June 09, 2008

Support updated GI Bill

Support updated GI Bill

Vicki Janik of Farmingdale is hoping UUP members will contact their Congressional representatives and urge them to support an updated GI bill proposed by U.S. Sen. Jim Webb (D-Virginia). The current GI Bill offers veterans a mere $1,100 a month for 36 months — and even less ($440 a month) for military reservists, including those returning from active duty in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Increasing the GI Bill’s allotment to veterans “is something we, as higher education unionists, really need to push for,” said Janik, chair of the union’s statewide Women’s Rights and Concerns Committee. Delegates to the union’s spring policymaking convention in May overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution calling on UUP to actively support the bill.

Under the proposed Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act (S.22 in the Senate; H.R.2702 in the House), returning service members would get enough money to cover the full cost of in-state tuition at a public college or university, as well as a $1,000 a month living stipend for veterans who have completed at least three years of active duty since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Go to http://webb.senate.gov for more details.

The bill will be brought up for consideration in a hearing of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs scheduled for July 25. The bill is expected for a mark-up this summer.

President Bush, Defense Department officials and Sen. John McCain all oppose the bill, claiming it’s too costly and threatens the retention of troops in the all-volunteer military. But the Senate’s 75-22 vote far exceeds the two-thirds needed to override a presidential veto, and suggests that the bill is gaining momentum.

UUP is keeping up the pressure by sending to New York’s Congressional delegation a written statement of support for the measure. The union will also contact its affiliates to join publicly in support of the bill. The full text of the UUP resolution can be found at www.uupinfo.org/das/das.html.