Running head: POST 9/11 GI BILL 1. Post 9/11 GI Bill Student Tarleton State University

Transcription

1 Running head: POST 9/11 GI BILL 1 Post 9/11 GI Bill Student Tarleton State University

2 POST 9/11 GI BILL 2 Introduction, Historical Background and Description of Policy On June 22, 1944 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the GI Bill of Rights. The term GI is a noun used to describe the soldiers of the United States Army and Airmen of the United States Air Forces and occasionally for U.S. Marines and shore bound sailors and also for general items of their equipment. The idea of helping veterans returning home from war started after World War I when discharged veterans were only given a $60 allowance and a train ticket home. Then came the Great Depression, and veterans had a difficult time adjusting to civilian life and finding employment. Congress tried to intervene by passing the World War Adjusted Act of 1924, commonly known as the Bonus Act. The law provided a bonus based on the number of days served ( History and timeline, 2013). With this act most veterans would not see any money for 20 years because this was not to be paid until 1945 ( Veterans of Foreign Wars, 2014). This lead a group of veterans to march in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 1932 to demand full payment of their bonuses ( Veterans of Foreign Wars, 2014). Veterans were met with resistance from U.S. troops and were forced to leave Washington. With the end to World War II looming and millions of veterans getting ready to return home, the politicians wanted to avoid the postwar confusion about veterans' benefits like what happened in the 1920s and 1930s. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted a postwar assistance program to assists veterans transition from wartime to peacetime. Harry W. Colmery, a former national commander of the American Legion and former Republican National Chairman, is credited with drawing up the first draft of the GI Bill. The GI Bill was introduced in the House on Jan. 10, 1944, and in the Senate the following day. Both chambers approved their own

3 POST 9/11 GI BILL 3 versions of the bill ( History and timeline, 2013). President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law on June 22, The Veterans Administration (VA) was responsible for carrying out the law s key provisions: education and training, loan guaranty for homes, farms or businesses, and unemployment pay ( History and timeline, 2013). Due to the GI Bill, millions who would have flooded the job market instead opted for education. In the peak year of 1947, veterans accounted for 49 percent of college admissions. By the time the original GI Bill ended on July 25, 1956, 7.8 million of 16 million World War II Veterans had participated in an education or training program ( History and timeline, 2013). In 1984, Rep. G.V. Sonny Montgomery (D-Miss.) led an effort to overhaul the GI Bill. The legislation became known as the Montgomery GI Bill. The Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) is available to those who enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces. There are two main programs in the Montgomery GI Bill. The Active Duty (MGIB-AD) is for active duty members who enroll and pay $100 per month for 12 months and are then entitled to receive a monthly education benefit once they have completed a minimum service obligation. The Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) is for Reservists with a six-year obligation in the Selected Reserve who are actively drilling (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2013). Then in 2008 the government passed the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Post-9/11 GI Bill) this enacted as Title V of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L ) on June 30, 2008 this bill became the newest GI Bill and went into effect on August 1, The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides benefits to veterans and service members who serve on active duty after September 10, 2001 (Dortch, 2014). There were four main drivers for the Post-9/11 GI Bill: the first one provides parity of benefits for reservists and members of the regular Armed Forces, the second ensures comprehensive educational benefits, the third meeting

4 POST 9/11 GI BILL 4 military recruiting goals, and then the fourth is improving military retention through transferability of benefits. By fiscal year 2010, the program had the largest numbers of participants and the highest total obligations compared to the other GI Bills (Dortch, 2014). Necessitate the Policy/Issue America has been at war with Iraq and Afghanistan for more than a decade, and during that time, more than 2 million Americans have been deployed overseas. Now that one war has ended and the other is winding down, millions of veterans will return to civilian life and to the job market. Many veterans have limited experience with the demands and possibilities of the civilian employment market and are unsure how to identify civilian jobs suited to their skills and interests ( Investing in Veterans, 2013). As a result, veterans may struggle to navigate the career pathways that lead to sustainable employment ( Investing in Veterans, 2013).Veterans are trained for military work and when they return home they lack the education to find jobs in the civilian workforce. Estimates suggest that by 2018, 63% of jobs paying a minimum of $35,000 per year will require some postsecondary education (Carnevale, Smith, & Strohl, 2010). In 2011, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was 12.1%, as compared to 8.7% for nonveterans. The situation was especially acute for male veterans between the ages of 18 and 24, 29.1% of whom were unemployed, as compared to 17.6% of their nonveteran peers (U.S. Department of Labor, 2012). In 2011, the military spent nearly $1billion on unemployment benefits payments to veterans without jobs (Zoroya, 2012). Current job growth is centered in emerging industries and small companies; since 1980, most job growth has been in companies with fewer than 500 employees (Acs, Parsons, & Spenser, 2008). Specialized and rapidly changing employment landscapes can be difficult to navigate, particularly for veterans used to the highly structured environment of the military.

