Changes to New GI Bill: A Cause for Concern for Some?

Tahitia always dreamed of becoming an archeologist and traveling the world. Working three jobs to make ends meet, Tahitia shares on the VA's GI Bill website that she didn't have the time to attend school to make her dream come true. Searching for excitement and a brighter future, Tahitia joined the U.S. Air Force, where she served four years as a data systems technician. While deployed in Afghanistan, she learned how to function in the midst of different cultures.

Upon her return to the United States, Tahitia took advantage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill to enroll in the University of Maryland to study anthropology and archeology. The GI Bill covered her tuition in full and provided housing allowance and money for textbooks. Tahitia has already participated in an archeological dig.

"The Post-9/11 GI Bill is making my dream a reality," the U.S. Air Force veteran tells the VA.

Since World War II, GI Bill military education benefits have enabled hundreds of thousands of veterans, like Tahitia, to attend school and start careers. In fact, as of December 2010, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs had issued nearly $7.2 billion in tuition, housing, and stipends for more than 425,000 veterans or eligible family members enrolled in higher education through the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

"Since the first GI Bill in 1944, this unique educational program has adapted to the needs of America's Veterans, active-duty personnel, reservists and Guardsmen," says Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki in a press release.

"Like its forbearers, the Post-9/11 GI Bill is growing to ensure the men and women who serve this nation in uniform receive valuable education benefits from a grateful nation."

New GI Bill Concerns

In January 2011, President Barack Obama signed new GI Bill legislation into law that modified and expanded the reach of military education benefits. The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010 has been praised by veterans and politicians. Some, however, worry about the impact of the new GI Bill on veteran education.

In a post on the VA's blog VAntage Point, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Daniel Caldwell praises the new GI Bill for extending eligibility to more than 85,000 National Guardsmen and the benefits of active duty troops and wounded veterans. However, Caldwell says that to pay for these changes, the government has limited the military education benefits of other veterans, including those already attending private schools with tuitions above $17,500 and online schools.

"This bill literally robs one group of veterans to pay another," Caldwell says in the post, adding the government should have given those affected more time to find other sources of funding.

New GI Bill Details

The new GI Bill includes the following changes:

1. Expands coverage to include National Guard and reserve veterans who were previously ineligible to receive benefits
2. Establishes a national cap of $17,500 annually for tuition and fees in private or foreign schools, excluding contributions made under the Yellow Ribbon program.
3. The time reservists and Guardsmen spend working on stateside emergencies will count toward the periods needed to qualify for military education benefits.
4. Provides students on active duty $1,000 yearly stipends for books and supplies.
5. On-the-job training, some flight training, apprenticeship training, and correspondence courses are now covered by the GI Bill.
6. Reimbursements for national admissions tests such as the SAT, ACT, GMAT, and LSAT, and more than one license and certification test will be provided as well.
7. Students enrolled in distance learning will receive half of the national average for the program's housing allowance. Students won't receive housing allowance when they're not in class. Veterans eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill will be able to choose between the GI Bill's housing allowance or the VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) subsistence allowance.

A World War II veteran who attended college on the original GI Bill, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) introduced the new GI bill in 2010 to improve military education benefits. The changes to military education benefits are slated to go into effect in August and October 2011.

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