After about seven years at war, some lawmakers are looking to offer military members that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan benefits comparable to the ones offered by the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the GI Bill of Rights, after World War II. A bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., would pay for the cost of any in-state public university or college, while giving a monthly housing stipend for all servicemen who have served at least three years after Sept. 11, 2001.
“I am a strong proponent and supporter of the GI Bill that Sen. Webb put in,” said U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich, Monday at the Hancock Turfgrass Research Center. “It really reflects the needs of a time of war. It’s something that is more helpful in terms of paying for education, and it’s really overdue.”
U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, also support the bill.
Troy Walters, a criminal justice sophomore, said if he had to go to college on his GI Bill alone, he might not have gone back to school after leaving the Army.
“It would’ve been tough,” said Walters, who served for four years. “I probably couldn’t go full time or I would have to go to (Lansing Community College) or something like that.”
That is the problem Congress is trying to fix by introducing numerous proposals that would update the current GI Bill to assist veterans who have served since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The current Montgomery GI Bill, updated in 1984, is a voluntary program in which the troops pay $100 per month for their first 12 months of service, then receive $1,100 per month assistance for 36 months of school.
Walters, who received a four-year scholarship as part of MSU’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps, said the current GI Bill can be a turnoff for some servicemen and women.
“For soldiers getting out of the military who want to go to school, they don’t have enough to live on when they get out,” he said.
Some senators, including U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have said that the bill, which is expected to cost $52 billion throughout the first 10 years, costs too much and would reduce troop retention.
Lt. Col. Jim Rhoads, an assistant professor of military science, said he doesn’t know how the bill could affect retention or re-enlistment rates, but he doesn’t think troops join for the incentives.
“I don’t think that’s enough of a reason to get out,” Rhoads said. “The majority of people are not doing it for the benefits. But they’re nice to have.”
He said the problem with re-enlistment is something the country will have to deal with.
“The same as everybody, troops want to start a family and have some sense of a normal life,” Rhoads said.
However, Walters said he thinks if soldiers have less incentive to re-enlist, the retention rate could fall.
Rhoads, who said he used his GI Bill to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees after the Vietnam War, said the bill also could help recruiting.
“In order to attract the number of people we need to attract, we need to sweeten the pot,” he said. “Our guys are being asked to do more than during the post-Cold War time.”
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