Legislation May Extend GI Bill to National Guard

Think the government’s turned its back on the Post 9/11 GI Bill? That the new GI Bill’s been left to fend for the wolves? Think again! While there are still several military members that are [quite unbelievably] waiting for their Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits, there are members that are pushing to refine the new GI Bill and make it more attractive for the military members of future semesters. And here’s one of them.

New bipartisan legislation was introduced on September 10 that would push 30,000+ National Guard members into Post 9/11 GI Bill qualification status. This legislation is thanked to Iowa representative Dave Loebsack and includes National Guard members that are called to active duty in order to support our homeland security.

Quoted from Loebsack and the DefenseLink, the U.S. Department of Defense‘s site: “Essentially, the new GI Bill of Rights that we passed last year unintentionally left out about 30,000 members of the National Guard. They are not receiving all of the benefits they have earned (…) Our National Guard members who participate in disaster response, protection of U.S. airspace, border security and many other critical missions deserve the Post-9/11 GI benefits and the opportunities that come with those benefits. As a former college professor, I know and understand the many doors an education can open. A small technical error will not and should not get in the way of opening those doors.”

Originally the Post 9/11 GI Bill only extended benefits to the service members that were under Title 10 duty status, ignoring those that served under Title 32 homeland security roles. Both duties are paid by the federal government even though Title 32 service members are under the control of the state governor. The idea is to recognize them as playing a federal role rather than strictly a state role.

The current Post 9/11 GI Bill, which began Aug. 3, extends benefits only to service members serving under Title 10 duty status, but the proposed law would cover those serving under Title 32 in homeland security roles. Both duty statuses are paid with federal dollars, but under Title 32, the state governor maintains control of National Guard forces.

The bill also addresses reserve-component service members that were discharged with a service-connected disability. They are currently not covered under Post 9/11 GI Bill law. Service members under Title 10 that are discharged due a service-connected disability receive the full 4-year benefits, so Loebsack felt it was right for Title 32 Guard members discharged to receive the benefits as well.

Since the bill’s September introduction, it’s received 22 co-sponsors and has received a referral to the House Veterans Affairs Committee. DefenseLink unfortunately reports though that the VA has no intentions of passing GI Bill-related legislation until next year.

Thanks to heerothewizard at Deviant Art for the Creative Commons National Guard image.