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FEDS OPPOSE BILL TO EXPAND G.I. BILL BENEFITS
FOR
RESERVISTS -- Officials from the Pentagon and
Department
of Veterans Affairs do not support the
legislation.
Story here...
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/
2007/02/28/news/030107dcfedoppose.txt
Story below:
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Feds Oppose Bill To Expand School Benefits For
Reservists
By Fred Love
The Morning News
WASHINGTON -- Officials from the Pentagon and Department of Veterans
Affairs said Wednesday they do not support a bill that would expand
education benefits for National Guard and Reserve troops.
They said the initiative could prove to be expensive and might hurt the
miltary's efforts to retain soldiers.
The bill, sponsored by five House lawmakers including two from Arkansas,
would allow reservists to take advantage of school loans and subsidies
through the GI Bill for up to 10 years after leaving the military.
Currently, school benefits for Guard members and reservists end when
they retire from the service.
The VA supports the intent of the bill but can't back it until its costs
become clear, said Keith Wilson, VA education service director, told
members of the House military personnel subcommittee.
Michael Dominguez, undersecretary of defense for personnel and
readiness, said the bill may drive down retention rates in the National
Guard and Reserves because soldiers will no longer need to re-enlist to
continue to receive educational benefits.
*
"We need incentives that encourage our reservists to stay with us, not
to leave," Dominguez said.
Second District Rep. Vic Snyder, R-Little Rock, chairman of the
subcommittee and sponsor of the bill, said that while the measure may
hurt retention, it would boost recruitment by offering more flexible
education benefits.
Snyder said the current policy disrupts the education of many reservists
and Guard members who have been deployed and can't continue their
studies.
"People are being mobilized and then they come back and their enlistment
is winding down. So they decide not to re-enlist and then their
education benefit isn't there," Snyder said, adding that such situations
are "just not fair" to the soldiers.
Wilson and Dominguez also opposed a provision that would shift GI Bill
management from the Pentagon to the Department of Veterans' Affairs.
Wilson said the Department of Defense is better-equipped to handle the
administering of "kickers," or bonuses used to recruit for unpopular
positions.
Third District Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, is among the bill sponsors
in the House. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., is backing a similar measure
in the Senate.
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Larry Scott --
