G.I. BillPost World War II

Overview Historical context Veteran involvement in changes Structure/Requirements of the current G.I. Bill Examples of how veterans are using the G.I. Bill Modern challenges of the Bill Interesting perspectives on the Bill Conclusion

Historical Context

The ‘G.I. Bill’ is officially known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act and was first passed on June 22, 1944.

President Roosevelt signed the bill as WWII was nearing its end; his sentiment toward the import of the bill can be seen in his words “[Military members] have been compelled to make greater economic sacrifice and every other kind of sacrifice than the rest of us, and are entitled to definite action to help take care of their special problems.”

Before the creation of the G.I. Bill, the government had myriad programs to offer veterans pensions, disability programs and other benefits from the time of the Continental Congress and Civil War.

Historical Context: Veterans’ Administration

Among its other known functions (providing federal aid for tuition, OTJ training, and mortgages) the G.I. Bill reaffirmed the Veterans’ Administration.

Chapter 1 of the bill explains the level of importance and prestige given to the V.A. “The Veterans’ Administration is hereby declared to be an essential war agency and entitled, second only to the War and Navy Departments, to priorities in personnel, equipment, supplies and material under any laws, Executive orders, and regulations pertaining to priorities…”

The VA had to undergo extensive changes rapidly after WWII and the Korean War as the number of veterans grew, to include reorganizing into three services: medical care, financial assistance to veterans and insurance.

Historical Context: GI Bill evolution timeline

1. Servicemen’s Readjustment Act aka G.I. Bill (1944)

2. Korean GI Bill (1952)

3. Veterans’ Readjustment Benefits Act aka Vietnam BI Bill (1966)

4. Post-Vietnam Era Veterans’ Educational Assistance Program

5. Veteran’s Educational Assistance Act aka Montgomery G.I. Bill (1984)

6. Persian Gulf Conflict Supplemental Authorization and Personnel Benefits Act (1991)

7. Post 9-11 GI Bill (signed into law July 2008)

Historical Context: Brief description of each bill’s educational provisions G.I. Bill of 1944:

Education and training benefits from this bill existed until 1956, assisting nearly 10 million veterans.

Provided up to four years of education or training. Education package included the payment of up to $500 a school year for tuition, fees, books and supplies, plus a monthly subsistence allowance.

Korean G.I. Bill : Provided only up to 36 months of education. Did not provide tuition payments to colleges (paid instead in the form of

subsistence checks directly to veterans). EFFECT: The benefit no longer completely covered the cost of a veteran’s

education.

Historical Context: Brief description of each bill’s educational provisions

Vietnam G.I. Bill: Created in the context of a new situation for veterans- adjusting from combat

zones to civilian life in a matter of days, plus adjusting to the cultural shock of a society that largely abhorred the war.

Restored educational benefits. Vets who had been on active duty for more than 180 consecutive days were entitled to one month of educational assistance per month of service; later increased to 1.5 months of assistance per month of service.

Highly successful program: 76% of those eligible participated, compared to 50.5% of WWII vets, and 43.4% of Korean War vets.

Historical Context: Brief description of each bill’s educational provisions Post-Vietnam Era Veteran’s Educational Assistance Act (VEAP):

Provided that any servicemember could contribute up to $2,700 to an educational fund and that the federal government would match the servicemember’s contribution with two dollars for each one contributed.

Largely unsuccessful: Initial participation in VEAP was low, and it resulted in the educational level of recruits declining.

Montgomery G.I. Bill: Provided educational assistance benefits of $300 a month for 36 months, in

exchange for completing three years of active duty or two years of active duty and four years in the reserve.

To be eligible, servicemember agreed to take a pay cut of $100 a month for the first 12 months of enlistment, nonrefundable.

Historical Context: Brief description of each bill’s educational provisions

Persian Gulf Conflict Supplemental Authorization and Personnel Benefits Act: The Gulf Act contained a provision authorizing increases in the monthly

educational benefits provided by the MGIB. Post 9-11 G.I. Bill:

Provides education benefits for servicemembers who have served on active duty for 90 or more days since Sept. 10, 2001.

Benefits are tired based on the number of days served on active duty. Effect: For the first time since MGIB, current and previously activated National Guard and Reserve members can take advantage of the exact same benefits as active duty members.

