On 70th Anniversary of GI Bill, Foster Urges Congress To Act To Insure All Veterans Get The Benefits They Deserve
Washington, DC – June 23, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — This Sunday, June 22, will mark the 70th anniversary of the GI Bill, which has given returning veterans a hand up with educational benefits, home loans and other services. The GI Bill has been one of the most successful pieces of legislation in our country’s history, growing our economy and helping veterans assimilate into civilian life. However, one glitch in the law is causing veterans to be denied the benefits they deserve.
“The GI Bill has helped millions of veterans realize the America dream, and it has created a larger, stronger middle class. It has been a huge success for our national economy, returning $7 to the economy for every $1 spent,” said Foster. “But because of a bureaucratic oversight, some veterans are being denied the benefits they have earned. Our soldiers have honored the promise they made to serve our country, we need to honor the promises we make to them.”
Dozens of families whose children were approved to receive their parents’ GI education benefits had those benefits revoked because of a bureaucratic oversight. To fix the problem, Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) introduced the GI Education Benefits Fairness Act. Foster introduced the bipartisan bill with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA).
The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides education benefits to veterans and service members who serve on active duty after September 10, 2001. Many of our active duty troops can transfer their GI education benefits to their children. Under current law, the Department of Defense includes wards and foster children in the definition of an eligible child, while the Veterans Administration does not. This has led to a bureaucratic nightmare for members of the armed services and their families.
More than 100 wards and foster children were initially approved by DOD for GI education benefits, and money was paid out to their schools. Then, mid-semester, the VA revoked their benefits and the students and their families were notified that they would have to pay back all the money immediately. These students now face unexpected amounts of crippling debt.
The GI Education Benefits Fairness Act would amend the definition of an “eligible child” for the purposes of transferability of benefits under the Post 9/11 Educational Assistance Program to include the DOD definition of a child – which includes wards and foster children. Doing so would allow foster children and wards who were approved for GI education benefits, then had them revoked, to receive the education funding they were promised.
Foster learned of the issue from Joliet native Sgt. 1st Class Angela Dees. More on her story is available here.
