thedrifter
05-09-08, 07:39 AM
Newsday.com
Veterans: GI Bill falls short
Many still struggle to pay costs of going to college
BY KRISTEN M. DAUM
kristen.daum@newsday.com; Staff writer Martin C. Evans contrib
May 9, 2008
WASHINGTON - Kevin Grafeld, of Levittown, joined the U.S. Marines hoping that when he got out he would be able to attend college, get a master's degree and teach history.
Now he is studying part-time at Nassau Community College and working at a Coram paintball range, because his GI Bill benefits aren't nearly enough to fund his educational dreams.
Grafeld, who served two tours in Iraq, said the $875 per month he receives as a 3/4-time student is not enough to cover "books, calculators, paper, pens, all the things you need to go to school."
"They were rather good at saying, 'Join the Marines and get an education, you'll have an opportunity to go to college,'" said Grafeld, 23, whose five-year enlistment ended in December. "I was 18 and a little naive."
Grafeld is just one example of the many Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who are finding that the GI Bill enacted 64 years ago to educate veterans returning from World War II doesn't cover the cost of a degree at many colleges, both private and public.
GI education benefits are determined solely by the length and type of military duty. A veteran who serves three continuous years on active duty would receive $1,101 each month, which can be used toward tuition, room and board or other fees. Veterans have the option to pay $600 out-of-pocket to increase their monthly benefits to $1,251.
The wide disparities between the benefits and college costs have spurred more than a dozen reform proposals on Capitol Hill, where leaders hope to resolve the issue by the end of the year.
The Pentagon, however, opposes the measures to increase educational stipends, arguing that if increased GI Bill benefits make college affordable to more servicemembers, that will make it harder to convince them to re-enlist.
However, Pentagon officials have reacted favorably to one bill in Congress that would provide the highest level of educational benefits to individuals who remain in the service for more than 12 years.
Many agree, though, that current GI benefits don't go very far for many of today's veterans, many of whom enlist assuming their college education will be paid for.
Virginia Democratic Sen. Jim Webb's Post-9/11 GI Bill - the measure with the greatest support in Congress - would give veterans four years of college tuition up to the cost of the most expensive in-state public university, plus a monthly room-and-board stipend based on local cost of living expenses.
The bill, which would provide up to $27,360 a year on Long Island for tuition, fees, housing and books, is expected to go before the House and Senate as early as this month.
Veterans groups say the issue is particularly acute in New York. The state has the fourth-largest veteran population nationwide - with the majority residing in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
David Kagan, Tappan, N.Y.
David Kagan, of Tappan, N.Y., enlisted in the Army at age 18, and served more than three years with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, including a stint in Iraq in 2003.
He said he assumed all along that GI benefits would pay for his education, and when he got out he enrolled in Columbia University in Manhattan as an American Studies major. Kagan, 25, anticipated some debt, given the annual tuition of $40,400. But he never imagined he'd be where he is now - $50,000 in debt with one year of school left.
Aaron Alfson, at Columbia
Aaron Alfson, a 27-year-old political science junior at Columbia, enlisted in the Air Force, hoping to rely on GI benefits for his college education. But the Florida native's monthly checks of $1,251 will barely add up to even one year's tuition at Columbia.
"The GI bill doesn't even begin to cover the total cost of attendance," Alfson said.
Nassau County Veterans Services director Edward Aulman said he's worked with more than two dozen Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to help them find ways to stretch their benefits. He said veterans today often don't realize until they return that their GI benefits won't cover tuition costs at major universities.
Among a number of proposals on Capitol Hill to increase veterans' educational benefits is the "Returning Soldiers' GI Bill of Rights," sponsored by Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford). Like other proposals, King's bill includes full tuition and housing expenses.
"My purpose is to put a full-court press on this," King said. "The point is to just get it out there so we can have as many supporters as we can."
Yet the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs continue to resist the concept of higher veterans educational benefits.
The Veterans Department is concerned about how it would oversee the distribution of increased benefits, Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Policy and Program Management Keith Pedigo told a congressional committee this week.
Withington said the Pentagon would only support measures that promoted retention.
"Experience and maturity are critical to our contemporary military success," he said.
Pentagon officials have reacted favorably to a bill by presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain. It provides the greatest benefits to individuals who serve for more than 12 years, while those who serve less than that would receive only $400 more each month than under the current benefit scheme.
But a variety of politicians and veterans say a significant increase in GI educational benefits is long overdue.
"We cannot retain those who we cannot recruit," said Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), a lead co-sponsor of Webb's Post-9/11 bill.
Aaron Alfson said "the Pentagon's argument" against such bills "doesn't hold any water" for young veterans.
"They use these educational benefits to attract enlistees, and somehow, now their position is, 'We don't actually want you to use these benefits,'" he said. "It doesn't make sense."
Staff writer Martin C. Evans contributed to this story.
No reward for her service
At 17 years old, Sheila Pion thought college would be paid for if she served in the military.
So the Long Island City teenager tricked her mom into signing her enlistment papers for the Army Reserve - because she knew her mother, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, would never have been able to afford to send her to college otherwise, Pion said.
