Support the Troops with a Decent GI Bill

In the debate about the GI Bill in Congress, the $51 billion for education benefits seems to be too rich for the administration. This is astonishing because it merely matches the benefits for those coming home from World War II. Under Senator Jim Webb’s (D-VA) bill, vets would get four academic years’ worth of tuition, books, fees and $1,000 of living expenses a month after 3 years of service. A counter-proposal from Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is miserly in comparison, requires too much time in the service, and of all people, he ought to know better.

In a prepared statement, Senator John Tester (D-MT) explained the shortcomings of the current situation, “Today’s GI Bill only provides about $9,000 in costs for an academic year of college. When you factor in tuition, room, board, books and other living expenses, that’s only about 70 percent of the actual cost of attending a university like the University of Montana. And it’s only a drop in the bucket for a private school.” Duke University, for example, runs more like $40,000 per year.

The administration, supported by 22 members of the Senate, says that the benefits in the Webb bill would kick in too early. That would tempt military personnel to leave their barracks for the campus. This would create problems for America’s over-stretched armed forces (and who over-stretched them?). They argue that giving benefits like those in the Webb bill should only come after 5 or more years (depending on which senator or White House flak is talking). Those drafted in 1942 finished 3 years in 1945, when the Second World War ended.

Joe Galloway of McClatchy Company (America’s third largest newspaper operation) wrote last week, “In recent months, VA officials have been caught providing false statistics that far understate the true number of veterans, old and young, who commit suicide. They’ve ordered doctors to diagnose fewer cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and to substitute a diagnosis of a lesser, temporary stress disorder. The young people marching home from war and trying to rejoin civilian society, get a job and start a life aren’t having much luck, either. The government's own statistics show that fully a quarter of returning veterans are employed in jobs that pay wages that put them below the poverty line, or less than $21,000 a year if they’re single.”

On this Memorial Day, it’s time to face some facts. America is treating its current crop of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines very badly indeed. It’s nothing new; the country did the same thing to those coming home from Vietnam. And when one considers the numbers, $51 billion to fund a decent college education for every vet who wants it is pretty cheap compared to a war in Iraq-Nam that costs that much every four months. So, when Johnny comes limping home, will America start doing right by him?

Happy Memorial Day to all of America’s vets, and the country really should be treating them better.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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