Protection of reservists, called up, Vets Educ. benes

[David]

fnaWife2AFVV

Registered to :Sep 26, 2001
Messages :198
From :
Posted 15-11-2001 at 01:54
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This dropped in email today from the Vets Benefits feds:
Quote:
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House Approves Smith-Evans Legislation To Protect VA Educational Benefits for Military Reservists Called To Active Duty

(Washington, DC) -- Men and women called to active military duty in the war
on terrorism will not lose education benefits they accrued from prior military service under legislation approved by the House of Representatives today. The bill, H.R. 3240, the Reservists Education Protection Act, was sponsored by Chairman Chris Smith (NJ-4) and Ranking Democratic Member Rep. Lane Evans (IL-17), of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

"As many as 10,000 of the 50,000 reservists and guard members called up to
active duty may have had their education interrupted by their service to our nation," said Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-4), Chairman of the Committee. "These brave men and women should not lose any of the educational benefits previously earned because they answered the call to duty," Smith said.

"Our national security relies upon a military structure with a significant component of reservists and guard members," said Rep. Lane Evans (IL-17), Ranking Democratic Member of the Committee. "When we ask these men and women to interrupt their lives to come to our nation's defense, we have an obligation to ensure they suffer no negative consequences," Evans said.

The Smith-Evans legislation, H.R. 3240, the Reservists Education Protection Act, would allow servicemen and women to regain any monthly educational payments lost due to their call ups by extending the number of months of entitlement commensurately. In addition, the legislation would add the time of their mobilized tour of duty, plus four months, to the ten years normally provided under the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) program to use the educational benefits. Congress provided similar relief to servicemembers affected during the Persian Gulf War.

"The Reservists Education Protection Act will make whole those servicemembers who were in the middle of their education by extending their period of eligibility to receive MGIB benefits," Smith said. "This is not only basic fairness, it is also good national security policy and good
economic policy," he added.

"Since World War II, millions of veterans have benefited from the GI Bill, helping to build a modern American society the whole world envies," Smith said. "The GI Bill is one of the most spectacularly successful government programs ever devised, helping to create today's modern middle class, in addition to serving as the top recruiting tool for our all-volunteer armed
forces," he said.

Smith noted that legislation he authored (H.R. 1291) to increase MGIB benefits by 70% over current levels was approved earlier this year in the House and is awaiting final Senate action. "We need to strengthen the GI Bill by providing benefits that more realistically reflect the current costs of higher education," said Smith. "And we need to ensure that the men and women who put their lives at risk to defend our freedom can return from
their tours of duty and pursue their educational goals with the full benefits they have already earned," he said.
_________________________________Pllease visit http://veterans.house.gov, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs web site, named 'One of the Best Web Sites in Congress' by the Congressional Management Foundation, May 3, 1999.

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Sp4LittleJohn

Registered to :Aug 22, 2001
Messages :148
From :Fayetteville, Ga.
Posted 15-11-2001 at 07:42
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This is a step in the right direction, M, but are the colleges going to disregard losses to GPA due to veterans dropping out of a class mid-term? Is the VA going to disregard time spent in current incompleted simesters? Will incompleted class lab fees and book cost be reimbursed? Although this is the right thing to do in congress, there are still several concerns that need to be, and should be addressed.
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