After seven years in the reserves - including a year of active duty, working with injured soldiers at a Kuwait hospital - Pion gets just $400 each month from GI benefits toward her education at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
But the money barely even covers a semester's worth of transportation in New York City, let alone help with her $7,000 annual college expenses, the 24-year-old said.
"I served my country, and now I can't get money for my education?" Pion said. "It doesn't make sense."
Benefits don't add up
Current annual GI benefits for tuition and housing for full-time students at Long Island universities. Monthly benefits are based on length and type of military duty; they total up to $1,251 for full-time students who served at least three continuous years on active duty and paid $600 during their service to receive extra benefits.
Hofstra University
Annual cost: $36,000
Maximum GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: $24,741
Long Island University (C.W. Post)
Annual cost: $34,300
GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: $23,041
Adelphi University
Annual cost: $32,900
GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: $21,641
Dowling College
Annual cost: $22,590
GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: $11,331
Stony Brook University
Annual cost: $15,681
GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: $4,422
Suffolk County Community College*
Cost: $3,256 (county resident)
GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: + $8,003
Nassau Community
College*
Cost: $3,434 (county resident)
GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: + $7,825
Under congressional consideration
Key GI education bills currently before Congress
The "Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act" would provide money for four-years' tuition based on the most expensive in-state college and a housing stipend based on local living expenses. The measure also would extend the amount of time from 10 years to 15 years that a veteran has to use his or her benefits. Under the bill, a veteran could receive up to $27,360 a year on Long Island for tuition, fees, housing and books. Sponsor: Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.)
The "Enhancement of Recruitment, Retention, and Readjustment Through Education Act" would increase benefits for veterans by $400 monthly - and by $900 for those serving more than 12 years. Sponsors: Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.).
The "Returning Soldiers' Bill of Rights" includes similar provisions as Webb's proposal - but makes the benefits more flexible for veterans' use. For instance, veterans would have up to 20 years to use their benefits, and they could serve less time on active duty before becoming eligible. Sponsor: Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford).
Amending the "Servicemembers Civil Relief Act" to ensure benefits for veterans who must leave college to serve on active duty. Sponsor: Rep. Susan A. Davis (D-Calif.).
A bill to provide greater educational compensation to members of reserve units who serve a total of more than two years of active duty within a five-year period. Sponsor: Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah).
A bill to provide prorated monthly benefits for each month served, regardless of total time on active duty. Sponsor: Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.).
*Community college costs do not include room and board.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.); House and Senate records
Ellie
Veterans: GI Bill falls short
Many still struggle to pay costs of going to college
BY KRISTEN M. DAUM
kristen.daum@newsday.com; Staff writer Martin C. Evans contrib
May 9, 2008
WASHINGTON - Kevin Grafeld, of Levittown, joined the U.S. Marines hoping that when he got out he would be able to attend college, get a master's degree and teach history.
Now he is studying part-time at Nassau Community College and working at a Coram paintball range, because his GI Bill benefits aren't nearly enough to fund his educational dreams.
Grafeld, who served two tours in Iraq, said the $875 per month he receives as a 3/4-time student is not enough to cover "books, calculators, paper, pens, all the things you need to go to school."
"They were rather good at saying, 'Join the Marines and get an education, you'll have an opportunity to go to college,'" said Grafeld, 23, whose five-year enlistment ended in December. "I was 18 and a little naive."
Grafeld is just one example of the many Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who are finding that the GI Bill enacted 64 years ago to educate veterans returning from World War II doesn't cover the cost of a degree at many colleges, both private and public.
GI education benefits are determined solely by the length and type of military duty. A veteran who serves three continuous years on active duty would receive $1,101 each month, which can be used toward tuition, room and board or other fees. Veterans have the option to pay $600 out-of-pocket to increase their monthly benefits to $1,251.
The wide disparities between the benefits and college costs have spurred more than a dozen reform proposals on Capitol Hill, where leaders hope to resolve the issue by the end of the year.
The Pentagon, however, opposes the measures to increase educational stipends, arguing that if increased GI Bill benefits make college affordable to more servicemembers, that will make it harder to convince them to re-enlist.
However, Pentagon officials have reacted favorably to one bill in Congress that would provide the highest level of educational benefits to individuals who remain in the service for more than 12 years.
Many agree, though, that current GI benefits don't go very far for many of today's veterans, many of whom enlist assuming their college education will be paid for.
Virginia Democratic Sen. Jim Webb's Post-9/11 GI Bill - the measure with the greatest support in Congress - would give veterans four years of college tuition up to the cost of the most expensive in-state public university, plus a monthly room-and-board stipend based on local cost of living expenses.
The bill, which would provide up to $27,360 a year on Long Island for tuition, fees, housing and books, is expected to go before the House and Senate as early as this month.
Veterans groups say the issue is particularly acute in New York. The state has the fourth-largest veteran population nationwide - with the majority residing in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
David Kagan, Tappan, N.Y.
