President Bush Signs War Supplemental Bill (New GI BILL!)
June 30, 2008
President Bush Signs H.R. 2642, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008
Oval Office
9:48 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. A few moments ago I signed legislation that funds our troops who are in harm’s way. Our nation has no greater responsibility than supporting our men and women in uniform — especially since we’re at war. This is a responsibility all of us in Washington share — not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans. And I want to thank leaders of the House and Senate for getting this bill to my office.
America remains a nation at war. There are enemies who intend to harm us. Standing in their way are brave men and women, who put on the uniform, who raise their right hand, and took an oath to defend our freedom. They volunteered to deploy in distant lands, far from their families, far from their homes, and far from comfort of America. And every day, they risk their lives to defeat our adversaries and to keep our country safe.
We owe these brave Americans our gratitude. We owe them our unflinching support. And the best way to demonstrate that support is to give them the resources they need to do their jobs and to prevail. The bill I sign today does exactly that. It provides necessary funds to support our troops as they conduct military operations in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in other theaters in the war on terror.
I appreciate that Republicans and Democrats in Congress agreed to provide these vital funds without tying the hands of our commanders, and without an artificial timetable of withdrawal from Iraq. Our troops have driven the terrorists and extremists from many strongholds in Iraq; today violence is at the lowest level since March of 2004. As a result of this progress, some of our troops are coming home as result of our policy called “return on success.” We welcome them home. And with this legislation we send a clear message to all that are servings [sic] on the front line that our nation continues to support them.
We also owe a debt of gratitude to our nation’s military families. They endure sleepless nights, and the daily struggle of caring for children while a loved one is serving far from home. We have a responsibility to provide for them. So I’m pleased that the bill I sign today includes an expansion of the GI Bill. This legislation will make it easier for our troops to transfer unused education benefits to their spouses and children. It will help us to recruit and reward the best military on the face of the Earth. It will help us to meet our responsibilities to those who support our troops every day — America’s great military families.
The bill also includes agreed-upon funding for other critical national priorities. This bill includes $465 million for the Merida Initiative — a partnership with Mexico and nations in Central America to crack down on violent drug trafficking gangs. The bill includes nearly $2.7 billion to help ensure that any state facing a disaster like the recent flooding and tornadoes in the Midwest has access to needed resources. This bill includes a measured expansion of unemployment insurance benefits with a reasonable work requirement. And this bill holds overall discretionary spending within the sensible limits that I requested.
The bill is a result of close collaboration between my administration and members of both parties on Capitol Hill. I appreciate the hard work of my Cabinet — especially the leaders of Defense and State, and Veterans Affairs, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, as well as OMB. I want to thank House and Senate leadership and leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. I am particularly grateful to Congressmen Boehner, Hoyer, Obey, and Lewis. And I want to thank members who worked hard for the GI Bill expansion — especially Senators Webb and Warner, Graham, Burr, and McCain.
This bill shows the American people that even in an election year, Republicans and Democrats can come together to stand behind our troops and their families.
Thank you for coming.
END 9:53 A.M. EDT
Things that make you go hmmmmm….A Comment that needs to be clarified (GI BILL & TAXES)
June 27, 2008
In a earlier article I wrote about the new GI bill and taxes .. I received this response today. I just thought you all should see my response.
From: Chris
Sent: Friday, June 27, 2008 8:37 AM
To: admin1@corpsman.com
Subject: GI Bill Comment
Are you insinuating that high earners don’t support the military and don’t pay enough in taxes by this comment?
(May 15)
Well I know we have plenty of Millionaire kids out there serving in the military. (HAH!).
They won’t support the military and they won’t pay for more taxes to support the military or the new GI Bill.
No I am not insinuating that High earners aren’t paying their taxes..
What I am saying is “High Earners” while loving your protectionism by us low paid “Service folks” are bickering about paying some more money “FOR” the GI Bill.
That is what I am saying..
Look I am not a Political Nut, really I am not, but the majority of the folks who are serving come from Middle to low income areas. The old GI bill as it was written, you cannot go to College in this day and age with what we got. You need a lot of help to do so. I just think with the sacrifices we make (And believe me I have given up quite a bit during my 24 years) I think we have earned a bit of help.
That’s all.
Thanks for the comment Chris!
What do you think? Comments?
YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!