New benefits include: Up to 100% tuition and fee coverage, a monthly housing stipend, up to $1000 a year for books and supplies, a one time relocation allowance, the option to transfer benefits to family members, license or certification test reimbursements, and $100 a month for tutorial assistance.

Veteran’s involvement in changes

Great Depression: The Great Depression saw one of the largest examples of veteran protest

impacting veteran benefits, the Bonus March. WWI veterans had been promised a certain amount of compensation for time

served and overseas location, but if this “bonus” exceeded $50 they were issued certificates that would be payable 20 years from the date of issue and generally worth $1,500.

As the Depression worsened, veterans demanded immediate payment of their “bonuses.”

In 1932, somewhere between 15,000 and 40,000 veterans participated in the Bonus March and laid an orderly siege to the U.S. Capitol.

Ultimate result: In 1936, Congress authorized early payment of the bonuses. By June 30, 1947, the VA had certified as payable nearly 3.5 million applications from WWI vets for settlement of their certificates.

Veteran’s involvement in changes Current disability payments:

Since President Obama and others have supported changing the benefits calculations applied to Social Security recipients, veterans’ groups earlier this year were extremely concerned that the new budget would put pressure on vets.

Chief among the concerns was that using “chained CPI” in adjusting benefits for inflation would be less than the conventional CPI. Under the chained CPI, the monthly disability and pension payments that increased 1.7 percent this year would have only increased 1.4 percent.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs came out against using chained CPI, saying “I don’t believe the American people want to see our budget balanced on the backs of disabled veterans. It’s especially absurd for the White House, which has been quite generous in terms of funding for the VA…”

Veteran’s involvement in changes

As you can see, many veterans’ most strenuous fights are about medical or pension issues. Despite fluctuations in the effective coverage of training or education, it seems that for the most part vets believe that the American people are living up to their promise to take care of them in this aspect of their lives.

Structure/Requirements of the new GI Bill

Limits: Time in some aspects of service do not count toward qualification for the Post

9/11 G.I. Bill; one of these is ROTC or attendance of a service academy. So people who got a ROTC scholarship for their undergraduate degree cannot get credit for time served until they fulfill that commitment (usually four years). Those who attended USAFA, for example, must commit 5 years before being able to get that credit as the Air Force Academy is fully subsidized.

Transferability: A recent change in the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill means that those who wish to transfer the educational benefits to their spouses/children must serve an additional four years. Even servicemembers who have 20+ years of service will incur the additional commitment.

From Military.com: “Once you have separated from the service you have 10 years to use all of your benefits under the MGIB and 15 years to use your Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits. Although separating from service ‘starts the clock’ on your 10-year time limit, you should know that if you rejoin active-duty service for more than 90 days, during the 10-year period, your 10-year clock is reset.”

Structure/Requirements of the new GI Bill

Benefits: Like other VA educational benefits, this educational benefit cannot be considered

taxable income under the law. It’s okay to drop out of school; veteran students will still get the full benefit if they

re-apply in the future. The Montgomery GI bill pays based on credit load, while the Post-9/11 GI Bill

pays according to number of months served on active duty and the number of credits pursued.

Yellow Ribbon Program: In some cases, whatever isn’t covered by the G.I. Bill can be covered by the Yellow Ribbon Program. This is not automatic, however; colleges have to opt to participate.

How vets are using the GI BillGI Bill program participation by vet-

erans and their spouses

Veterans

Spouses

Others

GI Bill money used by vets and their spouses

VetsSpousesOthers

So why are vets pursuing more costly educations than their spouses?

Answer is not clear, but the Yellow Ribbon scholarships which are only available to servicemembers and vets could be a factor.

An example of this is a program in CA that assists vets who might be more suited for educational careers at small, private liberal arts colleges as opposed to large state schools and STEM programs. See the link to hear a short story from NPR on this. http://www.wnyc.org/story/calif-universities-try-to-snag-veterans/.

Trends: Self vs. Transfer Navy Times quoted Michael Dakduk, executive direction of Student

Veterans of America, saying “There’s a drawdown occurring right now. I think you’re going to see a rise in usage from veterans and from spouses and children.”

