NEWS FROM….

CONGRESSMAN LANE EVANS

RANKING DEMOCRATIC MEMBER

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS

    U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Washington, DC - "I am glad to be able to send the House a badly-needed increase in the Montgomery GI Bill," Lane Evans of Illinois, Democratic Leader of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, announced today. "The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs today voted to increase the Montgomery GI Bill [MGIB.] The Administration’s support for a 25% increase is very welcome. While more remains to be done, today’s legislation is an important first step toward a meaningful increase."

If signed into law, the most significant provision of the bipartisan Veterans’ and Dependents Millennium Education Act (H.R. 4268) would increase the current MGIB benefit from $536 to $600 a month on October 1, 2000 for full-time students, and to $720 on October 1, 2002. There would be proportionate increases for part-time students.

"It has been this Committee’s top priority to update the GI Bill this year," Evans said. "We are supported by a coalition of America’s 47 leading veterans service organizations, military organizations and higher education groups, calling out for a larger MGIB benefit, as well as such powerful advocates as Sonny Montgomery and Senator Max Cleland."

Congressman Evans has been a leader of congressional action to provide a meaningful increase in GI Bill benefits. H.R.1071 introduced by Congressman Evans and John Dingell (D-MI) has 143 cosponsors who support a significantly greater increase in educational benefits that veterans and service advocates say is vital. This show of support for a meaningful increase in educational benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill from veterans and a third of the House sent a powerful message.

"The GI bill was perhaps the greatest social program ever passed by Congress," Evans said. "Its impact on post World War II America was profound and unparalleled. Millions of America's veterans who otherwise might not have been able to afford a college education received a college degree from some of our country's greatest institutions of higher learning. That investment in our veterans has been repaid by higher tax revenues on higher incomes many times over. It was an investment in our nation that we made and should make again. The measure passed today, and Administration support for a MGIB increase, gets us closer to the benefit level needed. There is much more to do."

Colleges and universities have quadrupled their costs over the last 20 years. The basic GI Bill benefit, however, has increased only 76% since the program was enacted. Evans termed this unacceptable. "It’s time to restore the purchasing power of the GI Bill educational benefits. With a booming economy and an overworked and sometimes under-appreciated military force, young men and women are not choosing military service. This trend cannot continue if we are to maintain a viable fighting force."

Evans, who also sits on the House Armed Services Committee, says today’s recruiting problems reflect the diminished buying power of the Montgomery GI Bill. The military relies on education benefits to recruit high-ability soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. The Armed Forces need increased education benefits for veterans that will attract and retain high-ability young people in a growing economy.

"Today’s GI Bill does not provide enough assistance to attract the number of high-ability high school graduates needed by our Armed Forces," said Evans. "Potential recruits see the current Montgomery GI Bill as an inadequate educational benefits package compared to the commitment required by military service."

That was also the conclusion of the Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans Transition Assistance. The Commission, in its 1999 final report, recommended an education benefit much like the original GI Bill, with full tuition and books for those enlisting for four or more years and a substantial increase for those who enlist for a shorter time period.

Evans agrees with the Commission. "Like its recommendation," he said, "the Evans-Dingell bill would provide benefits for two tiers of service members: those who enlist or reenlist for a minimum of four years and those who enlist for less than four years. In addition, our bill would increase the stipend level under tier 1 and increase the basic benefit under tier 2 to reflect the increases in the cost of education since the MGIB's enactment." For servicemembers who enlist or reenlist for a minimum of four years, the Evans-Dingell Bill would:

Pay the full costs of tuition, fees, books, and supplies.

• Provide a subsistence allowance of $800/month (indexed for inflation) for 36 months.
• Eliminate the $1,200 basic pay reduction.

For those who enlist for less than four years, the Evans-Dingell Bill would:

• Increase the basic benefit to $900/month.
• Eliminate the $1,200 basic pay reduction.
• Allow trainees to be eligible for accelerated lump-sum benefits, and entitlement would be charged at the rate of one month for every $900 paid.

In contrast, the compromise bill adopted by the committee today would:

• Provide another opportunity to convert from the Veterans’ Education Assistance Program (VEAP) to the MGIB. Many active duty individuals either declined the last chance to convert or had zeroed out their VEAP accounts.
• Increase survivors’ and dependents’ educational assistance benefits for full-time students from $485 to $600 a month starting October 1, 2000, and to $720 a month on October 1, 2002, with proportionate increases for part-time students. The bill also authorizes an annual cost of living adjustment (COLA).
• Permit the award of Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance payments to be retroactive to the date of the service-connected death or award of 100% disability rating.
• Allow monthly educational assistance benefits to be paid between term, quarter, or semester intervals of up to eight weeks.
• Allow use of MGIB benefits to pay the fee for a veteran’s civilian occupational licensing or certification examination.

"Veterans are not using the Montgomery GI Bill benefits they earned through honorable military service," Evans said, "and high-ability, college-bound young Americans are choosing not to serve in the Armed Forces. Significant improvements in the program will increase its usage and will enable the military services to recruit the high-ability young people they need. I plan to keep working hard for a significant upgrade of the GI Bill."

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