Updated: January 30, 2008
Summary
In 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the original GI Bill,
ensuring that eight million combat veterans coming home from Germany
and Japan would be able to afford an education. Called the “Servicemen’s
Readjustment Act,” the World War II GI Bill covered tuition, fees, and
books, and gave veterans a living stipend while they were in school.
Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, Senators Bob Dole and
Patrick Moynihan, and authors Norman Mailer and Frank McCourt all
relied on the GI Bill.
Experts have argued that the GI Bill “reinvented America” after a half-decade
of war. Indeed, a 1988 Congressional study showed that every dollar spent
on educational benefits under the original GI Bill added seven dollars to
the national economy in terms of productivity, consumer spending and tax
revenue. But in his signing statement, President Roosevelt spoke more simply:
“[The GI Bill] gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our armed
forces that the American people do not intend to let them down.”
Today, 1.5 million troops are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to a
very different future than the one FDR made possible for the Greatest
Generation. The current educational benefits offered to veterans are
far lower than the original GI Bill. Today, after paying a nonrefundable
contribution from their first military paychecks, troops can receive a total
of up to $39,600 towards their education. Unfortunately, this covers only
60-70% of the average cost of four years at a public college or university, or
less than two years at a typical private college.
In addition, structural problems and bureaucratic delays discourage
veterans from using their GI Bill benefits. National Guardsmen and
Reservists, including those who have served multiple combat tours,
typically receive only a fraction of their GI Bill benefits. Moreover, 30%
of troops who pay the nonrefundable $1,200 contribution do not end up
using the GI Bill at all. These veterans have paid the government $230
million, but received nothing in return.
Today’s veterans deserve a real reintegration program
to help adjust to the civilian world. At the same time,
a renewed GI Bill is a practical answer to the military’s
troop shortage. Despite investing $4 billion dollars in
recruiting annually, the military has had serious problems
recruiting high-caliber personnel. The Pentagon has
responded by lowering age, education, and aptitude
standards for new recruits, as well as upping the number
of recruiters and increasing enlistment bonuses. These
stop-gap measures will not address long-term problems
with recruiting, especially as the overall size of the Armed
Forces is expanded.
Rather than continuing to spend billions in bonuses
for lower-standard enlistees, increasing GI Bill benefits
would encourage high-aptitude young people to join the
military. The GI Bill is the military’s single most effective
recruitment tool; the number one reason civilians join
the military is to get money for college. As our military
recovers and resets in the coming years, an expanded GI
Bill will play a crucial role in ensuring that our military
remains the strongest and most advanced in the world.
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