The New GI Bill Up in the House Today

The great people at WesPAC and BraveNewFilms are drawing attention to a very important bill that is scheduled to appear today on the House floor.

Mike talked about the joint venture between Sen. Webb and Sen. Hagel last November when they began to make rumbles about it. Its sad that its only now getting traction, but hey.. its the sausages being made.

I sat down with Bill Smith a thirty-something Gen X'er who served in the first Iraq war and received the Bronze Star.

AK: when did you go into the service?

Smith: June 1989

AK: Why?

Smith: I felt obligated to as a citizen you know, it was giving back and a family has a history of it. You know, also for the challenge to myself.

AK: Were there any expectations you had about it?

Smith: Not really, I wasn't really thinking about expectations I knew what I was getting into in terms of basic training and the job I was getting into.

AK: did you expect to have college be paid for?

Smith: No. I knew I was going to be paying into the GI bill, its not something you get at no cost, most people don't know that. When I did it in '89 it was $100 of your monthly pay check for the first year went into the [GI] bill and you had to serve 3 years to get it something like that... I can't really remember for certain...

The impression I had was that it would help pay for college. I don't know if they still have it but there is the Army College Fund that you get based on your ASVB score. That's where you might qualify you for certain specialties or incentives but I don't know if they still do that. I didn't get the ACF but, I thought it was like $25,000 which would pay a significant fund. Today, of course it wouldn't and I don't know if they still do it.

AK: Did most people you served with think that they would have college paid for?

Smith: Idon't know - it wasn't really top of the conversation, so I'm not really sure. I don't think any of us thought it would cover all of the costs of college I knew it wouldn't I assumed everyone else knew. I knew it might help pay for college.

AK: Do you have any student loan debt now from school?

Smith: Oh yes. Lots of student loan debt

AK: Do you feel cheated at all?

Smith: I think a lot of student think that you pay the price of your education but you never get compensated by employers in terms of salary for that. I think most students feel that way. Colleges sell it as an investment and then you pay for it the rest of your life. Like now, I have a 30 year mortgage for my education. I mean this goes deeper than the GI Bill but it makes me mad.

AK: What do you think about the existing GI Bill?

Smith: The GI Bill for me didn't pay my tuition - and I don't know if the current one would. Or if it was even designed to pay for our troops to go to school. I think the most value was maybe $600 a month for me. But it paid my moving expenses and sometimes rent and food. It supplemented my income. It helped but it didn't pay for college at all.

AK: Should it?

Smith: Yeah. Particularly for people who put themselves in harms way in times of conflict or war. I think its not just the sacrifice the troops are making, being away from their children or families or having fun with friends, but the physical and mental effects combat has on an individual.

We should support them in ways that help them transition out of the armed forces and providing them with educational benefits is a key to that. Even the VA benefits is a part of that. But veterans are the highest homeless population in the country - and that's a problem. Whether thats a result of no education or other mental health issues I think there's a relationship there.

Education is supposed to open the doors to life... ya know?

AK: What did you think of the video?

Smith: The video was powerful. I'm shocked I didn't even realize, I mean, I had known that they were going to do this, and change it, but I was shocked McCain wasn't cosponsoring and I tried to find out why and I just don't understand why he's not co-sponsoring the bill. The message I left on the website basically said he's selling himself as a supporter of the troops but his words aren't turning into action. The words are meaningless unless he's going to take care of us. And clearly he isn't.

Bill graduated from Baker University in Kansas in 2003. The current Congresswoman for his district (mine as well) Rep. Nancy Boyda is a co-sponsor of HR 2702.

It has yet to be determined why someone like John McCain is not.