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HistoryThe G.I. Bill is considered to be the last piece of New Deal legislation. However, the bill which President Franklin D. Roosevelt initially proposed was not as far reaching. The G.I. Bill was created to prevent a repeat of the Bonus March of 1932 and a relapse into the Great Depression after World War II ended. The American Legion (a veterans group) is essentially responsible for many of the bill's provisions. The Legion managed to have the bill apply to all who served in the armed services, including African-Americans and women.
Another provision was known as the 52–20 clause. This enabled all former servicemen to receive $20 once a week for 52 weeks a year while they were looking for work. Less than 20 percent of the money set aside for the 52–20 Club (as it was known) was distributed. Rather, most returning servicemen quickly found jobs or pursued higher education. An important provision of the G.I. Bill was low interest, zero down payment home loans for servicemen. This enabled millions of American families to move out of urban apartments and into suburban homes. Prior to the war the suburbs tended to be the homes of the wealthy and upper class. Although black servicemen were eligible for these loans they tended to remain in the inner cities or in rural areas because many suburban communities using racial segregation did not sell homes to African-Americans and other minorities. The bill helped to democratize the "American Dream." The G.I. Bill of Rights has since been modified but still remains on the books. After World War II
The obvious success of the 1944 G.I. Bill prompted the government to offer similar measures to later generations of veterans. The Veterans ’ Adjustment Act of 1952, signed into law on July 16, 1952 offered benefits to veterans of the Korean Conflict that served for more than 90 days and had received an “other than dishonorable discharge.” Korean Conflict veterans did not receive unemployment compensation but did receive similar educational and loan benefits as their World War II predecessors. Korean Conflict veterans were eligible for funding equal to a period 1.5 times their duration of service. One significant difference between the 1944 G.I. Bill and the 1952 Act was that tuition was no longer paid directly to the chosen institution of higher education. Instead, veterans received a fixed monthly sum of $110 from which they had to pay for their tuition, fees, books, and living expenses. The decision to abort direct tuition payments to schools came after a 1950 House select committee uncovered incidents of overcharging of tuition rates by some institutions under the original G.I. Bill in an attempt to defraud the government. Although the monthly stipend proved sufficient for most Korean conflict veterans, this decision would have negative repercussions for later veterans. By the end of the program on January 31, 1965 approximately 2.4 million of 5.5 million eligible veterans had used their benefits. Roughly 1.2 million had used them to enter higher education, over 860,000 for other education purposes, and 318,000 for occupational training. Over 1.5 million Korean Conflict veterans obtained home loans. Whereas the G.I. Bills of 1944 and 1952 were given to compensate veterans for wartime service, the Veterans Readjustment Benefits Act of 1966 forever changed the nature of military service in America by extending benefits to veterans who served during times of war and peace. At first there was some opposition to the concept of a peacetime G.I. Bill. President Eisenhower had rejected such a measure in 1959 after the Bradley commission concluded that military service should be “an obligation of citizenship, not a basis for government benefits.” President Johnson believed that many of his “Great Society” social programs negated the need for sweeping veterans benefits. But, prompted by unanimous support given the bill by Congress, Johnson signed it into law on March 3, 1966. Almost immediately critics within the veterans’ community and on Capitol Hill charged that the bill did not go far enough. At first, single veterans who had served more than 180 days and had received an “other than dishonorable discharge” received only $100 a month from which they had to pay for tuition and all of their expenses. Most found this amount to be insufficient. In particular, veterans who had endured the hardships of the Vietnam War recoiled at the government’s failure to provide them with the same generous educational opportunities as their World War II predecessors. Consequently, during the early years of the program, only about 25% of Vietnam veterans used their education benefits. But for the next decade, a battle raged in the government to increase veterans’ benefits. Congress succeeded, often in the face of fierce objections from the fiscally conservative Nixon and Ford Administrations, to raise benefit levels. In 1967, a single veteran’s benefits were raised to $130 a month; in 1970 they rose to $175; under the Readjustment Assistance Act of 1972 the monthly allowance rose to $220; in 1974 it rose to $270, $292 in 1976, and then $311 a month in 1977. As the funding levels increased, the numbers of veterans entering higher education rose correspondingly. Indeed, it was not until 1976, fully years after the first veterans became eligible, that the highest number of Vietnam-era veterans were enrolled in colleges and universities. By the end of the program, proportionally more Vietnam-era veterans (6.8 million out of 10.3 million eligible) had used their benefits for higher education than any previous generation of veterans. And contrary to the popular stereotypes of the Vietnam veteran, most who served in Vietnam used their benefits to construct productive and successful lives after service. Education benefits during the Vietnam era did not have the same impact on higher education as the original 1944 Bill because higher education had become much more commonplace in America. But the G.I. Bills of this period did have a similarly positive impact on the