As we gather to celebrate our Nation’s Independence Day, we should take a moment to reflect on a thought from the author of America’s Independence, Thomas Jefferson:

"The Greeks by their laws, and the Romans by the spirit of their people, took care to put into the hands of their rulers no such engine of oppression as a standing army.  Their system was to make every man a soldier, and oblige him to repair to the standard of his country whenever that was reared.  This made them invincible; and the same remedy will make us so."

Though Jefferson’s vision for universal service did not come to fruition, on this Independence Day, the least we can do is thank those who have insured that our independence will endure.  For only through their sacrifices, do we enjoy the fruits of freedom. 

I’d like to highlight one of the key victories of the 110th Congress—the enactment of the GI Bill for the 21st Century—our latest way of thanking our military troops and their families for their service and honoring their sacrifice.

The original GI bill, enacted in 1944, sparked economic growth and expansion for a generation of Americans.  It paid the full cost of tuition at any public or private college or university and made college education available to more than 15 million veterans after World War II.  By 1956, an estimated 8 million World War II veterans had taken advantage of the GI bill education and training benefits.

The GI Bill for the 21st Century will introduce these same education and training benefits to a new generation of America’s veterans—the veterans of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom, including more than thirteen thousand West Virginians who have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001.

Unfortunately, current benefits pay only about 70 percent of a public college education and 30 percent of a private college education for these veterans when they return home. Furthermore, Reservists and National Guardsmen, who have made an unprecedented commitment with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, are awarded only a fraction of that.

The GI Bill for the 21st Century increases education benefits for all those who have served at least three months on active duty since 9/11.  Under this bill, those who have served for three years or more would qualify for the full educational benefit.  Those who have served between three months and three years of active duty would qualify for a proportion of that full benefit.

Additionally, the new GI Bill allows service members with six years of service, coupled with an additional service agreement of at least four years, to transfer unused educational benefits to their wives and children.

This victory for our veterans was sweetened by President Bush, who withdrew his veto threat and signed this historic piece of legislation into law on June 30, just in time for the Fourth of July. 

After their service and their sacrifice, America’s veterans deserve every opportunity to live happy, successful lives, starting with a college education.  After all, without them, or their brave predecessors, we would have no Independence Day to celebrate.  By giving our returning troops and their families the tools to succeed after military service, the GI Bill for the 21st Century is truly a victory for West Virginia and all of America’s veterans.