Senate OKs GI Bill improvements

Senate OKs GI Bill improvements
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Dec 14, 2010 21:11:28 EST
In an unexpected drive toward the goal line, the Senate approved a long-delayed package of improvements in the Post-9/11 GI Bill, raising the possibility this legislation, once thought dead, would become law by the end of the year.

Friday is the target adjournment date for Congress, leaving little time for action. At the moment, GI Bill legislation is not on the schedule of measures to be taken up by the House this week, but the schedule is in constant flux.

Passage of the bill this year has been a high priority for veterans’ groups, especially Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which has been complaining about congressional inaction on veteran-related bills.

Passed by voice vote, the bill, S 3447, makes some major changes in the year-old education benefits program — including added vocational and technical education to the covered classes — allows active-duty service members and their spouses to receive a $1,000 per year good allowance, and provides a living stipend to students who are enrolled in distance learning.

It also expands the types of duty by Guard and reserve members that qualify for benefits.

Most of the changes would not take effect until one year after the bill becomes law.

One of the major changes in the bill is the creation of less complex formula for deciding tuition and fee reimbursement for private institutions and for people taking graduate courses at public and private schools. Instead of setting a reimbursement cap for each state, based on the highest in-state rates for tuition and fees charged by a four-year public college or university, the bill would create a flat-rate cap for the entire U.S. of $20,000 a year for tuition and fees. In cases where tuition exceeds the $17,500, the existing Yellow Ribbon program, where a school and the VA make matching contributions to cover higher fees, would continue.
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Senate OKs GI Bill improvements