According to Congressman Anthony Weiner, co-sponsor of the Post 9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act, Brooklyn’s nearly 2,887 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans will receive additional money for college as the House of Representatives provided $52 billion over 10 years in a new G.I Bill.
The bill, the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, passed the House as part of this year’s $184 billion emergency supplemental appropriations bill, will allow veterans who served a minimum of three months of qualified active duty since September 11, 2001 to receive payments up to the cost of the most expensive in-state public school – approximately $27,000 over four years in New York State. The bill also provides a monthly stipend equivalent to housing costs in the area, books, and other expenses. The bill still needs to be cleared by both chambers and signed by the President.
The new G.I Bill, originally cosponsored by Rep. Weiner, also provides a dollar-for-dollar federal match for private universities that voluntarily agree to contribute added tuition sums to veterans who enroll. In New York City alone, 8,459 veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will benefit from the bill, including 2407 past deployed and 480 currently deployed veterans from Brooklyn.
The original Montgomery G.I Bill provided payments for the full-tuition cost of any university, as well as the costs associated with housing and living. However, Weiner said that the scaled back support simply hasn’t kept up with today’s rising costs of education and living. In fact, under the current system, a veteran who was accepted to and attended New York University – with a tuition, room and board cost of over 46,000 a year – would be saddled with over $145,000 of debt after already sacrificing years of service to the country.
Rep. Weiner said, “Brooklyn’s veterans are true American heroes. They refused to turn their back when we needed them, and this step shows only the beginning of our respect and gratitude for their sacrifice.”
The bill will also allow veterans up to fifteen years, compared to ten years under the Montgomery G.I Bill, after they leave active duty to use their educational assistance entitlement. Nationwide, there are more than 1,700,000 veterans who will benefit from this bill, including approximately 1,240,000 active duty personnel and approximately 477,000 reserve forces.
