Freeze on Bush rules won’t delay GI Bill - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Freeze on Bush rules won’t delay GI Bill

President Obama’s government-wide freeze on implementing regulations prepared by the Bush administration will not delay work on rules covering the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Veterans Affairs Department officials said Thursday.

After months of negotiation with Bush administration regulators at the White House Office of Management and Budget, VA published proposed rules for the benefits program Dec. 23. It is accepting comments through tomorrow that will be used in preparing final regulations.

The new GI Bill program, which promises to cover full tuition at a four-year public college or university plus living and book allowances, takes effect Aug. 1.

VA spokesman Steve Westerfeld said the freeze on regulations ordered by Obama on Tuesday, his first day in office, prevents the publication of proposed rules and halts issuance of final rules — but it does not delay work on the GI Bill rules, which are “proposed” in their current form and are not yet final.

“VA will continue to review the comments submitted on the proposed rule,” Westerfeld said.

It will draft final rules that will be reviewed by the new VA secretary, Eric Shinseki, who was sworn in on Wednesday, and by Obama’s team at the Office of Management and Budget, Westerfield said.

Shinseki told Congress during his confirmation hearing that implementing the GI Bill on time and without problems is one of his top priorities.

In a statement issued after he took the oath of office, Shinseki, a retired general and former Army chief of staff, said he plans to develop a 2010 budget within 90 days that pushes forward on Obama’s goal of transforming VA into a “people-centric, results-driven and forward-looking” organization.

Launching the GI Bill, streamlining the VA disability claims system, expanding access to VA health care and improving care for returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are other top items on his agenda, the statement said.