Noteboom The Law Firm

The Post-9/11 GI Bill Can Be Improved

May 27, 2010 - The Post-9/11 GI Bill is not operating at full capacity. Since last August, 275,000 veterans, service members, and family members have been able to afford to attend college. A couple key issues, however, have limited participation in the program:                             

• Overly complicated benefits formulas;
• Gaps in coverage; and
• Perceived inequities in specific benefits.

 The 275,000 people using the Post-9/11 GI Bill is far short of the 525,000 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) predicted would use it. While these numbers bewilder the VA, what makes it more confusing is that 425,000 veterans and service members have actually certified themselves as eligible to receive benefits. This means of all the people able to take advantage of the GI Bill, 42% have yet to do so

There are two groups representing those young veterans most likely to use the Post-9/11 GI Bill: The Student Veterans of America and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Both organizations believe there are various barricades preventing people from taking advantage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. These organizations have offered 9 ideas they believe could potentially resolve the problem:

• Give active-duty members the book stipend;
• Provide living stipends for distance learning;
• Cover more vocational and technical courses;
• Expand use of the $2,000 test reimbursement;
• Make family transfer rights retroactive;
• Give full credit to all National Guardsmen;
• Allow switching between programs;
• Simplify tuition benefits to increase money for private schools; and
• Provide Yellow Ribbon payments based on need.

 The likelihood of implementing all these suggestions is low. While every suggestion may be valid, the Post-9/11 GI Bill will most likely not go through any drastic changes, for good or bad, until it has been in available for at least a year.