Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008

The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 improves educational benefits for certain individuals serving on active duty in the Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001.

The main benefits include:

• Four academic years (36 months) of educational tuition benefits for an approved program up to the cost of the most expensive in-state undergraduate public tuition in the state the Veteran enrolls, currently, ranging from approximately $3,500 in Wyoming to over $450,000 in Utah Southern Utah University Professional Pilot Program helicopter side. The amount received depends on the number of months the veteran served on active-duty service on or after September 11, 2001. The minimum requirement is service of at least 90 days, which entitles the veteran to 40% of the educational benefit.
• Additional tuition at more expensive private schools under the "Yellow Ribbon" program allows participating institutions to share the cost (as of 2008, one to one) with the federal government up to 100% of the expense.[4]
• A monthly living stipend based on housing costs of a service member of pay grade E-5 with dependents, based on zip code of learning institution. This rate varies greatly nationwide; the current rate for New York City is $2,744, while the same rate for El Paso, TX is $917. Veterans attending schools online or through correspondence will not receive this benefit if their entire enrollment is in distance or online learning. The veteran will be entitled to the stipend if at least one course is classified as "in-residence".[5]
• A benefit eligibility period of 15 years after leaving active duty (compared to 10 years in the current Montgomery G.I. Bill).
• International education programs outside the US are eligible. (US national computation for institutions without a US Campus)
• Elimination of the $1,200 program enrollment fee paid by the veteran at the beginning of military service currently required by the Montgomery G.I. Bill. There is also a one-time payment of additional assistance, paid concurrently with the disbursement of the final month of benefits, which refunds either all or portions of the original $1,200 enrollment fee; the refund amount depends both on the amount contributed, up to $1,200, multiplied by the percentile balance of remaining benefits when electing to convert to Chapter 33.
• An annual stipend to cover other education costs (e.g., books, supplies, fees) of up to $1,000.
• Up to $2,000 towards one-time licensing or certification test, not charged against the 36-month entitlement.

Students, regardless of whether Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits pay all or some of college costs, may obtain additional financial aid for education by preparing a federal student aid application (FAFSA). The amount of military aid a student receives for a college education does not defer eligibility or reduce the amount of student aid that student could receive from the four federal grant programs - Pell, SMART, ACG, and TEACH - and many of the state student aid programs.[14]

• Section 3311: Educational assistance for service in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001 - Entitlement. This section prescribes multiple categories of veterans entitled to educational benefits under this Act. In general, to qualify, veterans must have served at least 90 days of active duty, with at least some period of active duty time served on or after September 11, 2001.
• Section 3312: Educational assistance - Duration. Veterans are entitled to receive educational assistance for a period of time that is linked to their entitlement, as measured by Section 3311 above. In general, veterans may not receive assistance for more than a total of 36 months, which equals 4 academic years.
• Section 3313: Educational assistance - Payment and amount. In general, veterans may receive monetary assistance to pursue an approved program of education as follows: (i) payments covering the established charges of the program, (ii) a housing stipend based on a servicemember of pay grade E-5 with dependants in the area of the educational institution (iii) an annual stipend of $1,000. This Section prescribes the timing of such payments and revised payment guidelines related to less-than-half-time education, apprenticeships, on-the-job-training, correspondence school, and flight training.
• Section 3314: Tutorial assistance. Veterans may receive additional payment for tutorial assistance, not to exceed $100/month, for a maximum of 12 months, or until a maximum of $1,200 is used.
• Section 3315: Licensure and certification tests. Veterans may receive payment for one licensing or certification test, not to exceed the lesser of $2,000 or the test fee.
• Section 3317: Public-private contributions for additional educational assistance. Establishes a system where private colleges and universities can voluntarily participate in the program. The government will pay up to 50% of the cost greater than the most expensive public program.
• Section 3319: Authority to transfer unused education benefits to family members. Allows transfer of a veteran's unused benefits to 1) a spouse after six years of service with an agreement to serve at least four more years and/or 2) a child after ten years of service.
• Section 3321: Time limitation for use of and eligibility for entitlement. Veterans have 15 years (as measured under the provisions of this Section) to use their educational entitlement.
• Section 3322: Bar to duplication of educational assistance benefits. Veterans who receive educational benefits under this Act may not receive concurrent assistance under another similar program; instead, veterans must elect one program over another.
• Section 3324: Allocation of administration and costs. Besides addressing administrative items, this section also prescribes ways for veterans to choose to elect into this Act's program from the existing Montgomery G.I. Bill program.

