Webb does more for troops in one day than Allen did in years
Keeping a promise he made on the campaign trail in 2006, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) did more for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan on his first day in the Senate than the man he ousted, George Felix Allen, did in the entire previous Congress.
Going unnoticed in the frenzy of Democrats assuming control of Capitol Hill and George W. Bush seeking to plunge the country deeper into the Iraq quagmire, Webb introduced the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007, legislation that will provide the newest Veterans with educational benefits like those received by men and women who served in the three decades following World War II.
"As a veteran who hails from a family with a long history of military service, I am proud to offer this bill as my first piece of legislation in the United States Senate," said Webb, in introducing his bill last week. "The G.I. bill program was designed to help veterans readjust to civilian life, avoid high levels of unemployment, and give veterans the opportunity to receive the education and training that they missed while bravely serving in the military."
Webb, a former Secretary of the Navy and a highly-decorated Vietnam Veteran, introduced his legislation to provide enhanced benefits to those serving in the military since September 11, 2001. It will replace the Montgomery G.I. Bill, to which military personnel must contribute -- while earning a low active-duty salary anyway -- and which only provides financial support of up to $800 per month for educational expenses, which may not cover the cost of a full college education.
The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act will pay for Veterans' tuition, books, fees, and other training costs, while also providing a monthly stipend of $1,000 for living expenses, thus making it much more possible for a large number of Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan to actually be able to complete a college education and build a better life.
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