McCain’s Attempt to Sabotage The 21st Century GI Bill
April 30, 2008 by cornerhousecomments
UPDATE: 05/01/2008 #1 son points out in the comments that now 7 of 8 of Minnesota’s congressional delegation have signed on to this legislation. The only holdout is Michelle Bachman. As of this date 261 members of the House of Representatives have signed on as cosponsors. END UPDATE
As hundreds of thousands of men and women return from serving their country in the military they are finding that the current G.I. Bill is woefully inadequate. Senators Jim Webb(D) and Chuck Hagel(R), hope to change that with the “Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act” (S.22/H.R. 5740). The current list of cosponsors include 58 in the Senate and 250 members of the House. Both of Minnesota’s senators have signed on to the bill. Six of Minnesota’s eight representatives in the House have signed on, including my congressman, Tim Walz. This legislation has bipartisan support and has been endorsed by the following veterans and educational groups:
The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act has been endorsed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars(VFW), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), The American Legion, the Military Officers’Association of America (MOAA), Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), AMVETS, the Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA), the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS), the Student Veterans of America (SVA), the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC) and the Partnership for Veterans’ Education, a consortium of military, veterans, and higher education associations such as the American Council on Education (ACE) and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU).
Democratic presidential hopefuls Clinton and Obama are cosponsors. Republican presidential candidate John McCain has introduced alternative legislation which is a slap in the face to our veterans and especially to our national guard and reservists. VoteVets.org issued a press release last week in which they repudiated the McCain-Graham-Burr bill. Here is and excerpt from the press release:
The veterans stated that the McCain-Graham-Burr bill falls flat in its key differences from the Webb-Hagel Bill, which has the support of 57 members of the Senate, from both sides of the aisle.
1) The McCain-Graham-Burr legislation creates a flat education benefit, not taking into account the cost of state colleges where veterans live. This would mean veterans in states where the cost of education is higher than the benefit would have go to into debt to get an education, or uproot themselves and their families to move to a place where the benefit would cover college. The Webb-Hagel Bill determines the education benefit based on the highest state college tuition in a veterans’ home state, allowing veterans to come home and attend college, without upheaval in their lives.
2) The McCain-Graham-Burr legislation creates second-class veterans, by offering those who serve in the military for 12 years the chance to transfer their education benefits to their children. This says to a veteran who serves for two years and loses both of his legs in combat that his service isn’t as valuable as someone who has served for longer.
3) The McCain-Graham-Burr legislation leaves the National Guard and Reserve out in the cold. In the current conflicts, the National Guard and Reserve have served faithfully alongside their active duty compatriots, and deserve equal benefits. Yet, the McCain bill does nothing to reward our Guard and Reservists for their cumulative service. Under the McCain bill, over 160,000 members of the Guard and Reserves who have done more than one tour in Iraq or Afghanistan would get no credit towards an education for their additional sacrifice.
If this is an example of John McCain’s leadership and support for the troops, then we don’t need him. He is proving once again that he is out of touch with reality. If we are going to go to war then we must consider all costs, and that includes education.
A fact sheet on S. 22 is available here.
Watch the video from VoteVets.org.
Peace & solidarity,
CHC
Nice work.
Actually just checked. 7 of 8 congressman have signed on. Only 1 not to is wacky, “tell me what to do George,” Michelle Bachman.
Right you are #1 son. Rep. Ramstad signed on as a cosponsor yesterday, 4/30/2008. He must have read my post. I have updated with the current information.
CHC
The key is 58 co-sponsors … not 60. That’s what stops everything in the Senate.
Gil Gutknecht’s best line was when he called the Senate “the Graveyard of all good ideas” … and it is definitely true.
Norm Coleman has been playing the role of the moderate Republican willing to work with the Democrats, yet most of his votes are safe votes since he knows McCain, McConnell, et al will hold fast. Coleman actions make independents think that he’s looking out for Minnesota, but in reality he’s just hiding out under the closure rules. Minnesotans should look no further than the Farm Bill which Wellstone got through on time, yet Coleman can’t get the Republicans (including McCain) to go along with a bill that expired in 2007.
Everyone who votes for Coleman in November is voting for more stalling.
Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma withdrew his support of S22. Chalk that up to the leadership of John McCain. And Inhofe is also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, like McCain and Lindsey Graham.
Coleman is smart enough to know S22 is a bill he needs to have his name on in an election year.
FYI : The improved GI bill may be getting a vote this week. The House plans to add it as an amendment to the Iraq supplemental spending bill. Its smart strategy as the President may have difficulty in vetoing that bill. Currently there are 292 co-sponsors, so it should pass, but the hang-up is the Blue Dog Democrats who are concerned about the fiscal impact as it does not meet the PAYGO concept. The Blue Dogs are right and wrong … the GI Bill does not have the offsets to pay for it, but the entire Iraq supplemental does not either … how can they vote for Iraq funding but not domestic funding?
It should be a fun week … will Bachmann vote against the amendment but when it passes vote for the overall bill thus being able to say that she “supported the troops” ?
Also, BluestemPrairie has a video link to the House Veterans Affairs Committee meeting where Tim Walz did an outstanding job representing our veterans.
[...] 5740) is scheduled for a vote soon. Minnesota Central leaves an interesting comment on my previous post about the upcoming vote. Here is an excerpt: FYI : The improved GI bill may be getting a vote this [...]