by Seth Michaels, May 23, 2008

While passing the extension of unemployment assistance by a veto-proof margin yesterday, the Senate also overwhelmingly approved a new bill to help veterans pay for college.

The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act is an expansion of the historic G.I. Bill, which helped a generation of veterans attend college and work their way into the middle class. The original G.I. Bill, enacted in June 1944, helped millions of veterans returning from World War II (and later from other wars) get needed education or job training and enabled broad prosperity.

But its benefits have been watered down and now covers only a portion of the  rising cost of education for today’s returning veterans. Service members returning from Iraq or Afghanistan are finding they can’t cover the cost of attending a college or university. The new bill will modernize the benefits so today’s veterans returning to civilian life can enjoy the same access to education as post-World War II veterans did.

The bill provides returning veterans with an educational benefit equal to the cost of attending a public college or university in their home state.

The bill was passed by the Senate on a 75-22 vote May 22 as part of a package that includes extension of unemployment insurance. Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) voted for the bill.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Republican candidate, opposed the bill, saying it would damage military retention rates. He did not vote and was attending a fundraiser in California at the time. McCain had proposed a less generous alternative, which the Senate rejected.

Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) was one of the bill’s sponsors, along with Sens. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and John Warner (R-Va.). Webb said the bill fulfills the country’s promise to those who serve:

Congress today resolutely asserted that it is time for those of us who have been calling on these brave men and women to serve again and again to assist in providing a meaningful chance for a first-class future. This is a bill that is equal to the first-class service that they have given to this country.

There are no politics here. This is about taking care of the people who have taken care of us. This measure has been passed overwhelmingly by both houses of Congress. But our work is not done here. I call on the president to put politics aside and do what’s right for our nation’s newest “greatest generation” by signing this bill into law.

The bill won support from both parties but has drawn a veto threat from President Bush, who claims it is too expensive.

Yesterday’s vote is a major victory for working families. The legislation would give workers suffering without jobs much-needed assistance, while members of our armed forces would have access to new opportunities and the education they deserve.

The Senate package will return to the House next week, and after a vote there will head to the White House.

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