That was a massive failure - especially since the military was looking for ways of getting rid of career-minded personnel at the end of the 70's, they ended up scrapping it after 15 years of constant complaints as soldiers and sailors couldn't "set aside the minimum" each paycheck (started at $250 a month for E-3 and above in 1978 when it was first offered to me, if I remember) and still pay bills.
Because once you started VEEP, you couldn't just stop paying if you had an emergency bill, or wanted to buy a plane ticket to go back home over the holidays; you had to pay every month, or you had to drop out of the program and that money would just sit there until you went to school or 5 years went by and (after you requested it) you got a check with exactly what you had put in along with the tax bill.
It was supposed to be a 401K type product - when you used the money for education - but if you didn't use it for education, it was a holding account that accrued no interest and any "matching funds" you may have been eligible went back to Uncle Sam.
And even worse, if you were in the VEEP program, you had to use the money within 5 years of the last payment. I think they found that only 10% of people who signed up for VEEP actually were able to get an education off it...
VEEP sucked for the lower enlisted especially if they had families or wanted to get a car.
In 1978, I was getting $480 a paycheck after taxes while I was going to my "A" and "C" schools - 24 months of schooling, total.
True, I lived on base and could eat at the chow hall for breakfast and dinner during the week, but I still had to pay for uniforms, off-base clothing, lunches during class, base hobby costs (they had a ceramics, general arts, and wood/model shop as well as the on-base theatre and a decent Exchange/PX), and for transportation off base when I wanted a break from the sand and grey environment of the base.
Once I got to my first command, I had to live off-ship as an E-4/E-5 or frankly, I'd have gone crazy.
Again, there was no way I could set aside $250 each month.
And then in the 1990's we got the Montgomery G.I. Bill - for those who hadn't been stupid enough to sign up for VEEP. It still had some problems - as in your educational options were restricted, and you have only 10 years after leaving the military to use it (which can be difficult in a bad job market), but it was way better than VEEP.
What they're suggesting sounds sadly similar to the scheme that failed before.
And they probably think they're going to use whatever money they will pull from the personnel who are "saving up" for other VA programs while they're promising that money is going to be there when the poor schmuck wants to start college.
Haele
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