Revamped G.I. Bill is Now Law

The Congress is in recess all this week which means that most of the Congressmen are back home working from their districts. On Monday, Congressman Altmire spoke with Kevin Miller on KDKA radio at Kennywood Park. It was interesting for me to listen to his interview from his office in DC. Kevin Miller asked Congressman Altmire some excellent questions about important issues he is working on in Washington, D.C. One of these issues is the G.I. Bill.

That day, (Monday, June 30, 2008), President Bush signed the G.I. Bill into law. This law provides increased funding for service members to attend state colleges and universities. Congressman Altmire serves on the subcommittee which amended the G.I. Bill, so he had a lot to do with getting this increased funding. The following is the Press Release that the Press Secretary sent out on Monday. She said that I could share it with you.

ALTMIRE: REVAMPED G.I. BILL IS NOW LAW

Pennsylvania veterans eligible for additional $14,000 to pay for college

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Congressman Jason Altmire (PA-04) today issued the following statement on the revamped G.I. Bill, which the president signed into law this morning as part of the supplemental funding legislation. Pennsylvanians who have completed more than three months of active duty service since September 11, 2001 could now qualify for a maximum educational benefit of $23,846 a year, which includes $12,164 for tuition, $1,000 for books and $1,186 per month for living expenses. This is a dramatic increase over the original G.I. bill's maximum education benefit of $9,990 a year.

Earlier this year, Congressman Altmire joined Congressman Harry Mitchell (AZ-05) in introducing the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act (Post-9/11 G.I. Bill - H.R. 5740), which was included in the supplemental funding legislation. More than 65,000 Pennsylvanians have been deployed since 2001 and could qualify for assistance under the new G.I. Bill. Veterans can find out more information on how to access these benefits by calling their universities' veterans liaison's office, calling 1-888-GIBILL-1, or going to www.gibill.va.gov

"Today, the promise of the G.I. Bill has been fully restored for our newest generation of veterans," Altmire said. "As tuition costs rose in recent years, the real value of the G.I. Bill fell to the point where it covered only a fraction of the cost of a college education. Now, Congress has ensured that veterans will have the funding they need to pay for a quality education at any public university. I am confident that just like the millions of Americans heroes who went to college on the G.I. bill in the 1940s, today's veterans will use this new G.I. Bill to strengthen our country."