Boyda & Vets Push for New GI Bill

Standing in Topeka with members of the armed forces, Nancy Boyda joined the call for a updated and revised GI Bill, standing together with other Members of Congress and the military calling for better care for our soldiers after the return from active duty.

From the Topeka Capital Journal:

Former Marine Sgt. Dan Parker is fighting for a new GI Bill.

The 25-year-old veteran of deployments to Iraq and Liberia is a semester away from earning degrees in political science and English at The University of Kansas. He attributes discipline and maturity drawn from years in uniform to making him a solid college student.

Financial support through the existing GI Bill helped pave the way for Parker's education, but inflation has compromised a benefit created for veterans of World War II. Parker and many of his peers find it necessary to hold jobs to make ends meet. Others take on massive loan debt.

The value of a strong GI Bill is something Congresswoman Boyda can vouch for personally- as can the families of thousands of World War II veterans.

"The GI Bill was what actually took our family into the middle class," said Boyda, who represents the 2nd District that includes Topeka. "I don't think the American people understood how the benefits had eroded."

So, members of the House approved sweeping reforms, bringing the GI Bill back to the strength it had for our grandparents. Under the new bill, "benefits would be available to veterans for 15 years rather than the current 10 years. Veterans could expend a portion of the funding for tutors, continuing education, and license and certification tests. A mandatory $1,200 buy-in fee, (and) a $600 supplemental charge to broaden benefits, would be dropped."

If the bill makes it past the Senate, the president may still veto it. The veterans at event in Topeka, though, had strong words of caution on that front.

Parker, who grew up in McPherson, advised the commander in chief to update incentives for veterans to attend college. About one-third of veterans draw upon GI Bill benefits, he said, but less than 10 percent earn a college diploma.

"It would be a politically devastating mistake if the president were to veto it," said Parker, a Marine from 2000 to 2005. "Nobody is going to get rich off the GI Bill."

And, for just some more visual stimulation: