FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, May 19, 2008 CONTACT: Michael Houston, IAVA (212) 982-9699 or
Senators Bond and McCaskill Vote on Historic
GI Bill Tomorrow Education Funding Would Help Thousands of Missouri
Iraq
Veterans
NEW YORK -
Tomorrow, May 20th, the Senate is expected to vote on a World War
II-style GI Bill for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. This bipartisan legislation,
originally introduced by Senators Jim Webb (D-VA), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Frank
Lautenberg (D-NJ), and John Warner (R-VA), is whole heartedly endorsed by Iraq
and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation's first and largest
non-partisan Iraq veterans' organization, and all the leading Veterans Service
Organizations.
The need for a new GI Bill is especially apparent in Missouri. More than 10,201 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan
have already come home to Missouri
and are relying on the current, inadequate GI Bill benefits to pay for their
education. The "Post 9/11 GI Bill" will
bring as much as $58,078,175 in new education benefits for Missouri veterans.
"We are proud to have the support of Senators Bond and
McCaskill, two longtime cosponsors of the ‘Post 9/11 GI Bill,'" said Paul
Rieckhoff, Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of
America. "We urge all Senators to follow
their leadership to ensure our troops and veterans get the education benefits
they have earned."
The new GI Bill, included in the domestic spending amendment
of the war supplemental funding bill, will substantially increase the
educational benefits available to servicemembers who have served since
September 11th, 2001. The "Post
9/11 GI Bill" will cover the full cost of an education at any public or
equivalently priced private school in the country. It will provide tuition up to the most
expensive in-state public school and provide a living and book stipend, so that
new veterans can focus on their educations and readjustment to civilian
life. It will also offer a more equitable benefit to National Guardsmen
and Reservists who serve multiple tours. Furthermore, because the benefits are linked
to the rising cost of higher education, the promise of an education to a new
enlistee will be kept for years to come.
"As Senators debate the war supplemental, we must ensure
that partisan bickering does not compromise the level of support we offer our
troops," said Rieckhoff. "Anyone who holds
the GI Bill hostage to score political points will have to explain themselves
to 1.7 million Iraq and Afghanistan
veterans waiting for education benefits that actually cover the cost of college."
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) is the
nation's first and largest group for veterans of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan. A nonprofit and nonpartisan
organization, IAVA represents more than 90,000 veteran members and civilian
supporters in all 50 states. To arrange an interview with Paul Rieckhoff or any
other IAVA member veterans, please contact Michael Houston at (212)-982-9699,
or email
.
