“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see right, let us strive to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds,  to care for him who has borne the battle, his widow and his orphan.”

         …President Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865

Madam Chairwoman and members of the Sub-Committee on Economic Opportunity of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, thank you for the opportunity to submit my written testimony on behalf of Gold Star Wives of America.

My name is Vivianne Wersel, and I am the surviving spouse of Lieutenant Colonel Rich Wersel, Jr., United States Marine Corps.

My husband died suddenly on February 4, 2005, one week after he returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq. The day he died began as a seemingly routine day, but it was the day that my life changed dramatically. At this point in time my life was divided into two separate pieces – “before” and “after”.  Before that day I was focused with great intent in a certain direction, but that day and for many days thereafter that I was numb and frozen.

Through the fog of grief I could see only one thing clearly – our children. Long term goals quickly melted away. In addition to processing my own feelings of profound grief, I knew that somehow I had to fulfill my husband’s role of keeping the family financially secure. College for our children loomed on the horizon, and college tuition for our two children rested solely on my shoulders. At that time Richard, our son, was 14 and Katie, our daughter, was 12. There were many days that I wanted to stay home, but quitting my job was not an option as I was now the breadwinner.  It was important to maintain job security, and the requirements of my profession as an audiologist were changing. I realized that I needed to pursue further education in my field of endeavor.

This was the time to use my Dependents Educational Assistance (Chapter 35) benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To pursue a Doctorate of Audiology I had to use a distance learning program because there were no universities in my area which offered the program I needed, and I had to be enrolled in this distance learning program by December 2006.

Today I am no closer to obtaining this benefit than I was a year ago.  I am testifying today because of the difficulties I had using this benefit. Either some universities do not have the staff to manage the required paperwork or VA paperwork has been sent to the wrong location.

I received my Certificate of Eligibility dated January 24, 2007, and I submitted my paperwork as instructed by the VA to the university at that time.  It has been a year since I started my doctoral program, and I have spent hours on the phone trying to find out why I am not receiving these educational benefits in addition to my duties as the sole parent of two active teenagers, my studying and my job as an audiologist.

 Finally on June 12, 2007, I was told by the university that my program was not a VA approved program. Instead of taking no for an answer, I wrote more letters to the university, educating them on my VA benefits, ensuring that they were aware of my status, and why I was returning to school. This time I honed in on the application process.  Was it too difficult?  Could I help them?  In January 2008 the university finally replied that while the application for educational benefits was rejected because it was not a VA approved program, they would complete the application for benefits and submit it to the  VA. Through a series of many phone calls, I recently learned that my application is still not in the VA system; my file is in the Atlanta office, and it should be in the Buffalo office because of the location of the university.  The university’s residential program has three VA certifiers, and if my file had been transferred to Buffalo in the beginning that office would have been aware of the VA certifier on the university campus who could have assisted.

I have lost confidence in a program that should have worked synergistically among the VA, the educational institution and the survivor. As of today I have received no payment, and the only information in the VA educational system concerning me is my statement of eligibility.

Another educational issue which concerns surviving spouses is that as long as the surviving spouse is on active duty serving their country he or she is not allowed to use their survivors’ educational benefits. Active duty service members who are also surviving spouses are barred from the survivor educational benefit until they leave active duty. If active duty service member who is also a surviving spouse has the Montgomery GI Bill, this earned and paid for benefit will be offset by their Chapter 35 benefit. Their deceased spouse paid for the Chapter 35 benefits with their life, and the active duty survivor paid for the benefits of the Montgomery GI Bill. If an active duty service member who is also a surviving spouse exhausted his or her benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill prior to the death of his or her active duty spouse, would this offset apply and leave them with no Chapter 35 benefits?

The President’s proposed budget would allow a service member to transfer his or her GI Bill benefits to a spouse. Under the current rules the active duty member who is also a surviving spouse would have to wait until discharged or retired to use this benefit.  If the surviving spouse chooses to stay in the military service until retirement this could mean a wait of 19 or more years to use these benefits. Will an active duty service member who is also a surviving spouse be allowed to retain this benefit or will he or she lose this benefit which was paid for with their spouse’s life and dedication to their country? Would allowing the small number of surviving spouses in this dual situation to use both benefits make a significant financial impact on this country’s budget?

In addition, if the active duty service member who is also surviving spouse chooses to leave the service so he or she can use the Chapter 35 benefits, this contributes to the retention problems of the Armed Forces.