New G.I. Bill Would Help Vets Get College Education (McCain opposed it)

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/05/23/new-gi-bill-would-help-vets-get-college-education/

by Seth Michaels, May 23, 2008

While passing the extension of unemployment assistance by a veto-proof margin yesterday, the Senate also overwhelmingly approved a new bill to help veterans pay for college.

The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act is an expansion of the historic G.I. Bill, which helped a generation of veterans attend college and work their way into the middle class. The original G.I. Bill, enacted in June 1944, helped millions of veterans returning from World War II (and later from other wars) get needed education or job training and enabled broad prosperity.

But its benefits have been watered down and now covers only a portion of the rising cost of education for today’s returning veterans. Service members returning from Iraq or Afghanistan are finding they can’t cover the cost of attending a college or university. The new bill will modernize the benefits so today’s veterans returning to civilian life can enjoy the same access to education as post-World War II veterans did.

The bill provides returning veterans with an educational benefit equal to the cost of attending a public college or university in their home state.

The bill was passed by the Senate on a 75-22 vote May 22 as part of a package that includes extension of unemployment insurance. Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) voted for the bill.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Republican candidate, opposed the bill, saying it would damage military retention rates. He did not vote and was attending a fundraiser in California at the time. McCain had proposed a less generous alternative, which the Senate rejected.

FULL story at link.