Although the bill is widely considered an important piece of legislation, some flaws in the new GI Bill have been noted.

Perhaps the largest controversy has been the distribution of GI Bill funds to for-profit colleges. In 2014, CBS News reported that eight of the top ten schools for GI Bill funding were for-profit colleges, including a failing Corinthian Colleges. [15]

In 2019, NBC News reported that reduced oversight of for-profit colleges would lead to greater power for for-profit schools to prey on veterans. The report highlighted abuses by Ashford University, Full Sail University, University of Phoenix, and Colorado Technical University. [16]

Senator Jim Webb (D-VA), a decorated Vietnam veteran and former Secretary of the Navy, originally introduced the Senate bill the day after he was sworn in (on January 5, 2007) as S. 22. His principal co-sponsors included military veterans Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and John Warner (R-VA).[17] A House companion bill was introduced by Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA). On September 12, 2007, the bill became a bipartisan initiative when Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) cosponsored the bill.

After earlier passing the House and Senate in different forms in May 2008 mainly with support from Democrats and a few Republicans, a bipartisan deal was brokered and the bill passed as an amendment to H.R. 2642, the FY08 Supplemental Appropriations Bill, commonly referred to as the War Funding Bill.

On June 19, 2008 the veteran education assistance benefits, along with 13-week unemployment benefit extension, passed as an amendment with a vote of 416-12.[18] On June 26, the Senate voted 92-6 in favor of the final version of the bill.[19] President George W. Bush signed H.R. 2642 into law on June 30, 2008.[1]

Prior to passage, the bill received support from many Nationwide Organizations such as The American Legion, AMVETS, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), and the Student Veterans of America (SVA).

A Congressional Budget Office report that had been cited by opponents states that retention will drop by 16%, while proponents counter that the same study predicts recruitment will be up by 16% due to the new incentives this bill would create. Senator Webb also pointed out that currently, "recent studies show that 70% of all enlisted members get out at or before their initial enlistment."

While President Bush had initially threatened to veto the bill, in early June 2008 the White House signaled he might be willing to sign it along with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. He wanted to see transferability between spouses and dependents added onto the new G.I. Bill, making it more valuable to career military personnel that would like to pay for their spouse or child's education.[20] On June 19, 2008 this provision was added to the war funding bill and President Bush indicated he would sign such a bill. This provision already existed with respect to the Montgomery GI Bill for regular servicemembers (the MGIB-AD).[21]

Among the bill's initial opponents was Republican presidential hopeful, Senator John McCain of Arizona, who had introduced a competing bill. Sen. McCain's bill would have increased the basic education benefit by the current G.I. Bill by almost $3,000 a year and added another $4,200 a year for service members who stayed in the military for at least 12 years.[22] With the added transferability provisions for continued military service, Sen. McCain came to support the bill because it was changed to encourage additional service beyond three years, mitigating his earlier concerns.[23] Sen. McCain, who had not voted in the Senate since April 8, was campaigning in Ohio on June 26 and was not present for the final senate vote on the bill. The only other senator not voting was Sen. Ted Kennedy, who was recovering after surgery to remove a brain tumor.[24]

Then-United States Senator from Illinois and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, who had expressed early support for the Webb version of the veteran education benefits,[23] voted for the final bill on June 26.[25]

A 2021 study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) indicates that the post-911 GI Bill has had limited value, and in some cases may be less valuable for veterans than working after leaving military service. According to the authors "All veterans who were already enrolled in college at the time of bill passage increase their months of schooling, but only for those in public institutions did this translate into increases in bachelor’s degree attainment and longer-run earnings. For specific groups of students, large subsidies can modestly help degree completion but harm long run earnings due to lost labor market experience."[27][28]

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Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008

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