I just received a press release from Senator Webb (wow, I love saying that!), announcing his first major initiative as Senator:
Washington, D.C., January 4 GÇô Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) launched his career in the United States Senate Thursday by introducing a sweeping expansion of the education and training benefits currently available to the nationGÇÖs 2.4 million active duty and reserve members of the armed forces.The GÇ£Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007GÇ¥ (S.22) is designed to provide veterans with a level of educational benefits identical to those provided to service members at the end of World War II.
The new benefits package included in WebbGÇÖs legislation (S.22) would include coverage of tuition, room and board, and a monthly stipend of $1,000. Existing law GÇô known as the Montgomery GI Bill GÇô provides financial support of up to $800 per month for veteransGÇÖ educational expenses, but does not necessarily cover the full cost of higher education or career training. In addition, existing law requires participating service members to pay $1,200 in their first year of service in order to qualify for the benefit.
As Webb says, S.22 "will provide veterans of the 9/11 era with the same program of benefits that our fathers and grandfathers received after World War II." That's richly deserved; kudos to Senator Webb for this most excellent bill!
P.S. With this act alone, Webb has now surpassed the accomplishments of George Allen in his entire 6 years as Senator. Seriously, name one piece of significant legislation that George Allen sponsored. Uhhhhh....
Yes, the GI bill was one of the great social mobility enablers and creating a middle class enablers of this century.
If VA vets don't get Webb's commitment to them now I don't know what it will take and this is overall "good juju" for US as a society too.
Ooooh, you mean legislation that actually benefits PEOPLE as opposed to corporations. Eh, I can't think of anything.
Allen's legacy: expanding America's racist vocabulary to include the word "Macaca". As if we didn't have enough words for darker skinned people. The KKK salutes him.
As Stephen Colbert said, that is a HUGE difference ;-)
However, this bill will do much to aid the lower and middle class in America.
Thanks Heavens it's not another congressional earmark for the likes of Pat Robertson and other elitists.
Maybe the day of subsidies to make the elitists richer is over?
ya think? Buzz...Buzz...
FINALLY we have a leader for whom defense support means support to the troops themselves.