Many of our members serve two or three tours of duty in and Afghanistan and have been receiving little in terms of benefits from the country they so selflessly served.

Senator Jim Webb began his term as the Democrat from Virginia with the noblest of efforts by introducing a sweeping expansion expansion  of the education and trainng benefits currently available to the nation’s 2.4 million active duty and reserve members of the armed forces.

The Montgomery GI Bill served this nation well during peacetime, but times have unfortunately changed,” Webb said. “The demands placed on soldiers and sailors in this post 9/11 era are much greater than when Congress established the current program. With many of our military members serving two or three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is past time to enact a new veterans’ education program modeled on the World War II era GI bill. 

"I have strong feelings about the need for those men and women who have been serving since 9/11 to get a GI bill that is worthy of their service," said Senator Webb at Tuesday’s hearing of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. "The Montgomery GI Bill served this nation well during peacetime, but during times like these, it has its limitations."  

Webb stressed that the GI Bill of the World War II era is universally credited with sparking economic growth and expansion for a whole generation of Americans, and he predicted that his proposal holds similar promise for today’s modern economy.

Our nation has never erred when it made sustained new investments in higher education and job training,” he said. “The bill I have introduced today is not only the right thing to do for our men and women in uniform, but it is also strong tonic for an economy plagued by growing disparities in wealth, stagnant wages, and the outsourcing of American jobs.”

Senator Webb’s bill is likely to be referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Webb serves on the Veterans Affairs Committee, as well as the Joint Economic, Armed Services, and Foreign Relations Committees.

The Lang Report enthusiastically applauds and strongly supports the efforts of Senator Webb in tackling this embarassing issue of treating our military as second-class citizens after they have put their lives and family’s future on the line. I only hope that Webb’s legislation (S.22) is not met with the same old stereotypical political bullshit and treats the GIs not as Democrats or Republicans but as Americans. 

The new benefits package included in Webb’s legislation (S.22) would include coverage of tuition, room and board, and a monthly stipend of $1,000. Existing law – known as the Montgomery GI Bill – provides financial support of up to $800 per month for veterans’ educational expenses, but does not necessarily cover the full cost of higher education or career training. In addition, existing law requires participating service members to pay $1,200 in their first year of service in order to qualify for the benefit.