Congress Revamps GI Bill
Monday June 23, 2008
Congress has revamped the GI Bill for military members (including active duty, Reserves, and National Guard), who have at least 90 days of active duty service after September 11, 2001. The new program, commonly referred to as the "GI Bill for the 21st Century," offers substantial increases in monthly education benefits. The post 9/11 program goes into effect on August 1, 2009 and includes provisions to pay full tuition, $1,000 per year for books and supplies, and a monthly housing stipend.
The bill was approved by the House on Thursday, and the Senate is expected to approve it this week. After that, the bill will go to the President to sign into law. President Bush has indicated he will sign the bill.
The bill was approved by the House on Thursday, and the Senate is expected to approve it this week. After that, the bill will go to the President to sign into law. President Bush has indicated he will sign the bill.
Comments
Kudos to Mr. Bush our Commander in Chief! Thank you for helping the G.I. get what we need to get where we have to go.
Sooo… What happens to the rest of us??
Individuals who don’t qualify for the new GI Bill (i.e., don’t have at least 90 days of post-9/11 active duty service), retain their previous GI Bill benefits.
If you haven’t been in since 9/11, by the time August 1st 2009 rolls around your G.I. benefits are just about ripe to expire. The benefits that the government gives us are only great if we actually use them. If you opted out of MGIB benefits, I hope you enjoyed that $1,200.
Kudos to Mr. Bush??? I think you mean Kudos to Congress, the only people who care about you. President Bush has a less than stellar record when it comes to supporting the troops.
Let’s not make this a debate about President Bush. The facts of the matter are that this is great news for veterans. I am getting out of the military after 8 years of service. I plan on going to school and was starting to stress about the financial aspects of being a student and starting a new career. This legislation, I am sure, will benefit a large group of people who have paid their dues. I think it is unfortunate they won’t be reimbursing the 1800.00 (kicker included) dollars I invested a few years back.
I agree, this shouldn’t be a debate about the President. But, I think people should really strive to get their facts straight because this is a great achievement for the troops. Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) deserves all the credit for the new GI Bill. It really angers me when people just assume that the President is responsible for this, because he actually thought about vetoing this bill and Congress had to really press him to sign it.
09/11 Patriot Day, we are together, Nobel
Staying together,
Nobel V. Mirashi — TRABOINI
CAPTAIN, Operations SP
The American Strategic Position
Vlora city, Albania; +355693555023
My call, plesa: +355693555023
Wait… so the kicker I just bought is now useless? Can someone recommend a site explaining the ins and outs of this thing? I might head down to IPAC and cancel payments for the kicker.
The various services haven’t yet said how the various college funds will fit into the new G.I. Bill.
If I had to guess, I would say that the college funds (called “Kickers”) won’t apply to the new G.I. Bill, because it pays for full tuition and a housing allowance, the total of which is much more than the old Montgomery G.I. Bill is likely to pay, even with a “kicker.”
You will get the choice of using your old MGIB benefits (if eligible), with your “kicker,” if you want, But — unless your “kicker” added to the MGIB, equals full tuition, along with (about) $1,400 in housing costs (which I doubt it will), the new G.I. Bill will still be a better deal.
So, if you apply for the GIBill today, will you still receive the benefits that are due to come out in August of next year? Or do you have to wait until then to apply for it, in order to receive it?