VA Under Fire - Right or Wrong?

By Terry Howell

If you have paid any attention to the implementation of the New Post 9/11 GI Bill, you know that the new program is incredibly complicated and light on important details.

The program has seven tiers of benefits, 50 different tuition rates, and hundreds of geographically determined cost of living stipend rates. And that is the simple part.

In a case of “garbage in, garbage out,” the new bill lacks details and has a narrow view of the current world of education.

The following issues are an example of important details that are not addressed in the current language of the law as passed:
• What are the tuition rates and housing stipends for overseas students?
• What happens when a student drops? Does the VA go after the school or the student for repayment?
• What process will schools use to bill the VA for a student’s tuition?
• If a student is taking a mix of online and traditional classes (Hybrid), how many online classes can they take before they lose there housing stipend?

Now, in a typically political move, Congress is accusing the Department of Veterans Affairs of delaying the implementation. A recent Stars and Stripes article reports that in a recent hearing “lawmakers angrily criticized Veterans Affairs officials for possible delays in implementing the new GI Bill benefits by the August 2009 deadline.”

Congress hastily passed this law and knew it would take time for the VA to clean it up. They gave them a year, which seems like plenty of time. But when the light of day exposed the depth of issues related to this bill the VA pushed back, asking for contractors to help. Lawmakers saw this as an opportunity to point the finger at the VA for the inevitable delays.

To be fair, the VA, like most government agencies, is not perfect and to expect swift implementation of this complicated and incomplete law is unrealistic and unprecedented. For example when the Montgomery GI Bill was passed the VA had more then twice the time to implement it before the first eligible veterans were able to start using it.

Maybe I am too soft on the VA, but in my opinion, congress is to blame for taking the politically expedient road and rushing this legislation through. The last minute changes to this bill even surprised its original authors.

I suggest you read the Stars and Stripes article VA Under Fire for GI Bill Delays on Military.com and judge for yourself whether or not congress is expecting too much from the VA.

About the Author:
A Retired Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer, Terry completed his BS in Management and Communications using a combination of CLEP exams, credit for military service, and distance learning while on active-duty. Terry now serves as Managing Editor for the Education Channel at Military.com.

Comments

[Richard A Brown]

Dear Editor,

I entered the AF in 1979 retired 2000. Missed the GI bill and was under VEAP. Well, it was a bad program then and obviously bad a few years later when they went away from it to the Montgomery GI bill.

I didn't buy into this bad program. Now here I am honorably reitred and 40% disabled vet after 21 years of service with no education benefits when someone who serves 4 years gets full benefits? Am I the only one that thinks this is wrong?

[kathy]

Well what I think stinks the most is the family transferability that I CAN'T use. I retired ADAF in 2003, my husband did 11 years AD and 11 years RES also ret in 2003. If others can use this to help send their children to college, why Can't we???? We paid our GI Bill money in and we "PAID" thru 20 years each of service and deployments. Our generation got the stick. Those before us had the old GI bill that could transfer and those after us will have it....The 1980, 1990, and early 2000 vets got cheated!!!!

[yanira]

for all of those that have been in the military for more than 10 years you should know by now that you can't be walked by the hand for everything you need to do for your own benefits. no service, with the exception of basic training, is going to tell you step by step what you need to do. i'm currently working at my school as the VA representitive- workstudy and the VA does not tell me how to help the vets i go to school with. i help them and myself by looking up the information and sharing it with students, not waiting for the info to fall in my lap to then cry about it later when it doesn't. yes i am a veteran and yes i served in iraq so yes i do know how dificult the military can be, i was there but you cant blame anyone for what you dont work at getting for your self. the internet isn't just used for e-mailing there is a ton a things you can get if you look for it. and if you think that just because you served such amount of years and deployed x amount of times that the VA should wipe your bottom for the rest of eternity your S.O.L.

[theodore wyant]

The VA is a pile:
*I retired 2003 reserves/guard
*Activated 2001, my 5th tour in 22 yrs of service
*The last tour 1.3 yrs over sea 3 hrs notice
* Zero with GI bill 10yrs bi bi
* Zero with certification program
* Use $40,000 on GI home loan lost balance because loan office did not divered the benifits that's about $350,000 bi bi

VA reply its not our fault?
ps during my years of service on tour every other year the first 10 years bottom line we are talking about benifits earned." For Travis AFB when I returned from my last tour in 2002. " This is a benifit we elect not to give you" That with I request retirement request flag never received sad! Keep up the pressure vets

[no limit on education]

while we were serving multiple tours and doing the fighting, civilians did not offer to risk their lives and instead chose college. they are making a lot more than we are and much more able to keep up payments on their mortgages, alot more so then a veteran. dont just say that nowadays you respect veterans and soldiers, prove it with the laws that do not limit us and also recognize that bureaucracy makes it worse.