Some suspect, however, that the drawdown might mean that more vets than their family members will use the bill, as vets might be more concerned about their marketability in the near future.

The drawdown also means that younger military members cannot serve an additional four years as required in order to transfer to family members.

When the policy changed, a few exemptions allowed people to transfer benefits to their family, including those who were eligible for retirement or became eligible through August of this year.

No data as yet, but there is interest regarding the trend of officers versus enlisted transferring this benefit.

Modern Challenges of the GI Bill

In addition to other mentioned challenges (rules regarding transfers changing, time limits on the bill, etc) a major one is predatory pursuits of veterans by for-profit schools.

The driving factor behind for-profit schools heavily recruiting veterans is that they know the funding from the VA is a guaranteed pay-day. Such schools receive federal funding through student loans and Pell Grants, and by law, they can receive no more than 90% of revenues from federal student aid programs.

However, military benefits do not contribute to this 90% of funding, which allows schools to “consider military benefits as the non-federal 10%.”

Some of the predatory practices reported by vets include falsifying the amount of benefits that will be received, and nailing the vet for fees if they becoming dissatisfied with the for-profit school and decide to leave.

Modern Challenges of the GI Bill

SOLUTIONS Fortunately, there are people tracking for-profit colleges’ behavior and

fighting on behalf of veterans. Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway’s spokeswoman testified

before Congress in 2010, saying that “the sad thing is that some of these veterans are blowing through their benefits at these universities… and end up with no degree, or a degree that is not worth the paper it is written on.”

Conway has filed civil lawsuits this year charging three schools with violating the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act for making false claims to students, and investigating consumer complaints against other for-profit schools.

Interesting Perspectives on the G.I. Bill

One opinion site posted an article this Veteran’s Day titled “How the GI Bill Left Out African Americans,” with covered how the G.I. Bill enabled many white veterans to benefit from upward social mobility, but denied the same to many African-American vets.

The author claims that the G.I. Bill is one of the contributing reasons to African-Americans having less wealth than white Americans.

Black veterans couldn’t use the G.I. Bill to buy a home (one of the best investments for future wealth) because banks “generally wouldn’t make loans for mortgages in black neighborhoods, and African-Americans were excluded from the suburbs by a combination of deed covenants and informal racism.”

Black veterans and college/graduate school: The ‘upside’ cited in the article is that the influx of black students using the bill forced many universities to become more diversified, “helping begin the great integration of higher education.”

How the GI Bill Left Out African AmericansPosted by David Callahan on November 11, 2013

Interesting Perspectives on the G.I. Bill:Creation of a new middle class

An article from The Daily Beast credits the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill with helping to bridge civilian and military life by “exposing civilian students to their veteran peers.” Throughout the article, the author discusses how the educational benefits and donations to veteran service organizations is a strategic investment in the economic future of the country.

Donor fatigue: However, “donor fatigue” is already affecting organizations, as people may see “veterans as passive recipients of charity rather than as an investment in human capital.

With one million veterans already being granted benefits under the bill and another one million vets expected to leave the military in the next five years, these educational benefits must be protected.

To reiterate the importance of the educational benefits, the author used an example from the past: “The post-WWII GI Bill educated 14 Nobel Prize and 24 Pulitzer Prize winners, 3 presidents, a dozen senators, and 3 Supreme Court justices.”

REFERENCES Callahan, David. (2013). How the GI Bill Left Out African Americans.

http://www.demos.org/blog/11/11/13/how-gi-bill-left-out-african-americans. 12 Nov.13 Department of Veterans Affairs. VA History in Brief.

http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/archives/docs/history_in_brief.pdf. 3 Nov. 13

Freking, Kevin. (2013). Veterans fight changes to disability payments. http://news.yahoo.com/veterans-fight-changes-disability-payments-070421575--politics.html. 3 Nov. 13

Gannet, Downs Jere. (2013). GI Bill benefits veterans who choose wisely. http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20131111/NEWS01/131 10014/GI-Bill-benefits-veterans-who-choose-wisely. 10 Nov. 13

Kirkham, Chris. Obama Targets Colleges Preying on Veterans’ GI Bill Benefits. (2012). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/26/obama-colleges-veterans-gi-bill_n_1457647.html. 3 Nov. 13