Obama excited about Post-9/11 GI Bill, vows to fix ‘kinks’ - Military Education & G.I. Bill Information - Military Times

Obama excited about Post-9/11 GI Bill, vows to fix ‘kinks’

Although some who feel they deserve the benefits of the Post-9/11 GI Bill remain on the outside looking in, the program otherwise appears to be off to a solid start, with one glitch fixed and another that President Barack Obama vows will be.

In an Aug. 4 roundtable with a small group of defense reporters at the White House, Obama said he is excited about the new benefit, but he and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki acknowledged “kinks in the system.”

One is the inability of some veterans in California to use their full benefits because state schools generally charge low or no tuition but high fees, a situation that could have adversely affected students going to private schools in that state.

The state and VA on Aug. 4 agreed to a change that essentially relabels a portion of California’s public school fees as tuition, allowing all veterans to attend school in the fall using the full benefit of the new GI Bill.

The change drew praise — along with a caveat — from Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee.

McKeon said he is “incredibly pleased” that the problem has been solved in California, but he added that the formula for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits payments “still creates disproportions for veterans from different states, and that is something that should be addressed going forward.”

Obama also pledged that National Guardsmen left out of the Post-9/11 GI Bill because they were activated for homeland defense missions during the past eight years — under control of state governors rather than the president — would be included in the benefit.

The National Guard Association of the United States says up to 33,000 guardsmen are affected.

“My general philosophy is ... that somebody who’s served in uniform on behalf of our safety and security ... should be eligible,” Obama said, adding that his aides are trying to work out how to fund the fix with congressional appropriators.

VA began handing out tuition payments to participating schools on behalf of eligible veterans Aug. 1, and thousands continue to electronically register with VA for certificates of eligibility for the new GI Bill and to apply with the Pentagon to allow family members to share their education benefits.

The response so far has been strong, officials said. VA fully processed 120,121 certificates of eligibility from May 1 to Aug. 6.

Meanwhile, in the first five weeks that the transferability Web site was up and running, more than 30,000 service members applied to the Defense Department to share their benefits with family members, officials said.

Despite the high interest, the program has suffered a few technical problems. On Aug. 3, VA’s database went down for three hours, spokeswoman Katie Roberts said. The Pentagon reported no technical problems.

At the White House roundtable, Obama said he thinks the Post-9/11 GI Bill will “drive economic growth for many years to come, even as it provides a tangible reward for people who have made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country.”

“My grandfather benefited from the GI Bill, as did many members of the greatest generation,” Obama said. “This is the next greatest generation. They need to have that same support.”