[no limit on education!]

This angry marine said it all right. I wanna repeat it andwe should all start something here. every family knows or has someone serving multiple tours, each of these people signed a contract to give their life if needed and the country should now honor that by providing us with a FREE education without limit. does not have to be a degree, why not pay for classes just so we can take classes and learn!

[angry marine]

The va and politicians still can not get it right they put a limit on schooling and how you can use it is just wrong. Many vets that have not used their gi bill have now lost it all and nowhere does it state that some of us vets can try to go to school currently pre- 9-11.

I say NO LIMIT ON the gi bill and let every veteran have access to it with no limitations.

[Darrell Polston]

I served from 1983 - 1995. I went to school on the useless VEAP system that only knocked out my eligibility for any Pell Grants because the $225/month received and my minimum wage job created to much income. I paid for my own Master's out of my own pocket because the the $8K total allowed under VEAP was expended at the end of my Bachelors. What a rip off that program is since I had to put in 1800 of my own money. I would have been better of in a 457 account under my own control.

[glenn gallagher]

I got out of the reserves in 2003 and into the IRR. I recently received orders to go to Iraq. How does that affect my length of legibility to use the GI Bill?

[Herman W. Hill, Jr.]

Then why am I still waiting for my educational benefits to kick in??? I've even written the Department of the Air Force about this!!!! I retired December 1987, was enrooled fulltime at National University, received my bachelors two years later without using my bennies, but was told I was ineligible to receive benefits for my Masters degree? Come on now! I was TOLD to wait until I got out to use them. I did!! Didn't get'em! Then told I COULDN'T get'em! Now I can??????When? How? I went into $24,000 in debt to get a Masters literally out of my own pocket. I only want what I was promised and entitled! I want it NOW!

Note from Author:
It seems to me that you were given BAD info. The GI Bill can be used for Masters degree programs. I can say that because I am using it right now for my Master's Degree. And BTW the advice to wait is good since you get little to no value from the GI Bill while on active duty.

Visit http://education.military.com/money-for-school/active-duty/gi-bill/active-duty-gi-bill-users-guide and read the section called "When to Use the GI Bill."

That should help explain why you were told to save your GI Bill.

[Fernando Villalpando, Jr.]

I ETA in November of 1998 and my GI Bill runs up next month.I don't think that is right or fair. I served my country, I deserve my benefits. I couldn't go to school right after I left the service because of work, my daughter and my father was taken ill. Now I have a great chance to go back an finish and my money runs out. Can someone tell me how this is right? If the VA pays me now I'll make more $ later and buy more things paying more taxes, which in turn goes right back to to government.

[Salahudin Majeed]

Recently received notice from the VA that I did not qualify for the new Montgomery Bill. I entered serivce in December, 1981 and departed September 1992. Is there any military education bill that I might qualify under for school purposes?

Note from Author:
VA Education benefit eligibility is determined the date you entered service. When you joined the benefit was called the Veterans Education Assistance Program (VEAP) http://education.military.com/money-for-school/veteran/gi-bill/veterans-educational-assistance-program-veap . If you did not elect to participate in VEAP when you joined then you are not eligible for any VA education programs.

However, you may find that your home state offers some type of education benefit. Visit http://education.military.com/money-for-school/state-veteran-benefits to learn more about state education benefits.

[henry brown]

I served for 27 years in the armed force, and I tried to us my GI Bill and they told my that i was not eligble i just serve two year on Endurance Freedrom

[Irene Cardiente]

Do all the VA Representatives in colleges get the same training as to help Vets understand whether they qualify for this new GI Bill?
Do we Vets have other recourse if the VA Rep in our school can't help us?

[Danny]

This whole thing stunk from the very beginning. It's politics at it's finest. I've already spoken to my congressman about this, but I probably will again. I'm a 6 year Navy vet with 5 years left on my GI Bill. Even though I did 3 deployments in 4 years, and I served during the first wave of the current Iraq war, I get left in the cold on this because I narrowly missed the "9/11 window" that is attached to this bill. Everyone needs to make sure they read the fine print on this deal, because it's not as sweet as everyone thinks it is.