VA mistakes smother Post-9/11 GI Bill spouse
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Aug 14, 2010 11:38:14 EDT
An Army spouse using transferred GI Bill benefits to attend veterinary school is worried that she won’t be able to attend college this fall because of problems with overpayments.
Angela Kargus, a student at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, has a canceled check to show she repaid money she should never have received, but the Veterans Affairs Department has credited her with returning only part of the money and is threatening to withhold additional benefits unless she agrees to a repayment plan.
She has enlisted the help of Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., to try resolve the problem before the fall term begins Aug. 23.
Jenkins’ spokeswoman, Mary Geiger, confirmed that a caseworker is helping Kargus. Brownback aides did not respond to requests for information about their involvement.
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VA mistakes smother Post 9 11 GI Bill spouse
Showing posts with label Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. Show all posts
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Saturday, August 15, 2009
VA likely to miss deadline to process education benefits claims
VA likely to miss deadline to process education benefits claims
By Bob Brewin 08/13/2009
The Veterans Affairs Department has a backlog of nearly 200,000 education benefits claims from veterans just three weeks before universities and colleges start classes for the fall, and it is unlikely VA can process the applications in time, a knowledgeable congressional source said.
Hundreds of thousands of veterans have filed for education benefits established by the 2008 GI bill, formerly called the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, which greatly expanded the benefits the government gives veterans for college education. For example, the bill hikes payments for tuition from $1,300 a month to a payment that is pegged at the highest tuition at a public university in a veteran's state of residence, which for Massachusetts would be $10,232. The bill includes monthly living expenses of $1,100 to $1,200.
VA has been overwhelmed with claims and the backlog means "schools are going to get paid late," said the congressional source who declined to be identified. Colleges and universities basically have two choices: decline to enroll veterans for the fall semester, which would cause bad publicity, or carry the veterans until VA payments arrive, according to the source. The situation is "not pretty, and it's going to get uglier," the source said.
read more here
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090813_9181.php?oref=topstory
By Bob Brewin 08/13/2009
The Veterans Affairs Department has a backlog of nearly 200,000 education benefits claims from veterans just three weeks before universities and colleges start classes for the fall, and it is unlikely VA can process the applications in time, a knowledgeable congressional source said.
Hundreds of thousands of veterans have filed for education benefits established by the 2008 GI bill, formerly called the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, which greatly expanded the benefits the government gives veterans for college education. For example, the bill hikes payments for tuition from $1,300 a month to a payment that is pegged at the highest tuition at a public university in a veteran's state of residence, which for Massachusetts would be $10,232. The bill includes monthly living expenses of $1,100 to $1,200.
VA has been overwhelmed with claims and the backlog means "schools are going to get paid late," said the congressional source who declined to be identified. Colleges and universities basically have two choices: decline to enroll veterans for the fall semester, which would cause bad publicity, or carry the veterans until VA payments arrive, according to the source. The situation is "not pretty, and it's going to get uglier," the source said.
read more here
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090813_9181.php?oref=topstory
Monday, July 6, 2009
Benefits under new GI Bill vary widely by state
Benefits under new GI Bill vary widely by state
Veterans attending college could get a full ride or very little help
When the new GI Bill kicks in Aug. 1, the government's best-known education program for veterans will get the biggest boost since its World War II-era creation. But the benefit is hardly the "Government Issue," one-size-fits-all standard the name implies.
In fact, depending on where service members and veterans decide to attend college, they could receive a full ride, or very little.
An Associated Press review of state-by-state benefits under the new bill shows huge discrepancies in the amount veterans can receive.
read more here
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31765771/ns/us_news-military/
Veterans attending college could get a full ride or very little help
When the new GI Bill kicks in Aug. 1, the government's best-known education program for veterans will get the biggest boost since its World War II-era creation. But the benefit is hardly the "Government Issue," one-size-fits-all standard the name implies.
In fact, depending on where service members and veterans decide to attend college, they could receive a full ride, or very little.
An Associated Press review of state-by-state benefits under the new bill shows huge discrepancies in the amount veterans can receive.
read more here
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31765771/ns/us_news-military/
Monday, July 7, 2008
Misinformation clouds new GI Bill
Misinformation clouds new GI Bill
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jul 7, 2008 18:10:15 EDT
Full-tuition educational benefits included in a new veterans’ program signed into law on June 30 will not take effect until Aug. 1, 2009, unless Congress approves a change in the new law.
There will be a 20 percent increase, effective this Aug. 1, in Montgomery GI Bill benefits for active-duty veterans and veterans who have served two or more years of active duty, raising the maximum benefit to $1,321 for a full-time student who has three or more years of active service, under terms of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008.
Full tuition benefits, plus stipends for living expenses and books, will not take effect under the law until Aug. 1, 2009, despite earlier claims by aides to the bill’s chief sponsor that those payments would be retroactive to when the bill is signed.
A spokeswoman for Sen. Jim Webb, D.Va., chief sponsor of the new benefits package, said the fact that the benefits are not retroactive came as a surprise; the final bill passed by Congress omitted crucial paragraphs of Webb’s legislation.
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By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jul 7, 2008 18:10:15 EDT
Full-tuition educational benefits included in a new veterans’ program signed into law on June 30 will not take effect until Aug. 1, 2009, unless Congress approves a change in the new law.
There will be a 20 percent increase, effective this Aug. 1, in Montgomery GI Bill benefits for active-duty veterans and veterans who have served two or more years of active duty, raising the maximum benefit to $1,321 for a full-time student who has three or more years of active service, under terms of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008.
Full tuition benefits, plus stipends for living expenses and books, will not take effect under the law until Aug. 1, 2009, despite earlier claims by aides to the bill’s chief sponsor that those payments would be retroactive to when the bill is signed.
A spokeswoman for Sen. Jim Webb, D.Va., chief sponsor of the new benefits package, said the fact that the benefits are not retroactive came as a surprise; the final bill passed by Congress omitted crucial paragraphs of Webb’s legislation.
click post title for more
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