connected for medical problems from your service the VA usually does not help with dental work. I suggest you do like I did, go the the nearest college near you that has a medical school and dentistry school, they usually will do low cost or pro bono work on people for the experience for the students who work under the guidance of a licensed dentist who will either do the work themselves or talk the dentist in training thru it. That is how I got all of my extensive dental problems solved before I became service connected. Good luck there is nothing worse than a mouth full of teeth that are causing pain.
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