Senate Offers VA Advice on GI Bill Claims Process

By Terry Howell

Key members of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee sent a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki offering their advice for improving the Post-9/11 GI Bill payment process.

The letter outlines potential improvements, including:
• Utilizing staggered work hours at the Education Call Center so West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii veterans have ample opportunities to contact VA;
• Working to generate award letters automatically, which currently take a significant amount of time for VA staff to process manually; and
• Establishing a centralized website for educational institutions to reduce confusion and improve communication. 

Really? I wonder where they've been. From what I understand, the VA is already working on these ideas, many of which were brought up at the National Association of Veterans Program Administrators (NAVPA) Annual Conference in St. Louis last month.

While I am glad the Senate has decided to chime in, it seems they are content to treat the symptoms instead of the disease. Rather than addressing the overly complicated and rather myopic law that is causing the backlog, it appears they have chosen to offer unsolicited advice on the VA’s deliverability issues.

The root cause is an overly complicated benefit that adds layers of bureaucracy and red tape to an already complicated set of education programs. Many veterans see the red tape delays as a means for the government to avoid making good on their commitment.

My Advice? - If our elected leaders really want to make it right, they should consider the following two fixes:

1. Combine all the GI Bill programs (Montgomery GI Bill, MGIB-SR, REAP, Post-9/11) into one comprehensive program. It seems stupid to have so many different GI Bills running simultaneously – it’s no wonder the VA has problems delivering.
   
   
2. Go to a flat payment rate for all tuition, fees and living stipends. There is currently more than 50 different rates for tuition and fees and hundreds of different living stipends - military housing  rates based on zip codes. Going to a flat rate for all vets makes it equitable and simplifies the payment process.

You really want to fix the problem? Simplify the GI Bill by creating a single “Total Force” GI Bill program. This would help speed up the process and make it better for all concerned. It will certainly save administrative costs and remove the dilemma veterans face when being forced to choose which GI Bill to use. 

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Unintended Consequences - Vets Fall Deeper in Debt

By Terry Howell

Tens of thousands of vets are waiting for the VA to play catch-up and as each week passes, more and more find themselves in financial hardship. Last month the VA tried to help by issuing emergency benefit payments. But since then many of the same vets are still waiting for their benefits to start. Much of this is an unintended consequence of rushing to launch the overly complicated Post 9/11 GI Bill  program before the VA systems were up to speed.

A vet going by the name BahHumbug wrote, “[I] Waited.. nothing.  Complained… nothing.  Wrote in... nothing. 11/11 still broke going on 3.5 months. I bet congress taking blame is really going to help."

But, for many vets it isn't just a matter of simply being patient. 

Matt, a visitor to this blog, wrote: “I was certified back on the 5th of August. The point of contact at my school certified me for August 08 instead of August 09. I didn't find out that she made that error until the end of September. So, she went back and re-certified the right "year" but the VA told me that because of the error and the re-certification I am now at the back of the list. They just say that it is the Schools fault and that I just have to wait.”

Like many veterans, Matt is at the mercy of a broken system and an overwhelmed bureaucracy that seems unable, if not unwilling, to stop to correct course. Matt took advantage of the $3,000 emergency benefit payment, but, that money was to cover the month of September, it is now mid-November and many are still not receiving the regular payments.

Hundreds of vets have posted similar stories. I have received several e-mails telling of veteran students who are now dropping out of school to go back to work because of the financial hardship caused by the delays in the GI Bill payment process. I can only guess how many have the same experience and have not posted their comments here.

To make things worse, spring registration has already begun at several schools. This will likely add to the VA workload and may further delay making any corrections to past payment errors. I am sure that nobody ever thought that there would be veterans still waiting for fall semester payments while spring registration gets underway.

Maybe the VA should have asked for more time. Maybe Congress should have allowed them to bring in contractors earlier. And, maybe the unintended consequences are just too much for the system to bear. But no matter how you cut it, vets see themselves getting the short end of the stick once again.

Many of us work hard everyday to protect veterans from predatory businesses that target them as they reintegrate into society, but who is protecting them from the best intentions of our own government?

Get involved! Contact your elected officials. Write post cards, send e-mails, call their offices and let them know they need to not only take the blame, they need to take action and fix the problems once and for all.

Vets Need to Keep the Real Prize in Mind

It seems the GI Bill's incentivisation of education may hurt veterans in the long run.

By Terry Howell

Note: The point of the folllowing article is not to imply veterans are cheating the system or don't deserve the benefits - the point is that vets need to make sure they are ready and focused before they head to school.

Thousands of veterans have headed to school this year. Many had never considered college before the advent of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. On balance this is a great thing – if they are going to school for the right reasons.

Over the last few months there has been a somewhat alarming trend - veterans going to school lured by the promise of great benefits and cash in their pockets – not for the promise of an education. Who can blame them, some veterans are being offered as much as $2,800 a month for attending traditional classroom studies.

The concern is that vets, motivated to go to school for the stipends, may find pursuing a college degree more demanding than they expect and realize they’ve gotten in over their heads. Fact is, some schools have already seen a number of veteran students drop classes to reduce their. The downside of this is that when they drop classes, or worse drop out entirely, they will likely find themselves in debt to the VA and/or their schools.

Note: Dropping after the “drop/add” date will result in veterans having to pay out of pocket.

Clearly, vets should take advantage of the Post-911 GI Bill, or any GI Bill program for that matter, but they need to check their motives. Going to school for the living stipend may lead to choosing a school that doesn’t fit their needs. For example, to get the living stipend vets must take traditional college courses, unlike online or distance learning, traditional classroom courses don’t offer the flexibility some veterans need. If veterans select a school based on their needs instead of the cash incentive, many could see a greater chance of success, and after all, isn’t that what they should expect from their college education?

Veterans who want to improve their employment opportunities, open new doors, or simply improve their lives through education, need to select the degree, school, and program that best fits their needs. Vets that do this may not find the school or program that “maximizes” their cash benefit, but maximizes their chances at success.

My advice – don’t use the GI Bill for the immediate cash benefit, use it to pay for the college degree that fits your goals and ambitions. You have earned this benefit, do yourselves a favor, use it wisely.