RSS
Home
NM in middle of GI Bill money
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.JPG)
John Garcia, New Mexico Secretary of Veterans' Affairs during the town hall meeting with Sen. Tom Udall on June 30. Photo by Regina G. Purcell
Last week when Sen. Tom Udall visited Albuquerque, he touted passage of the New Montgomery GI Bill as a feather in his cap, but on further inspection, the new veterans’ benefits vary from state to state, and New Mexico’s share is about in the middle of caps allowed – providing up to $201.40 per hour class, and a maximum of $10,600 for one term of college.
The new GI Bill takes effect Aug. 1, and the changes are the biggest since World War II, when my Grandpa came home and got a full college education to start his American Dream. When I separated from the U.S. Navy in 1986, there was about $300 available to me annually for college.
The Associated Press reviewed state-by-state benefits and reported it shows “huge discrepancies in the amount veterans can receive.”
This snafu is indicative of what the federal government could do for healthcare: Create a bureaucracy that is not fair for all.
For example, the AP reported that:
- Veterans attending New Hampshire colleges like Dartmouth might get $25,000 from the government each year, and in Dartmouth's case essentially a free ride, thanks to an additional grant from the Ivy League school. But in neighboring Massachusetts, it is a different story. At that state's numerous private schools - many just as expensive as Dartmouth - the government's baseline tuition benefit is only about $2,200 a year.
- Veterans who choose a private school in Texas could get close to $20,000 a semester from the government for a typical course load. Those picking schools in California will get nothing for tuition.
The explanation stems from the formula the government created, as well as a much-criticized decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs on how to implement the law.
The new GI Bill covers full in-state undergraduate tuition and fees at any public college - far more generous than the old GI Bill, which provides a monthly stipend that is the same from state to state.
But Congress also wanted to help veterans attend often pricier private schools. So the new bill offers them an amount equal to the tuition at the most expensive public college in the same state.
That penalizes veterans going to private colleges in states that have kept their public university tuition low.
Critics argue the Department of Veterans Affairs misinterpreted the law and should have combined tuition and fees in coming up with reimbursement levels. Anthony Brooks, a 26-year-old former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, will get a mere $5,000 toward the $38,570 tuition charged at the private University of Southern California - and half of that comes from USC through the government's Yellow Ribbon matching-grant program.
"It's depressing, actually. It's putting states up against each other," said Brooks, who plans to become a doctor. He added: "We all fought for our country. It just seems unfair."
The VA says its hands were tied by Congress.
"It is a valid question concerning why we would pay X in State A versus how much we would pay in State B, but the statute defines the kinds of programs we would account for," said Keith Wilson, the department's director of educational services.
Congress passed the Post 9/11 GI Bill last year, offering veterans the most significant expansion of educational benefits since the original GI Bill in 1944. The VA expects nearly half a million veterans to participate in the coming year.
The benefits - including new, separate stipends for housing and books - kick in after three years of active duty, and some of them are transferable to family members.”
While it was about time for the U.S. to update its commitment to military members, and hopefully, all eligible will be able to take advantage of the education money, but it is still to be seen how the paperwork affects the program.
