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VFW rallies for better GI Bill benefits

The head of a major veterans’ group is trying to rally his membership to get Congress to pass a promised overhaul of GI Bill education benefits.

Gary Kurpius, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars, the nation’s largest organization for combat veterans, is pushing for Congress to pass S 22, a bill introduced in January by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., that would pay full tuition plus a monthly stipend for veterans attending college full time.

Kurpius has asked VFW members to contact their members of Congress to urge their support for the bill.

Additionally, Webb’s bill — the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007 — would eliminate the $1,200 fee charged for enrolling in the GI Bill and would give veterans up to 15 years after they leave the service to use their benefits, five more than currently allowed.

The bill is pending before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, which could take up the measure as early as June 27. A partisan fight over the measure is possible — Democrats have rallied around Webb’s bill, while Republicans have expressed doubts because no money has been set aside for the added benefits in the Democrat-passed budget plan for 2008.

“The Montgomery G.I. Bill was enacted two decades ago, but now we’re involved in the longest combat operation with an all-volunteer force in our nation’s history,” Kurpius said. “Our troops have earned a new G.I. Bill that is based on 21st-century realities.”