SJ In Praise of the GI Bill

GI Bill Benefits

The 1944 GI Bill was a nod of recognition to the service and needs of U.S. veterans. On the heels of the Great Depression and New Deal legislation, it was also meant to stave off a social and economic crisis as millions of WWII veterans came home. The original GI Bill and its successor, the Montgomery GI Bill, afforded:

• Compensation for vets at least 10 percent disabled from military service
• Pensions for vets with limited incomes, permanently and totally disabled, or at least 65 years old
• Health Care, including a wide range of in-hospital and outpatient services
• Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment for vets with service-connected disabilities
• Education and Training for approved programs, generally within ten years of discharge
• Home Loans, including loan guarantees, refinancing, and special grants for certain disabled vets
• Life Insurance, including various forms of low-cost term life policies
• Dependents and Survivors, including compensation to survivors of service members who died on active duty or from service-related disabilities
• Burial, including compensation for some burial expenses, headstone, burial flag, and VA national cemetery plot

New GI Bill Benefits
In 2008, veterans’ benefits legislation was updated again to expand financial aid for education to those who served at least 90 days after September 10, 2001. Available starting on August 1, 2009, the expanded benefits will include:

• Monthly housing allowance paid directly to the veteran
• Books and supplies allowance of up to $1,000 per year paid directly to the veteran
• Stipend of $500 paid to veterans relocating from highly rural areas
• In a provision not yet finalized, those still in service would also receive the following:
• Tuition and fees at any certified college or university up to cost of most expensive in-state public institution, paid to the school

For details, call 888-442-4551 or visit any VA regional office or the Department of Veterans Affairs website.

—Theodore Fischer