POST-9/11 G.I. BILL

H.R. 2702
The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007
Introduced by Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott on June 13, 2007 

            Not since the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 has a single event given a generation a call to arms to defend this nation until the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  Since World War II, our government has offered educational assistance to our veterans when they returned home.  The first G.I. bill in 1944 helped veterans readjust to civilian life and afforded them the opportunity to do something that many had missed out on – getting a college education.  The post-World War II G.I. bill paid for veterans’ tuition, books, fees and other training costs, and provided them a monthly stipend.  Out of the 15 million veterans who returned home from World War II, more than half used the G.I. bill’s benefits to better themselves through education.

            Since then, Congress passed several other G.I. bills to grant educational benefits to veterans returning from the Korean War and the Vietnam War.  After the Vietnam War, Congress passed two G.I. bills that established peacetime educational benefits for members of the Armed Services – most recently the Montgomery G.I. Bill of 1985.  Although the Montgomery G.I. Bill provides educational benefits, it was not designed to meet the needs of our current situation in which several hundred thousand men and women in uniform are fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Our military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have strained our entire all-volunteer military, forcing many of our Reservist and National Guard units into extended tours of duty.  Many of our men and women in the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps have served more than one tour of duty in Iraq.

            The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007 is a bill designed to expand the educational benefits that our nation offers to our brave men and women who have served us so honorably since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  This bill is designed to give this generation, who took it upon themselves to enlist after 9/11, benefits very similar to those provided to the veterans of World War II.

Major Provisions of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007

• This bill will increase educational benefits to members of the military who have served on active duty since September 11, 2001.  To qualify, veterans must have served as least two years of active duty, with at least some period of active duty time served beginning on or after September 11, 2001.  This includes members of the Reserve and National Guard who have served an aggregate of two years of active duty service on or after September 11, 2001.

• Like previous G.I. Bills, veterans will received educational assistance for up to a total of 36 months, which equals four academic years.

• The bill will provide veterans pursuing an approved program of education with benefits to cover their tuition, books, fees, and a monthly stipend of $1,000.  The bill will also allow payments for tutorial assistance as well as licensure and certification tests.

• The House version of the bill will limit benefit payments to the cost of in-State tuition at the most expensive public institution in the State in which the veteran is enrolled.  If the veteran were to decide to attend a private institution, the veteran would have to pay the difference between the cost of the private institution and the in-State tuition of the most expensive public institution of the State in which the veteran is enrolled.

• Veterans will have up to fifteen years to exercise their educational assistance benefits.  Veterans will be barred from receiving concurrent assistance from this program and another similar program such as the Montgomery G.I. Bill program.
   

Rep. Scott's Statement before the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity12kb

Rep. Scott's Floor Remarks on the Introduction of H.R. 2702 in the House

Rep. Scott's Press Release on the Introduction of H.R. 2702 in the House

PDF Version of H.R. 2702 118kb

PDF Version of the bill's background 4kb