GI Bill improvements take step forward

[unhappycamper]

GI Bill improvements take step forward
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Apr 14, 2008 6:35:59 EDT

Efforts in Congress to improve GI Bill educational benefits took two leaps forward Thursday, although the price may be a delay for the payment of any increases approved by lawmakers.

The first step forward came when the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman, who has been sitting on the sidelines while other lawmakers have pressed for change, announced he is now backing the most generous GI Bill legislation, the 21st Century GI Bill sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.

The chairman, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, is a World War II veteran who attended college using the GI Bill. He has supported the idea of improving benefits but has not, until now, backed any specific bill.

With Akaka on board, there are now 53 co-sponsors in the Senate. A similar House bill has 122 co-sponsors.

To win Akaka’s support, the Webb bill — S 22 — will be modified to address some of the chairman’s concerns. One of those changes is a delay — the length of which has not been determined — from the time the bill is signed into law and when the payment increases take effect, aides said. A second change would have GI Bill benefits paid directly to the school being attended, rather than to the veteran — a move Akaka thinks would decrease the risk of fraud or overpayment.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/04/military_gibill_improvements_041108w/