thedrifter
02-10-07, 06:14 PM
GI Bill may expand to cover more job training
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Feb 10, 2007 12:43:48 EST
The construction, energy, hospitality and transportation fields would be added to a GI Bill education benefits program that provides lump-sum payments for specialized training leading to immediate employment under a bill introduced in the Senate.
Sponsors are calling the bill the Veterans Employment and Training Act of 2007, or the VET Act. The bill, introduced Feb. 8, would build on an existing program that provides one-time payments for veterans enrolled in high-tech training.
“Many of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan are having a difficult time finding work,” said Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., the chief sponsor of the bill, S 526. “I find this troubling, and I feel that we have a responsibility to support our returning veterans who are looking for work.”
Pryor said the Labor Department has identified the trucking, construction, hospitality and financial services industries as fields likely to have high growth in the next several years. The trucking industry alone has a shortage of 20,000 drivers today and an estimated 110,000 new drivers will be needed by 2014.
“We have industries in need of skilled employees, and we have many young men and women in need of good, high-paying jobs,” Pryor said. “Our legislation is intended to help match those [people] with needs through increased training benefits in the Montgomery GI Bill.”
Under the bill, GI Bill benefits that traditionally are paid monthly could be used to make one-time, lump-sum payments for training courses that are approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs. GI Bill benefits could be used to cover part of the costs of such courses.
“Truck-driver training courses typically last four to six weeks but can cost up to $6,000,” Pryor said. Under the bill, up to 60 percent of the cost would be covered by GI Bill benefits.
The bill was referred to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, which considered but did not pass similar legislation last year.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., are co-sponsoring the bill.
Ellie
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Feb 10, 2007 12:43:48 EST
The construction, energy, hospitality and transportation fields would be added to a GI Bill education benefits program that provides lump-sum payments for specialized training leading to immediate employment under a bill introduced in the Senate.
Sponsors are calling the bill the Veterans Employment and Training Act of 2007, or the VET Act. The bill, introduced Feb. 8, would build on an existing program that provides one-time payments for veterans enrolled in high-tech training.
“Many of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan are having a difficult time finding work,” said Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., the chief sponsor of the bill, S 526. “I find this troubling, and I feel that we have a responsibility to support our returning veterans who are looking for work.”
Pryor said the Labor Department has identified the trucking, construction, hospitality and financial services industries as fields likely to have high growth in the next several years. The trucking industry alone has a shortage of 20,000 drivers today and an estimated 110,000 new drivers will be needed by 2014.
“We have industries in need of skilled employees, and we have many young men and women in need of good, high-paying jobs,” Pryor said. “Our legislation is intended to help match those [people] with needs through increased training benefits in the Montgomery GI Bill.”
Under the bill, GI Bill benefits that traditionally are paid monthly could be used to make one-time, lump-sum payments for training courses that are approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs. GI Bill benefits could be used to cover part of the costs of such courses.
“Truck-driver training courses typically last four to six weeks but can cost up to $6,000,” Pryor said. Under the bill, up to 60 percent of the cost would be covered by GI Bill benefits.
The bill was referred to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, which considered but did not pass similar legislation last year.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., are co-sponsoring the bill.
Ellie