Veterans

To defend our nation's freedom, our Commonwealth’s sons and daughters have placed themselves in harm’s way – on the beaches, in the jungles and the deserts.  Many didn’t return. 

But to those veterans who did, we made a promise , a sacred covenant between nation and soldier, as old as the Republic itself.  We recapitulate that vow through national holidays and monuments in their honor – and through lifetime health care and education benefits. 

Too often, however,  the refrain in Washington is “we remember you in wartime, but forget you in peace”. 

It is one of my top priorities in Congress to fulfill the promise of quality health care for all veterans -- and  full receipt of military retirement and disability benefits.

Many veterans and their families have taken the time to share with me their deeply personal stories regarding the VA system.  

POST 9/11 GI Bill

We have a responsibility to those who serve our country in the Armed Forces to provide the very best care and services in a timely manner once they return home. This is why, last year, I joined with my colleagues in the Congress to pass the new Post-9/11 G.I. Bill which provides Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with a full, four-year college education.

Because the Post-9/11 GI Bill is the most comprehensive education benefit package since the original GI Bill was signed into law in 1944, I wanted to make the basic details available to my constituents.

Basic Eligibility

Only active duty service performed after September 10, 2001, may be considered for determining eligibility for this new benefit. To be eligible, a service member or veteran must have served at least 90 aggregate days on active duty. However, individuals honorably discharged for a service-connected disability who served 30 continuous days after September 10, 2001, may also establish eligibility. For more information on eligibility, please click here.

Basic Benefits:

Based on your length of active duty service, you are entitled to a percentage of the following:

• Cost of tuition and fees, not to exceed the most expensive in-state undergraduate tuition at a public institution of higher education (paid to school)
• Monthly housing allowance equal to the basic allowance for housing payable to military E-5 with dependents, in the same zip code as your school (paid to you)
• Yearly books and supplies stipend of up to $1000 per year (paid to you)
• A one-time payment of $500 paid to certain individuals relocating from highly rural areas
• Possible tutorial assistance or up to $2,000 for the reimbursement of one licensing or certification test

Transferring Entitlement:

If you are a member of the Armed Forces on August 1, 2009, the Department of Defense (DoD) may offer you the opportunity to transfer benefits to your spouse or dependent children. DoD and the military services will issue policy on entitlement to transferability in the coming months. Visit www.GIBILL.va.gov for up-to-date information on this and other education benefits

If, after August 1, 2009, you are eligible for one of these programs and you qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you may make an irrevocable election to receive benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Those individuals transferring from the Montgomery GI Bill (chapter 30) will have a proportional amount of their basic $1,200 contribution refunded in the last monthly housing allowance payment when entitlement exhausts.

The Yellow Ribbon Program:

The Yellow Ribbon Program provision of the Post-9/11 GI Bill allows institutions to enter into an agreement with VA to fund tuition costs above the highest in-state undergraduate tuition rate. VA will match each additional dollar that an institution of higher learning (IHL) contributes toward an eligible student’s tuition costs, up to 50 percent of the difference between the tuition and fees covered by the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the total cost of tuition and fees. For more information on this program, click here.

The Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship:

Public Law 111-32, the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship, amends the Post-9/11 GI Bill (chapter 33) to include the children of service members who die in the line of duty after Sept. 10, 2001. The benefit is effective August 1, 2009; the same day the Post-9/11 GI Bill takes effect. Eligible children attending school may receive up to the highest public, in-state undergraduate tuition and fees, plus a monthly living stipend and book allowance under this program. For more information on this scholarship, click here.

Information for Military Personel.