thedrifter
11-13-07, 07:40 AM
Posted on Tue, Nov. 13, 2007
GI bill would school 9/11 vets
By CARL MARIO NUDI
cnudi@bradenton.com
Military veteran Ben Voorhees served four years in the Marines, including an eight-month tour in Iraq.
Since the 22-year-old has been out of the service, he has been working to save money so he can attend Florida State University.
If Congress passes and the president signs the Post 9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act, Voorhees might have an easier road to earning his degree.
"This would be a huge help to me," the Sarasota High School graduate said Monday. "I've been out of school for four years, and this would be a helping hand getting back to academic world."
Voorhees was present when U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, announced Monday, the day Americans observed Veterans Day, his support for the bill, which would cover the total cost of education for veterans who served after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"This nation owes a great debt to its veterans who have been willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to defend our nation," Buchanan said at a news conference in the rotunda of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus building.
"The current program doesn't cover today's cost of a college education," said Buchanan, whose 13th Congressional District includes most of Manatee County.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Lee F. Kichen, a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Legislative Committee, said the passage of the bill is a major priority for the national veterans organization.
"The country has a moral obligation to veterans who served in harms way," Kichen said at the news conference.
He said veterans now collect only $1,100 a month for 36 months for educational expenses.
"That doesn't come close to covering the costs," said Kichen, who lives in Sarasota. H.R. 2702 and the companion Senate bill, S. 22, would increase benefits to veterans who served at least two years of active duty, with at least some of that time served on or after Sept. 11, 2001.
The legislation would cover the cost of tuition, books and fees and provide a monthly stipend of $1,000. It also would cover the cost of tutorial assistance and licensure and certification tests.
Veterans would have 15 years to use the educational assistance benefits. Members of reserve and National Guard units who served two years of active duty also would be eligible for the assistance.
"This bill expands the educational benefits to cover the total costs," said Buchanan, "including the citizen-soldiers who served active duty."
He said the Congressional Budget Office has not calculated the cost of the legislation, but that it was critical that it be adopted.
The first-term congressman said he has seen areas of waste in the $3 trillion federal budget that can be cut to pay for the legislation.
"It's the right thing to do," said Buchanan, who serves on the House Committee on Veterans.
District 11 U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, who represents a portion of Manatee County, said in an e-mail from her press secretary that she also supports the legislation.
Ellie
GI bill would school 9/11 vets
By CARL MARIO NUDI
cnudi@bradenton.com
Military veteran Ben Voorhees served four years in the Marines, including an eight-month tour in Iraq.
Since the 22-year-old has been out of the service, he has been working to save money so he can attend Florida State University.
If Congress passes and the president signs the Post 9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act, Voorhees might have an easier road to earning his degree.
"This would be a huge help to me," the Sarasota High School graduate said Monday. "I've been out of school for four years, and this would be a helping hand getting back to academic world."
Voorhees was present when U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, announced Monday, the day Americans observed Veterans Day, his support for the bill, which would cover the total cost of education for veterans who served after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"This nation owes a great debt to its veterans who have been willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to defend our nation," Buchanan said at a news conference in the rotunda of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus building.
"The current program doesn't cover today's cost of a college education," said Buchanan, whose 13th Congressional District includes most of Manatee County.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Lee F. Kichen, a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Legislative Committee, said the passage of the bill is a major priority for the national veterans organization.
"The country has a moral obligation to veterans who served in harms way," Kichen said at the news conference.
He said veterans now collect only $1,100 a month for 36 months for educational expenses.
"That doesn't come close to covering the costs," said Kichen, who lives in Sarasota. H.R. 2702 and the companion Senate bill, S. 22, would increase benefits to veterans who served at least two years of active duty, with at least some of that time served on or after Sept. 11, 2001.
The legislation would cover the cost of tuition, books and fees and provide a monthly stipend of $1,000. It also would cover the cost of tutorial assistance and licensure and certification tests.
Veterans would have 15 years to use the educational assistance benefits. Members of reserve and National Guard units who served two years of active duty also would be eligible for the assistance.
"This bill expands the educational benefits to cover the total costs," said Buchanan, "including the citizen-soldiers who served active duty."
He said the Congressional Budget Office has not calculated the cost of the legislation, but that it was critical that it be adopted.
The first-term congressman said he has seen areas of waste in the $3 trillion federal budget that can be cut to pay for the legislation.
"It's the right thing to do," said Buchanan, who serves on the House Committee on Veterans.
District 11 U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, who represents a portion of Manatee County, said in an e-mail from her press secretary that she also supports the legislation.
Ellie