David Kagan, of Tappan, N.Y., enlisted in the Army at age 18, and served more than three years with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, including a stint in Iraq in 2003.
He said he assumed all along that GI benefits would pay for his education, and when he got out he enrolled in Columbia University in Manhattan as an American Studies major. Kagan, 25, anticipated some debt, given the annual tuition of $40,400. But he never imagined he'd be where he is now - $50,000 in debt with one year of school left.
Aaron Alfson, at Columbia
Aaron Alfson, a 27-year-old political science junior at Columbia, enlisted in the Air Force, hoping to rely on GI benefits for his college education. But the Florida native's monthly checks of $1,251 will barely add up to even one year's tuition at Columbia.
"The GI bill doesn't even begin to cover the total cost of attendance," Alfson said.
Nassau County Veterans Services director Edward Aulman said he's worked with more than two dozen Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to help them find ways to stretch their benefits. He said veterans today often don't realize until they return that their GI benefits won't cover tuition costs at major universities.
Among a number of proposals on Capitol Hill to increase veterans' educational benefits is the "Returning Soldiers' GI Bill of Rights," sponsored by Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford). Like other proposals, King's bill includes full tuition and housing expenses.
"My purpose is to put a full-court press on this," King said. "The point is to just get it out there so we can have as many supporters as we can."
Yet the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs continue to resist the concept of higher veterans educational benefits.
The Veterans Department is concerned about how it would oversee the distribution of increased benefits, Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Policy and Program Management Keith Pedigo told a congressional committee this week.
Withington said the Pentagon would only support measures that promoted retention.
"Experience and maturity are critical to our contemporary military success," he said.
Pentagon officials have reacted favorably to a bill by presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain. It provides the greatest benefits to individuals who serve for more than 12 years, while those who serve less than that would receive only $400 more each month than under the current benefit scheme.
But a variety of politicians and veterans say a significant increase in GI educational benefits is long overdue.
"We cannot retain those who we cannot recruit," said Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), a lead co-sponsor of Webb's Post-9/11 bill.
Aaron Alfson said "the Pentagon's argument" against such bills "doesn't hold any water" for young veterans.
"They use these educational benefits to attract enlistees, and somehow, now their position is, 'We don't actually want you to use these benefits,'" he said. "It doesn't make sense."
Staff writer Martin C. Evans contributed to this story.
No reward for her service
At 17 years old, Sheila Pion thought college would be paid for if she served in the military.
So the Long Island City teenager tricked her mom into signing her enlistment papers for the Army Reserve - because she knew her mother, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, would never have been able to afford to send her to college otherwise, Pion said.
After seven years in the reserves - including a year of active duty, working with injured soldiers at a Kuwait hospital - Pion gets just $400 each month from GI benefits toward her education at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
But the money barely even covers a semester's worth of transportation in New York City, let alone help with her $7,000 annual college expenses, the 24-year-old said.
"I served my country, and now I can't get money for my education?" Pion said. "It doesn't make sense."
Benefits don't add up
Current annual GI benefits for tuition and housing for full-time students at Long Island universities. Monthly benefits are based on length and type of military duty; they total up to $1,251 for full-time students who served at least three continuous years on active duty and paid $600 during their service to receive extra benefits.
Hofstra University
Annual cost: $36,000
Maximum GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: $24,741
Long Island University (C.W. Post)
Annual cost: $34,300
GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: $23,041
Adelphi University
Annual cost: $32,900
GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: $21,641
Dowling College
Annual cost: $22,590
GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: $11,331
Stony Brook University
Annual cost: $15,681
GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: $4,422
Suffolk County Community College*
Cost: $3,256 (county resident)
GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: + $8,003
Nassau Community
College*
Cost: $3,434 (county resident)
GI benefits: $11,259
Difference: + $7,825
Under congressional consideration
Key GI education bills currently before Congress
The "Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act" would provide money for four-years' tuition based on the most expensive in-state college and a housing stipend based on local living expenses. The measure also would extend the amount of time from 10 years to 15 years that a veteran has to use his or her benefits. Under the bill, a veteran could receive up to $27,360 a year on Long Island for tuition, fees, housing and books. Sponsor: Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.)
The "Enhancement of Recruitment, Retention, and Readjustment Through Education Act" would increase benefits for veterans by $400 monthly - and by $900 for those serving more than 12 years. Sponsors: Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.).
The "Returning Soldiers' Bill of Rights" includes similar provisions as Webb's proposal - but makes the benefits more flexible for veterans' use. For instance, veterans would have up to 20 years to use their benefits, and they could serve less time on active duty before becoming eligible. Sponsor: Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford).
Amending the "Servicemembers Civil Relief Act" to ensure benefits for veterans who must leave college to serve on active duty. Sponsor: Rep. Susan A. Davis (D-Calif.).
A bill to provide greater educational compensation to members of reserve units who serve a total of more than two years of active duty within a five-year period. Sponsor: Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah).
A bill to provide prorated monthly benefits for each month served, regardless of total time on active duty. Sponsor: Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.).
*Community college costs do not include room and board.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.); House and Senate records
Ellie