5 POST 9/11 GI BILL 5 Objective Analysis Although the new GI Bill offered a set of educational benefits to the nearly 2 million individuals who have served in the United States armed forces since the attacks of September 11, 2001, according to Li (2010) the early implementation faced several challenges. The new bill has led to difficulties in administering benefits than its immediate predecessor, the Montgomery GI Bill. This is because the amount of the benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill depends on where the student attends school, and also because tuition payments are sent to institutions, whereas the new living allowances and book stipends are paid directly to students (Li, 2010). The new payment methods lead to delays in payments to both veterans and institutions (Li, 2010). Veterans have reported keeping track of their Post-9/11 GI Bill payments, the amounts for which they were eligible, and the payments received, those forthcoming, and the purpose of each payment whether it is for housing, books, or some other expense has been more involved than before this bill (Li, 2010). Because costs and payments were not itemized, some students expressed uncertainty over whether their payments were correct (Li, 2010). The Post 9/11 GI Bill is helping some veterans who would not otherwise have been able to pursue higher education. The Post 9/11 GI Bill helps both the veteran and the country because they are more likely to get a job and use less government services after getting a higher education (Li, 2010). Arguments in Favor/ Against Starting in the early 1900 s the American Legion has supported military veterans. The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veteran s organization. Focusing on service to veterans, service members and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States ( History, 2015). The American Legion and Congress had worked together

6 POST 9/11 GI BILL 6 for more than three years to overhaul the federal veterans education benefits package. Prior to passage, the bill received support from many nationwide organizations such as The American Legion, American Veterans Inc. (AMVETS), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), and the Student Veterans of America (SVA). Even though this bill was widely supported there were several that argued against this bill. Some Department of Defense officials, such as Senator John McCain and President George W. Bush, had argued the measures would cause a decline in service member retention in a time when retention is critical for the military (Philpott, n.d.). A Congressional Budget Office states that retention will drop by 16%, while proponents countered recruitment will be up by 16% due to the new incentives this bill would create (Philpott, n.d.). Senator Jim Webb also pointed out that currently, recent studies show that 70% of all enlisted members get out at or before their initial enlistment ( Hearing On, 2008).While President Bush had initially proposed vetoing the bill, in early June 2008 the White House signaled he might be willing to sign it along with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year He wanted to see transferability between spouses and dependents added onto the new G.I. Bill, making it more valuable to career military personnel that would like to pay for their spouse or child's education ( History, 2015). On June 19, 2008 this provision was added to the war funding bill and President Bush indicated he would sign. This provision existed with respect to the Montgomery GI Bill for regular service members (MGIB-AD) ( History, 2015). The student went to Austin to talk to legislatures about this bill. It would seem most legislatures believe in the Post 9/11 GI Bill and support it. Jeff Frazier, the Senior Policy Analyst for Senator Konni Burton, discussed how her office is a big supporter of this bill since she is on

7 POST 9/11 GI BILL 7 the Higher Education Committee and the Veteran Affairs & Military Installations Committee (Vice-Chair) for the Texas senate. He was also asked about priority registration for veterans to ensure they can receive full benefits, and stated they have heard of this issue and would support priority registration for veterans if it were ever to come to their office. While in Austin the student also talked to Dwight Clark the Capitol Director for Representative Jose Menendez. Representative Menendez is now a Senator for Texas. The student asked Clark about the Post 9/11 GI Bill and how Rep. Menendez supported veteran s benefits. Clark stated that Rep. Menendez has a bill in committee that appoints a commission to establish and administer the College Credit for Heroes program to identify, develop, and support methods to maximize academic or workforce education credit awarded by institutions of higher education to veterans and military service members for military experience, education, and training obtained during military service in order to expedite the entry of veterans and military service members into the workforce. He also stated that Rep. Menendez supported the efforts to make a higher education more attainable for veterans and supports the Post 9/11 GI Bill. The student social work group also had a rally and started a petition for Tarleton student veterans to get priority registration. As a student, rally activities consisted of fundraising to provide T-shirts and other incentives for people to attend the rally as well as coordination of the event. The student social work group had four speakers at the rally, one of the speakers was Mayor Kenny Weldon. Mayor Weldon spoke about risk management, he said that from a view point of Tarleton State University there were no risk for the University if they allowed priority registration for veterans. A member of the social work group Juan De Santiago is a Marine Veteran and spoke at the rally about how not having priority registration has affected how he is able to access his benefits. The students also had a petition for rally audience to sign to help

