Congress Weighs Veterans Adjustment Aid

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/washington/07cong.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
May 7, 2008
Congress Weighs Veterans Adjustment Aid
By CARL HULSE
WASHINGTON Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, badly wounded in World War II, reflects on the help he received in readjusting to civilian life after intense combat in Europe and finds todayÃÔ government support for returning troops impersonal and inadequate.

Ÿe can go back and learn a few lessons in humanizing the veterans administration, said Mr. Inouye, a Democrat awarded the Medal of Honor for his service in Italy. Ţfter all, this is their second chapter in life. Their first chapter is a life of discipline. Now they have to learn to become human beings.

Generations after the G.I. Bill set Mr. Inouye and millions of other veterans on the path to a college education, Congress is beginning a charged debate over improving benefits for veterans of the post-9/11 era.

An emergency Pentagon spending measure scheduled to be considered by the House as early as Thursday would provide $720 million over two years to set up a program that would essentially underwrite a four-year public university education for anyone who has served on active duty for at least three years.

ŵhis is an effort to say thank you, Representative David R. Obey, Democrat of Wisconsin and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said Tuesday as he announced a $183 billion measure that would cover the cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan through early 2009.

On top of that amount, Democrats want to add $11 billion over 10 years to extend unemployment insurance, as well as money for the G.I. education benefits.

Sponsored by Senator Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia, a Vietnam veteran and former Navy secretary, the measure has broad support in the House and Senate.

But the Bush administration and prominent lawmakers, including Senator John McCain of Arizona, a veteran and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, are resisting it.

The divide threatens to erupt into a major election year issue as Democrats seek to portray opponents of the measure as neglecting those who volunteered to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ū understand George Bush is against it and Senator McCain is against it, but every veterans group is for it, said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. ŵhis rights a wrong.ÆûBR>
Acknowledging that the government needs to do more to help post-Sept. 11 veterans, Republicans in the House and Senate have put together an alternative to Mr. WebbÃÔ bill that builds on the current Montgomery G.I. bill. They say it would be more practical, cost less and encourage volunteers to stay in the military longer to maximize benefits.

Ū appreciate the effort, but I think the Webb plan is a bad approach to delivering education benefits to veterans that is going to be unnecessarily costly, that is complicated and has disparity in results that make no sense, said Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who is an author of the alternative. Ÿe donÃÕ reinvent the wheel.ÆûBR>
His plan would increase the monthly education stipend, to $1,500 a month from the current $1,100 maximum. The amount would be $2,000 for people who complete at least 12 years of service.

A central element of Mr. GrahamÃÔ plan is a provision to allow the transfer of unused education benefits to spouses or children. Half the benefit would be given to a family member after six years, and 100 percent would eligible for transfer after 12 years.

The Pentagon has embraced that concept and has raised concerns that a too generous education subsidy could be an incentive to quit the military after a member of the armed forces qualifies for the top benefit.

In a letter to Congress last week, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates wrote that Mr. WebbÃÔ proposal was at odds with attracting and retaining recruits.

The bill has support from leading Republicans like Senator John W. Warner of Virginia, who is typically aligned with Mr. Graham and Mr. McCain. Mr. Warner, another beneficiary of the post-World War II G.I. benefits, said the Pentagon had for years had the authority to allow education benefits to be shared within families but had never pushed the program.

Under Mr. WebbÃÔ bill, qualifying members of the armed services would be eligible for assistance at a state university that is equivalent to what in-state residents pay at the most expensive public university in the state, as well as help with housing and books.

Proponents say the program, which could cost tens of billions of dollars a year as more veterans take advantage, offers the guarantee of enough money for a full education rather than forcing people pursuing degrees to come up with money to offset any shortfall in federal aid.

The proponents add that the transferability promoted by backers of the alternative measure takes the focus off the veteran who should be the main recipient of the assistance.

Ūt is time for those of us who have been calling on these service members to serve again and again to assist in providing them with the most tangible thanks that our country can offer, Mr. Webb said.

As Democrats moved their plan to tie the veterans aid to the war spending measure, leading Republicans accused them of holding money for troops in the field hostage to efforts to expand federal programs.

Mr. Warner said the strategy was justified, telling reporters, Ūf you have to get the job done, sometimes you have to use an unusual tactic.ÆûBR>



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