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BUSH SIGNS NEW G.I. BILL INTO LAW
AMVETS applauds Congress and the Bush Administration for landmark veterans' education benefits
WASHINGTON, June 30, 2008—On Monday morning, President Bush signed the new G.I. Bill Into law as an integral part of the war supplemental request, which overwhelmingly passed Congress last week. AMVETS was on Capitol Hill on Thursday to voice support for the new G.I. Bill prior to the Senate vote.
“Today’s veterans deserve the same access to a quality education that my generation and those who came before me were entitled to,” said AMVETS National Commander and Vietnam veteran John P. “JP” Brown III. “This new G.I. Bill is an earned benefit for wartime service, an investment in the future for our veterans and in our nation.”
Set to take effect on August 1, 2009, the new G.I. Bill will drastically expand veterans’ education benefits by providing full tuition to state schools and a living stipend for eligible veterans. Introduced by Democratic Sen. Jim Webb and Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act seeks to restore the G.I. Bill to its post-WWII intent, reflecting the modern-day costs of a college education.
AMVETS and a broad coalition of veterans’ service organizations have been working feverishly to convince lawmakers to approve the new G.I. Bill through testimony on Capitol Hill, rallies, letters, and media coverage.
"We began 18 months ago with the notion that those who have been serving since 9/11 will have the same opportunity for a first class educational future as those who served in WWII," said Webb during a press conference on Capitol Hill. "This is not simply an extension of veterans benefits. This is a new program, a deserved program. This is the first war time G.I. Bill since Vietnam. It is well deserved."
Passage of the new G.I. Bill along with the war supplemental also ensures that the military will have the proper resources to continue the war-fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In recent months, the Pentagon was concerned over inadequate funding, and officials were prepared to eliminate non-essential programs if the supplemental could not be passed by the end of June.
Before the bill passed in the House, the Bush Administration reached a compromise with Congressional Democrats, allowing for the war supplemental to pass with monumental changes to veterans’ education benefits, while ensuring the sustainability of our forward deployed forces.
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