June 18, 2008
The AP has reported that Congress has passed the War Spending bill which includes the new GI BILL funding as well. The Bill will also hwlp with funding the Folks who have been hit by the floods in the mid-west.
Read Below.
Bipartisan accord reached on war funding bill
Posted : Wednesday Jun 18, 2008 21:29:00 EDT
WASHINGTON — President Bush would win $162 billion in long-overdue funding to carry out military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan into next year under a bipartisan agreement sealed on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
The agreement reached between House Democrats and Republicans and the White House — if passed into law as expected — would finally put to rest Bush’s long-standing battles with congressional Democrats over war funding.
House passage of the bill, expected Thursday, would also pave the way for a quick infusion of emergency flood relief for the Midwest, a 13-week extension of unemployment payments for the longtime jobless and a big boost in GI Bill college for veterans.
The latest installment of war funding would bring to well over $600 billion the amount of money provided by Congress to conduct the unpopular war in Iraq. It would also give Bush’s successor several months to set Iraq policy after taking office in January — and spares lawmakers the need to cast another war-related vote closer to Election Day.
House Democratic and Republican leaders announced the agreement Wednesday afternoon. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., withheld an outright endorsement but through a spokesman praised several key elements of the deal.
“This is an agreement that has been worked out in a bipartisan way that I think is acceptable to both most Democrats and most Republicans,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.
White House Budget Director Jim Nussle signaled Bush would sign the measure.
“It meets the needs of the troops; it doesn’t tie the hands of commanders in the field,” Nussle said. He also said the spending levels in the bill stayed within Bush’s demands. The latter claim was a stretch since the measure will carry new GI Bill benefits, as well as additional unemployment payments that Bush had threatened to veto.
But the agreement drops restrictions on Bush’s ability to conduct the war and gives him almost all of the funding he sought well over a year ago for Iraq and Afghanistan.
The White House — and Capitol Hill Republicans — had signaled greater flexibility in recent weeks after Democrats orchestrated impressive votes to more than double GI Bill college benefits and give a 13-week extension of unemployment payments for people whose benefits have run out.
In late-stage talks, Democrats dropped a provision to pay for the GI college benefits by imposing a half-percentage point income tax surcharge on incomes exceeding $500,000 for singles and incomes over $1 million earned by married couples. They also dropped a plan to extend unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks in states with particularly high unemployment rates.
Democrats and governors across the country emerged the victors in a battle with the White House to block new Bush administration rules designed to cut spending on Medicaid health care for the poor and disabled.
The war funding bill had bedeviled Democratic leaders for months. Its passage has become more urgent with looming furloughs next month of civilian employees and contract workers.
Conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats are upset that the new GI Bill benefits, with costs tentatively estimated at $62 billion over the next decade, will be added to the deficit instead of being “paid for” as called for under House rules.
“We know the day of reckoning is coming,” said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif., who called the measure “totally irresponsible.”
The new GI Bill essentially would guarantee a full scholarship at any in-state public university, along with a monthly housing stipend, for people who serve in the military for at least three years. It is aimed at replicating the benefits awarded veterans of World War II and more than doubles the value of the benefit — from $40,000 today to $90,000.
Full details of the nuts and bolts of the measure won’t be released until Thursday.
But Nussle said the measure would provide $2.6 billion in additional disaster aid to replenish accounts already being tapped to deal with the terrible flooding across the Midwest.
It also contains $5.8 billion sought by Bush for next year to build levees and other flood control projects around New Orleans.
The bill is slated to be considered under an unusual procedure in which funding for the war would be voted on separately from the GI Bill, unemployment insurance extension and other domestic measures, such as additional funding for the glitch-plagued 2010 census.
The procedural setup allows anti-war Democrats to avoid votes to fund the war while still ensuring the money advances to Bush on his terms. In a vote last month, House Democrats tried to force Bush to begin troops withdrawals within 30 days with a goal of full withdrawal of combat troops within 18 months. The Senate easily killed the idea.
New GI Bill update, Bill Clears the Senate, look who voted “NO”.
May 22, 2008
Folks get involved, Join the IAVA!!
D/C
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YOU DID IT!!!!! The GI bill passes the House!
May 15, 2008
You did it. Just a few minutes ago, the House of Representatives passed the new GI Bill by a vote of 256-166, as an attachment to the emergency supplemental. Click here to view the full list of who voted for it and who voted against it.
