IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN WAR VETERANS, MEMBERS OF CONGRESS RALLY FOR 21st CENTURY GI BILL

IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN WAR VETERANS, MEMBERS OF CONGRESS RALLY FOR 21st CENTURY GI BILL

Apr 26, 2008 (Congressional Documents and Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX) -- -- April 25, 2008

Contact: Charlie Keller (202) 226-3017

IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN WAR VETERANS,

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

RALLY FOR 21st CENTURY GI BILL


**Press Event: Tuesday, April 29 at 12pm, U.S. Capitol, West Front**

Call for Immediate Legislative Action on

The "Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act" (S.22/ H.R. 5740)

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - U.S. Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (FL-05) will join more than one hundred veterans of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan from across the country on Capitol Hill Tuesday to advocate for a "21st Century GI Bill" for our newest generation of veterans.

Rep. Brown-Waite is the lead Republican co-sponsor of the "Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act" (S.22/ H.R. 5740), introduced by Sens. Jim Webb (D-VA), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and John Warner (R-VA) in the Senate and by Reps. Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) and Peter King (R-NY) in the House. The legislation boasts strong bi-partisan and bi-cameral support with 57 cosponsors in the Senate, 234 cosponsors in the House and the endorsements of the nation's leading veterans' organizations.

S.22/ H.R. 5740 is designed to offer the brave men and women who have served honorably since September 11, 2001 a level of educational benefits on par with those provided to veterans of the World War II era. The legislation 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 as we work to rebuild our military.

Who: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), lead Senate cosponsor

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), lead Senate cosponsor

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), lead Senate cosponsor

Sen. John Warner (R-VA), lead Senate cosponsor

Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman

Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), lead House cosponsor

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), lead House cosponsor

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), lead House cosponsor

Rep. Peter King (R-NY), lead House cosponsor

Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), House Veterans Affairs' Committee Chairman (Tentative)

Student veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war

Matthew Boulay, Director of Campaign for a New GI Bill

Dr. Clifford Stanley, retired USMC Major General & CEO, Scholarship America

Pete McCloskey, former U.S. Rep. and Korean War veteran

Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Derek Blumke, president, Student Veterans of America

Bob Balaban, Master of Ceremonies, actor & director

When: Tuesday, April 29, 2008, 12:00PM

Where: U.S. Capitol, West Front

(In front of the fountain, facing the Washington Monument)

Rain Location: Rayburn Room, H-207 U.S. Capitol Building

For more information about the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, please visit: http://webb.senate.gov/pdf/factsheetgis222008.pdf

Please RSVP to Webb's press office at: press@webb.senate.gov or 202-228-5258.

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