lives of the beneficiaries. Despite the movement to an all-volunteer force in 1973, veterans continued to receive benefits, in part as an inducement to enlist, under the Veterans Educational Assistance Program (VEAP), and the Montgomery G.I. Bill (MGIB). From December 1976 through 1987, veterans received assistance under the VEAP. The VEAP departed from previous programs by requiring participants to make a contribution to their education benefits. The VA then matched their contribution at a rate of 2 to 1. Enlisted personnel could contribute up to $100 a month up to a maximum of $2700. Benefits could be claimed for up to 36 months. To be eligible, a veteran had to have served for more than 180 days and received an “other than honorable discharge.” Nearly 700,000 veterans used their benefits for education and training under this program. The MGIB replaced the VEAP for those who served after July 1, 1985. This was an entirely voluntary program in which participants could choose to have $100 deducted from their first year of pay. In return, veterans receive a generous tuition allowance and a monthly stipend for up to 36 months of training or education. Chapter 30The Montgomery GI Bill - Active Duty (MGIB) states that active duty members accept a pay reduction of $100 per month for 12 months; when they use the benefits, they receive as of 2006 $1075 monthly for a maximum of 36 months of education benefits. This benefit may be used for degree and certificate programs, flight training, apprenticeship/on-the-job training and correspondence courses if the veteran is enrolled full-time. Part-time veteran students receive less, but for a proportionately longer period. Veterans from the reserve have different eligibility requirements and different rules on receiving benefits. MGIB may also be used while active, but as each service has additional educational benefit programs for active duty members most delay using MGIB benefits until after separation, discharge or retirement. Time limit / EligibilityMGIB benefits may be used up to 10 years from the date of last discharge or release from active duty. The 10-year period can be extended by the amount of time a service member was prevented from training during that period because of a disability or because he/she was held by a foreign government or power. The 10-year period can also be extended if one reenters active duty for 90 days or more after becoming eligible. The extension ends 10 years from the date of separation from the later period. Periods of active duty of less than 90 days qualify for extensions only if one was separated for one of the following:
For those eligible based on two years of active duty and four years in the Selected Reserve, they have 10 years from their release from active duty, or 10 years from the completion of the four-year Selected Reserve obligation to use MGIB benefits. Educational
Under this bill, benefits may be used to pursue an undergraduate or graduate degree at a college or university, a cooperative training program, or an accredited independent study program leading to a degree. InformationForms
Chapter 31Chapter 31 is a Vocational Rehabilitation program is for service-disabled veterans who require further education to attain suitable, stable employment. This program may provide vocational and other training services and assistance including tutorial assistance, tuition, books, fees, supplies, handling charges, licensing fees and equipment and other training materials necessary. Vocational rehabilitation for individuals that do not necessarily have military affiliations is set up on a state-by-state basis under Federal guidelines. Funding is obtained through the Federal government with a legislated match by each state. Vocational rehabilitation (VR) services include things like provision of assistive technology, medical and psychiatric intervention to improve work-readiness, on-the-job supports (for example, a job coach) to help an individual acclimate to a work setting and requirements of the job, job assistance, vocational training, college education related to employment preparation, and VR counseling and guidance. VR services may begin as early as the senior year of high school. Chapter 32The Veterans Educational Assistance Program (VEAP) is available if you first entered active duty between January 1, 1977 and June 30, 1985 and you elected to make contributions from your military pay to participate in this education benefit program. Your contributions are matched on a $2 for $1 basis by the Government. This benefit may be used for degree and certificate programs, flight training, apprenticeship/on-the-job training and correspondence courses. InformationChapter 35The Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Program (DEA) provides education and training opportunities to eligible dependents of veterans who are permanently and totally disabled due to a service-related condition, or who died while on active duty or as a result of a service related condition. The program offers up to 45 months of education benefits. These benefits may be used for degree and certificate programs, apprenticeship, and on-the-job training. If you are a spouse, you may take a correspondence course. InformationChapter 1606The Montgomery GI Bill - Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) program may be available to you if you are a member of the Selected Reserve. The Selected Reserve includes the Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve and Coast Guard Reserve, and the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard. This benefit may be used for degree and certificate programs, flight training, apprenticeship/on-the-job training and correspondence courses. InformationForms
Contract Form
Chapter 1607Student Loan Repayment Program also known as SLRP or LRP a special enlistment incentive that the Army offers to highly qualified applicants at the time of enlistment. Under the LRP, the Army will repay up to $65,000 of a soldier's qualifying student loans. PolicySee also
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