Earlier this week, we told you that the new GI Bill was facing opposition from a small group of Representatives in the House, who were threatening the bill despite its deep bi-partisan support.
We asked for your help, and you stepped up to the plate. Thousands of you took action by calling your Representatives, signing the petition at www.GIBill2008.org, and spreading the word to your friends and neighbors. Today, your dedication paid off and together, we made history.
There’s no question that your efforts had an impact. Referring specifically to the group of Representatives that were standing in the way of the bill, known as the Blue Dogs, the Politico, a Washington-insider newspaper, said that “there had been erosion among Blue Dogs in the face of pressure from veterans groups.”1 The leadership you demonstrated in fighting for this bill shows that IAVA is a force to be reckoned with.
The new GI Bill has widespread support among Democrats, Republicans, and all of the major veterans organizations. But the legislative process is a long one, and it’s your dedication that keeps it going during these crucial stages.
Next week, the Senate will have to vote on the bill as well. After that, it will go to the President’s desk for his signature.
We’ll keep you updated via email, but for the latest news, just visit www.GIBill2008.org.
Thank you again for standing with us. The support we’re getting in this fight has been truly inspiring.
Sincerely,
Patrick Campbell
Iraq Veteran
Legislative Director
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
1. Politico: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10331.html
BUTT SNORKLER ALERT!! BUTT SNORKLER ALERT!!
May 9, 2008
If it was good for WWII, why in the same heck is it not good enough for us now? / D.C
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CBO: Better GI Bill would cut retention 16%
Posted : Friday May 9, 2008 10:49:14 EDT
A new congressional report supports the Pentagon’s claims that vastly improved GI Bill benefits would hurt retention.
The Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan analytical arm of Congress, said in a report Thursday that enactment of S 22, a bill promising to pay full tuition plus a stipend for veterans attending college, could lead to a 16 percent drop in re-enlistments.
The Defense Department could counter that drop only by increasing re-enlistment bonuses. Fully offsetting the draw of a better veterans’ education program would require a $25,000 re-enlistment bonus for every first-term service member, something that would cost the Pentagon about $6.7 billion over five years.
However, that cost would be offset by lower recruiting costs, the report predicts. It estimates there would be a 16 percent boost in recruits, which would allow a cut in enlistment bonuses and in other recruiting expenses that would result in $5.6 billion in savings over five years.
The combination of better recruiting but weaker re-enlistments would leave the military with a $1.1 billion cost over five years to maintain the current force, the report said.
The report is dated May 8 but was released Friday morning.
The cost estimate for S 22, sent to the Senate Budget Committee’s ranking Republican member, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, comes as the House and Senate are poised to attach the GI Bill improvement package to the 2008 war supplemental funding bill.
House leaders delayed work on the bill until next week because some fiscally conservative Democrats are concerned about passing a veterans’ benefit program without identifying a way to pay for it.
Overall, CBO’s cost estimate is slightly lower than the estimated price tag issued by the Bush administration. Congressional budget analysts predict S 22 would have an overall cost of $680 million in the first full year and $51.8 billion over 10 years.
VA officials told the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Wednesday that the proposal would cost $64.9 billion over 10 years.
S 22, called the 21st Century GI Bill, represents a big increase over the $1,101 basic monthly education benefit provided today for someone with at least three years of active service. It would boost the basic benefit to cover full tuition and fees, up to the cost of in-state tuition at the most expensive four-year public college or university in the state where student is attending school.
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a member of the veterans’ affairs and armed services committees and chief sponsor of S 22, said better benefits are intended to help people who leave the military after one enlistment, which is the majority of those who enlist.
Seventy-five percent of Army, 70 percent of Marine, 50 percent of Navy and 49 percent of Air Force enlistees who complete their first enlistment term get out of the military, Webb said.
From: Navytimes
Support the new GI BILL Legislation, get INVOLVED!
April 26, 2008
After World War II, the GI Bill helped eight million veterans get an education. Now a new generation of veterans is returning home, and many want to go back to school. But that original GI Bill is outdated.
A new bill is gaining momentum in Congress, and lawmakers need to hear from civilians who support it. We can help our nations’ veterans on this critical issue.
Please take a minute to send a message to your representatives, and tell them you support new educational benefits for veterans. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has made it easy - just visit www.iavaaction.org
Thank you!
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