KERR: A look at Jim Webb’s ‘new’ GI bill

BY DAVID S. KERR
FOR THE STAFFORD COUNTY SUN
Published: May 14, 2008

Even as our nation was mobilizing to fight World War II, we were thinking about the future of our veterans when the fighting would end, generating an unusual and forward-looking discussion. The first proposal, drafted in the early years of the war, was called the “GI Bill of Rights.” It set out the basic principles of how America would treat those who had served in war. This was followed by the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act that passed in 1944, then further additional benefits would come in the months and years to follow.

No country had ever given so much thought to the postwar future of its warriors. However, both Congress and the Administration, even in the early days of the war, had expressed a strong desire to avoid the dislocation and unemployment that had occurred when veterans returned after the first World War. They didn’t want to make the same mistake twice. What came to be known as the GI Bill was perhaps one of the most successful pieces of legislation in America’s history.

The most significant benefit of the GI Bill was that it allowed our veterans, most of them children of the Great Depression, the opportunity to get an education. This would change the face America. It raised what economists call the value of our nation’s “human capital.” That growth in the expertise of our workforce helped fuel the nearly continuous postwar economic growth that our nation still enjoys. The GI Bill provided tuition, for whatever course of instruction the veteran chose, books and lab fees. Millions of men and women got degrees and learned trades thanks to the GI Bill. 

However, those days are gone. In 1984 the GI benefits were changed, and in the early part of the 21st century, the benefits don’t come anywhere near keeping up with the cost of most forms of continuing or higher education. Unlike their grandfather’s GI Bill, most who had served, in addition to having had to make a payroll deduction to their educational fund while in service, now face the likelihood that the educational benefits, on average, only cover 60 or 70 percent of the cost of tuition. That also doesn’t include lab fees or books. 

What this means is that veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are far less likely to use their available GI education benefits. They simply can’t make up the difference between the cost of an education and what the current law covers. As a result, men and women who have served their country in wartime, many after having completed several tours of duty, don’t receive the same educational benefits given to earlier generations of returning veterans.

During the six years since active combat operations began in Afghanistan and then Iraq, it seemed that no one in Congress, and certainly not in the Administration, seemed to care. This is shocking, but it shows how little attention we were paying to those we have asked to fight this war. But that’s starting to change. Virginia’s freshman Sen. Jim Webb, himself a Vietnam War veteran, along with two original co-sponsors, John Warner and Frank Lautenberg, both amongst the Senate’s few remaining World War II vets, has introduced a new post-9/11 Veterans Assistance Act.

It’s the kind of bill that helped my father, a World War II vet, and millions like him get an education. The bill increases educational benefits to keep pace with the costs of a modern education. It’s as simple as that. The only requirement is that you serve three years in uniform. It is retroactive to September 11, and veterans can use these benefits for up to 15 years after they leave service.

The bill, long overdue, is picking up steam. Congress seems to like it; 57 Senators have signed on. A bill on the Hill is rarely that popular and in the House, even the Speaker, usually quiet on a bill until it gets closer to the floor, says she’s for it.  However, surprisingly, one opponent of the proposal is Senator John McCain. He says it’s too expensive. Given McCain’s own heroic wartime service, this is hard to understand. He’s right, it isn’t cheap. It will cost several billion over 10 years. However, the general consensus is that the war costs about $2 billion a week. Given that math, a little extra investment to help the brave young men and women doing the fighting, seems like a very worthwhile investment.

David S. Kerr is an Aquia resident and a former member of the Stafford County School Board. Contact him at .