8 POST 9/11 GI BILL 8 generate support for policy change at Tarleton State University to allow priority registration for student veterans. In accordance to what these speakers have stated and the rally and petition efforts, it is believed veterans need priority registration so they can access the classes required in order to receive their full benefits from the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Implications for Social Work The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is the largest employer of Master s level social workers in the United States due to the numbers of veterans that need services. Social workers offer a variety of services to veterans and their families, including resource navigation, crisis intervention, advocacy, benefit assistance, and mental health therapy for conditions such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and drug and alcohol addiction (Sisk, 2013). With the Post 9/11 GI Bill educating veterans and their families, this will lower their need for services since it is shown people with a higher education generally have lower unemployment rates and higher earning power (Graham, n.d.). Nationwide, in any given month, a total of 900,000 veterans nationwide lived in households that relied on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to provide food for their families in 2011, according to an analysis of census data (Sisk, 2013). Whether it is within a Veterans Administration setting, homeless shelter or social services, interactions with veterans is common. With the growing number of veterans entering civilian life the Post 9/11 GI Bill helps the veterans to be able to receive a higher education that will lead to jobs and decrease their need for assistance. The social work profession must continue to educate employees to serve veterans by meeting specific needs such as physical and mental health issues as they reintegrate back into family life. Social worker also need to understand deployment and the complicated adjustments associated with posttraumatic stress disorder, suicide, traumatic brain injury, and substance abuse, with special

9 POST 9/11 GI BILL 9 chapters devoted to military fathers, gays in the military, military children, and more. Social workers serving military service members and veterans need to be competent and knowledgeable about the military culture and informed about the best practices. Working with veterans includes all levels of social work from the individual veteran who may need help finding out about their benefits, and referring a veteran to services they may need. Working with veterans includes group work with addiction, integration back to civilian life, counseling services, and working with the veterans and their families. Social work activities are focused on, but are not limited to, identifying and facilitating client access to essential services and resources, social supports, case management, care coordination, and advocacy. Services are provided at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels in a wide range of public and private settings, community based, school, government, health, and mental health organizations. Services may be provided to Service Members and Veterans in all branches and from all eras and conflicts and to their family members. The social worker also advocates for legislative, regulatory, and organizational policies and procedures that ensure access to quality care for all service members, veterans, and their families.

10 POST 9/11 GI BILL 10 References Acs, Z., Parsons, W., & Spenser, T. (2008). High impact firms: Gazelles revisited. Small Business Research Summary, (328). Retrieved from Carnevale, A. P., Smith, N., & Strohl, J. (2010, June). Help wanted: Projections of jobs and education requirements through Center on Education and the Workforce. Retrieved from Committee on veterans' affairs. (2008). Hearing on pending benefits legislation. Retrieved from Dortch, C. (2014). The post-9/11 veterans educational. Retrieved from Graham, B., & Charles, P. (n.d.). Does higher education really lead to higher employability and wages in the RMI? Retrieved January 1, 2015, from and wages.pdf History. (2015). Retrieved from History and timeline. (2013, Nov 21). Retrieved from Investing in veterans: The need for career and education advising. (2013, January 1). Retrieved from Leonard, B. (2015, January 1). Higher Education Needed for Most Future Jobs: SHRM Study. Retrieved from

11 POST 9/11 GI BILL 11 Li, J. (2010). How military veterans are using the post-9/11 gi bill and adapting to life in college. Retrieved from Montgomery GI Bill. (n.d.). Retrieved from Philpott, T. (n.d.). Senate joins house in passing new post-9/11 GI Bill. Retrieved from Sisk, R. (2013, Oct 13). Nearly 1 million vets face food stamps cut. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2012, March 20). Employment situation of veteran s summary [Press release]. Retrieved from Veterans of Foreign Wars. (2014, January 1). Retrieved from